💗🕰️🗝️ “In Love’s Time” (2022) 🗝️🕰️💗 – Book Review

MY REVIEW

 

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House (December 13, 2022)
Language: English
ISBN: 0764237497
ISBN-13: 978-0764237492
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

 

“At the height of World War I, two sweethearts face impossible odds in this powerful tale of courage, duty, and heartbreak.
 
 In the summer of 1918, Captain Marcus Weatherford arrives in Russia on a secret mission, with a beautiful ballerina posing as his fiancée. He's there to find the Romanov tsarina and her son and glean information about a plot to assassinate Lenin. As the danger intensifies, Marcus's sense of duty battles with his desire to return home to Clare, the woman he truly loves, before it's too late.
 
 Military hospital orderly Clare Danner still suffers from Marcus's betrayal after learning he's engaged to another woman. Clare also fears losing her daughter, Daisy, to the heartless family who took her away once before. Only Marcus can provide the critical proof needed to save Daisy, but when an injury leaves him powerless to help, Clare's fate--and the fate of the top-secret mission--hangs in the balance.”

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Bethany House (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through the author’s launch team. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.

This is my first introduction to the author, Kate Breslin, and while reading this, I happened to find a copy of For Such a Time (her first book) at a library bookstore, so I grabbed it. It’s on the “terminal” TBR list/stack though.

 

Historical fiction was a genre, that up until about four (4) years ago, I didn’t read regularly. I do have my preferences in the genre – some regency (this has to REALLY entice me), Revolutionary War, Civil War/post-reconstruction, and definitely WWII is a HUGE favorite. After this book, I ended up reading a WWI/WWII dual time book that I really enjoyed.

 

WWI is a weird time period for me – one, that for some reason, I can’t get into very much. It’s such a fascinating, yet awkward period for me. For some reason, and I cannot explain it – it is a bit “terrifying” for me. I haven’t read very much in that time as a result.

 

However, Breslin’s In Love’s Time, was definitely a stand-out among the WWI fiction I’ve read. That’s not to say the others weren’t that good – they were in their own way. But, this really checked off my “favorite” genres – romance, intrigue, suspense.

 

I was drawn not only to the gorgeous cover, but the story blurb. I honestly had to read this.  

 

This is one of the author’s standalone titles. And, it has quite the cast of characters:

 

🩹 Marcus

🩺 Clare

👒 Fanny

📁 Jack

💍 Natalya

💰 Stephen

🎀 Daisy

 

The story is told from four different POVs: Marcus, Clare, Fanny, Jack.

 

What’s interesting – is that no matter how clean or “Christian” a book is, sometimes they have content triggers. These can be suicide, domestic violence – things of that nature. This book is one of the rare ones I read that doesn’t have material that would need such a warning.

 

It should be noted that “single” moms like Clare, back in that time, were very much looked down upon. That is what the time was like then and cannot be viewed or judged through today’s lens.

 

Right off, the first sentence:

 

“Would the human destruction never end?” (As of note – no. It didn’t, and hasn’t. I’m sure we all know what has transpired since The Great War/WWI).

 

Marcus is tired of the fighting, which he’s been doing for four (4) years. But, he gets a tip that the Tsarina and Alexei might’ve survived the Romanov massacre.

 

Meanwhile, Clare – a single mother – is working in a hospital. She knows Marcus because he’d helped save her daughter, Daisy, from an orphanage. As a result, the child has nightmares. Clare secretly wishes Marcus would marry her so they’d be a proper family and she wouldn’t worry about losing her child again. She also has to lie and “pretend” to be a widow due to the stigma of having an “out of wedlock” child.

 

Marcus also considers marrying Clare, however he has a “job” he has to do first, though after it – he’s definitely prepared to spend the rest of his life with Clare and Daisy. Clare sees him with Natalya and gets the wrong idea. He reassures Clare it isn’t anything, that is until she sees him proposing to the woman.

