So, most of the historical fiction I read usually has a romance component as the main part of it. Not with this book. Ways We Hide was a great insight into an unknown portion of World War 2 for me. I learned something about the war and gained a deeper understanding of magic.

Some parts of Fenna were undesirable to me, but for a woman of that time, she was incredibly strong. I do wish that she had relaxed a bit more and been a bit more open, but in some way, those are things that I also wish for myself.

I think I will go back and read more books by this author, as I appreciate the amount of research that goes into them.

This book gives off the many wonderful, powerful themes of a strong WWII novel. I was immediately captivated by Fenna as such a strong character, struggling with many inner challenges of her difficult upbringing and uncertainties.

I cannot figure out how the author put so much into this book but my head was spinning. Well written and interesting! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher

What a great story. I loved how the book was linked to real historic events and how elements of magic were interwoven into the historical fiction novel. It was like nothing I had ever read before.

It was a wonderful historical fiction novel that swept two decades, starting from the late 1920s and going through World War II. The main character, Fenna, experienced a horrible tragedy as a child that causes her to be scared to be in enclosed spaces and always has her looking for a way to escape. That’s probably why she became an admirer of escape artist, Houdini and learned to do tricks. When she gets older, she meets up with a boy she was friends with, Arie, who experienced the same tragedy. When orphaned, she goes to his parents house and they take her in. She does magic acts for neighborhood kids and when she gets older, she joins another magician and creates great escape illusions inspired by Houdini.

It’s because of this, she’s recruited for the mysterious MI-9 agency of the UK in World War II, to create spy gadgets to help soldiers escape POW camps. During this time, she gets called on to go on a spy mission that has special meaning for her and makes the stakes even higher. This book is filled with chock of interesting facts about two less historical events and the MI-9 . The author does an amazing job on her research to bring this events and the agency to life. There is also a big mystery that Fenna is involved in this book. I also deeply fell in love with the main characters. I highly recommend this book.

What a wonderful historical fiction read! I loved Ways We Hide and its multiple timeline story of love, loss, courage, and hope in wartime. The story offered a fresh perspective and take on the genre that had me hooked from the start. I really enjoyed coming alongside all of the characters, though I especially appreciated Fenna's story. The magic element wound into the story was a highlight for me and something I found super interesting. It was clear a lot of research went into this book to make it the compelling, atmospheric, engaging wartime story it was. Highly recommend to my fellow historical fiction readers looking for something different in the genre.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy!

Growing up and learning to make her own way, Fenna is the driving force behind an illusionist act of escapism during WWII. She surprisingly gets contacted by British Intelligence to help with the war effort in thwarting the Germans. I had no idea this was based upon a true story, so it is a fascinating new account of patriotic efforts during the war. I did feel that it took quite a while to set the stage and develop the characters, but worth it to stick with the story. I have loved historical fiction, particularly WWII stories, for quite some time, but learned so much more from this story of dedication, love, courage, and loss. Thanks so much to Kristina McMorris, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc!

I struggled with this book despite being very interested in the story. The beginning dragged for me even though it was needed to set up the story. I was hoping for a more engaging story. I did stick with it and it improved but it took me forever to finish this story. I initially didn't relate to the characters which made it hard to continue to read (it took me forever to finish). It was an interesting take on a WWII genre story but it started off very slowly.

Thank you to Kristina McMorris, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for the ARC. This review is voluntary and contains my homes opinions. I am a fan of historical fiction and was excited to receive my copy of this book. I enjoyed the storyline as this is about a wartime tragedy but also gives us hope. It is a story of loss, reconciliation and redemption. It is a bit long and the second half dragged a bit for me. The ending wasn’t what I expected yet I think it is still well worth reading.

