Not by Sight

Kate Breslin's newest historical novel is definitely a winner! Not By Sight gives the reader a fresh understanding of the severity of World War I on the British homefront. The severity that brings to light the devastation and losses of war--loss of limb, livelihood and often life. Breslin softens this ugliness of war with a budding romance, fraught with conflict and a little comedy, and with beautiful descriptions of the English countryside. Readers learn of the work of the Women's Forage Corps, espionage, costume balls for the Red Cross Society, tea rooms, and the inevitable bombings of cities. Grace, a naive suffragette, opens Pandora's box of heartache when she unwittingly hands a white feather of cowardice to Jack, a well-known objector to the war. Readers will be captivated at the climactic twists and turns of the far-reaching effects of that initial episode in Not By Sight. Through her various and colorful, yet realistic characters, Breslin weaves a story of friendships, faith, and forgiveness. A story where lives are restored and hearts are mended. A story of courage and sometimes, foolhardiness. A story of learning to live by faith. I received a complimentary copy of Not By Sight in exchange for an unbiased review.

Why I chose this title… Last summer I read Kate Breslin’s debut novel For Such a Time with the ladies of my Christian book club. It generated so much conversation and the story was so rich that I have anticipated the release of Not by Sight since last June. Well, it’s here–and it was worth the wait! My Thoughts For her sophomore novel, Breslin has chosen to immerse her readers into a story of romance and espionage. The year is 1917, London is in the midst of the Great War with many young men valiantly serving in the war effort. At home, women patriots are doing their part by serving in the Women’s Forage Corps and the Women’s Land Army. It’s grueling work, but they hope their service to king and country will hasten the end of the war. A few conscientious objector “conchies” remain, who refuse to heed the call to arms. For example, Jack Benningham becomes the target of Ms. Gracy Mabry, whose move to publicly shame Benningham by giving him a white feather of cowardice sets off a sequence of irreversible and life altering events. I found the character Grace to have a luminescent inner beauty which radiated into the lives of others. As I learned more about Grace, a multitude of bible verses about women living out our Christian faith came to mind such as 1 Peter 3:3-4, John 13:35, and 1 John 3:18 to list a few. Like all believers, her faith does not preclude her from making mistakes. In fact, her naiveté was both her greatest strength and an unfortunate weakness. Unlike For Such a Time, which gave readers a front row seat to wartime atrocities, this book follows the war from a much safer distance. I find that it rests more heavily on the interpersonal relationships of the characters and less on the historical intrigue that won me to the author initially. Regardless, the book possessed exquisite imagery as well as a precious cast of characters, making it delightfully entertaining selection. Not by Sight proved to be another book club worthy title by Breslin. It’s sure to stir up plenty of group conversation about friendships, forgiveness, misperceptions and betrayal. 4.5/5 stars ** I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.**

So have you read or purchased either of Kate Beslin's reads? If not you must! If you don't have Not by Sight already read or in your TBR pile, one suggestion- BUY.IT! One of the most amazing books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. What is it about? Well in order to give nothing away I'll give the posted description. "Gripping Sophomore Novel from a Rising Historical Romance Talent With Britain caught up in WWI, Jack Benningham, heir to the Earl of Stonebrooke, has declared himself a conscientious objector. Instead, he secretly works for the Crown by tracking down German spies on British soil, his wild reputation and society status serving as a foolproof cover. Blinded by patriotism and concern for her brother on the front lines, wealthy suffragette Grace Mabry will do whatever it takes to assist her country's cause. When she sneaks into a posh London masquerade ball to hand out white feathers of cowardice, she never imagines the chain of events she'll set off when she hands a feather to Jack. And neither of them could anticipate the extent of the danger and betrayal that follows them--or the faith they'll need to maintain hope." My Thoughts This book had me....took me right into another place and time. Just as Grace grew in the story, so did I. Did I mention buy this book? It's a beautifully written novel with love of country, faith in God, sadness of the evil of the world, and victory of grace and love. The ending, well *WOW*. I've always been one to write a short review because I don't want to tell you what the book says, just how it made me feel. I felt the emotions of the characters. I rejoiced in their successes. I felt sorrowful when they did. This is one if those reads where I loss sleep, and it was pure bliss to do so. For those of you who are tired of the books that are too predictable, tired of reads where the hero is drop dead gorgeous and the heroine perfect in character and beauty. READ THIS! In all honesty no words can truly describe how much I enjoyed this read or how highly I recommend it. The characters are so alive, the plot mesmerizing , and the history splendidly written. Just go find it and read it...you won't be sorry. Kate Breslin has once again produced a masterpiece of a novel. I received this book from the author for my honest opinion which I have given.

I absolutely loved this book. It is filled with a lot of marvelous characters that are extremely well developed. I love both Grace Mabry and Jack Benningham. It was a joy to uncover each and every aspect of their personalities. It was equally enjoyable to see their growth throughout the story. The progression of the story was fascinating. I was captivated by it before the end of chapter one. It had a number of great twists that caught me off guard, including a couple of major surprises near the end of it. I really enjoyed learning about the Women’s Forage Corps in England during WWI. This is a time period that I really don’t know very much about. I like learning more history in the midst of reading my fiction books. I really appreciate all the time and effort that authors such as Kate Breslin put into writing their novels to make them historically accurate. I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.