December Reading Recap & January TBR

My December 2020 Reads:

The first part of my December 2020 abounded with busyness. Then COVID hit our little family. 😷 My husband, myself, and our two daughters all came down with the illness. I spent many hours in bed and finished several books. 📚 Did I like having COVID? Absolutely not! 🙅 But I spent more time reading than I have in a long time.📖

In December, I finished:

1. To Dwell Among Cedars by Connilyn Cossette - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


2. All That We Carried by Erin Bartels. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


3. A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


4. Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery - ⭐⭐⭐⭐


5. A Cowboy for Keeps by Jody Hedlund - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Review coming soon!


6. Discipline Your Kids with Positive Parenting by Nicole Libin - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


7. Make Life Beautiful by Syd & Shea McGee. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


8. A Tale of Two Hearts by Michelle Griep - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 


9. Almost a Bride by Jody Hedlund - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

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Expected January 2021 Reads:

In January, I hope to read:

1. The Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fischer.


2. Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green. - This will be a reread for me. It's my local book club's January selection and we plan to tour Historic Spanish Point, Bertha Palmer's Florida residence. Read my original review here.


3. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery. - I'm slowing making my way through this classic series!


4. The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall. - A new-to-me author.


5. What We Inherit by Jessica Pearce Rotondi - A step out of my normal genres, but it sounds so interesting to me!


6. Occasional Moments of Happiness by Shana Donyaei. - Currently reading!


7. The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark.


8. The Price of Valor by Susan May Warren. - This one has been on my TBR for a long time... I've enjoyed the other two in the series and hope I can get to this one in January.

What will you read this month?

Book Review: A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White

About the Book:

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.

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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.

First Line Fridays: A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White

Happy Friday! 

First Line Fridays is hosted by Hoarding Books and participants share the first line from a nearby book.

Today, I'm sharing the first line from A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White.

"He could see it all so clearly."

Have you read A Portrait of Loyalty? Book blurb below and you can read an excerpt on the publisher's website.

What are you reading this weekend? I'd love for you to share your book's first line!

Happy reading!

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About the Book:

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.