Amanda Taylor is a new author whose work I will definitely be keeping an eye on. Although there were moments in An Uncharted Devotion when I wished for more romance, I really enjoyed Taylor’s writing and the interesting blend of history and fiction. I’m really excited for more books in this series! 3.5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“You keep appearing out of nowhere like an angel sent to rescue me.” His weary smile appeared grateful, and it caused Sarah’s heart to swell.

“I have no choice. You keep needing to be rescued.”

James and Sarah only have two short weeks of marital bliss before the lieutenant is shipped out for his next assignment in the Royal Navy. Being utterly besotted with one another, the time and distance away is disheartening, but manageable. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart fonder. After five years away, James is forced to relinquish his commission as captain and return home to claim his role as unexpected heir. Sarah’s jubilation is quickly doused when the James she knew and loved comes back a cold and indifferent person.

James is a man consumed with guilt, regret, and sorrow. He lets these emotions destroy his relationship with his family and friends. Sarah is a saint, she tries for so long to comfort and help James. But her efforts are fruitless, causing her more pain emotionally than she thought possible. That is when she decides that she must love herself enough to let go. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Her leaving causes a fracture in James’s hard heart and he soon realizes his mistakes.

I loved this second chance romance between a married couple. I felt it was very realistic; a man returning home after war, his wife elated and relieved, but the realization setting in that things may never be the way they were before, that time and circumstances have altered the man into someone unrecognizable. I loved Sarah’s heart and compassion, her strength and resolve. But most of all, I admired her decision to love herself enough to step back and protect her mental and emotional health. Sometimes it takes losing someone or something to understand what you had to begin with. James didn’t know what he had until it was gone. Heeding the advice of his wise mother, he decided begins to win Sarah back by building a strong relational foundation. It is so sweet and precious to watch him court her again, trying to win her back trust and affection.

But this story is more than just a second chance at love, there is also an unexpected twist that brings danger and possibly death. This was a great debut novel. And the teaser for the next story has me very excited.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

#netgalley #amandataylor #anuncharteddevotion #regencyromance #cleanromance #historicalfiction #historicalromance

War really change James, the nightmare still haunt in the night, guilty losing his friend lingering and now he doesnt know how to face Sarah. Sarah hurt by James attitude and decide to leave him. James make effort to win back his wife even he doesnt know how to open up and bare his heart. I enjoy the story, the adventure to save James friend and James grand gesture to win Sarah.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#AnUnchartedDevotion #AmandaTaylor #CovenantCommunications #NetGalley #ARC

Wow! What a fantastic book! The setting of England in 1805 is perfect! The characters are wonderful! Sarah is my favorite. She proves herself to be strong and courageous. She endures loneliness and separation from her husband, but she perseveres and never gives up. Their love story is romantic and encouraging. James says to Sarah, " You have rescued me in more ways than I can number. You never gave up on me." A definite must read!
I was provided an ARC copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own! (less) [edit]

This was an angst-filled clean romance in which the couple works to rebuild their relationship after years of growing apart. Sarah and James reflected issues faced with spouses returning from the Napoleonic wars. After returning, James pushed his wife further and further away, finally humiliating her and causing her to leave and put some distance between the two. James doesn't immediately attempt to right his wrongs. He waits at least six weeks before going after her. While this bothered me, I did appreciate that he was willing to slowly rebuild their relationship, rather than expecting that she forgive him outright. However, when he left her with only a letter to attempt a potentially deadly mission in France, I was frustrated. Had he learned nothing?

However I felt, the author had me invested in this couple. This is a kisses only romance strongly focused on emotional intimacy and communication. I would read more by this author after reading this work.

After five years, the marriage of James and Sarah Whitfield appears to be in trouble. James has returned from war, tortured by his experiences and the loss of his oldest friend. Heartbroken, Sarah tries to reach her husband, but cannot find a way to make him understand that she still loves him. Will they find a way to rekindle their love or will they both face a life alone?