The Ways We Hide had a different POV from any WWII books I’ve read previously. I wasn’t expecting “the magician” to become an ally tool creating spy. I really enjoyed the back story of Fenna and Arie and how they remained so important to one another over the wide span of time and distance. I did however feel at points that the story carried on when it could have wrapped up different plot points a bit quicker

I enjoyed reading this historical story. It is a story that is well written and kept me engaged to the end. This is a story about finding yourself, love, loss and finding courage in places you least expect it. I enjoyed how the characters pulled me into the story. They brought the story to life and just added to the story. This is a fast paced, hard to put down story that will pull at your heartstrings and I found myself pulling for Fenna. I enjoyed how supportive the characters are which made it easy to read. I also enjoyed watching the growth of the characters and the plot throughout. This is a great story and one of my favorites. I highly recommend this book.

"The Ways We Hide" had an interesting premise and I quite liked the overall plot, but I think the novel could have been shortened by quite a bit. I think it dragged on for a little too long, even though none of the characters and their relationships got a lot of development.

Decent story - not as powerful as past books by the author. A good additional for my historical fiction section.

This was a different take on a WWII historical fiction. The beginning drew me in quickly and I was excited to see where the story went. For me, it slowed down and got a bit repetitive towards the middle, but was still an interesting and different historical fiction!

Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris took me by surprise. I had trouble getting into the story at first, but as Fenna's story came to life I was hooked! Spanning two decades of history this booked is packed with courage, intrigue, danger, friendship and love. It seemed the hardships Fenna had endured in her young life as well as her fascination with illusion, made her uniquely .qualified for the opportunity to work in the war effort with M19.
Compelling read thoroughly enjoyed this book!!
Thank you, Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for the opportunity to read and review this book!!

Historical Fiction

Another great story from McMorris!

We have a multiple timeline narrative in this story. When we begin Fenna Vos is working as a magician's assistant.
She is the brains behind the act, but at that time there weren't any female magicians working. We learn about some of her current life, but then we are transferred backwards to her childhood.

She is a Dutch immigrant whose family settled in Wisconsin. At a holiday celebration, there is an incident where numerous attendees are killed, and the incident creates a fear of being in enclosed spaces for Fenna. Ari, a neighbor boy, helps her through this experience and it cements their friendship for life, but they are soon parted. Events happen to Fenna that eventually connect her and Ari again. Fenna's fears cause her to pull away from Ari and she eventually gets enlisted to help with war efforts. Her magic tricks could be useful for the military.

After a mostly lackluster career in the service, Fenna is asked to go overseas. Ari has been working in intelligence and he has gone missing. There are also concerns that he has turned against his country. She parachutes into Holland and her search to find Ari commences.

The novel is wonderfully written and kept me engaged throughout. I'm a little tired of all the WWII stories, but this had a fresh angle and storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

such a creeping book. I loved reading this story. It was easy to read and felt like I was right there in the storyline.

I was so excited to pick up this book because it is labeled as WWII historical fiction. However, I was not as thrilled with the book as I typically am with this genre. I appreciated the magic portion of the story and found it very interesting … especially how Fenna was recruited to be part of a dangerous mission in Holland where she can use her inventions to help with the war. Fenna was an amazing woman and I loved getting to know her and her brilliant mind. The author has done amazing research and I was pleased to learn a new dynamic of WWII. I had no idea that “magic” was used. The second half of the book just seemed to crawl and it was so hard to stay invested in the story. But I think I am one of the few who didn’t care for the book that much, so I would encourage you to pick it up and give it a try. You may find that it appeals to you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

This is my review, as posted to Goodreads:

I originally received an ARC of this book to read and review. Due to a family situation last year I was unable to read and review it prior to publication day, but it was well worth the wait! This novel was completely unexpected and so much more than I thought it would be! I loved how Houdini was weaved into this WWII novel. I’m always looking for a fresh, unique book from this historical fiction sub-genre, and this one certainly fits the bill. I would highly recommend this book to any other fans of WWII historical fiction out there!

Now this is what a historical fiction book is all about! McMorris leads you on a decades long journey that’s thrilling and fun but also heartbreaking and difficult. I enjoyed the characters and found the romance element of the book exciting - who doesn’t love a “will they, won’t they” plot.

The author notes highlighted the historical elements of the book, which I enjoyed learning about but wonder how realistic the story would be in real life.

Overall, it’s a great WWII historical fiction book that has touches of a spy novel, a romance novel, and a mystery novel.