It has been a little while (ahem…a long while…) since I posted a book review on my blog. I am hoping this is the first of many. Many thanks to NetGalley and Pepper Basham for this opportunity to get back to reviews!

Earlier this year I read Pepper Basham’s book, Sense and Suitability. I loved it and could not wait to read more of her novels! I took a chance on The Bachelor Spy as it is the 5^th novel in a series which I have not previously read. I have never intentionally started this far into a series, but the other 4 books were all checked out at our library so I dove in with gusto!

We find ourselves right in the midst of WWI England. Lady Grace Astley is missing her husband who is serving on the war front and her manor home has been turned into a convalescent hospital for the combat wounded. War intrigue abounds, as well as many humorous situations with Lady Astley and her adopted daughter along with a mischievous cat.

I loved how the author gave us insight into the heart-wrenching reality of war-time separations as well as confronted the physical and emotional battle wounds honestly, but not graphicly. PTSD (Although it was not called this yet) and after-effects of chemical warfare were a sad reality for those returning home from the front. Pepper Basham does not shy away from this while also providing light in the darkness.

The gently woven faith themes are exactly how I like my Christian fiction. What the characters believe is there from the beginning, shaping each decision without feeling forced or fake. There are also a couple of characters who grow in their faith in believable way.

I like that even though the series is centered on two main characters, this novel had strong-side characters with their own unique adventure. The couples portrayed in the novel have fun, back and forth banter. While there are some physically romantic scenes, they are handled tastefully and without too much description. I am very concerned with the amount of physical romance described in modern novels today. I feel very comfortable recommending this title to those looking for “wholesome and clean” romance reading.

The mystery was a bit of a tangle, but in a good way! I was not able to guess the ending quickly and was surprised by some things as they unfolded. I like a good mystery that leaves me guessing as it is laid out before me.

If you have not read the previous titles in the Freddie and Grace mystery series, you will still be fine reading this one. There are references to the previous novels, but nothing is so profound that you feel lost as you read. In fact, reading this one first simply made me more excited to read the previous titles!

Overall I would give this a strong 5/5 stars if you are looking for a clean historical romance novel with a little romance, a little mystery, and a dose of humor on the side.

We kicked off our 2023-2024 school year with some new things this year…

The biggest change is that Rose has now graduated! Because she completed her AA degree from community college her senior year of high school, she’s entered Liberty University as a junior. She is currently enrolled full-time in online classes and is working 2, part-time jobs during the week. For three days she is as a teacher’s aid at a local school and on one day she is the site assistant at our homeschool learning center. She stays busy with all this plus clogging and a wonderful Bible study for those post-high school. She made the decision to stay home for her first year of classes to also work and is praying about next year. She is pursuing a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language.

Beth also has some new things this year as she is starting her journey at community college! She’s also a full-time student and working as part of the set-up crew for our homeschool learning center where she also is volunteering as an aid in the youngest classes. Beth dreams of training animals and is pursuing an Associates in Science degree which she plans to complete by high school graduation. In addition to those classes (Pre-calculus, Chemistry, English I and English II), she’s also working through World Literature I and Apologetics at home with me.

Grace is in her last year of middle school and I cannot believe it! She was just 2-years-old when we started our homeschooling journey. She is following much the same path as her sisters and plans to use her last two years of high school to complete an associates degree at community college. For this year she is working through the end of Hearts for Him Through Time: Revival to Revolution and will soon start Hearts for Him Through Time: Missions to Modern Marvels, both from Heart of Dakota Publishing. She’s also completing an 8th grade literature course I compiled and Algebra I from Math Essentials.

As for me, homeschooling looks SO different than it did just even 4 years ago. My girls are great about getting their work done and while they don’t love every minute of it, they rarely complain which is indeed a blessing! I can see all the ways the Lord has been gracious to us along this journey as I look back over the past 12 years. I realized I have just 5 more years to wear the label homeschool mom and I want to wear it well.

I’ve not updated much since 2020 as I took time to help my kids adjust to the many changes around them and to high school. Life is hectic in many ways, but we still take fun field trips…

Play games…

And generally just have fun hanging out as a family!

I am planning to update more regularly as the year progresses and I might even just go back and share some of what’s gone on the last few years!

When the girls were little I found blogging about our homeschooling adventures super easy! There was always something fun to talk about and share. My girls are still super fun, but the homeschooling aspect has just changed so much over the years. As of this summer I now have a senior, a sophomore, and a 7th grader. WHAT!?!?! How did that happen anyway? You know the saying that the days go slowly but the years so fast? Yeah, it’s true!

Grace, 12 years old – finishing up 6th grade
Grace is getting SO tall! The recent photo was on Easter Sunday and she’s grown another inch or so since then! She’s excited to be moving into the middle school division of our homeschool learning center for science next year. She is a busy, busy girl and enjoys board games, basketball, clogging, cooking, hanging out with friends, and generally being active!

Beth, 14 years old – finishing up 9th grade
Beth is growing in grace and beauty. She shared with me the other day that her two greatest dreams are to be a mommy and to take care of animals. She’s particularly interested in animal training, breeding, and raising goats. She recently completed driver’s ed and is waiting for her 15th birthday to be able to complete the driving portion. She loves clogging, hanging out on our friends’ farm, writing novels, reading, and hanging out with friends

Rose, 16 years old – finishing up 11th grade
This year has brought a number of major changes for Rose. After the pandemic restrictions limited availability for driver’s ed, she was able to obtain her permit a week after her 16th birthday. She got her license 6 months later after completing the 60 hours of driving. That seems like A LOT, but in the fall of 2021 she started classes at a community college 45 minutes away. 3 drives out and back a week helped rack up those driving hours! She has absolutely soared in that environment, has a 4.0 GPA, and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the National Honor Society for community colleges. She also volunteered as a teacher’s aid at our homeschool learning center with a fabulous master teacher. This has only cemented her desire to study education after high school. In addition to ALL of these things, she enjoys clogging, teaching clogging to young kids, basketball, research, and all things artistic.

Me…
So what am I doing now? I’m overseeing their education. It’s a weird season if I’m completely honest. Gone are the days where we snuggle on the couch for a reading lesson or lay out counters for mathematics. I’m finding I’m packing up a lot of my teaching materials (being saved for the future for their children at their request!) because we haven’t used them in years. My role has changed. I’m more of a facilitator of learning than direct teacher. I’m also finding our conversations of late are much deeper and about harder things. Do I miss the old days? Sometimes, but these moments are even more precious as we look and plan for the future together.

Over the last year I’ve also realized I want to refocus my blog and head towards my passion of writing. I’m making plans, but not certain what that will look like yet. I’ll still update on our life and education, but my dream of authorship has been moving forward with baby steps over the last 4-5 years and I’m ready to push forward. You can check out my author’s corner here to see what I’ve been up to in that area. You might just have read one of my articles or used some of my literature curriculum!

Until next time…