World War II historical fiction, meets a lady spy, meets danger and intrigue. If these things sound like your type of book, then definitely pick up All is Fair.
Summary
When Lady Mina Tretheway receives a telegram at boarding school, she doesn’t want to read it. In 1918, with war raging, she dreads telegrams, knowing they never bring good news.
At first she doesn’t understand the cryptic message. Then she realizes it’s written in code, and the message leads her home to Hallington Manor. When Lord Andrew Graham appears with a dashing young American, Lucas Mueller, Mina learns that the two of them must work together on dangerous project for the war effort.
Thinking Mina is just a spoiled aristocrat, Lucas tries to complete the project alone, fearing her inexperience will give them away. But when the project goes very wrong, Mina and Lucas are thrown together to complete the mission before more soldiers disappear into the darkness of war.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I immediately liked Mina. There’s a fire, a spunk, a personality to her that instantly attracted me. Whether it be the fact that she is wildly creative, empathetic, or incredibly clever, I wish I was friends with Mina. But in this time period. She is cunning and her wit allows her to be an excellent code cracker as well as quick on her feet. So from the summary alone, it was a pretty good bet I would really love Mina. But what I didn’t expect was how swept away I would get in the story.
Mina is drawn not only into a series of mysteries around her own house, but one that has the potential to alter the course of World War II. And a large part of this book is Mina coming to terms with her own agency. With Lucas’ opinion that she is just a spoiled rich lady, Mina finds the courage to go further than she’s ever been. And all these parts of the story – Mina’s history in a German village, her code breaking skill, and her fluency in languages – comes into play.
This outside perspective allows us not only to see into the complexities of her life, but allows Mina to prove herself to us. And we are taken along for the ride. Not only this, but throughout the book, All is Fair celebrates happiness. The war is a grisly and gruesome setting. And Mina struggles in not only the knowledge that her life before was so privilege and blessed (before she is exposed to the realities of war), but also grasping happiness when you have the chance.
Overall,
Just because the world is exploding, bullets are flying, and people are dying, does not mean we shouldn’t be able to also find happiness. The good does not negate the bad, and the bad does not deserve to rob happiness absolutely. All is Fair has secrets coming out of the wood works, squirming and begging to be seen. It also delves into the heart of WWI. But All is Fair is also about a girl who longs for adventure, who finds it, and realizes that adventure is much more complicated than she thought.
Find All is Fair on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound & The Book Depository.
About the Author
Dee writes contemporary, science fiction and historical adventure stories for a wide range of ages. Her books have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections, the Scholastic Book Club, and have been nominated for numerous state awards lists. In addition to books published under her own name, she also writes for the Boxcar Children series. Connect with her on twitter at @deegarretson or find out more about her books at deegarretson.com
Tour Schedule
January 21st
–Oh Hey! Books. >> Interview
–Clarissa Reads It All >> Review
–Twirling Book Princess >> Excerpt
–Lisa Loves Literature >> Interview
January 22nd
–Character Madness and Musings >> Guest post
–Pinkmads Picks >> Review
–Smada’s Book Smack >> Excerpt
–100 Pages A Day >> Review
–Utopia State of Mind >> Review
January 23rd
–Jorie Loves A Story >> Interview
–Poetic Insights >> Review
–The Heart of a Book Blogger >> Interview
–Rockin’ Book Reviews >> Review
January 24th
–Bookwyrming Thoughts >> Review
–A Book Addict’s Bookshelves >> Guest post
–Book-Keeping >> Review
–Haunted by Books >> Review
January 25th
–Christine’s Book Corner >> Excerpt
–Kait Plus Books >> Review
–Trails of Tales >> Review
–Viviana MacKade >> Guest post
–The SecretReader >> Review
Great review! This sounds like a compelling read full of secrets and action! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Thanks! and thanks for organizing!
Hallo, Hallo Lili,
I’m finally able to travel through the “All is Fair” blog tour — seeking out what the readers thought about the book as I wasn’t able to review it personally as only a digital copy was avail. Due to my chronic migraines, I generally only host guest features for Xpresso which is what I did for this tour – I shared a lovely convo with the author wherein I was able to discuss certain aspects of the plot, the characters and her writing style.
I am *loving!* how your describing Mina — sounds like the kind of BFF we’d all love to have in our lives!! Someone to champion our joys and be there for the downturns as well. I love finding fiercely strong female leads in Historical Fiction and this seems to hit that nail on the head!! That’s one reason I was attracted to reading the book in the first place – outside of the fact I fell for the new drama Bletchley Circle: San Francisco via BritBox which seemed to have a carry-over appeal as both series (this and that) deal with ciphers and spying.
A very astute observation to insert into a YA Historical War Drama – which is how I think this one might fit within a subgenre of interest – to remember to set your attitude and your heart to remain faithful to seeking happiness and joy despite the adverse conditions that might blight your path. It is very true of today and it was especially true during the war eras where the future was a hope but never a certainty.
Your review really pulls to centre what I was hoping to find inside this story and now I think I’m ready to seek out a copy in print to experience myself! Thank you for pulling me into your views and your readerly experience – I love reviews like these that truly delve into the heart of the story, seek out the story’s truth and give us an assertion of understanding what the story is about we wish to be reading for ourselves!!
Mina would be a phenomenal best friend! She might pull me into some trouble though! But she’s a very likeable MC – at least to me!
I’m so happy you’re going to pick it up as a physical copy! And that you found my review helpful <3