Line by Line by Jennifer Delamere

Line by Line by Jennifer Delamere ISBN-13: 9780764234927 Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Released: June 30th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from NetGalley:
Alice McNeil resolved at a young age to travel through life unencumbered by love or marriage, free to make her own decisions. A seasoned telegrapher, she's recently acquired a coveted position at an important trading firm, but when the company's ambitious junior director returns to London, things begin to change in ways Alice could never have imagined.

For Douglas Shaw, years of hard work and ingenuity enabled him to escape a life of grinding poverty. He's also determined to marry into high society--a step that will ensure he never returns to the conditions of his past.

He and Alice form a friendly relationship based on mutual respect, but anything deeper is not in their plans. However, when Alice accidentally raises the ire of a jealous and vindictive coworker who's intent on ruining her life, Alice and Douglas are forced to confront what is truly important in their lives. Will their growing bond give them the courage to risk finding a better way?


My Review:
Line by Line is a romance set in 1881 in England. The historical details about working a telegraph in a shipping business office dominated the story. The main characters had such bland personalities that they came across to me as mainly a way to demonstrate the technology. They're very emotionally detached from events, and the scenes all revolved around the work or the question of marriage.

There was a spinster book that gave advice on how to catch a man, and this could have been funny. Except Alice was unsettled by the advice and uncomfortable that her friends knew that she had the book. She applied some of the advice in an attempt to get along better with men but with disastrous results which distress and frustrate her. Also, despite the many reasons given to Alice for why she should marry (companionship, financial support, children, etc.), she suddenly changed her mind after one very passionate kiss. So, she wants to get married because she likes kissing? Not a very good reason. It turned out the main reason she wanted to be a spinster was because she enjoyed working the telegraph so much.

Happily, Douglas was very supportive of her having a job, including jobs not normally open to women. He was friends with her and admired her. Only his ambition to secure his future by marrying a wealthy, socially-connected bride got in the way of his considering Alice as a wife. (Well, and her repeated declarations that she would be a spinster for life.) He was a very reserved, serious man who thought only about work. They were a good match and had similar interests. There was no sex or bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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