World War I is in full swing, and deep in the heart of London the codebreakers in Room 40 are responsible for deciphering German telegrams to preserve the Allied cause. Margot de Wilde, a young Belgian woman not yet eighteen, is an anomaly in the all-male environment. Her mathematical mind makes her capable of far more than secretarial work, and she works side by side with men twice or thrice her age to discover and anticipate the actions of the German armies responsible for destroying her homeland. Thrown together by circumstance with a British intelligence officer named Drake Elton, Margot discovers, for the first time, that the calculations and formulas that provide her certainty have become eerily silent on matters of the heart. In the wake of death and tragedy, Margot must decide whether to let Drake court her or to reject him entirely as a variable that doesn't fit into her life.

The perfect blend of action hero and intelligence agent (a la Jack Ryan?), Drake takes a bullet during a secret operation in Spain. While recuperating in England, he finds that his sister has befriended the mysterious dark eyed girl who works in Room 40. He also finds that the German assassin who shot him on a moving train may very well have followed him back to England to finish the job. With German agents on the loose in London, it's a race against time for Margot to solve the Germans' most enigmatic code while Drake tries to crack another code entirely-- the code that is Margot de Wilde.

This book is a spinoff from White's Shadows Over England series. A teenage Margot appeared as a secondary character (Lukas de Wilde's little sister) in A Song Unheard, and was probably my favorite character in that story as she matched wits with the German officer occupying their Belgian house. Now, on the cusp of womanhood, Margot must reconcile the logicality of her head with the promptings of her heart. Aware that Margot is wholly different than his mother, sister, or the ordinary Englishwoman, Drake must prove himself inventive and understanding to win her affections. I enjoyed this unique romance between a girl with extraordinary talents and a man with an overwhelming desire to know her and love her as she is.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but I've just become a HUGE fan of Roseanna M. White! Her new novel in her Codebreakers series is packed with intrigue, sprinkled with romance, lush with historic detail, and populated with memorable characters.

First of all, I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was drawn to this book because codebreaker stories intrigue me. I loved The Bletchley Circle and the movie adaptations about Enigma.

The Number of Love is however set during the First World War. The story is told from three perspectives, Margot De Wilde, a Belgian refugee working as a codebreaker, Drake Elton an English spy in Spain and a German spy who threatens them on a personal level.

As I am Belgian myself (although I'm Flemish and not from Wallonia) I loved reading about a Belgian character, which is a rare opportunity for me. Margot views the world through numbers, loves her family and despite avoiding many social interactions with others, is able to strike up a meaningful friendship with Elton's sister. I did irk me at times that she is always described as incredible smart or the smartest person they know and only being 18 years old. Before the war started she already attended university.

Elton's perspective was interesting to read from as I like reading about spies. The romance between Margot and Elton was very slow-paced (my favourite kind!) and well-developed. Despite their many differences they always respect the feelings and wishes of the other.

The German perspective added some tension to the story and while I enjoyed this, I would also have enjoyed a book that focused on the first two perspectives alone as well.

All in all, I had a wonderful time reading this book. I liked the setting (I love Spain, England and actually live in Belgium) and the period. The characters were interesting and well-developed as was the slow burning romance. I highly recommend this book and gave it 4,5 stars!

I haven't read any other books by Roseanna M. White but I'm looking forward to checking them out. I'm now highly anticipating the second codebreakers book which focuses on a secondary character from The Number of Love.

As always, Roseanna M. White does not disappoint! I did have a bit of trouble getting into this book, but once I'd read a couple chapters I was completely hooked. Even though it's a bit of a longer read than what I'm used to, I flew through it in about a day. I especially enjoyed all the parts from Margot's point of view because she reminds me quite a bit of myself (though I'm nowhere near as smart as her). Especially her ideas about emotions equaling chaos (and, as such, they are to be avoided).

Drake wasn't my favorite RMW hero but he did have his good points. I liked how humble and brave he was. It was also lots of fun seeing Willa, Lukas (my favorite!), and Barclay again. And I continue to appreciate how RMW doesn't shy away from the nitty-gritty of life and wartime and high danger...she makes the dangerous situations real and heart-pounding and the romantic situations lovely and, well, romantic.

I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. (Especially if you want to learn more about intelligence operations in WWI because the research is soooo good and interesting.)

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

This was another wonderful book by Roseanna M. White! I loved getting to see more of Margot's story, and the plot was amazing. From the workings of Room 40 with the encrypted letters, to the German spy who has big plans of his own, there were twists around every corner. The characters were also very nicely done, and the settings were wonderful. I already can not wait until the next book in the series is released!







I received this book free through NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. The opinions are my own.

(5+ stars) - Totally loved it - I did not want to put it down!

