Book Club: Book Review of The Gentleman Spy

I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

An unexpected death leads to a mother pushing her son to marry quickly to secure the title with another heir. But The Gentleman Spy is not eager to let someone into his life who might compromise his important position with the royal government. So, just what is the Duke of Haverly to do? Will he find a bride that will fit into one of the neat little compartments that organize his life? Or will love truly cause problems for his occupation?

In the second book of the Serendipity & Secrets series, Erica Vetsch shares the story of Marcus Haverly, the Duke of Haverly as The Gentleman Spy. In the first book, The Lost Lieutenant, readers meet Marcus as he quickly becomes the friend of Evan Elridge, the new Earl of Whitelock. (Please read my review of The Lost Lieutenant here: Book Review) We now see that Marcus has continued to help the government even though he is no longer serving as a soldier in the war against Napoleon. He is actually spying for the government and his boss in the operation thinks that his stepping in as Duke (after the death of Marcus' father and elder brother in a tragic accident) will be beneficial for espionage. In fact, Sir Noel St. Clair thinks along the same lines as Marcus' own mother: Marcus should get married and quickly.

At the other end of this Regency Romance is Lady Charlotte, daughter of the Earl of Tiptree. Lady Charlotte's life is not easy because her father controls her life—and her mother's—very tightly. Both her parents are ready to send her off to a maiden aunt as a companion because Lady Charlotte has not gotten married yet. They see her becoming a spinster. Lady Charlotte does not wish to attend to her mean-spirited aunt but yet does not see how anyone will want to marry her. She dresses like a frump and too often speaks her mind even when she should not. Her vocal ways often cause her problems with those who are deemed important in society and by her parents.

Through a matter of interesting circumstances, Marcus and Charlotte meet and their lives seem to intertwine together whether they want them to or not. During one of the very first chance meetings, Charlotte begins falling in love with Marcus (even though she doesn't know it is him at the time). At this meeting, Marcus also begins to see how beautiful Charlotte is and—if he would admit it—begins to fall in love with her himself.

Much like in The Lost Lieutenant, marriage is quickly thrown upon the main characters through unusual circumstances. From one unexpected marriage proposal to another surprise proposal, Charlotte finds herself engaged to Marcus. The people surrounding the two newly betrothed are shocked, angered, and calculating. Marcus' mother is described as looking "as if she'd swallowed a goose egg and it had gotten stuck halfway down" (106). Luckily, Marcus did not allow Charlotte to release him from the engagement and they married. It seems like a perfect marriage if only Marcus was able to keep every part of his life in separate boxes.

My Thoughts 

I really enjoyed reading The Gentleman Spy. I found it to contain a bit less historical details than The Lost Lieutenant but was nevertheless still enjoyable as a work of historical fiction/romance. I love the descriptions of the characters and events in the book. For example, after the wedding announcement is printed in the newspaper, Marcus arrives at Charlotte's home and Vetsch writes this wonderful sentence: "Mortification heated Charlotte from her core to her fingertips, a prickle raced across her skin, and a hollow feeling opened in the pit of her stomach" (119). Before Charlotte (or Marcus) could call off the engagement, her parents had the betrothal publicly announced. What a potential scandal!

I would recommend The Gentleman Spy for those who enjoy historical fiction, Christian romance, or Regency romances. While I do not think you need to read the first book in order to enjoy The Gentleman Spy, you might want to do so before meeting Evan and Diana in this novel. And I am looking to see what adventures will be shared in the third installment in this series.

My one note is this: This book does involve prostitution and the evils that befall the women who participate in it at the hands of their callers. Both Marcus and Charlotte make it their mission to try and help these women find their way out of the awful profession. We read how both are personally connected to several women including Aunt Dolly who becomes instrumental in guiding both Marcus and Charlotte towards marriage as partners and friends.

About the Author - Erica Vetsch 

Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling and ACFW Carol Award–winning author. She is a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota with her husband, whom she claims is both her total opposite and soul mate.

What does Erica Vetsch have to say about the role of faith in the lives of Marcus and Charlotte? 

"Marcus tries to keep his faith in his “faith box.” Church on Sunday, theological discussion Sunday afternoon, but God doesn’t bleed over into his work and responsibilities . . . until Charlotte lands in his life.

