He sees patterns in what she deems chaos. She sees beauty in a world he thought destroyed.
Zivon Marin was one of Russia's top cryptographers until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee to England after speaking out against Lenin, Zivon is driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits. But never far from his mind is his brother, whom Zivon fears died in the train crash that separated them.
Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and re-creating photographs. With her father's connections in propaganda, she's recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove if she ever found out.
After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily that soon takes over their hearts. But both have secrets they're unwilling to share, and neither is entirely sure they can trust the other. When Zivon's loyalties are called into question, proving him honest is about more than one couple's future dreams--it becomes a matter of ending the war.
My Thoughts:
A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White is a long, deep book that I read while bedridden with Covid. It was a bit of a slow start for me because I did not connect right away with Lily or Zivon. However, plenty of intrigue kept me interested in the story and I later found the lead characters more relatable. Eventually, Zivon became my favorite character as he was a true hero, a man of devotion and excellent character.
One thing that I appreciated in A Portrait of Loyalty (and all the other books in this series) was how the characters wrestled intensely with their spiritual issues. Lily and Zivon do not settle for blind, easy answers. The author dives deep with characters that doubt and struggle in a way that feels very authentic and true to real life. As the characters grapple with circumstances and issues, the truths that they discover are powerful and relevant for the reader.
A Portrait of Loyalty stands as the third book in The Codebreakers series by Roseanna M. White, but it can be read on its own. I recommend reading all the series, in order if possible, as each one is excellent in its own way.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
I love this author! I'll have to add this book to my wishlist :)
ReplyDeleteColletta