All is Fair by Dee Garretson
Release Date: January 22nd 2019Publisher: SwoonReadsSeries: standaloneFormat: eARC, 288 pagesSource: NetGalleyGenre(s): historical fiction, young adult, romance, WW
Lady Mina Tretheway knows she’s destined for greater things than her fancy boarding school, where she’s being taught to be a proper English lady. It’s 1918, and war is raging across Europe. Unlike her father and brother, who are able to assist in the war effort, Mina is stuck sorting out which fork should be used with which dinner course.
When Mina receives a telegram that’s written in code, she finally has her chance to do something big. She returns to her childhood home of Hallington Manor, joined by a family friend, Lord Andrew Graham, and a dashing and mysterious young American, Lucas. The three of them must band together to work on a dangerous project that could turn the tide of the war.
Thrilled that she gets to contribute to the war effort at least, Mina jumps headfirst into the world of cryptic messages, spycraft, and international intrigue. She, Lucas, and Andrew have to work quickly, because if they don’t succeed, more soldiers will disappear into the darkness of war.
All is Fair is a fictional story of love and war set in England during the first world war. What makes this story fascinating and that sets it apart from other historical ya fiction is indeed it setting. World War I books are rare stories even rarer in the YA genre, so you can just imagine my immense fascination and love for the topic to be brought up in this story.
The plot follows Mina in her detective journey to finding out certain secrets about the war which aids her in helping her brother and love interest for the war effort. A story of war and love with an air of suspense accompanied by a smart cookie of a character, Mina, who made the story entertaining as the fact that she does not act like a lady should in her times making her stand out interestingly.
Indeed there is nothing original about the concept, but keep in mind that just because something is unoriginal does not mean it isn’t good. And, this story is resounding proof of this.
Negative: As much as it pains me to find fault with this story or any story, The story did indeed take its time to build up and get my attention which caused me to procrastinate on reading it for quite some time. Another thing is that though I may not read many war-related stories, I felt that the story lacked the intensity that is needed when it comes to talks of war.
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:
Website @ http://deegarretson.com/
Twitter @ deegarretson
Goodreads @ Dee Garrestson
Facebook @ DeeGarrestonBooks
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