 

He tells Clare he’ll explain everything when he gets back home, and Clare hopes he does – come back and also explain.

 

That isn’t the only thing Clare has on her mind though – her daughter’s paternal grandparents seemingly want contact with Daisy now since their son has died. However, it was at their hand that the child spent a year in an orphanage. The Langes want to provide for Daisy – without Clare of course. Basically, they’re offering to pay Clare and take Daisy to raise. She has two weeks to decide what to do, or the Langes will take her to court for the child. And, Clare knows she will lose given her “standing” – without Marcus that is.

 

Marcus and Natalya head to Russia to verify the information, but their mission goes awry and Marcus is severely injured.

 

Jack (who works with Marcus) lets Clare know that Marcus is “home”, but his memory is affected. This devastates Clare as it is Marcus who can help her fend off the Langes. However, Clare is given a reprieve and hired as Marcus’ nurse.

 

But, she has to contend with his “fake” fiancée, Natalya. And, Natalya has her own motives when it comes to Marcus.

 

Marcus is taken to his grandfather’s place – which has a special meaning for him and Clare. Once adoring of Daisy, Marcus is now uncomfortable with the girl. Clare wants Marcus to get his memory back to help her, unwilling to take a chance on the Langes.

 

The plot becomes more sinister as Natalya plays up her “fiancée” role. Jack is wondering how far Natalya is going to go with the ruse, and to what end. What is she hoping to gain?

 

As Marcus heals, he becomes closer to Clare, but realizes Natalya is his “fiancée”, though he doesn’t feel towards her as he should. Fanny, Marcus’ sister, sees the difference in her brother when he’s with the different women.

 

Clare gets an opportunity to avoid losing her daughter when Stephen (her child’s uncle) comes to see her and offers marriage. Though she doesn’t love him that way, it will ensure she doesn’t lose her child.

 

With Marcus’ memory in question, Clare has no other choice but to marry Stephen. But, Fanny has knowledge of something – and, it involves Stephen and Natalya. She takes that information to her grandfather who is quite interested. But, Fanny isn’t content to rest until she knows the truth and sees it acted upon, especially when she finds Marcus’ trinkets about Clare.

 

It isn’t long until Marcus regains his memory, and also learns the truth about a deception. He now has to find the person, figure out the why, save his sister, and stop Clare from making a horrible decision that will affect her life – forever.  

 

In Love’s Time is full of intrigue, suspense, and duplicity while pulling on the heartstrings that kept my attention from the first page to the last one. Just as I thought I had everything figured out – there was more thrown in to keep it interesting.

 

I honestly didn’t want to put this down for any length of time. The “one more chapter” until I put it down goal was hampered by short chapters which did keep the story flowing without bogging it down, and at times made it IMPOSSIBLE to put the book down.

 

What was interesting about this story was my like and dislike. It was Natalya. I couldn’t stand her from the beginning, yet her motives and the suspense/intrigue around her actions kept me reading. While she was the worst part of the story, she was also the best part of it. This went from a historical fiction to romance to suspense before I realized what was happening.

 

It was interesting to see how Breslin connected the characters. Two of them? I did not see that coming. And, it was those connections that kept me reading as well.

 

As it is distributed by Bethany House, a primarily Christmas imprint, there will be some expressions and practices of the Christian faith. These are not overwhelming or preachy.

 

Those who enjoy WWI fiction or are fans of the author – you won’t want to miss this read. I am eagerly awaiting what Breslin has planned next.

 

 

 

 

RATING:

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html; update: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former bookseller-turned-author, Kate Breslin enjoys life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and family. She is a Carol Award winner and a RITA and Christy Award finalist who loves reading, hiking, and traveling. New destinations make for fresh story ideas. To learn more, visit her website at www.katebreslin.com.

 

She can be found on the following social media networks:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateBreslinAuthor

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatebreslin/  

 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ Kate_Breslin  

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