Margot is a math savant who has no interest in most of the social norms. Men are attracted by her beauty but put off by her no-nonsense intelligence.

Drake is very much the exception as he is attracted to the whole package. He realizes that he can't pursue her in the ordinary way so he sets out to connect with her in a way that's a bit out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, Drake's work as a field agent has garnered him some serious enemies. And he has unwittingly brought his work home with him.

This book had everything just right - an intriguing premise, wonderful characters, an authentic historical setting, a well developed plot with suspense, excitement & a rather different sort of romance. The dialogue is frequently witty. The plot is complex & yet plausible, keeping the reader guessing.

This may well be the best book I've read this year; I'm so looking forward to the rest of this new series!

Clean romance level: passionate kisses
Religion: References Christian beliefs & Christianity from a mainstream perspective (main characters are Catholic with minor references to attending Mass & saying the Rosary - I was surprised & grateful for the respectful knowledge demonstrated by the author's depiction)

I quite enjoyed this upcoming release by Ms. White, although again, it took several opening chapters for me to finally get into the story of mathematician and codebreaker, Margot De Wilde and British Spy, Drake Elton.
The story begins one year before the end of the First World War, examining the work of Room 40 and how this group of mathematicians cracked codes providing vital intelligence to the British Military officials. Margot De Wilde is the only female codebreaker, and considered a “walking calculator”. Math soothes her and invades her very thought life. It’s the only thing that makes sense to her so when the numbers fade with the entrance of British Intelligence Officer Drake Elton, Margot’s world spins out of control.
When Drake Elton is first introduced to Margot, he is instantly drawn and knows he’s in trouble. She fascinates him and he appreciates her intelligence and steady wit, but when duty calls him overseas he wonders if he’ll ever really get to know the woman from Room 40. His life will become connected to hers in an interesting twist of events that have both Margot and Elton confronting a German spy, though in very different ways.
I was delighted to find characters from previous series – Shadows Over England, and Ladies of the Manor, make cameo appearances. Despite their appearances, this book is sufficient enough to read without reading Brooke’s or Willa’s stories.
Danger, intrigue, and pulse-racing moments fill the pages of this historical, Christian romance. Ms. White does a beautiful job of weaving fact and fiction together to create a page-turning-stay-up-til-midnight reader experience.
I’m looking forward to the next installment of the final year of War and what The Codebreakers will do to bring the end about.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars

I’ve never read a book about codebreakers, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read this book and be on the launch team.

White’s latest takes the reader into the secret world of World War I codebreakers. Characters, including the secondary ones, are well developed and integrated. Those who enjoy math may connect with the story in ways that the average reader might not. However, the non-mathematical readers will likely enjoy the espionage angle and the challenge to crack the code.

The author blends fiction with historical facts, as this book was obviously well researched. The cover is lovely, and it’s a good fit for the story. I had hoped for a bit more mystery vs. romance, but this was still an enjoyable story overall. This is the first book in the Codebreaker series, and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

I was so excited for this book! I loved the first series, and thought that Margot was so interesting. This book is set during World War II, and Margot is a codebreaker in London. She meet Drake Elton, a spy for the British in Spain. They are instantly intrigued by one another. As strange occurrences begin to happen and suspicious people appear, they have to have the chance, although briefly, to see the rest of the family as well.
Margot is such a cool character! Her love of numbers and mathematics as well as her unique belief are both so interesting. She is very focused on her work, though she loves her family. Originally, she has an almost childlike faith in God, obviously He alone can be God and He must be in control. She even feels God’s working through numbers. She has to learn to trust God in a new way after sad events in her life. The entrance of Drake Elton, and his sister who works with her, also begins a change in her.
Drake was so sweet. He loved everything about Margot. He truly sought to show her this how she would understand. He courted her through numbers and patterns. Drake is a spy, and he is extremely observant. He was also extremely caring of his sister, Dot, almost to overprotectiveness. It was nice to see their relationship, and also to see her little romance.
I thought that this was in interesting, fun book. I loved the characters and the romance. It was lovely to see Lukas and Willa (and their daughter!) again. I would recommend this book to those who like historical fiction, romance, and a bit a of mystery. It is very clean, though it does mention a war and some of its effects.

What an excellent start to this series. Fans of Roseanna M. White's "Shadows over England" series will be glad to see some old friends in the first book of the Codebreakers series. This book focuses on Margot De Wilde, who we met in A Song Unheard (book 2 in the Shadows over England). I'll insert the caveat here that this series stands alone just fine - enough background information is given in this book that you don't have to have read the Shadows over England series to enjoy this novel. However, I felt like I received visits from some old friends and found it interesting to already know how it was that Margot ended up in England.

