Not by Sight** follows Grace Mabry, a wealthy daughter of an Irish business man living in London in 1917.  Once Grace's brother leaves to fight in the War, Grace feels a great sense of patriotism in order to bring her brother home quickly.  In her passion, she sneaks into a masked ball to hand out white feathers to the men whom she feels need to be fighting not socializing.

Jack Benningham, the future heir of Stonebrooke, was enjoying an evening of soaking up the attentions of young pretty women at the masked ball.  He was more than pleased to be one of the few young men at the social event, since the war was in full swing.  He played into the idea that he was a rich man, who would rather enjoy the easy life instead of fighting in war.

The two are both about to pick up cards in the game of life that will change everything for them.  And the journey it leads them on is fast paced and exciting.  

Maybe it is because I've been let down by so many Christian Fiction books, but I greatly appreciated that fact that while it was clear Grace is a Christian, and many of the characters go to church and pray, this book did not push any religion on the reader.  This allowed the author to focus more on the development of the characters and their story - not on sharing a message from God in some way.

The pace of the book kept me interested.  I wanted to know what was going to happen to Jack.  Grace's naivete also allowed for some extra intrigue.  It was like I was learning about the era and life through her eyes - it was refreshing for a historical Christian fiction work.

I really enjoyed how each character realized their need for hope.  And then following them to see where they found a source for hope.

My biggest issue with this book is probably the coveting and lusting that was going on between Grace and Jack while Jack was engaged.  Engagement is too close to marriage, especially in a Christian book, to allow such behavior be a pivotal reason for the characters to get together.  There seemed to be no issue that there was so much lusting going on with the engagement characters.  I realize this is a popular character behavior, and I wouldn't have thought much about it from a book directed at secular audiences, but in this case it seemed wrong.

Also, a character is killed in this story, and it felt like the death was strictly because the author wasn't sure how to conclude her storyline any other way.  I was disappointed.  Sure it would have meant more writing and possibly a longer book, but still.

One minor issue I had, and a reason why I've been struggling to read books published from smaller publishing companies (and many Christian fiction falls victim to it) is the grammatical errors. Yes, mistakes happen.  I make them on this blog all the time.  There is just something about a published book that has so many errors that it distracts from the flow of the pace of the book.  

This is the perfect read for fans of historical fiction. It has some mystery and tons of questions.  While I did have my suspicions of what was going on, even I was surprised as the details started to come together & that doesn't happen often.

Also, for those who want to read christian fiction that is quick paced.  While this isn't the kind of Christian work that is full of scripture, it is interesting and worth a read.

Pick up this book if you are a fan of Kate Breslin.

I'm giving this book a four heart rating because I enjoyed the journey so much.  I couldn't give it a five star though because of some issues I had with the morals of the characters in a book that is for a Christian audience.  

I suggest any fan of Christian Fiction and/or historical fiction.  I would guess that women would pick this book of more often then men, but don't let that scare you away if you are a guy.  Jack, the main male lead, is an interesting character, and tells a good chunk of the story.

There are some scenes that might not be appropriate for younger readers, as there is a lot of clean romance that goes on between an engaged man and a single woman only a month before the wedding.  However, this is a clean read, and the issues are on a high moral level.