This book caught my attention because of the unique description. Second-chance romances are always enjoyable. And it was that, I suppose. But I didn’t get much of an understanding of why this pair married in the first place. I could understand both sides, and it was frustrating to see them unable to compromise to make the marriage work.

It also felt like I had been landed in the middle of a series, instead of being the first of a series. There were characters who would explain something like I should already know what had happened. Overall, I would say this one left me feeling let down. It had the potential to be a really unique story, but I have no desire to continue with the series.

I would recommend this to readers looking for a Regency story with a bit of adventure.

An Unchartered Devotion brings alive the story of James and Sara. The story brought in the beginnings of love , rebuilding love, choosing love and choosing your spouse even when it got hard . I loved that Sara realized she also needed to choose herself that she needed to pursue what’s things made her happy and only then could she support her husband in his trials .
I loved that part of the story took the reader to France and some undercover spy work . The Ramsey couple played a part in bringing Sara back to realize who she was and I really enjoyed hearing their love story. I also loved seeing the friendship between the families.
This book has many different layers and side stories besides James and Sara’s. It made me want to find out more about their friends and family.
This story discusses mental illnesses :severe depression and PTSD and how families can /should continue to love those people who battle those issues .
I enjoyed going on the journey with James and Sara on rebuilding their marriage and love and so will you.

I love stories about couples already married. This one is so good! Lady Sarah finds herself into a new class of society and is learning to navigate the new world she has been put into. I love the loyalty of her husband. This book is really sweet.

I enjoyed this sweet redemption story. I especially appreciated the extra focus on historical events and some elements of the time period that are not often included in Regency novels. This is my first book from this author but I am looking forward to reading more of her work!

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

After they are married James leaves Sarah to join the war. 5 years later he returns a different, bitter man.

A sweet read but not exactly of the 'can't put down' variety. While I enjoyed the characters I didn't really feel the love between them.

Starry eyed Sarah fell in love with her husband and is basically pining for him for the entire five years. Then we have James who states that he wrote often during the first years of his service because he missed home, then he when he adjusted he didn't write as much because he didn't need Sarah anymore. He didn't even visit her during his shore-leaves. I just don't feel any love from this end of the relationship.

#AnUnchartedDevotion #NetGalley

Sarah has awaited the arrival of her husband, James, a Naval officer who is called home after his brother's death. Sarah is expecting her husband to be attentive, but he pays her very little attention. James is focused on finding an officer who was taken prisoners he is determined to find him.

In this book the main characters, Sarah and James marry for love, but after he has been gone in the Navy for 5 years he come home a different man than he was when they married. Sarah feels like theirs is now a marriage of convenience.

James finally sees that because of his behavior and in keeping his time in the navy from Sarah that he is hurting her and that he needs to change and start talking with her.

I love the little gestures he does to get to know each other better and to show her he cares. I love how the story comes together and how they realize that they still love each other.

I loved the side characters of Lord and Lady Ramsey! They were just so cute together and Lord Ramsey reminded me a bit Philip Jonquil from Friends and Foes by Sarah M. Eden.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. All options are my own.

This book is absolutely perfection!
I love marriages tropes in book and this one, with a broken hero, a waiting and determined wife has caught my heart. I love how James has to fight for Sarah´s love again but at the same time struggling to find a way to save his prisoner friend. Its a well historical story done. Cant wait to read more about Amanda Taylor

An Uncharted Devotion was a wonderful read and a well written historical romance novel. The relationship between Sarah and James was realistic and I enjoyed reading about their journey from first falling in love to becoming distant and finally finding their devotion to each other once again.

The historical setting and the dilemma of saving James' best friend Patrick from prison definitely added to the suspense of what will happen to all the characters outside of the love story. Would recommend this book to anyone who wants a clean romance novel with a true historical backdrop, some heartbreak and at least some swoony kisses.

