All Is Fair

by Dee Garretson

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, Mina learns that the two of them must work together on a 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 have to find a way to work together to complete the mission before more soldiers disappear into the darkness of war.

• ISBN10: 1250168694
• ISBN13: 9781250168696
• Publish Date: 1 February 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

1.5*

World War I books are basically unicorns. There are quite a few WWII books floating around, but WWI? So rare, and I was so excited to finally dive into one! Which is probably why my disappointment stings extra in this particular case. I keep trying to come up with more positives, because the Goodreads reviews I have skimmed seem to quite like this, so perhaps I am being a real black sheep here? Or perhaps it is that my expectations were too high? Regardless, I am having trouble. Anyway! Let's start with positives!

The Good:

• •The second half picked up. After a slow start, the second half of the book did move at a much better pace.



• •The time period, it is awesome! Like I said, how many WWI books can you think of?

The Not-So-Good:

• •The first half was painfully slow. Especially for such a short book, it felt like nothing happened. There was a lot of chat about England and the War, and then a play, which... why? Why was that there? Perhaps I am missing something, but it didn't exactly pull me in. I kept waiting for the exciting stuff and it just... it took awhile.



• •The setting didn't even feel particularly special? I mean, considering we're going for a "WWI England" vibe, I should be feeling that, yeah? It just didn't seem memorable for me, that with a few minor changes it could have been anywhere, anytime.



• •I knew how basically all the things were going to play out. There's a "twist" that I guessed in seriously the first few pages. Actually, is it even supposed to be a twist? Maybe this is my mistake.



• •It's just all too easy. And I'm pretty sure that World Wars aren't supposed to be easy? I never felt a sense of urgency. Sure, logically I knew it was a war, hence there would be, but I never felt it. It felt too safe, and things ended up working out wayyy too simply.



• •I felt zero connection to the characters. I mean, don't get me wrong, I didn't want them to die in some fiery battle or anything, but I also probably wouldn't lose any sleep over it if they had. Even Lina, who was supposed to be this "badass" girl, was just... kind of there. And not that I think every hero has to be super brave or fearless, not at all! But I just didn't get any vibe from her, brave or otherwise. And, I kind of felt that the only reason she was "useful" was because of her privilege anyway, which would open up a whole other can of worms but I am too tired and apathetic to delve into it.



• •Shannon. Was. Bored. Honestly it just boils down to my sheer boredom and apathy. When you care about none of the characters, (correctly) feel like you know the whole plot, and find it plodding at best, you're bound to be bored. And I was. Terribly so.

Bottom Line: I so, so badly wanted to love this. It just happens that I didn't.