Charlotte was taught at a private girls’ school where she developed her love of books, and one teacher in particular had a significant influence on Charlotte’s spiritual life. This teacher taught her that there was more to faith than church attendance and trying to be a good person. She needed to have a personal relationship with her Creator and His Son. Charlotte struggles with wondering why a God who says he gives good gifts to his children would extend that goodness to her. And she struggles with her father’s duplicity. He is pious when he’s with others, but he’s mean-spirited and a philanderer behind the scenes."

Would you like to follow Erica Vetsch on Social Media?

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Crafts: K is for Kiwi

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On a trip to the craft store in the late fall, we picked up the cutest kiwi plush. It is bright and colorful, not at all like the actual flightless bird, but our daughter fell in love with it. I must admit to falling in love with the soft plush, too.

When I was thinking about what craft to do for the letter K, I was trying to come up with something that I had not seen done. Kites and kangaroos are popular letter K crafts but why not a kiwi? It's the perfect opportunity for our children to make an adorable craft and learn more about this interesting bird from New Zealand.

Facts About Kiwis 

• Flightless 
• Loose, hair-like feathers 
• Strong, powerful legs
• No tail 
• Tiny, almost non-existent wings of one inch 
• Native to New Zealand 
• Can live 30 to 50 years 
• Lays one (maybe two) eggs in each clutch – they may have three clutches a year 
• The heaviest kiwi – the brown kiwi – can weigh 3 to 11 pounds 
• Even though kiwis are about the size of a chicken, their eggs are as big as an emu egg 
• Classified in the same family – ratite – as its cousins the cassowary, emu, ostrich, and rhea 
• Has a highly developed sense of smell 
• Eats grubs, worms, bugs, berries, and seeds 

Materials 

• Construction paper (various colors including brown, orange, and tan) 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Scissors 
• Googly eyes 
• Plush kiwi (optional) 

Steps 

1. Gather all the materials. If your children are old enough, they can draw the shapes or cut out the shapes you draw for the craft.

2. Glue on the letter K.

3. Glue on the body of the kiwi.

4. Glue on the feet - they should stretch to the bottom two parts of the letter K.

5. Glue on the head and beak. The beak should stretch to one of the top parts of the letter K.

6. Glue on the eye. Only one - the kiwi is in profile!

 

 

Traveling Back in Time with Home School in the Woods Curriculum Resources

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

For the past several weeks, our younger son and I have been studying the American Civil War using the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies: The Civil War from Home School in the Woods. We have had the pleasure of reviewing previous resources from Home School in the Woods including the U.S. Election Lap-Pak, Project Passport World History Studies: Renaissance & Reformation, and others. (I will link my review of these products at the end of this post if you wish to read more about them and how we used these excellent resources in our homeschool.)

I love studying the American Civil War. In fact, my history thesis in college was about a Civil War Captain, Edwin H. Little, who died at the battle of Gettysburg. I had the privilege of reading his letters to his wife. Being able to share my knowledge and love of the American Civil War era with my son brought me tremendous satisfaction.


Because I already have a firm understanding of the American Civil War and I was using the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies with my younger son, who is in the second grade, we did not use every activity or reading. In fact, I preread the lesson text and then summarized it for him. If your child falls in the recommended grade range of 3-8, then you might be able to hand over the text to them to read on their own.

If you are familiar with Home School in the Woods, you should be able to navigate the digital download with a bit more ease than a new customer. At first, it can feel daunting because there are so many wonderful resources packed into your download. And once you unzip your file and figure out what you want or need to print, you will spend time printing your lesson texts, pages that children will complete, project instructions, and maybe images of completed projects. There are some pages that you will need to print on cardstock and others that can be printed on regular white or colored paper. I recommend going through and printing the Project Masters instruction sheets first, put them in your binder, and then flip through to see which other pages you need to print. All of the time invested into preparing the materials is well worth it because you will be able to use a great number of the resources with multiple children in your family – either in one year or as your children get older. We plan on using this Time Travelers resource with our second grader this year and again in a few years when he is older and complete more of the projects independently.

What Is the Time Travelers U.S. History Study?

Time Travelers: The Civil War is recommended for grades 3–8 and is available for purchase either as a digital download (which we received) or a CD and you can get a license for your family, as a teacher, or for a school. It is created to provide your children with hands-on learning experiences while they learn about the war that crossed five Aprils. There are 25 lessons that can span five to 10 weeks depending on how slowly or how quickly you and your family progress through the materials and the number of projects you include.

