*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Five Star Read

Wow, wow, wow, wooooowww. Where do I begin for this book? I'll start by saying that I do not typically read romance/historical fiction/regency type books. I wanted to begin expanding what it is I read, so I gave this book a shot. And man, it did not disappoint.

I'm a sucker for romance in fantasy books because of the build-up there typically is. Amanda Taylor delivered a graciously paced romance between an estranged husband and wife. James has been out at sea for the last 5 years for the British Navy. Upon the death of his eldest brother, James is relinquished from his Captain's duties to return to his manor and take over the title of Viscount.

Sarah, James' wife, is eagerly awaiting his return only to become heartbroken that he is distant from her and no longer seems interested in a wife. After an atrocious incident at a welcoming party for James, Sarah makes the decision to spend a season in London away from her husband. All the while, James is just unsure how to adjust to the role of head of household and husband as he strays towards darkness from the capture of his closest friend, Patrick, from his ship crew and childhood.

We go through this emotional journey from both Sarah and James' perspectives as James attempts to court his wife in order to win and earn her love and respect back. During this courting, James acquires news of Patrick's potential whereabouts, and he steals away to France in the middle of the night, leaving Sarah only a letter of farewell. Sarah bravely decides to follow her husband in his egregious attempt at saving his friend. It honestly felt like you went through all of the emotions along these two as they learned to navigate life, new changes and heartache.

I was not expecting this story to turn from a romance, courting type book into an adventure! I was left speechless the remainder of the book and couldn't stop reading, I just had to get to the end! I truly fell in love with the storytelling of this book. I'm looking forward to book two!

"An Uncharted Devotion" is a historical set in 1810 in England and France. James is completely self-centered. He admitted that he never considered how his actions made Sarah feel (and he didn't start doing so, either). He married her right before joining the navy and quickly forgot about her. The story never was a choice between her and the best friend as he always put the best friend first. He's forced to leave his beloved navy and return home, but he felt guilty that his best friend was captured by the French and focused on trying to locate his friend. Sarah warmly greeted him home, and he rejected her. When he realized her friends treasured her, he alienated her friends to make her as miserable as he was. The first half of the book was him being a total jerk and making no effort to fix things.

The next 20% of the book was his effort to court Sarah after enough people told him to go apologize. However, he then learned that a French big-wig might know where his friend was, so he wrote a vague goodbye note to his wife and ran off by himself on a suicide mission. The last 30% of the book was Sarah and her friends risking their lives to find him and rescue his friend. While Sarah and her friends were likable, James wasn't.

Some historical details were wrong (like about the navy) or improbable (like how easily they traveled to Paris during a time of war). Others things were simply unrealistic: James found a walled, gated private garden in London and not only had a picnic there (no indication of asking permission) but later impulsively took a bunch of flowers. Though James started as a midshipman, he became captain of his own ship in less than 5 years, which should indicate extraordinary leadership skills. Instead, he's impulsive and unable to plan. It was Sarah's friend who planned out how to achieve James' goals. James didn't even realize he hadn't been given a role (vote of no confidence) until everyone else was doing theirs. There was no sex or bad language.

The beginning was really good and pulled me in. It’s interesting to have them start off so in love and that made me wonder how it would all fall apart. Thanks to Covenant and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love second chance/reconciliation romances and this one was so sweet. I loved Sarah and her love and devotion for her husband but also for taking a stand to put her own happiness first when James doesn't. I do wish there had been a little more grovelling and our Hero had put in the same amount of effort into saving his marriage as to saving his friend.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5432391615

I liked this debut novel from Amanda Taylor. It’s not often that regency books delve into this trope of estranged marriages and finding a second chance at love and happiness, so it was a refreshing change to read something a little different.

