About the Book
Once London’s top thief, Barclay Pearce has turned his b
ack on his life of crime and now uses his skills for a nation at war. But not until he rescues a clockmaker’s daughter from a mugging does he begin to wonder what his future might hold.
Evelina Manning has constantly fought for independence but she certainly never meant for it to inspire her fiancé to end the engagement and enlist in the army. When the intriguing man who saved her returns to the Manning residence to study clockwork repair with her father, she can’t help being interested. But she soon learns that nothing with Barclay Pearce is as simple as it seems.
As 1915 England plunges ever deeper into war, the work of an ingenious clockmaker may give England an unbeatable military edge—and Germany realizes it as well. Evelina’s father soon finds his whole family in danger—and it may just take a reformed thief to steal the time they need to escape it.
MY REVIEW
An Hour Unspent. Prior to reading the book, I was convinced this was a very awkward title. Having finished the book, book three in Rosanna M. White’s Shadows Over England, I now applaud the author her doubly apt title.
Who could not fall in love with White’s portrayal of Barclay Pearce, an ex-thief, now spying for the English? He is constantly trying to square his new-found faith with the deception required to perform for his country. However, what really draws the reader into Barclay Pearce is the way he is so compassionate for others. He cares for almost anyone needy around him. He has even built his own family, chock-full of “adopted siblings” who have chosen to belong to each other. They care for each other, laugh with each other, and love each other. While not in the least bit related by blood, they would die for each other if need be. Pearce’s family is very reminiscent of the O’Malley family group created by Dee Henderson.
Evalina “Lina” Manning falls in love with this noble thief, but then waffles over who he really is. One of them deserves someone much better than the other.
Quotables:
“And if the Master Clockmaker took such care with each cog, shouldn’t said cogs have the good sense to obey him when they felt that nudge?”
“There’s no such thing as too late. Not with God.”
Intrigue in World War I; regrets of a splintered blood family vs. the riches of a cobbled family that values its members; knowing who you are; and seeking God, are all themes of this new favorite book of mine. Don’t miss Rosanna M. White’s An Hour Unspent. ( Note: I have not yet read the first two books. This story stood well on its own.)
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to leave a review and all opinions are my own.
About the Author
Guest Post from Roseanna
Last year, as I finished up the writing of An Hour Unspent, my great-grandmother passed away at the age of 103. As I sat at her funeral service and listened to the heartfelt memorial raised up to her by her kids and grandkids, I realized anew that this woman had been a matriarch in the truest sense of the word. She’d taught my family for generations how to love the Lord and each other, how to serve the Lord and each other, and how to trust the Lord and each other. Grandma Seward was, in so many ways, the one who instilled in me my idea of what family really is.
That idea—that it’s those knit together by love more than blood, and that faith is the strongest foundation—is what I built my unusual family of thieves upon in the Shadows Over England series. And strange as it is to liken my twenty-something reformed-thief hero to my 103-year-old-grandmother, Barclay Pearce is very much to his family what Maxine Seward was to mine.
The founder. The caregiver. The leader.
I knew as I began the series that I would write about Barclay in book three, and as I got to know him better throughout the series, I grew so excited to share his story! This is a man who led his family first into and then out of a life a crime, always for the right reasons—so he could provide for the children under his care. All he ever wanted to do was give them what he himself had lost. To show them love. To prove to them that they were worth any sacrifice.
It was truly a blessing for me to get to write the story in which Barclay found someone to come alongside him, to appreciate and learn to understand him. To finally share what started him down this path. I loved the idea that only a reformed thief could steal the time another family needed to overcome their own trials.
There are many historical items in the book that were such fun to explore—watchmaking of the era, the suffrage movement in England, technological advancements of the war—but at the heart, this isn’t a story about any of those.
It’s a story about how far people should go for love. I hope you enjoy Barclay’s story as much as I did!
Click here to purchase your copy!
Blog Stops
The Avid Reader, October 30
The Power of Words, October 30
Back Porch Reads, October 30
Kat’s Corner Books, October 30
Janice’s Book Reviews, October 30
Where Faith and Books Meet, October 31
Reading Is My SuperPower, October 31
Faithfully Bookish, October 31
Genesis 5020, October 31
Fiction Aficionado, November 1
Among the Reads, November 1
The Lit Addict, November 1
Just the Write Escape, November 1
Multifarious, November 2
Godly Book Reviews, November 2
Real World Bible Study, November 2
Madeline Clark, November 2
Reflections From My Bookshelves, November 3
Christian Bookaholic, November 3
Inspirationally Ever After, November 3
Bookworm Mama, November 3
Bigreadersite, November 3
Blogging With Carol , November 4
D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, November 4
Life with the Tribe, November 4
The Becca Files, November 4
Kathleen Denly, November 5
Cordially Barbara, November 5
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 5
Simple Harvest Reads, November 5 (Guest Post from Mindy Houng)
God’s Little Bookworm, November 6
All-of-a-kind Mom, November 6
Faery Tales Are Real, November 6
Christian Chick’s Thoughts, November 6
Carpe Diem, November 6
Margaret Kazmierczak, November 7
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 7
Christian Author, J.E.Grace, November 7
Blossoms and Blessings , November 7
Maureen’s Musings , November 8
Connie’s History Classroom , November 8
Book by Book, November 8
Just Commonly, November 8
cherylbbookblog, November 9
The Christian Fiction Girl, November 9
Have A Wonderful Day , November 9
With a Joyful Noise, November 9
KarenSueHadley , November 10
Tell Tale Book Reviews, November 10
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, November 10
Baker kella, November 10
Bibliophile Reviews, November 10
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, November 11
Inklings and Notions , November 11
Two Points of Interest, November 11
Inspiration Clothesline, November 11
A Baker’s Perspective, November 11
Henry Happens, November 12
Texas Book-aholic, November 12
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 12
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Roseanna is giving away a grand prize of a signed book, a London mug, and a 48-pack Twinings tea sampler!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d570/an-hour-unspent-celebration-tour-giveaway
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 