Topics discussed in the study include:

• Slavery, the Underground Railroad, and Emancipation 
• Bleeding Kansas, John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, and the Secession of the Southern States 
• Several specific battles such as Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and others
• Key individuals featured in Library of Leaders and the women of the Civil War cards 
• The 54th Massachusetts 
• The assassination of Abraham Lincoln
• Reconstruction 

If your children are older, you may want to include the timeline activity and the newspaper "The Camp Kettle." Over the course of the entire Time Travelers study, your child will add key figures and other images to the timeline as they study about them. They can also write short articles that are similar to writing prompts to include in the newspaper. For example, after reading about the battle of Antietam in lesson 9, your child will compose a piece entitled "The Bloodiest Day." I choose to save these activities for future years with our younger son. 

Also included in the materials are penmanship pages that can be used in a variety of ways, maps, lots of hands-on learning opportunities, recipes, and more. Home School in the Woods even provides additional support with articles on their blog including a post about how to make Lincoln's cake and a separate post about Ulysses S. Grant taking command of the Union armies.

So what will your collection look like when everything is completed? Home School in the Woods provides you with many photographs of sample projects and even the neat photo of the entire collection shown below.

The completed collection of work presented by Home School in the Woods

How Did We Use the Time Travelers U.S. History Study: The Civil War in Our Homeschool?

I was very excited about a number of the resources in the Time Travelers: The Civil War resource including the game "The War Across Five Aprils." Our teen son really enjoyed playing a World War I Game we reviewed several years ago, so I was happy that this resource included a game. The game was quite easy to set up. We only needed to print the pieces (which are hats that can be colored blue and gray or printed on blue and gray paper), the question cards, and the game boards. After everything was printed and colored, I attached the game board to a file folder and we were ready to play.

We played the game one evening with our sons representing the Confederacy while their dad played as the Union. (I refrained from playing as I have an unfair advantage since I am the Civil War expert in our house.) As our teen studied the American Civil War two years ago, I went through the questions to find ones that all three would be more likely to be able to answer. While there were quite a few wrong answers, including one about the Confederate submarine that sunk off the coast of Charleston, SC, both teams did quite well. In the end, even with our younger son answering one or two questions surprising both his teammate and opponent, the Union was victorious!

As I read through the text with our son, I had him complete various projects while I was reading. He worked on coloring in the uniform pages of the North and the South. We used a variety of resources, including the master copies provided by Home School in the Woods, for him to complete the uniforms. We then put it together with transparency paper so he could change the uniforms of the soldiers by flipping the transparency film.

Another activity he worked on was the Library of Leaders. He colored the covers of the mini-booklets – and then we read the biographies of the different leaders together. Some of the leaders included Generals Longstreet, Jackson, McClellan, and Grant. All of these booklets are kept in a neat box that we created together.

We have also spent time reading about the women who played key roles in the Civil War as well as learning about how the different divisions and corps were labeled. Our son picked nine of their badges and he picked out which color felt to use for each of them. I love the hands-on nature of these activities. What a great way to make concrete memories.

Included in The Time Travelers: The Civil War files are recipes so that you can plan a Civil War feast at the end of your studies. I really love the idea of the recipes but the thought of making them has me a bit scared. Our kids are really picky and I don't feel like a very talented chef. Perhaps when we complete the study in a few years, I will feel more adventurous and try out the recipes.

I really love the variety of activities that Home School in the Woods incorporates into their homeschooling resources. From reading assignments to baking, there is a great diversity of activities scattered throughout the lessons that will help your children really remember studying the American Civil War. So many people find history boring but it does not have to be when you use the resources from Home School in the Woods.

Do You Want to Learn More?

Please visit my previous reviews: Studying History with Hands-On Materials from Home School in the Woods (Project Passport: Renaissance & Reformation), Reviewing Home School in the Woods' Á La Carte Projects, I Knight Thee a Fun Product! – Hands-on History Lap-Paks (Knights), and Learning about Elections with Home School in the Woods.

Do you want to read more about the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak? Visit their post about studying the election with hands-on activities. And in case you didn't know, the Time Travelers U.S. History Study that we used is part of a series! So if you want to learn more about the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, or World War II, be sure to check out the other resources in the series.

If you want to read about additional ways in which you can use the materials produced by Home School in the Woods, please visit the rest of the Home School Review Crew's reviews.

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Studying God's Creation from A to Z: A Review of My Father's World Kindergarten Curriculum

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

For the past several weeks, our daughter and I have been using the Christian homeschool kindergarten curriculum from My Father's World – God's Creation from A to Z – to learn about the world around us. We spent the first two weeks discussing the creation found in Genesis of the Bible and then moved on to studying different topics based upon the letters of the alphabet.