I love the authors writing and the character’s development throughout the story. Pacing was a little slow to begin with, but it picks up. Overall I enjoyed it, but probably won’t pick it up again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communication for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The first book of Amanda Taylor. I love the plot and also the characters. I enjoyed the development and even how the author introduced other characters. Although I would have liked to have more backstories of the couple, I guess it would make the story too long. It was attraction first for the couple, which is why they married. They didn't have a deep connection at the beginning, which might be why he finds it difficult to reconnect with his wife when the hero returns, which is understandable. I appreciate how the author tries to give us a sense of realism of a married couple who eventually drifts apart and tries to find their footing again. I would love to read more of her books in the future. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

3.5 stars
Wow, this was definitely an interesting book. An Uncharted Devotion is written by Amanda Taylor. I did have a harder time getting into the story but once I really started it, I was drawn into it.
Sarah and James had a lot to work through. They were married but James’ years at sea had created a gap between them that seemed impossible to fill. I felt for both characters as they tried to figure out how to live again. However there were many times when I was frustrated with both Sarah and James. They both had much growing to do.
Sarah was a sweet character. However, she had to learn to stand up for herself and to fight for what she wanted. James’ absence had been hard on her and harder yet when he seemed to return a different man. James was more complicated, he was coming home from sea a different man. He had many secrets and demons that held him captive. James had to learn to let Sarah in and how to let go of his past.
This was definitely a great debut novel. I am excited to see what will come next in the series. This book was engaging although it had more of a slower start. I would recommend it for those who enjoy regency romances with some adventure. An Uncharted Devotion is a clean regency romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

"An Uncharted Devotion" was a sweet Regency romance that I enjoyed.

Following a whirlwind courtship, the young and beautiful Sarah maries James Turner before he departs for war. When he returns, five years later, after the death of his brother, everything have changed. James, now Lord Whitfield, is haunted by war and the disappearance of his friend Patrick, and has closed himself off from everyone and everything.

Weeks pass with little progress, and Sarah is ready forward with her life—she cannot let her husband rob her of her happiness, she needs space to find herself again. She decides to move to London to stay with friends, a decision that slowly helps her heal. When James appears on her doorstep, ready to mend their broken relationship, will they manage to find their happily ever after?

I liked the characters, they had depth and both show a real evolution along the book. Their romance was fine, although I wished they talked more about their feelings and sturggles together. The secondary characters were also to be commended, and I do wonder if we'll get to read some of their stories later on? One can hope so!

The plot was fine, but I find the second part of the book a little rushed. I did love that the book took us to an unexpected "second place" (I won't say which one to avoid spoiling it). Regency romances rarely take place in this specific setting so I found it very interesting and would have liked to see more of it.

*I received an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion*

When Sarah Whitfield marries her sweetheart Lord James Whitfield, it seems like they are set for a fairy-tale romance. But when James leaves with the Navy for five years, can their love withstand the time and space? After five years passes and Sarah and James are reunited, they realize it will take more to mend their hearts than they thought.

In Amanda Taylor’s debut novel, I thought she did a very good job building the character complexities that time and space developed between her two characters. I could really feel Sarah’s pain and her hope to reconcile with her estranged husband.

Altogether I felt this was very good for a first novel and I really hope to see more books by Amanda Taylor in the future.

What do you do when the man you love returns to you after years of war and he is a stranger to you? How do you reach him? Can he be reached? James returns home from war and his heart is in trying to retrieve a lifelong friend from a foreign prison. Will his marriage survive?

This was a good story; I was not sure if it would have a happy ending. I look forward to reading more from this author.

An Uncharted Devotion by Amanda Taylor begins with a lovely wedding between a besotted James Turner and his beautiful bride Sarah. Five years later, James returns home after his time in the Navy comes to an abrupt end. There haven’t been many visits over their years apart, and James has changed a lot over that time. He’s closed himself off from everyone and Sarah is left confused and discouraged.

This story was different from most regency romances I’ve read. It’s a second chance love story for a married couple, with some added political intrigue. As always, I love when friends rally to help each other. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author.

Thank you @netgalley and @covenantcommunications and @authoramadataylor for the review copy. Release date: June 5

Loved this story! So many romance novels are about how they get together. This one was a recovery of a relationship and marriage and how to start over. Great story and I really enjoyed it. I can not wait until the next novel in the series comes out!

I just reviewed An Uncharted Devotion by Amanda Taylor. #AnUnchartedDevotion #NetGalley

I throughly enjoyed this story! I loved that the story of about a rediscovered love.

Five long years ago, Sarah Whitfield, married the love of her life, James, who was the second son and a navy man. Shortly after their wedding, he leaves to serve in the navy. During his time away, Sarah faithfully awaits his return and navigates her new role as Lady Whitfield, after the untimely death of James' older brother.

But the reunion she imagined is not what happens. James returns cold and distant, haunted by the experiences of the war. Can Sarah and Jame rediscover their love for each other?

I highly recommend this book!

