Are numbers her love language?

Honestly, I will read anything Roseanna White publishes, so when The Number of Love became available I was quick to snatch it up. And for not understanding one bit how numbers played a part in Margot’s life, I was delighted with the story.

Margot has a rather complex way of looking at life. Personally, I hate numbers. I was never good in math and to this day cannot keep a balanced checkbook. But the way Rosanna White depicted this character’s quirky ways made numbers more interesting. Not so interesting that I am going to take up becoming a mathematician, but interesting enough to keep my attention all the way through.

I found Margot to be a very guarded character. She has a very specific way of looking at her life as it is constructed with guidelines that she is set up for herself. As with numbers, everything has its place and time. The idea of something new happening seems to put her on edge. I will say that she has quite a cast of characters around her that love her despite how guarded she keeps her self.

There is one aspect of this character that I can relate to. When someone close to her is no longer there, the numbers that she once saw, as a warning or as confirmation that something is OK, leaves. Her ability to gauge people and events through numbers becomes difficult. I could relate to that struggle as that is how it is with music for me. Music is a constant thing running through my mind but after losing two people recently, the music is a struggle to hear. Like Margot, Praying ceases to come easily when grieving and is required to become a conscious effort. I won’t tell you if prayer returns the numbers for her but I know it returned the music for me.

The Number of Love is also has a mystery or two waiting to be solved. Being that it takes place during the great war, also known as World War I, I was intrigued with the Discovery of the various cases that the characters must solve. As a codebreaker, Margot’s job exposes her to the background workings of the Royal Navy and other military branches. While she thinks she is making a discovery in one area, something in the shadows lurks close by. It is more than just Drake’s desire to make a life with her and for her to love him in return. (I love how he gets her attention.)

** The Number of Love was provided by the publisher through CelebrateLit. This review is purely my own thoughts.

About the Book

The Toughest Puzzle She’ll Have to Solve

Might be the Wishes of Her Own Heart

Three years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network—field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack every German telegram. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages. But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, she discovers for the first time in her life that numbers aren’t enough.

Drake Elton returns wounded from the field, followed by an enemy who just won’t give up. He’s smitten quickly by the intelligent Margot, but soon the dangers of the war draw ever closer. Margot and Drake will have to work together to save themselves from the very secrets that brought them together.

About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

More from Roseanna

When I told my best friend and critique partner what book I was pitching next to my publisher, her response was something along the lines of, “That sounds awesome. Also, you’re crazy, and I do not envy you writing that one.”

I laughed…and knew exactly what she meant. Because I was setting out to write a heroine who was a mathematician—which I am definitely not. A heroine who was utterly indifferent to love and marriage—which makes for a difficult story when one writes romance. A character who had an unshakeable faith—which has to be shaken at least a bit in order to make for growth throughout the story. And more, a character who has “issues,” let’s call it, that those familiar with such things will recognize…and which those who aren’t will probably think are quirks.

I was setting out to write a story that would be challenging for me, every step of the way. And the result is a book I’m incredibly in love with and so happy to share with the world.

The Number of Love is all about Margot, who thinks and even prays in numbers. Born and raised in Belgium, she and her family fled to England in 1914 when the Germans invaded her homeland. Thanks to her remarkable abilities with numbers and patterns, she’s now employed at Room 40, the Admiralty’s secret codebreaking branch. But as I was contemplating what sort of man could ever win Margot’s heart, I knew he had to be very different… someone active where she’s still. Someone outgoing where she turns inward. Someone who sees in her what she never can, and who believes she can grasp the dreams that society tells her are unbefitting a woman. This is how Drake was born—a field agent employed by Room 40.

I can honestly say this is the only book I’ve ever written that required me to borrow my daughter’s algebra book while I was writing it, LOL. And though every single scene was a challenge, it was one I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope you’ll join me on the journey that Margot and Drake are on, which answer the question my husband cheekily asked more than once as I was writing it: what is the number of love?

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, June 17

Moments, June 17

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 17

Girls Living For God’s Glory, June 17

Back Porch Reads, June 18

The Avid Reader, June 18

Stories By Gina, June 18

janicesbookreviews, June 18

Reflections From My Bookshelves, June 19

Inspired by Fiction, June 19

Worthy2Read, June 19

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 19

As He Leads is Joy, June 20

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, June 20

Blossoms and Blessings, June 20

Real World Bible Study, June 21

Multifarious, June 21

Emily Yager, June 21

A Reader’s Brain, June 21

Bigreadersite, June 22

For the Love of Literature, June 22

Simple Harvest Reads, June 22 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

She Lives to Read, June 23

The Christian Fiction Girl, June 23

Just the Write Escape, June 23

Genesis 5020, June 24

For Him and My Family, June 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 24

Inklings and notions, June 24

Life of Literature, June 25

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, June 25

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, June 25

Texas Book-aholic, June 25

Just Your Average reviews, June 26

Blogging With Carol, June 26

The Becca Files, June 26

Splashes of Joy, June 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Roseanna is giving away a grand prize of winner’s choice of TWO signed books, Fruit and Floral Flavors Sugar Shapes, and some Roseanna M. White swag!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/de86/the-number-of-love-celebration-tour-giveaway