Skip to main content

Review: Until the Last Note

Until the Last Note book cover on blue background

For Clearly Christian Readathon's March Buddy Read, I was thrilled to get to read Until the Last Note by new-to-me author, B.M. Baker, in time for the anniversary of the Titanic sinking on April 15, 1912. This poignant story about a modern-day student and a couple navigating a musical stint aboard the RMC Titanic carries repercussions that echo far past the early 20th century.

Book Synopsis

Two couples over a century apart. One antique diary that ties them together.

Present Day: Junior college student Greyslin Rogers enjoys a good challenge. But when she takes on an extra credit assignment in theater class, she realizes she may have overestimated her abilities. Encouraged by her best friend, Stanley Pritchard, to give it her best, Greyslin dives into researching the Titanic encounter and writing her script. After coming across an antique diary as an inspiring memento for her project, little does she know the tragedies and beauties the century-old words will uncover. When concerning signs in Stanley's health cause worries to arise, and as their friendship develops into something deeper, Greyslin finds herself relating with the diary’s writer, whose words shed more light on the present than she ever could have imagined.

Spring of 1912: Newlywed Renita (Davis) Burton’s marriage is off to a bumpy start when her husband, Daniel, accepts an at-sea musician position aboard the RMS Titanic. As she wrestles with the loneliness and unsettled feelings his absence creates, Renita turns to the comfort of a favorite pastime—keeping a diary. Her faith, new friends, and unexpected joys carry her through the long days ahead, but nothing could have prepared her for when she finds out the ship that carries her husband has sunk.

As Renita struggles between hope and grief while she awaits to hear of her husband’s fate and as Greyslin faces the greatest trial of her life, will the lessons unlocked by the diary help Greyslin embrace the same love and courage portrayed in the past to face her own uncertain future with the man she loves?

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

I love that this book takes place in the historical and contemporary eras, bringing the story of the Titanic to life in a fresh way. In discovering a journal from this time period, Greyslin is afforded direct access to the emotions around this tragedy from the perspective of a young married woman named Renita. It's a powerful story where the things we can easily take for granted are expounded upon, such as friendship and love. Having dual timelines helps us understand the struggles of two different women who need to walk past fear into faith. In addition to meeting these two strong ladies, Stanley and Daniel are both incredible male characters who are inspiring and completely selfless in devoting their lives to God.

This is an emotional book, and the way that the stories interact with each other is masterful. Those who have a fondness for history will appreciate the author's note and historical facts sprinkled along the way. Demonstrating how our obedience to Christ can have a ripple effect in the lives of others, Until the Last Note is about being a faithful servant to the very end. Readers who are interested in music and the Titanic will find that this story will leave an impact on your heart and have you pondering how our lives can count for God.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📱
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Didactic Scenes

I love researching and recently looked into Harlequin's Love Inspired line's submission guidelines to find out if there were certain parameters in the stories they accept and publish. One of the lines that stood out to me was: "Mandatory faith element that is integral to story and shows rather than tells, avoiding didactic, preachy tone or doctrinal language." This had me thinking about one of the cinematic attributes I've heard over the years between British and American movies and television, where one tends to show the story and have people reason it out, whereas the other can get into further detail, eliminating the need to piece things out as much when watching a story.  I wish I could find the source for this thought as it's shaped how I view and compare a lot of mysteries and dramas (I confess that I may be a tad too shy for British comedies)—broadly speaking, of course. As a result, I can understand how didactic language isn't always pleasant to s...

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available to you or you don't qualify for one 😊 List last updated: September 23, 2026 Christian Publishers 10ofThose Availability: U.S., Canadian, and U.K. residents Format: Only books published by 10ofThose qualify for review requests so as to avoid impeding with other Christian book review programs Genre: Christian non-fiction, children's books Email for availabi...

Lord of Our Entertainment

I have to give full credit for the title of this post to Heather Wood who used this phrase in an Instagram story to promote the #ClearlyChristianReadathon . Thank you for using this term as it's been in my head ever since I saw it! In thinking about what it means to have Jesus as the Lord of my life, this clearly and obviously extends to how I fill my time and what content I consume. Although my reasons for being more intentional with my reading were initially pragmatic (as in if I die soon, did I waste a lot of time in my life reading things that weren't even that great?), I also see how it can both reflect my walk with God and shape what it becomes. Though I'm sharing a lot of content about the Clearly Christian Readathon , I'm encouraged to think of all of my entertainment choices in the light of eternity. While I've certainly struggled with this at different times in my life, it's been hitting me in a different way now. I confess that even quite recently, ...