An Hour Unspent

De: Roseanna M. White

Narrado por: Liz Pearce

Once London's top thief, Barclay Pearce has turned his back on his life of crime and now uses his skills for a nation at war. But not until he rescues a clockmaker's daughter from a mugging does he begin to wonder what his future might hold.

Evelina Manning has constantly fought for independence, but she certainly never meant for it to inspire her fiance to end the engagement and enlist in the army. When the intriguing man who saved her returns to the Manning residence to study clockwork repair with her father, she can't help being interested.

But she soon learns that nothing with Barclay Pearce is as simple as it seems. As 1915 England plunges ever deeper into war, the work of an ingenious clockmaker may give England an unbeatable military edge - and Germany realizes it as well. Evelina's father soon finds his whole family in danger - and it may just take a reformed thief to steal the time they need to escape.

©2018 Roseanna M. White (P)2018 Recorded Books

Hours Listening, Well Spent

Absolutely LOVED it! Roseanna White has created an adventure filled masterpiece! Mystery, intrigue, war and a wonderful family. One of my favorite paragraphs; "But family isn't blood-you know that. It should be, but it isn't, not always. Family is choice. Love."
These words touch my heart in ways I cannot express. There is a message of faith, new faith for Barclay, learning to trust in something other than the street smarts he learned as a means to survive. I loved seeing this and the example he sets for the family.
Barclay meets, Evelina Manning saving her from a mugging. No spoilers from me. You must listen to or read their story yourself. I've done both.(Read the paperback and listened to the Audible version.)
The narrator is, once again, fantastic! I'm so glad the same person was used for the series.
I highly recommend this book!

Excellent!

Roseanna White never disappoints. Wonderful characters and lively dialogue. I can’t wait to start another one!

Well written and well researched, but…

I thought this but was really well written and well researched, but I just didn’t love the heroine in this one. I felt like the first 2 books in this series were really well done and I was excited to hear Barclays story, I just didn’t connect with the heroine.

Pros:
Roseanne White does a great job character building and pulling a reader into a story. She opens up facets of history that I’m not as familiar with. The way she writes about the setting gets me wanting to visit and learn more. Barclay is likeable and the side characters have distinct enough personalities that you don’t forget about them. (In fact, I’d love to read more stories about the siblings in this story.)
Cons:
It could just be me, but I didn’t love Evalina. While I’m all for flawed characters, I just didn’t feel like her prejudice against Barclay having been a thief warranted her intense reaction. Like, he TOLD her right at the beginning that he’d grown up a thief and that he’d just stolen gas for the admiralty. I understand that she assumed he’d been a thief as a child and that their needed to be a conflict, but this felt forced. And then the 180 she does at the end just didn’t feel natural. She was SO stubborn. Like, “A woman is MORE than capable of doing what a man does” but also “I’m going to run back toward enemy lines even though I’m risking my life and the lives of everyone who JUST risked their lives trying to save my dad after I threw a royal tantrum about making sure you took me along.” It felt like she was SUPPOSED to be tough, but she her stubbornness and toughness never actually seemed to help. I dunno, maybe I just missed something.

Anyway, no hate, just my humble opinion. The book is definitely worth reading for the sake of the story (which IS well written) and to see what happens to Barclay. Plus all of Roseanna Whites books seem to have interconnected characters, so it’s nice to know who’s who.

PS The narrator does a great job.

Excellence!

I really enjoyed this 3 book series! The characters in all three books are delightful and it is exciting to see how God touches each of their lives in each of their stories. I love how she introduces a character and expands on their stories in each of the three books. I also know that we see these characters in some of her other books also taking place during wartime London in WW1. Bravo!!

Up close view of those affected by war

Very exciting story and great heartwarming account of orphan children caught up in the tough times. I’d love to believe there were people who stepped up to care for them. Narration very well done and I gave a five rating because that was the highest I could go. Recommend to anyone.

A Perfect Ending to the Series

What a wonderful ending to the story of this family! Pit what about Lucy’s story, or Eleanor’s, or Georgie’s? More stories are needed!

Perfect timing! :o)

The last is the best!! This 3 rd story had me in tears so many times. I loved the first story about Rosemary. But Barclay’s story was filled with so many heart touching moments and themes. His storyline the sweetest. How he willingly fathered orphans and was the best kind of thief - stealing hearts through loving the unloveable. Braving the decisions that accompany moving from a life of theft and survival to a new life directed by faith and submission to God’s command “to steal no more but work with your hands to do what is good.”

Rosanna White, although penning similar romantic storylines in the three books, kept this installment so fresh and filled with twists and turns and details that I could not stop listening until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed all the historical elements woven adeptly into Barclay’s story. Especially the end. I figured Barclay would ultimately accomplish his sister’s challenge to “steal time”; however, the way it came about is THE PERFECT detail.

I read another review that said the listener couldn’t finish the book because of Evelina’s snobbish personality. But to borrow a line from the English characters in White’s three stories… “Don’t be an idiot!” Haha. Keep your thoughts on the deeper themes in this book, and enjoy the character development! It’s totally worth it!

Finally, this book is one of my top favorites in the genre of historical fiction. There is so much to love about it. Redemption. Love in action. Family. Change. Hope. Witticism.

Also, let me add on that the narrator did a superb job voicing a variety of dialects and accents. She definitely brought the story to life.

Absolutely wonderful!

I laughed, cried and grimaced. This book has it all! Each novel keeps getting better.

A Masterpiece

I absolutely loved this series. The characters, themes, mystery, and history were absolutely delightful. A story to get lost in that leaves you uplifted.

Excellent, Entertain and Enlightening

Do you know when Daylight Saving Time started? Have you heard the first two books in the series? Do you know how important a good narrator is to an author? The writing is excellent, the characters such fun and this war time Europe plot does give knowledge—historical and spiritual .