samborawski13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
makennaknighton's review against another edition
3.0
Garretson's All Is Fair follows Lady Thomasina Tretheway, nicknamed Mina, the determined young Englishwoman who uses her connections and code-breaking abilities to secure herself a place in the war effort during the Great War. This book had such a promising concept but ultimately it failed to live up to my expectations, mainly because the characters were too flat and predictable. Mina's family friend Lord Andrew Graham feels like a caricatured strong and silent type, and Mina's love interest Lucas Miller is the stereotypical fun-loving American boy, with the attempts at giving him depth feeling contrived and unconvincing. The twists throughout the narrative, such as the revelation of Lucas' parentage or the existence of Mina's nephew, are not enough to counteract the fact that each of the people in the book make little progression in their characters. Even Mina's character is somewhat underdeveloped; for example, though she insisted and dwelled on the fact that she was not a good actress and so would not be a good choice for the lead role in a play at her family's manor, later Mina expertly pretends to be pregnant to deter the suspicion of the German soldier, causing Lucas to say with admiration, "I might have believed you if I hadn't known better. You're a good actress" (220). Though a surface-level success at an entertaining glimpse into an experience of World War I, All is Fair did not fully live up to its potential, at least in my reading.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent historical fiction for teens. In 1918 England, Lady Mina comes home from boarding school after getting a coded letter from her spy father telling her "old friend needs your help." She has to figure out who that is and what help she can provide, as World War I rages and airmen from the base near her family's estate are frequent visitors. She gets answers from one of those airmen, her childhood friend Andrew, when he and his American friend Lucas reveal they are on a secret mission. Lots of danger, suspense, spying, and mystery, with a dash of romance, set against a backdrop of war torn England that is realistically depicted. Nice spunky heroine who learns to expand her boundaries and use some of her skills honed as a young wealthy aristocratic lady (such as fluency in French and German) in new ways.
hannahsophialin's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The beginning of All is Fair promises a fun, action-packed adventure, set in World War I with badass females being involved in espionage. After Mina receives a telegram from her father at her boarding school and decrypts the message, she heads home to find her friend Andrew with an American named Lucas.
All is Fair starts off great and I loved seeing Mina decrypting her father's message at school. I also loved seeing this play a role later on when Mina has to join Lucas on his mission so he could succeed.
But Garretson's novel is relatively predictable as I called some of the twists before they happened. While this may suck out of the fun for some people, I found myself letting the easy predictions slide as I enjoyed other aspects of the story.
After the promising intro and beginning when we are introduced to Mina and learn a little about her, the story dies down. All is Fair becomes slow and we focus a lot on the aristocratic life in the early 20th century before we get to the action-packed part of the story. I found myself stepping away frequently until then because I was just bored despite the character interactions.
I'm a huge character person - if there's a character or two that I enjoy reading, I'll likely let other problems (if any) I have slide. And I adored Mina. From the beginning, she's wanted to go on an adventure but rarely gets the opportunity until something happens and she takes the chance. Her interactions with Lucas are amusing and there is quite the shade being thrown between the two (I love me some good shade).
But the romance wasn't necessary to the story. It felt suddenly thrown in near the end just to have a romantic aspect of sorts. All is Fair would have been perfectly fine with the friendship and occasional shade being thrown about.
All is Fair leaves an open ending that promises of a possible sequel that could potentially happen. Even if there is no sequel, though, the story wrapped up nicely. My only issue aside from the unnecessary romantic aspect is the boring beginning readers will have to drag themselves through to get to the action-packed adventure.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
All is Fair by Dee Garretson promises an adventure.
The beginning of All is Fair promises a fun, action-packed adventure, set in World War I with badass females being involved in espionage. After Mina receives a telegram from her father at her boarding school and decrypts the message, she heads home to find her friend Andrew with an American named Lucas.
It's a little predictable, but also fun.
All is Fair starts off great and I loved seeing Mina decrypting her father's message at school. I also loved seeing this play a role later on when Mina has to join Lucas on his mission so he could succeed.
But Garretson's novel is relatively predictable as I called some of the twists before they happened. While this may suck out of the fun for some people, I found myself letting the easy predictions slide as I enjoyed other aspects of the story.
Slow at the beginning.
After the promising intro and beginning when we are introduced to Mina and learn a little about her, the story dies down. All is Fair becomes slow and we focus a lot on the aristocratic life in the early 20th century before we get to the action-packed part of the story. I found myself stepping away frequently until then because I was just bored despite the character interactions.
Characters and interactions are great, romance unnecessary
I'm a huge character person - if there's a character or two that I enjoy reading, I'll likely let other problems (if any) I have slide. And I adored Mina. From the beginning, she's wanted to go on an adventure but rarely gets the opportunity until something happens and she takes the chance. Her interactions with Lucas are amusing and there is quite the shade being thrown between the two (I love me some good shade).
But the romance wasn't necessary to the story. It felt suddenly thrown in near the end just to have a romantic aspect of sorts. All is Fair would have been perfectly fine with the friendship and occasional shade being thrown about.
We have an open ending.
All is Fair leaves an open ending that promises of a possible sequel that could potentially happen. Even if there is no sequel, though, the story wrapped up nicely. My only issue aside from the unnecessary romantic aspect is the boring beginning readers will have to drag themselves through to get to the action-packed adventure.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Rosemary
Cover Story: Big Face: Historical Edition
BFF Charm: Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: 0 To 100
Bonus Factors: Ciphers, World War I
Relationship Status: Intrigue and Betrayal
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Big Face: Historical Edition
BFF Charm: Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: 0 To 100
Bonus Factors: Ciphers, World War I
Relationship Status: Intrigue and Betrayal
Read the full book report here.
tashahassan's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this, but the first half dragged on a bit too much. Things picked up a lot with the second half, but it was over too quickly. I wanted things to be a little more fleshed out.
nataliesboooks's review against another edition
2.0
For some reason, I thought that Mina would do a lot more code breaking than she did, and that her father would have a bigger role in the story. The first half seemed completely unnecessary (what was the point of having that play at their house? Or having the sister Margaret have a secret affair with Prince Albert?). The identity of the spy was completely anticlimactic. The love interest was alllll over the place. One minute he’s being all flirty with Mina, then he’s judgmental of her, then he’s aloof and ignoring her - and the whole time she’s captivated by him. I can’t stand a wishy-washy love interest, so he did nothing for me.
The second half had a bit more excitement, but parts of it felt rushed. I didn’t really buy the ending either, and I thought the book ended very abruptly.
There are not many YA WWI books, so I was intrigued by this one, but it didn’t quite deliver.
The second half had a bit more excitement, but parts of it felt rushed. I didn’t really buy the ending either, and I thought the book ended very abruptly.
There are not many YA WWI books, so I was intrigued by this one, but it didn’t quite deliver.
librarykate's review against another edition
4.0
Mina is summoned home from school to help her father, a spy for the British Home Office during WWI. Mina finds that lots of strange things are happening as she does her best to help her brother's friends. Things move slowly at first, until Mina must head into Germany on a secret mission.
In the beginning, this story seems like a less complex version of Downton Abbey. But Mina is not just another Lady Mary. She heads straight into the middle of danger with Lucas, an American, and tries to save everyone.
In the beginning, this story seems like a less complex version of Downton Abbey. But Mina is not just another Lady Mary. She heads straight into the middle of danger with Lucas, an American, and tries to save everyone.