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In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the courage he lost on the battlefield. Colin is stunned, however, to discover the message came from Jewel's half sister, Johanna. Johanna, who works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence, found Jewel's diary and believes her sister is alive in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them. When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot, danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives.… (more)
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Deceit is
I loved that we are reminded of this period of trial by true things that were happening, including the use of carrier pigeons. Also, the flu that was rampant during this time, and using the illness to one’s advantage!
A little sweet romance is offered, and in the beginning our main character Colin, we aren’t sure whom he is interested in, and in the end, can anything work out once secrets are revealed.
When all is done, and the last page is turned, a sense of loss was felt!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.
The year is 1918 and Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel, the woman who saved his life in France. She needed help and she knew that she could trust him. He had believed that she was dead so was anxious to go to Paris as requested to help her out. Not only had she saved his life but they developed feelings for each other while she was hiding him from the enemy. He was upset when he got to Paris and the person who met him was not Jewel but instead her sister Johanna. She had found Jewel's diary in the wreckage of her house and after reading about Colin in the diary, she knew that he would help her find her sister and their father. She had knowledge that her sister was being held captive by a German soldier and needed help to escape. As their search starts out, they are surrounded by spies from both sides and have no idea who to trust and who could harm them. As they travel from France to Spain, they get even further into a deadly case of espionage that could cause their deaths and they realize that they can only trust each other.
This book has it all -- a sweeping view of WWI and it's effects on France, the beauty of Spain, spies and counter spies but most importantly it has love and the firm belief that God will help the couple survive and be successful in their quest.
I really enjoyed this novel and hope to see these characters again in a future novel by Kate Breslin.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
What an adventure! Kate Breslin’s writing, as always, is flawless but this story steps it up a notch by adding quite a bit of mystery and intrigue as spies infiltrate Europe during WWI. The plot
There is a book that comes before this one called Not By Sight but I did not read it before reading this book. Far Side of the Sea can be read as a stand-alone and I don’t think I missed anything though Grace (Colin’s twin) and her fiancé from the first book do play minor roles in this story.
Colin is a swoon-worthy hero who is loyal, faithful, kind and tender-hearted though he’s emotionally and physically wounded and scarred from serving in the front line during the war. He’s definitely flawed, with his easily stoked temper and constant sense of insecurity, but his courage and bravery to do the right thing win the day. Johanna is a young woman with a troubled and tragic past who is only looking for love and acceptance from a father and sister she never knew. Though somewhat unconventional for her time, Jo is straight-forward, fun, loving and fiercely loyal to those whom she loves. Their romance, courage, and faith blossom as they work together in the midst of treachery and deception and espionage to find Jo’s long-lost father.
For historical fiction and historical romance aficionados, this book is one of the top reads of 2019!
I received a copy of the book from Bethany House and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
“Far Side of the Sea” exceeds all of Breslin’s previous books for its excitement and complexities. Although it can serve as a standalone, readers will benefit from reading “Not By Sight” first, as “Far Side of the Sea” is a sequel of sorts and will spoil who ends up with whom. Picking up “Far Side of the Sea” is like stepping into 1918 England in the midst of World War I. The story takes place apart from the actual conflict, yet the battle exists as a haunting echo throughout the narrative. War hero Colin Mabry answers the beckoning of Jewel, the girl he left behind a year ago, only to find that the woman who contacted him is her sister, Johanna, who believes that Jewel is being held against her will by a German agent. In spite of his suspicions, he heeds the call of his conscience, and in so doing falls down the rabbit hole of espionage and tenuous alliances on a cross-country mission.
Aside from having read “Not By Sight” when it released, I went into “Far Side of the Sea” knowing only that it was Colin’s story. I purposely did not read the summary beforehand because I did not want to ruin any surprises. And were there ever surprises! You know that the author is doing a fantastic job with her characters when you do not know whom to trust and when they continually turn your perceptions upside down. The plot is impressively intricate, with layer upon layer of intrigue right up to the last. Yet within all of the espionage is a tender love story and a budding faith, heartwarming moments amidst the realities of war. Also, some thought-provoking historical tidbits pepper the narrative. It never occurred to me that carrier pigeons only fly one way, and I did not know that a facsimile of Paris was constructed to divert German Gotha bombers. Colin’s struggle with the aftereffects of shell shock, now known as PTSD, and the role that this plays in the story is both heartwrenching and captivating and is handled gracefully. Much of what makes “Far Side of the Sea” so compelling is that it opens the door to the world a century ago and shows us that it is not so very removed from our world today. We still grapple with our own personal fears, but when we find and strengthen our faith in the One who made us and loves us, we realize that nothing can separate us from Him, not even if we find ourselves on the far side of the sea.
The two main characters, Colin and Johanna, struggle with the circumstances life has handed them. Colin’s war wounds are both physical and emotional, and Johanna’s past impacts her present identity. I loved how the two together learned to face their demons, as they banded together to search for Johanna’s sister and father. Their romance begins tentatively, yet strengthens as they face adversity. The historical setting is very interesting, and I found myself saying I didn’t know that! over and over. This book sent me to Google for info on carrier pigeons and Mata Hari, two fascinating rabbit trails. The book certainly made me want to broaden my scant knowledge of WWI. The book started somewhat slowly for me, but as Colin and Johanna’s search heated up, so did my reading pace. I found myself unwilling to put the book down until I found out just what was going on. As you can guess with a book heavily populated with spies there was plenty of mystery and intrigue woven throughout. Faith is also an important part of the characters’ lives and growth and was presented naturally.
Far Side of The Sea is a good choice for fans of historical romance. And if you like an adventure fraught with danger, you’ll enjoy this novel even more.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
This book has intrigue and romance. The characters do not know who to trust as they journey.
This is a wonderful book. I give it a high recommendation. It is Christian fiction. I found it to be clean with kissing, and non-descriptive violence.