AN UNCHARTED DEVOTION by AMANDA TAYLOR is a most enjoyable historical romance novel which starts in 1805 with the marriage of Sarah to Lieutenant James Turner, and carries on in 1810 when James returns from the war against France to take up his deceased brither’s title of Lord Whitfield. He is no longer the loving young man that Sarah married, in fact he is rude and unkind, affected by the horrors of war and the capture of his best friend. In fact he feels that “War and violence were like a disease that robbed people of their humanity.” ……..
I like the fact that the story deals with the very real problems that this couple face, which adds depth to the novel. There is also suspense and adventure against the background of the Napoeonic wars. The author has obviously done a great deal of research.
I highly recommend the read to anyonevwho enjoys this genre.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Covenant Communications. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Amanda Taylor is a new author to me but did a great job. She helps the reader understand just how brutal war can be on someone’s mental and emotional well being. And that they often don’t come back the same person. I really enjoyed the book and the raw emotions you could feel and well as the twists and turns. Well done!

Amanda Taylor's debut novel "An Uncharted Devotion" is a somber tale of a married couple finding happiness after years apart. This duo epitomizes the expression "marry in haste, repent at leisure", as their reconciliation is not at all believable.

Lovely heroine Sarah, who wistfully stares out the window, is sweet and compassionate. Husband James, on the other hand, is rude and insensitive, with a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder. Yes, war is horrific, guilt is commonplace, yet James acts as if his, and only his, feelings are important. I never warmed up to him, and his epiphany is not the least believable. The reader should root for the estranged couple to reconcile and live happily ever after. However, THIS reader found Sarah and James to be horribly mismatched. A more detailed backstory would have helped explain their earlier tender feelings.

Taylor's writing style is enjoyable and this book is clean. Due to the unlikable male main character (he's no hero) I can't say I loved this story. However, Amanda Taylor is a promising new author and I will read more of her works.

Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an ARC of this tale.

Right out the gate this starts with the lovely, joyous wedding of our bright-eyed couple. We know this is a marriage in trouble/ second chance (which I lurrv), so it’s like “Oh man, this is going to hurt so good”. I was ready for some great “You’re not the man I married” angst.

But this just turned into an example of how hard this trope is to pull off successfully. I wanted to push through just to see if our mess of a grieving, overwhelmed Navy officer turned viscount would grovel good. But I made it to 30%, before my “I have too many books to read” philosophy won over and had me calling it a day on this one.

I understand some things needs be revealed in due time and being jarred by James’s changes as much as Sarah has its necessary effect, but I feel we needed better set up here. I’m on Team Internal Conflict Romance, but even I wanted a smidgeon of external nudge here to maybe help explain why oh why were five years of military service permitted to cause such a wedge between them and why does he now so stubbornly push her away. We have the third person dual POV but don’t really get much well founded insight, so, though I love a broody, burdened hero acting like a blockheaded, unfair jerk, I could not latch on to his characterization or move on from wanting to unsympathetically shake him. Hence he just came off more hot and cold mopy and insecure than anything, and I’m definitely not here for that.

Which was my main hero-centric gripe, but then add to that how we get no individual motivation, interests or competence from lovely, one-sidedly devoted Sarah. Five years of radio silence in an estranged marriage, what did she do with herself? Longingly staring out windows doesn’t count.

No complaints from the writing itself, we just need solid, solid set up and characterization to pull off some angsty internal conflict that can really grab one, and I didn’t feel we got it here.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC.

This book caught me off guard! I’m glad that I read it and wish I could read it again for the first time. It was unexpected and still happy all at the same time.

This story was interesting. Definitely not what I expected!

James and Sarah meet and fall in love. Knowing he’ll be headed off to war soon, they quickly marry.
Then he leaves for war. For five years.

James returns with a lot of damage and needs some major healing. He pushes his wife away and, in an attempt to make herself happy she leaves to London.

There are some other subplots that are interesting. But the majority of this story is how to bring a husband and wife back together and heal.

A new kind of regency read than I’ve ever read before! But still sweet and with good moral lessons.

This was a nice story about a wounded solider finding his way after war. It had some history of the Napoleonic war, It had some nice moments. Overall I found the story a bit sad and slow. Not much happens. He is withdrawn and cold and she is sad and lonely. It just didn't work for me. They story was ok but there just wasn't the emotion I needed to invest in the characters and care.