Margot works in Room 40, the name given to the location where the cryptographers (among whom she is the most gifted) sit each day and decode transmissions intercepted by the Germans. This room did actually exist for this reason in history and though Margot is a fictional character, the job she did was a very real one and helped immensely in thwarting some German attacks. The main male character, Drake Elton, was an intelligence agent (aka spy) for the Royal navy. The connections that draw the 2 of them together are definitely God-ordained and I loved the faith thread in this book as well.

This story is very well written, the characters are well developed and likable, and the history is rich and well-researched. The romance is well done, the adventures are believable and the faith thread was solid. Overall, this was an excellent read! I would strongly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, romance, and WWI era. Special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced ecopy of this book. I was not obligated to write a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

I hate math.

But I love how math is used in this book!!!! (And my family and friends cannot believe they just read those words!) Oh my goodnes, Roseanna has done it again. There was so much of Margot and Dot, both, that I could relate to. I loved the different sides to Margot, the way her witty nature came out from the get-go, and I think part of why I love her is because of how similar she is to another well-loved White character. I hadn't noticed the similarities until this book.

There is so much good packed into this book and it all flows naturally. Like, asking the wrong questions of God. How often do we do that? The faith elements are seamlessly woven into the story. Whether intentionally or not, the discussion of love reminded me a lot of love languages. Margot was recognizing how the different people in her life loved. Each one did it in a different way and there was a sacrifice for them involved. Also probably unintentional was that Margot and her numbers reminded me of synesthesia. I love how she prayed. I get caught in the rut of prayers having to be a certain way, but Margot reminded me that prayers take many different forms.

I'm one who loves when past characters are interwoven with the current story, so having Willa, Lukas, and the rest of Willa's family make small appearances was wonderful. However, the best part was a small cameo of possibly my favorite Roseanna White character EVER!!! I was thrilled beyond belief. Thank you, Roseanna!!

I could go on and on, but at this point, it would just be babbling incoherently and no one wants to read that. I'm so honored to have been a part of The Codebreakers Launch Team and been a small part of the process of launching this book. I can't wait to read more in this series and I'm hoping book two might involve Philip somehow. He intrigues me :)

I received a complimentary copy The Number of Love from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

After having started the story, I did not want to stop reading any more. Margot and her world captivated me and it was very easy to understand her and feel with her. The auther created a wonderful story with tons of great details, which finds an amazing balance between romance, action and history.
I really enjoyed the writing style and Roseanna M. White's great ideas, for example when Margot cut her hair in the hospital just because she wanted to show a nurse, that she wasn't like other girls and she didn't care about other's opinions.

***Hooray! Theme & Characters from ‘Shadows Over England’ Series Return ***

London 1917, WWI
Margot De Wilde has returned to us as a key player in this story featuring Room 40 and the life of Codebreakers whose sole job is to decode war messages in various forms day in and day out.
She has always seen life through numbers. The Lord speaks to her in numbers. She calculates every step and motion with the utmost effectiveness. At 17, she is generally the most intelligent person in a room. However, her intelligence and calculations leave little room for emotion.

Drake Elton is an undercover agent and a very good one. His younger sister Dot struggles through life and he needs to see her settled with a job before he heads out on his next assignment. In doing so, he meets a girl with “impossibly dark eyes” who challenges his thoughts. But, he has little time to delve into that while a war is raging and answers need uncovering.

Das Gespenst proves to be a mysterious villain and adds the necessary element of danger. His character was interesting while trying to discover his “angle”. He also brought a GO board with him, another attention-grabbing throw-back to the previous series.

The story is continually moving forward at a great pace as the players in the war, on both sides, do their parts. Reading about anthrax and the effort to uncover code books from U-boats, Zeppelins and Gotha bombers were very interesting.

Tea Quotes: “Here you go.” Cheerful and smiling and utterly oblivious, she handed him a cup of steaming, fragrant tea. “Just the way you like.”
“And after another night shift, she was more than looking forward to a hot cup of tea, her clanking radiator, and maybe a not-warm-enough bath before she went to bed.”

Spiritual Moment: “Do not neglect your prayers, Drake. Neglect your chores, neglect your ablutions, neglect your mother, but never neglect our prayers. They are what root you to the Lord.”

Wonderfully written as always. While we do get to visit old friends, you do NOT need to have read the previous series as plenty of backstory is scattered within this book. I am looking forward to Phillip Camden’s future story.

It is my privilege to share my opinion without expectation or compensation. I received an advance copy without charge from BETHANY HOUSE PUBL.