Sarah and James are great characters. They show that when love and marriage get hard you can still choose to find ways to make it work. I loved the renewed courtship and the resulting trust. The friends in the story are also loveable and truly good people. There is also a bit of excitement with a bit of a rescue mission. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I love romances about married couples getting to know each other after a hasty marriage or a long separation, and this couple faces both impediments. After a whirlwind courtship, naval officer James leaves for war, and when he returns five years later, the two are strangers. It's a compelling setup, with the naive young bride left at home unable to understand what her veteran husband has been through or why he's changed. Meanwhile, his inability to open up to her is only compounded by an understandable preoccupation with the fate of his best friend, last seen when he was captured by French agents.

The story and characters, then, are solid, but I struggled with the prose itself and the smaller plot beats. The former is disjointed and stilted, and it feels like the author is trying to write in a voice and style not her own. I would rather read historical fiction in a modern voice that is natural than in a falsely "authentic to the period" style over which the author doesn't have full mastery. As for the plot beats, they vary from effective-but-poorly-executed to juvenile melodrama, which makes it hard to settle into a mood or even a strong sense of who these characters are. As a film, with other cues to interpret scenes and smooth transitions, it would work well enough, but on the page, when you are privy to every thought (and I do mean EVERY thought), the inconsistencies in tone and writing stand out.

If the book interests you and you're not bothered by the issues mentioned above, I think you could have a very good time with An Uncharted Devotion, but if you enjoy a story with nuance, this likely won't be your cup of tea.

My thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic regency era story. The added navy influence adds a lot more drama, action and reasoning to the story. Well written, with excellent character development. In the beginning you really feel the neglect that Sarah feels, but at the same time you do empathize with James. It’s really about them rekindling their love that has been lost after 5 years at sea.

This is a story during the reign of Napoleon and his war with Great Britain. James is a naval captain that lost his elder brother, his best friend, and his captaincy in just a matter of weeks. As he returns home to his wife of five years, who he hasn't really seen in those 5 years, he is angry, grieving, and truly borish.

Sarah, his bride, has anticipated his return, but it did not turn out the way she expected. She instead chooses to leave and enjoy a London season with friends.

Can James rewire his life and create a life with his wife? Can news be found of his friend, imprisoned br the French?

This was a fun story, with types of Sir Percy and other helpers along the way. The characters were well developed and you hoped they could figure it out and move forward to really live.

Sarah and James are a love match who marry and live happily ever after. Not really, he leaves her behind for his naval career, five years later he returns, a hardened man, embittered with loss and guilt. I think the beginning was maybe too short for what followed, James was a complete garbage husband. He didn't cheat or abuse, but he was an entirely selfish person who thought his pain was greater than anyone else's and wallowed, hard. And that like one little moment of happiness and two people being in love was not quite enough for me to care if Sarah dumped him or not. I was like, Sarah, wash your hands of that misery. I also don't think they really knew each other very well when they married. James did grovel, and come to his sense, but not really, and continues to make poor decisions. It was easy to like Sarah and you just face palm and shake your head at James. Also, also, I was a bit annoyed at the blatant Scarlet pimpernel plot theft as a back story for two characters. I hard core love the Scarlet pimpernel, and will say, it cannot be sidelined into a back story!! (No,no,no, said in Percy Blakeney's voice.) I mostly jest there. At around the 70% mark, the book turns into an espionage, adventure story, which I'm not sure entirely made sense, but let's roll with it. This is a lot of book. Like it almost didn't know quite what it wanted to be, it goes from sad deteriorating marital tale to rollicking rescue mission. I just went with it and not overthinking it, had a good time with it. I'd read more from this author in the future, I'd be interested in seeing how Alice fares. Good stuff. Side note for anyone who has yet to do so, read The Scarlet Pimpernel. I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review

3.5 stars

James finally returns home to his wife after 5 long years of war. His brother has died and best friend is captured, he seems to be full of guilt and wants nothing to do with his wife. I was quite annoyed with how he treated her and wouldn’t fight for her and their marriage in the beginning. Overall, this was a sweet and clean historical regency. I look forward to more books by Amanda Taylor in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Covenant Communications for a copy of this book.