This book was amazing. There was so much packed into these pages and I could not put it down. It was well researched and a lot was going on, yet it worked. This one will stay with me for a long time!

A fantastic historical fiction novel based off of true accounts. I appreciate the authors beautiful writing style. The story of love and loss and the battles we face not only on the field but within ourselves. I'll be recommending this one.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
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I really enjoyed Sold On A Monday, so I jumped at the chance to read another book by Kristina McMorris. World War II books always draw me in, and I haven't come across one that focuses on spies using the entertainment community to work. Really enjoyed getting to learn more about Houdini along the way.

Kristina McMorris writes unforgettable novels of historical fiction, which means a lot to me since I read so much that I forget a good many books. But not hers.

This well-researched story begins in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, when we get introduced to Fenna Vos, who is working as an assistant and behind-the-scenes manager of a magic act. It flashes back to 1928 in Michigan when Fenna is just shy of 11, and then ends up in 1943 London with Fenna working for the Allies in the war effort.

We learn that in 1943 Fenna has been recruited by Christopher Clayton Hutton, a real person who was responsible for “tricking out Monopoly games and designing countless other escape-and evasion ‘toys’ for MI9.” [MI9, as Wikipedia explains, was the the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, a highly secret department of the British War Office during WWII. It had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held by the Axis countries, especially Nazi Germany; and (2) helping Allied military personnel, especially downed airmen, evade capture after they were shot down or trapped behind enemy lines in Axis-occupied countries. To this end, the department devised a number of - in effect - magic tricks to give to soldiers as equipment, such as compasses hidden inside buttons, hollow boots in shoes that were filled with dried food, or maps concealed in playing cards. McMorris tells us in her Author’s Note that MI9 used the services of former magician Jasper Maskelyne to design some of these devices, and it is thus she got the idea to add Fenna as an assistant to Hutton.]

McMorris also adds a strong romance element to her stories, and this one is no exception. Fenna, orphaned young, grew up with the family of Arie Jansen, one year older than Fenna, and like her, the offspring of a Dutch family who had come to America to work in the copper mines. She and Arie had always been close, and it was Arie who gave Fenna a book, “Houdini’s Big Little Book of Magic & Stunts” to help distract her from nightmares. Fenna buried herself in learning magic and tricks: “The art of escape became more than a tool to rein in my fears and reduce my nightmares. It was an all-out obsession.”

It served her well during WWII, not only during her stint with the British War Service, but when she is sent into enemy territory and comes under mortal danger.

Thereafter the tension escalates exponentially, as Fenna has to muster the courage to use her skills to orchestrate the ultimate escape.

Evaluation: As with the other novels by McMorris, you find yourself swept up in the historical events and romance she depicts, and you can’t turn the pages fast enough. Afterwards, you find yourself haunted by the story she has told, and grateful for the opportunity to have read it.

This was one of my top novels of 2022. You follow the along this fast paced novel where a female is recruited to the British military during WWII. I could not put it down and bet many readers will feel the same way!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I've loved prior books by this author and was so excited to read this one. From the minute I started reading I was unable to put it down. I found this book to be very well-written, and a fast-paced read. I'm typically not a historical fiction fan but Kristina may turn me into one!

Sweeping two decades, McMorris brings us a historical fiction that is epic in proportion. A book that will have you pondering long after the last page is turned. A story that is extremely well written. This is not just another WWII novel, but a story that will have you captivated throughout every one of its many pages! Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Taking place during World War II Fenna is recruited by British intelligence. I love the strong female main character and this story is based on true accounts. Thanks NetGalley and the author for this eARC.

This book was everything.

Fenna--an illusionist's assistant in WWII is recruited by the British intelligence to help the war effort.

She is such a strong character to put herself in harm's way by ways of the Nazis and I dont know if I could have been as brave as she was. I loved that she invented things for the soldiers like hidden maps within a pack of playing cards and other mysterious things to help the war.

I was hooked from the very beginning and I cant wait to read more Kristina McMorris books!

Thank you so much.

Fascinating book on the use of illusionist skills in the war effort. Loved Fen and Arie's characters. Brought together through tragedy and brokenness, what a beautiful friendship develops. Intrigue and danger and just heart touching glimpses of this young woman's heart makes this a page turner. I loved learning little known facts about the resistance coupled with a great historical fiction.

WAYS WE HIDE by Kristina McMorris

The pros: A gripping historical fiction story filled with anecdotes that make one marvel.

The cons: The novel—and it’s a lengthy one—started slow for me. Although it picked up steam, this book may be best in an audio format.

Conclusion: I’m so glad I read it!

British intelligence recruits Fenna, an expert illusionist skilled at escape and evasion techniques. Her top-secret task is to design tools for World War II Allied airmen held in German captivity. The German guards welcomed packages of “distractions” for their prisoners. With the diversions, the prisoners wouldn’t plot an escape plan. Or so the captors thought.

Fenna and her colleagues crafted baseballs with radio parts inside. Playing cards transformed into maps when liquid spilled on them. Board games held silky maps between the seams. Flexible saws were threaded into catalogs.

Inspired by stunning true accounts, this novel portrays love and loss, the internal and external wars we fight, and unexpected courage.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advance copy.

Kristina McMorris is such a good storyteller and I knew The Ways We Hide was going to be another great adventure. I have really been reading a lot of stories about World War II lately and this is one of the best I've read.

