Worthy of Legend

Title: Worthy of Legend
Author: Roseanna M. White
Series: The Secrets of the Isles, book 3
Major Themes: Mysteries, Archaeology, Treasure Hunts, Romance, King Arthur
Synopsis: When Lady Emily Scofield decides to help her father and brother’s rivals, it’s a race against time to see who will find the fabled King Arthur artifact first.

Of all of Roseanna M. White’s books that I’ve read over the last few years, I think Worthy of Legend took the longest for me to get around to reading—and this is, I believe, my 12th book by her now! I was hoping to have enough time to read it before it was released last year, but I ended up having other books pressing for my attention first, and then it kept being put off. But finally, I was able to fit it into my reading schedule, and I’m so glad I did! This was the perfect completion of this trilogy, and although I’m sad to have to say goodbye to this wonderful cast of characters, I’m also happy to leave them where they are.

Lady Emily Scofield has spent her summer on the Isles of Scilly, and she’s loved catching up with old friends in her time there. Unfortunately, in her time on the islands, she’s come to the uncomfortable and difficult realization that she can no longer support her father and brother’s work—they’re out for fame and money, however they can get it, no matter who they hurt along the way. After deciding to throw her lot in with her friends—and try to help them find the treasure before her father and brother do—Emily realizes that she could very well be cutting ties with her family…forever. How long does the Lord call us to have patience and mercy with others? When do we need to take a stand against wrong, and when do we need to try to reach others?

For Bram Sinclair, the summer has been a successive series of discoveries and socializing with new friends, some of whom are soon to be family. He’s not particularly interested in all the archaeological excitement that grips the rest of his party, but a treasure hunt now and then can be interesting, at least. But when it turns out that the Scofields are on the hunt for something that may have belonged to King Arthur at one time, Bram’s interest is aroused. As a boy, he was enamored with the tales of the knights of the round table, and although he doesn’t talk about it much now—what gentleman would admit a weakness for the fantastic?—he’s still just as interested as he was then. Will they be able to figure out what this historic object is before the Scofields get to it? And can he find a way to protect Emily from her family’s cruelty, without compromising her pride or getting himself into trouble?

After reading the first two books in this series, Worthy of Legend was a somewhat predictable, but no less enjoyable, read. One thing I noticed in this story, more than in some of the other books in the series, was that the faith element felt a little stronger. Frequently, the “Christian” element in stories feels (to me, anyway) like a tacked-on addition to fit the genre, but this one felt like there was a little more to it than that, and I appreciated it. It still wasn’t as strong as I would necessarily prefer, but it was there, which I was thankful for! As far as the rest of the story goes, it was slightly predictable, but in a way that makes a book more of a cozy, comfortable read rather than in the “Ugg…I’ve read this story before” sort of way.

I loved getting to catch up with all the characters again…and seeing where they all ended up. That was absolutely delightful! The mystery was well-done. I never guess what the characters are going to discover before a mystery ends…I’ve always been bad at guessing, and anyway, I love discovering things along with the characters. And as always, I loved Mamm-wynn and her occasional input…she’s such a delightful old lady, with a lot of wisdom behind her!

Oh, and I must mention the King Arthur side of things—I loved that Bram was so into King Arthur (even though he was slightly embarrassed about it, and didn’t want others to know). I’ve been intrigued by King Arthur ever since I was fairly young, so having a whole book devoted to the legends was a lot of fun. 

If you enjoy mysteries with a good dash of romance and engaging characters, I’d recommend you read this series. I found it delightful, and am looking forward to seeing what else Roseanna M. White comes out with!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

WARNING: Swore or sworn is used in the prologue, 8, 10, 18, 19 (three times), and 20 (twice); “heaven knew” or a variant is used in ch. 1, 2, 5 (twice), 15, 16, and 19; blighted or some variant is used in ch. 2 (twice), 8, 10 (twice), 13, 17 (twice), 19, and 24; blast or a variant is used in ch. 2, 4 (twice), 5, 6, 7, 8 (three times), 11 (twice), 13, 17 (twice), 19, 20, 22 (three times), 24 (five times), and 25; drat or a variant is used in ch. 4, 12, 18, 19, and 22; swear or swearing is used in ch. 5 and 6 (twice); “for heaven’s sake” is used in ch. 6; gracious is used in ch. 7, 12, 20, 23, and 24; goodness is used in ch. 11; “what the deuce” is used in ch. 17; cursed is used in ch. 25, and there is lying in ch. 3, 9, and 13. Historical piracy and stealing are mentioned throughout the book. There is some stealing in ch. 4.

Several times, there are references to someone being cruel to other people, including locking someone in a closet for a day (ch. 1) and physically harming people (ch. 4 and 10). Someone is shoved and falls to the ground in ch. 15. People are attacked and injured in ch. 20. There is a fight in ch. 25, with someone shooting and pulling a knife on someone, and someone dies in ch. 26.

There is a mention of men finding “a new woman to warm their bed” in the prologue. The subject of rape is alluded to several times in ch. 1, 3, 12, 18, and 19, and there is a conversation about someone who was raped in ch. 16. Unmarried people touch in ch. 2, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, and 26. There is kissing in ch. 20, 22, 23, and the epilogue.

Someone talks about dead family members “continu[ing] to pray for us there as they did here” in ch. 11. Someone tells about seeing someone trying to drown a puppy in ch. 13.

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