Oh goodness, you guys, this was a good one! From the first chapter, I was sucked into the world of Ocrakoke Island and the Outer Banks and the characters Roseanna has created! I’m not usually a split-time reader, but when Roseanna announced this book was coming out, I got excited because 1.) Her books are always amazing, and 2.) She said that one of the MCs was a side character from her Codebreakers series (which is my favorite series of hers so far). Happily, Roseanna didn’t disappoint with this split-time story. In fact, she blew my mind afresh with her skills!
From beginning to end, this book is filled with mystery. It gradually unravels like a ball of yarn, and you just want to keep unraveling and unraveling it so you can make sense of how the two storylines connect and how each one will turn out. Even when information about the WW1 timeline was revealed in the WW2 timeline and it seemingly gave away what was going to happen next, every time, it turned out that there were still twists and turns and secrets to uncover. It was all so cleverly and skillfully woven together!
Roseanna continues to excel at crafting unique characters. I love the cast she put together for this one–Remington Culbreth, from the Codebreakers, of course, and his tools-and-mechanics-loving Louisa, tender-hearted Evie with all her many mysteries and honor bound Sterling. Plus, you can’t forget all the lovely secondary characters like Grandma See, Grann, Garret, Celeste, the many local Ocracokers, and more.
And the CAMEOS!!!! Roseanna has been linking together all her Edwardian/WW1 era series of the last several years in fun ways, but this takes it to a whole new level. Not only is one of our heroes from a previous series, but you can spot so many beloved faces from all corners of Roseanna’s backlist. I won’t spoil the fun by telling you who you can expect to see. You’ll just have to read the book yourself and enjoy the “easter egg hunt”!
Due to the complex nature of this story, there were times early on where I was mixing up the two timelines or getting otherwise confused, but that cleared up the further I got into it. That problem could have been because I’m not used to reading split-time stories, too! All in all, it was an EXCELLENT read that I enjoyed so much, possibly one of my favorite books of Roseanna’s now. There’s so much to love–a complex plot, a large cast of lovable characters, beautiful family dynamics of both the blood and chosen variety, strong friendships, sweet romance, drama and intrigue, spys and codebreaking, a fascinating island setting–this book has it ALL!
Bravo, Roseanna! 5/5 Stars!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