Before our kindergarten curriculum kit was mailed, I had the opportunity to speak with customer service to ensure that we would have everything we need in our kit. God's Creation from A to Z Deluxe Package incorporates everything you need for language arts, mathematics, Bible study, character development, and even science. My brief chat with customer service was wonderful and my kit arrived in the mail a short while later. My daughter was so excited to get started! It is always nice to connect with a company that is helpful and caring.

So many great books in this kit!

As we took out each book and material, our daughter wanted to read it and examine it. 

What Is the Focus of God's Creation from A to Z?

As you may have guessed, this kindergarten curriculum approaches a year-long study using the letters of the alphabet as well as the creation of the world. Your child will start with a two-week introduction talking about the first seven days in the Bible – creating their own picture book and poster to demonstrate the events and then move onto the weeks which focus upon the different letters.

Each day when studying about the creation, our daughter created a new page for her book.

The following 26 hands-on units are packed full of a variety of lessons, stories, and ideas to help you teach your kindergartener about the world around them. The step-by-step instructions make it very easy to implement the lesson plans.

Some of the Topics Covered 

• Creation 
• Turtle
• Five senses 
• Dinosaurs 
• Goats (farm animals) 
• Christmas (two weeks set aside) 
• Penguins 
• Zebras (wild animals) 
• Frogs and Butterflies (to study life cycles) 
• Vegetables 
• Yellow (all colors) 
• Fruit of the Spirit 

For each new week, the curriculum is laid out in a chart in the spiral-bound Teacher's Manual. This provides an easy-at-a-glance overview of the different activities you and your child will be doing during the week. For example, in week 21, your child will learn about the letter K with kangaroo being the focus word. The Biblical Concept Flashcard for this week reads, "I am safe in God." Some of the activities as laid out in the opening page of the week include making a kangaroo pencil holder our of an empty juice can, finding the home of kangaroos on the globe, and reading Katy No-Pocket. You can check these off as you complete them.

I found great flexibility in using God's Creation from A to Z with our daughter. For some weeks, we completed many of the activities listed for reading, language arts, math, and science but for others, we skipped some of them including many of the snack ideas. But even though I didn't use everything as outlined, I love all the options that the curriculum provides. If your child is really interested in the moon, you can read additional books as suggested like Goodnight Moon, talk about gravity, make a model of the moon's surface, and even bake a moon cake. Each week comes with a variety of additional ideas to help parents fill out the week for their kindergartners.

Typical Week for Us - Look at Week 5: Leaf

Each day, I would present our daughter with the calendar and number chart to fill in. After this, we would move on to another activity as outlined in the Teacher Manual. One day, we collected leaves outside and traced them for painting and made leaf rubbings.

We also read the pages on the leaf in God's Amazing World and tried to match up the geometric shapes with the different leaves pictured. On another day, our daughter read A Tree is Nice to us and made a leaf-shaped badge with the Biblical Concept written on it: "I will live and grow in Jesus." We also used the Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book's letter L page as well as built a three-dimensional structure with the rods that are part of the kit. During this week, we also listened to the song 'Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day' and read several verses from the New Testament from John 15, 1 John 5, and others. 

Putting It All Together 

For the first several weeks of using God's Creation from A to Z from My Father's World, parents are instructed to read For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley, which is included in the kit. This book provides a wonderful look at what education can be when it is based upon Christian teaching and understanding. There are practical advice and wonderful suggestions that will help homeschooling parents (both new ones and veterans) formulate a plan and method for homeschooling. And the advice for homeschooling parents does not stop there – included in the Teacher's Manual are encouragement and advice as well as thoughts from Marie, the author. How wonderful to read the reminder that in 1 Timothy 5:10 a woman's good deeds include "bringing up children." When it seems like parenting is a never-ending task, it is nice to be reminded it is an important and godly task.

There are so many wonderful components that are part of this kindergarten curriculum from My Father's World. Through the Teacher's Manual, it is very easy to incorporate the Cuisenaire rods, the student sheets, the classical CD, the many children's picture books, and the activities. During week 3, when we were studying the letter s and the sun, everything seemed to fit together so naturally and flow from one activity to the next. We spent time painting, reading, writing, listening to a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, and listening to the Nutcracker Suite. What a great assortment of activities for our daughter to experience! There was no guesswork for me as to what to do.

What Do We Think? 