The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White was my most anticipated book of the year. I couldn't wait to read about spies, history, and code breakers. The cover is beautiful and definitely something to admire. But unfortunately, White's novel really didn't hit it out of the park for me. The story has love in its title, and majority of the story is about the romance between Drake and Eloise. The novel starts with a little bit of spy information for Drake, then it moves pretty far away, before coming back in the last fifteen percent in the novel. The main heroine thinks of math in everything she does. She loses her mother early on in the novel, but she seems to move on pretty quickly. Yes, it comes up a couple of times, but as someone who lost a parent I was really close to, this pain doesn't just move on so quickly. Eloise doesn't really change either. She is still the math nerd but falls in love with Drake by the end of the novel. Overall, The Number of Love was not what I expected it to be. I wanted a spy novel with history and elements of love. Not have the romance take over the whole plot. Others who are fans of historical romance might devour this novel, but it didn't deliver for me.

I received a complimentary copy of The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

The Number of Love is the first book in Roseanna White's new Codebreakers series. This was the first book I read from this author, and it was an enjoyable novel. I liked how the historical facts were weaved into the storyline and the insight into having a female codebreaker character in the novel, which was rare during World War I. I learned a lot in this well researched novel. Readers of historical fiction will enjoy this latest novel from Roseanna White.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Bethany House through NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Margot De Wilde loves her work as a codebreaker for England's intelligence network during WWI. Numbers are her life, something she has always been able to depend on, figure out, and follow. But when tragedy strikes, even her beloved numbers can't help her make sense of life.
Drake Elton first meets Margot when he takes his sister Dot to her new job as a secretary for the codebreakers. He's intrigued by Margot, who is different from other women, and he's pleased that she and Dot, who struggles with anxiety, become friends. His work as an agent in Spain keeps him from getting to know her better--but when he is injured and returns to England to recover, he quickly finds that Margot is the girl for him. But how can he get Margot, who cares only for numbers, to realize that following her heart isn't a bad thing?

Loved it. I loved the setting--seeing the British codebreaking going on during WWI was really interesting, and I loved how Margot was right in the middle of it. Margot cracked me up; I loved her no-nonsense, straightforward approach and how she would hold her own whenever she was challenged. I also liked watching her journey to see beyond numbers. Drake was great as well; I liked how sweet he was in trying to court Margot, really thinking about what she would like, and how he supported her and how he would push just enough but not too much. I really, really enjoyed it.

I read a copy of the book via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

"The Number of Love" is a suspenseful Christian romance set in the Fall of 1917 in England and Spain. The hero was an undercover spy in Spain who was trying to stop the things that German spies were doing there. So there were some spy versus spy suspense scenes. His sister worked as a secretary at the naval building where intercepted German coded messages were decoded. She's friends with the heroine, a super smart mathematician and code-breaker who prized logic while denying emotions. The hero was wounded and returned to London to heal, and so he got to know the heroine through his sister. They worked well together when they realized that a German spy was attempting to steal a British codebook.

The main characters acted realistically, were engaging, and I cared about what happened to them. The hero and heroine were a good match who respected and supported each other. The heroine was afraid that marrying someone would mean giving up using her gift for mathematics as she'd dreamed. She was also mad at God for once asking her to pray for an unknown person instead of someone that she cared about who needed help. She came to recognize that she was asking the wrong questions of God. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable spy and code-breaking novel.

I absolutely loved this book! The author did a fantastic job mixing fact with fiction. This plot is u inquest in the fact that the main character, Margot, is a mathematician. She thinks in numbers and I have yet to read a book where this is the case. For this fact alone, this book peaked my interest and kept me coming back for more. I would highly recommend it to any reader.

I can't find the proper words to describe this book <3

I think it's safe to say that whoever has read "A Song Unheard" has loved Margot De Wilde and probably has been anxiously waiting for this book. And it did not disappoint!

No, it completely deconstructed me, only to gently put me together again. I say this because it's what happens with the characters. War has a way of scarring that is almost unforgettable. But Margot has her numbers and she has her new life close to mamma and Lukas. She has a job where she can be herself and she can give up on ever learning to knit as she doesn't plan to ever be a proper lady.

But when the unspeakable happens, when the numbers stop adding... when an insufferable 18 sticks to her undeterred... can Margot see she can still be herself, but also open up to something new? Can she see that healing is never too far, but also never a one-sided journey?

The historical setting was superb. The friendship as always transcending the pages and pulling us readers into the camaraderie. The romance, endearing, lovely, and tender. And the faith, soft but certain. I'm so excited for this series!!!!

Margot was such a unique character I wasn’t sure how the author was going to proceed with her story. I was so pleasantly surprised at how it was played out for Margot. I enjoyed it immensely and it fit her personality so well. It’s war time and nothing is perfect. The mathematics impressed me a lot. I like how previous characters were spoken of here and there and we were introduced to new ones as well. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All views stated here are my own.