A Song Unheard | FLF

Finally! It has been a long time since I have anticipated a book coming in my mail as much as I anticipated A Song Unheard. Especially as it seemed like ALL of my Facebook, Instagram, and Blogger friends had it in and were devouring it. 

I may or may not have been extra-excited to stage my own picture, because honestly, this cover is so gorgeous! And it's music. Okay... I'll get on with my review.

But first... the first line!

The music seeped into her soul like fog over the Thames.

I mean, a first line like that!!!
Okay, I said I was getting to my review. Warning: the rave continues. I tried to be cohesive. It just didn't quite come out that way. My apologies (not really).

My Review

There were so many aspects of this book that I loved. The thief family (yeah, I do like them even though they’re unlawful…the family aspect is wonderfully sweet!). The music (oh my, the music! Yeah, the music really sold me on this book.) The WWI era. The characters. The math. I think this just may be my favorite of Roseanna’s books (maybe it’s the music… it just may be the music…). Okay, now for cohesiveness. Willa was me written all over the pages. She’s a violinist, very confident, not so much into the romance, doesn’t appreciate change, etc. She wasn’t all me, though, because she starts out in the book pretty much doubting God’s existence—which was a fun journey to read. I am always interested to know how Christian authors will lead their main characters into salvation. Willa’s story was a powerful one, with a clear gospel message. Lukas was a very good character, as far as character development goes. At the start of the book, he wasn’t especially a moral character (references to him thinking nothing of lovely ladies slipping him their room key—though I will note that that was pretty much the extent given, no details added). But he had a very clear turning point. And Margot! I loved pretty much every portion of Margot’s POV. Her mathematical mind was crazy but super interesting. And the German officer in her story…I’ll not give spoilers, but there are times when I like my assumptions to be correct, and his story was one instance of that. The music. I just have to make a mention of the music. Because, obviously, this book was very much into the musical side (have I mentioned that already?). I really liked how Roseanna wove music into many of the pages of this story. Being a musician, I’m always a little wary about music in books—I don’t see it often, and sometimes when I do, it doesn’t feel real. But I applaud Roseanna on her inclusion of musical phraseology and expression. It added such a deep richness to this story! At the same time, it made the various characters really stand out, because I noticed their various personalities reflected in how they viewed life (Margot with mathematics, Lukas and Willa with music). The writer in me loved this story. Romance was in this book, for sure. Usually, Roseanna has a lot more romance than I particularly care for. This book was not over-the-top for me. Like I already mentioned, Lukas’ former loose morals are mentioned and there are a few allusions to immoral activity, but it was very minimal compared to Roseanna’s other books. As always, there was a strong spiritual thread through this book and a clear Gospel message. Some people may fault that not all of the Christians were not evangelical (there were priests and mass as well as Methodist), but Roseanna seemed to make it a point to bring out the salvation message according to the Bible, which I definitely cannot fault her for. Sometimes, Roseanna’s books are a little dark with the lack of good morality of her characters (which gives it a very real-world sense, it’s just a little dark for me). I finished this book and realized that I didn’t notice that same timbre running through the story—which, for me, is a definite plus. I’m going to give this a 5 star review and am holding my breath until Barclay’s story. After this book, he so needs his own story! *I received this book from Bethany House and happily provided my honest review*

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