On Wings of Devotion

Epic WWI Historical Romance that will melt your heart!

OMG What an amazing story! This is the second installment for “The Codebreakers” Series and I didn’t think it could best the first book, which I truly loved, and I think it did! I don’t know still if it’s because I fell even all the more for the main characters, or if the plot had to do more with it, but I really think this book was amazing, one of my favorites!
We get a glimpse of Phillip Camden in the previous book, but well, this is HIS story, and a beautiful one at that, full of mercy, compassion and healing, brought to him mostly by the way of nurse Arabella Denler, a young woman with a sweet and determined strength and a heart of gold.
This is a story set during the First World War (which is a thing I especially liked, since most of the of the war setting stories I’ve read are during the WW2 or during the Civil War of the States) and this series dwelves into the so called “Codebreakers” mission in England to help decipher the enemies codes to aid the efforts of their country by twarting their efforts to kill and devastate, and thus help ending the nightmarish war. The Room 40 has a special part to play in this mission, and I love that these stories mix an historical part, that seems very well researched, with an intriguing part due to them being spies, and a side romance that’s sweet and deep and has an inspiring Christian message behind, that of God’s unflailing love, his infinite mercy and endless forgiveness.
Phillip has been labeled a “Black Heart” and a “monster”, the man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But little they know the baggage he carries (and the truth of the story) and the desperate need for mercy with it, that is, except for Arabella who every day watches from her work place this astonishingly good looking man come in and out of the Admiralty’s office, and is immediately attracted not only by his looks but by his guarded yet painful demeanor, because she sees an enormous vulnerability and a need for healing that tugs at her heart.
Arabella seems to be a common woman, tall and with plain and sweet but not greatly alluring looks, doomed to a loveless arranged marriage. But behind her apparent plainness, lies a beautiful heart yearning to love and be loved, always ready to give and be kind, to sacrifice for others, that Camden soon will discover, as their paths entwine together and circumstances grow in him the desire to be her protector. Arabella soon awakens in him a new desire to live and to love and be loved that he never knew he had. She’s like the light in his dark tunnel, and he can’t seem to keep away from her. But the threats he constantly receives make his life dangerous, and he would never put another life in danger, lest the woman he’s utterly and helplessly falling for... Will he have to make the biggest sacrifice of letting her go, in order to keep her safe, now that he discovered what living in the light might truly be?
This is my favorite quote of Ara, Phillips’s description: “She gave so freely. Out of her plenty, yes—but not just that. She gave of her heart, of her soul. She gave in her loneliness and she gave in her friendships and she gave in her hurt and her pain. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. That verse was Ara”...
This was an epic story of love, loss and redemption. I liked how Roseanna weaves the faith element with such grace and naturality, without it feeling forced. I love her writing style. Through Arabella’s humbling love of God and others, Phillip will discover how God has never been far from Him, and how He can make good come out of evil, and something worthy be learned from his mistakes. It will be God’s unflailing love that will ultimately touch his heart and make him forgive himself and ask and be granted forgiveness, and Arabella will play a beautiful part in it.
The plot has also a great pace, it never drags, on the contrary, I had a lot of trouble putting it down! The main characters just melted my heart and I found myself rooting for their well deserved happily ever after.
I loved that this story has a lot of humorous parts (I just loved their first encounter!) and the dialogues were fascinating, witty at times, deep and sweet at others.
The romance was so endearing! I loved Phillip’s sweet devotion to her, and how he fell for her beautiful heart, not her looks, a heart that made her beautiful outside too. I also loved that it was sweet and clean.
This is an amazing and totally inspiring story I truly recommend! Your heart will fill up with it and it will leave you wishing to be a better person and love God more and trust his wisdom and unconditional love for each one of us. I really can’t praise this book enough!
I can’t wait for he next (and final?) installment! This story can be perfectly read as a standalone, but I recommend to read it in order if you can. I loved the appearance of cameos throughout the book! Love to follow the rest of the characters!