Our daughter and I were amazed at the quality of God's Creation from A to Z kindergarten curriculum kit from the moment it arrived. I am still in awe each day when I take out our materials and prepare for the homeschool lessons for that day. There are so many wonderful resources and ideas provided for homeschooling parents. For example, I am gathering the materials for Week 8: Turtle and I am reminded of a poem from my own childhood (The Little Turtle). I love the snack suggestion of creating a turtle with bread and peanut butter as well as the pages in God's Amazing World on turtles. I am so glad that it teaches about a turtle's shell and skeleton as well as a brief introduction to a turtle's egg-laying practices.

I have really enjoyed reading For the Children's Sake. I feel like sometimes I could underline entire pages as I want to remember many points the author makes. I never really felt that my homeschool style was similar to that of Charlotte Mason but now I see that I share many of the same viewpoints as her through this introduction.

I am amazed at all the books being included in the deluxe package. What a joy to not have to worry about whether or not we own a certain book or if our small library has a copy (inter-library loan is not available right now). I can go to our bookshelf and pick out which one we need for the week. If you want to see a video of some of the books that were part of the kit, please check out my Instagram post.

One of the books I was really excited to see was the Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book. We owned a small pack of the rods prior to receiving this kit and I was at a loss as to how to use them beyond counting. I love all the different ideas presented in the book. Our daughter can work on problem-solving like when it asks her to build the letter I using rods of all different colors or to build the letter I using only one color. She can also have fun as she builds the different shapes.

Our daughter couldn't wait to start using the rods and the book. 

Our daughter has really been enjoying God's Creation from A to Z. She loves the variety of activities. She was so excited to paint the sun (she painted three different ones in yellow, orange, and red) and to read the different books. Another thing she loves doing is reading the Biblical Concept Cards and hanging them on our door. We have also been hanging the badges she creates each week alongside them. They are great visual reminders – for everyone – of what she is learning and what we should all remember.

I would recommend God's Creation from A to Z to any homeschooling parent looking for a solid kindergarten curriculum for their child. The customer service was great and the package is fantastic. The student worksheets provide our daughter with the opportunity to practice her writing of numbers and letters as well as give her a chance to be creative when she is drawing her own animals, objects, and things that start with that week's letter. She practices her scissor skills and reading skills as well as learns new things about the world around her. This is a great homeschooling experience for young children just starting their formal educational journey.

Do You Want to Learn More?

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Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew also had the opportunity to review products from My Father's World. Please be sure to read their reviews, too!

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Mermaid Island

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Our children love playing board games and board games that are cooperative are a big hit with my husband and me because they teach great team-building skills to our children. One game that our children enjoy playing is Mermaid Island from Peaceable Kingdom. It is a great game for any time of the year but especially for summertime!

What Is the Goal of the Game?

Children, ages five and up, work together to help the mermaids swim across the waves to reach Mermaid Island before the Sea Witch can get to the island. The game is perfect for 2 to 6 players and is very easy to set up and play.

How Do You Play the Game?

All three mermaids begin at the start area while the Sea Witch starts in Seaweed Triangle on the game board. The four wand tokens are placed on the appropriate spaces on the game board. Children take turns spinning to see if they move a mermaid one or two spaces or if the Sea Witch gets to move ahead one space. If the mermaid lands on a space with a wand, all players get the opportunity to use the wand to move the Sea Witch back one space. If the Sea Witch lands on the space, the wand is removed from the game. There is also the chance for a mermaid to skip spaces if she lands at a space leading to a bridge. The mermaid can immediately cross the bridge to skip spaces while the Sea Witch does not get to use the bridges at all.

Children work together to move all three of the mermaid tokens to Mermaid Island. If all three make it, everyone wins! If the Sea Witch gets to the Mermaid Island, the game is over and the mermaids lose.

Beyond the Game

What can you do after you are done playing the Mermaid Island game?

• Visit the beach 
• Build a sandcastle 
• Research manatees which have been compared to mermaids 
• Go for a swim 
• Mermaid shows at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Florida 

Mermaid Island is great for children who cannot read and beginning readers because there is no reading required. Even with reading being unnecessary, learning still takes place! Your children will practice strategy practices, learn to make decisions together, develop social and emotional skills, and cooperate.

Do Your Children Enjoy Games?

We have shared a number of board games, dice games, and card games at A Mom's Quest to Teach including:

• Tenzi Game – a fun fast-paced game of rolling dice – there are many ways to play using the Tenzi Card Deck 
• Koala Capers – an easy card game for young children that reviewing colors and patterns 
• Cauldron Quest – a cooperative game where everyone works together to beat the wizard