The characters are woven together expertly with an unusual main character, a female escape artist. Fenna is called upon to help out her country using her special skills. Little did she know how entrenched she would become in the whole espionage world that she found herself dropped into.

The Ways We Hide is based on a true story and it truly is amazing to read about all of the heroic people who helped others survive during the war. Ms. McMorris has done a wonderful job of taking the story of a courageous woman who went to great lengths to help, making it a tale that I became so wrapped up in that I felt like I was there - feeling the terror, drama, and happiness right along with Feena.

This is an excellent read for all lovers of historical fiction and I highly recommend it!

I had never read a book by this author before, but I had heard good things and I wasn't disappointed. This book is a different take on the WW2 story ,which isn't an easy fare as there are so many. I was really invested in the characters and wanted the two childhood friends to have a happier ending, but the ending was impactful nevertheless. Thank you for the ARC! I will definitely check out her other books.

I’m always a sucker for WW11 historical fiction, and this story doesn’t disappoint. There really is a bit of something for everyone here: a bit of romance, an air of mystery, a splash of suspense, all set against the backdrop of one the most tumultuous times in recent history. Fenna is the perfect heroine here, a girl born of immigrant parents, she has an independent streak that seems a bit ahead of her time. Despite having suffered horrible, personal tragedies in her childhood, she blossoms and grows into a smart, competent young woman. She manages to build a successful life in the big city performing the magic she has always loved. Like so many at the time she is summoned for a higher purpose to aid the British government in constructing devices that can aid POW’s stuck behind enemy lines. Perhaps she would have happily done that for the duration of the war, but she never expected for her childhood sweetheart to come back into her life, and for him she is willing to risk everything. This is clearly exhaustively researched and while some events may have been changed to make the timelines work, I learned in the notes section that a lot of the events and structural elements were actually real. Definitely a must read for those interested in historical fiction, as this brings forward the somewhat unknown story of using ordinary objects to hide items that may aid soldiers stuck in camps. Review posted to Goodreads, Litsy, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, and LibraryThing.

This is refreshingly not a typical WWII book. The characters' experiences are believable and relatable yet so intriguing and unusual. This book has it all--magic, mystery, despair, atrocities, passion, love, commitment, bravery, and secret spy gadgets. The fact that it is based on true events makes it all the better!

A World War II story with a strong heroine. There seem to be quite a few of these coming out but this one is worth reading. The characters come alive and the book is multi-layered. In this novel (based loosely on historical information), Our main character is recruited by MI-9 to help soldiers escape POW camps. While this is quite long book (over 500 pages), it is well worth finishing.

THE WAYS WE HIDE by Kristina McMorris will run your emotions through the wringer. There will be tears, happiness, and more tears. And I loved it! In Fenna, McMorris has created a character who is strong, multifaceted, and, simply amazing. Fenna has been through so much in her young life, and things that would break so many make her stronger. I reveled in her journey, excited to learn more about someone involved in creating gadgets to help POWs during the War.
This was my first read by McMorris and I am anxious to read more!
Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read an early copy. All opinions are my own and are freely given.
#TheWaysWeHide #KristinaMcMorris #SourcebooksLandmark

The author has written many novels, but I believe this one might be her best yet! This book is a excellently researched, and it is clear, as always, that Kristina McMorris is a scrupulous historian alongside her authorship. Her ability to create heroines that are eminently relatable (and one that I may want to be friends with!) sets her apart from other authors for me. Wonderful, captivating writing and original plot and character (she is a magician!) gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

✨Book Review✨

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the eARC of The Ways We Hide.

Are you looking for another realllllly good historical fiction book?? And do you like magic? 🪄📘

This was my first @kristina.mcmorris and it won’t be my last! She also wrote Sold On A Monday, which I’ve only seen rave reviews for.

I loved how McMorris shared how she wrote this novel in her author’s note. She took quite a few obscure, but important events in history and put them all together in this book alongside a strong, female protagonist.

That female protagonist, Fen, becomes obsessed with magic 🪄 at a young age. Did you know that magic helped defeat the Nazis in WW2? Because I didn’t!

Also, my husband’s all-time favorite game is Monopoly. You learn how this game ALSO helped defeat the Nazis.

I loved this book and will definitely be reading Sold On A Monday next! Also, McMorris explains the historical genre in perfect words that I have to share:

“I often liken historical fiction to "literary Advil," in that, ideally,
readers enjoy the sugarcoating of a story while benefiting from the "good stuff" (i.e., history) along the way…I attempted whenever possible to remain true to history, and only with reluctance did I (at least knowingly) take creative liberties, having to remind myself that the beauty of fiction invites, even requires, such leeway for an imaginative adventure not meant to be a documentary.”

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a very interesting World War II book that is based on true facts and real people. Fenna Vos is a young orphan from Michigan’s copper country. She lived thru the horrific Italian Hall Disaster in 1913 where 73 people ( mostly children) died. These memories and nightmares follow and influence Fenna all her life. Fenna is an illusionist who invents many escape aids (for the Allied soldiers) hidden in various common items such as a deck of playing cards, game boards, lipstick case, Monopoly games, and more. She reluctantly joins the M19 British military intelligence team to invent escape devices. She was part of the Dutch resistance group in 1944. I learned a lot about the resistance groups and the people who risked their lives to overcome the Nazi regime.