Lilian Blackwell spends her days volunteering in Charing Cross Hospital … at least, that’s what her mother thinks. She actually spends her afternoons in the basement of the Admiralty building, retouching and manipulating photographs to be used in the war effort. Propaganda—something Lily and her mother have opposing views on.

Cryptographer Zivon Marin escapes Russia in the fourth year of World War I, escaping the rise of the Bolsheviks … and the murder of his fiance. He ends up in London, working for the British Admiralty, although he doesn’t think the British trust him, especially not after certain photographs show up.

The two meet when Lily’s father invites Marin home for dinner, and start getting to know each other. But it’s not an easy relationship, as the Admiralty aren’t sure if they can trust Marin, as it’s not clear which side of the Russian Revolution he supports. What does become clear is that he is on one side … and his brother is on the other, which places Marin in danger …

Portrait of Loyalty brings in more history than simply the backdrop of World War I, and that is a strength.

The other nod to history (which I should have seen coming) is the Spanish Flu arriving in London from Kansas via half of Europe. And that’s not pretty, particularly given what we now know about living through a pandemic. So if you’re one of the people avoiding pandemic books, you might want to wait before reading Portrait of Loyalty.

Overall, Portrait of Loyalty is another excellent installment in Roseanna M White’s Codebreaker series. The characters are people of faith, so it’s clearly Christian fiction. It has romance, suspense, and tragedy, and the writing is excellent.

A Portrait of Loyalty is yet another brilliant World War I Christian romance from Roseanna M White. Recommended! #ChristianFiction Share on X

It’s a standalone novel, so you don’t have to have read earlier books in the series to enjoy this one. However, if you have, you’ll recognise some characters. Recommended for fans of historical fiction.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Roseanna M White

Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna has a slew of historical novels available, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia.

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About A Portrait of Loyalty

Zivon Marin was one of Russia’s top cryptographers until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee to England after speaking out against Lenin, Zivon is driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits. But never far from his mind is his brother, whom Zivon fears died in the train crash that separated them.

Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and re-creating photographs. With her father’s connections in propaganda, she’s recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove if she ever found out.

After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily that soon takes over their hearts. But both have secrets they’re unwilling to share, and neither is entirely sure they can trust the other. When Zivon’s loyalties are called into question, proving him honest is about more than one couple’s future dreams–it becomes a matter of ending the war.

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