The Number of Love is a tender, heart-filled novel that surprises and engages on every level. Margot De Wilde might be one of the most fascinating characters I’ve encountered in a long while. Brilliant. Kind. Sarcastic. Uncertain. She is complex and sympathetic. As a genius, Margot decodes classified secrets during World War II. The men treat her as an equal (a refreshing change!). She has one goal. Crack as many enemy codes as she can and perhaps obtain a professorship at a prestigious university to further pursue her love of mathematics.

Margot sees everything in numbers. The stitches of a blouse. The bricks along a wall. The reader gets a glimpse of a brilliant mind always working which is both a blessing and a burden. Kudos to Roseanna M. White for creating such a believable character! Margot has no desire for marriage, but when personal loss strikes, she needs to reevaluate her carefully laid plans. Her gift is something that both isolates and challenges her. Readers will relate to Margot’s struggles to see God’s purpose in the disorder of life. Her need for logic wrestles with expressions of grief and trust.

Drake Elton, as a spy, has the intellect and the courage to match Margot’s brilliance. He sees beyond her prickly exterior and offers her a remarkable friendship. I loved the romance. This might be one of the sweetest romances built on mutual friendship and respect I’ve read this year. Well done! Especially since Margot is so young and has lost much. He never stifles her, even if her mind surpasses his.

This is a wartime novel with spies, danger, and complex villains. However, I couldn’t help but feel this novel is more about friendship, community, and dealing with deep personal loss. The friendship between Dot and Margot is precious! Two unusual women with secrets and phobias, find comfort and acceptance with each other.

My thoughts? This is an intriguing read for book clubs with room for discussions on faith, prayer, and dealing with grief. Five stars! I was given a copy by the Publisher to review. My thoughts are my own.

About the Book

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, for the first time in her life numbers aren’t enough.

Drake Elton returns wounded from the field, followed by an enemy that just won’t give up. He’s smitten quickly by the too-intelligent Margot, but how to convince a girl who lives entirely in her mind that sometimes life’s answers lie in the heart?

Amidst biological warfare, encrypted letters, and a German spy who wants to destroy not just them, but others they love, Margot and Drake will have to work together to save them all from the very secrets that brought them together.

You can purchase here.

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. She and her family make their home in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.