The Escape Game is a wonderful WWII historical fiction novel that you’re going to love. The whole series is actually amazing as well. While each book is a different author they all focus on WWII and a heroine of some kind. They also don’t have to be read in any order as they don’t go together but each are stand-alone books.

Okay, now for this book. I loved it! Who knew? Really though who knew that they did this with games? I didn’t. I knew they had codes that they used in letters etc but I did not know that games were created like this. It is always amazing when you learn things through reading that are true. Let’s just say that I’m going to be adding some more to our WWII study for my kids in our homeschool now.

I’m going to have to say that you need this book. It’s about a family divided by war and how they can connect and still fight together even though they’re apart. Oh and one is a POW and I loved how they showed that in the book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Some games have more to them then others and we learn about that in "The Escape Game". It wasn't just a game but a chance for freedom for some of the WWII Prisoners of War. What a fascinating story with some facts that were not released until 50 years after the end of the WWII.

In this story, we get to learn about the way things were in homes in England and then for the POWs from an American and British viewpoint. We quickly are drawn into Beryl's world at home working in Leeds during the war starting in 1941. She gives us basic insight into the what they were dealing with daily in the English homes during the war. Then we learn from Kenneth about being a POW and how being a pilot, he was treated differently than the other captured soldiers. Most of the story is from inside the POW camp, giving us a chance to see in this story, a different viewpoint for this WWII story.

What an interesting story that I would highly recommend. If I could I would give this book an extra star for all the fascinating facts woven into the stories.

This is my personal opinion on this book. I received a complimentary copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I can’t remember ever reading a World War II novel where some characters were prisoners in a German POW camp. That unique setting additional interest in this wartime tale that switches between the people at home and the pilots on the Front. I found it intriguing to learn about secret ways the captives’ escape was aided. I was also surprised at how much better the pilots who were captured had it than those who suffered in concentration camps. So this compelling story offers information about life of both civilians and military during that difficult time. Those in the Royal Air Force were dutybound to try to escape, and this book details their attempts. The characters and plot seem quite realistic, making readers feel like eyewitnesses to the events, rooting for the success of those caught in this dramatic struggle. Trust in God is also emphasized throughout the book. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoy reading Christian historical fiction, especially books with the setting of the Word War II time period. This book has a twist in the storyline that I’ve never read about before. The plot revolves around a board game that provided aid to the prisoners as they planned their escapes from the prison camps. There were several twists and turns that added tension to the action in the book during the escapes, and I found myself turning pages quickly to see if the two main characters, James and Kenneth, were able to return to their families.

We also follow Beryl Clark as she bravely provides aid to others during the bombing of London. It was interesting following the action in both London and the prison camp. The author did a great job of bringing all the details in both places together at the end of the book. There’s a twist I didn’t see coming until near the end of the book that added a special meaning to the story.

If you’re ever watched the movie “The Great Escape”, you’ll find a few similarities in this book and the movie. That’s because the author used some of the true elements of the history of that prison camp in this story. I enjoyed this book and if you love to read accurate historical fiction, you’ll enjoy it, too.

I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book was beautifully researched, and Turk worked hard to recreate life back in the 1940's as best she could, from the bomb shelter to the POW camp. I say 'worked hard' because I struggled to lose myself in this book. Every description was told, not shown, every line rehearsed, not experienced. It wasn't until the plot ramped up, that the climax was insight that I was able to put aside the physical words and keep pace with the story.

I wish I could have gotten lost in this book, sadly I wasn't able to.

I thought this was a great story about World War II and what people did on the home front to help those in the war. I also thought it gave great insight into what a POW camp would have been like. I liked that it was based on actual events. I had no idea that maps for hidden in games to aid POW in escaping. I thought that was really neat and really brave. I thought this book gave great insights into the endurance of the human spirit. I liked how even when it would have been easy to give up because of how hard the war was, people kept on fighting for freedom. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was well written.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

Marilyn Turk gives readers a look at life on the home front in England as well as life in a POW camp for the royal airmen during World War II (before America entered the war) in The Escape Game.

Beryl is a secretary who does her duty to remind citizens to close their blackout shades and helps during air raids. When she’s not serving England, she’s following the motto instilled in the people to keep calm and carry on. But you really get a look into her heart when she meets an elderly woman named Elinor (and that’s all I’m going to say about that because I do not want to spoil anything for you). When Elinor’s brother is captured and taken to a German POW camp, she begins writing him and an American acquaintance named Kenneth who is also in the camp.

From Kenneth’s perspective, we get some insight into the POW camp for airmen (which, as stated in the book, is less severe than many of the other camps) and their drive to not become complacent. Their tenacity in finding a way to escape and return home.

The history of the escape kit hidden in the Monopoly games is fascinating and totally worth the wait for the details. The romance occurs through the written word, which is both great (for sharing yourself) and disappointing (because so little of the romance occurs face to face between Beryl and Kenneth). But when I was done reading, I was completely satisfied with the time I’d spent with Beryl, Kenneth, and the other characters.

Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive or negative review. All opinions are my own.

The Escape game was an enjoyable WW2 novel which explored the impact of the conflict upon ordinary people. It focuses around a little-known event from the war: that Waddingtons secretly produced Monopoly sets with special equipment inside designed to aid Allied prisoners to escape from German POW camps. They took advantage of a clause in the Geneva Convention which allowed for troops to be sent things like board games in Red Cross packages to get these special Escape Games to them.

I will say that the novel took quite a while to get around to this plotline though: the first part was more about Beryl Clarke, a young woman who has a brother in the RAF who returns home to Leeds to support her mother after her father was killed in a bombing raid. I wouldn’t call this a romance: there is a subplot involving that, but its not really significant until near the end: it is more about the story of Beryl and her family and how she came became involved in what Waddingtons were doing.
James and his American friend/former classmate Kenneth are the other POV characters who spend much of the story in a POW camp. I’m not sure if it was the same one the men from the movie The Great Escape were sent to: but there are definitely shades of that with the tunnels and other escape attempts.

This story was clearly well-researched and bought to mind something I really overlooked for years: that my grandmother was a Wartime Bride (although her husband was not actually in the armed forces) who lived through the Blitz. My only complaints were the Americanisms used by British characters: we don’t usually refer to University as “going to College”. I guess that is inevitable and it is really only a minor nitpick.
The author clearly put a lot of work into researching other aspects of the story without getting bogged down in too much detail.

Thanks to Barbour books for approving to read this title on Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

What Time I am Afraid, I Will Trust in Thee

This WWII novel set in both England and Germany was very satisfying. The author brought her characters to life, the kind of people who were hard to forget when the book was finished. She includes real places, such as Waddingtons and the very elegant Temple Newsam, and real events, people, and POW camps. There is also, in several characters, a firm foundation of faith in the Lord. It is a fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat kind of novel that was difficult to put down.

Beryl had been an Oxford student when Germany bombed her hometown of Leeds. Her brother James went into the RAF, and Kenneth, their US friend, returned home. Beryl’s father died in one of the attacks, leaving her mother a shell of grief and despair. She returned to Leeds to care for her.

Beryl obtained a secretarial position at Waddingtons, a company that made Monopoly games specific to Leeds, and playing cards. She also volunteered several nights a week as an Air Raid Precautions Warden, as she had done in London.

Unbeknownst to Beryl and James, Kenneth joined the Royal Eagle squadron of the RAF, as the US had not yet entered the war. He was a confident, but not foolish, pilot. Shot down over occupied France, Kenneth was sent to a POW camp in Germany. It was rumored that airmen were treated better than other POWs. The Royal Air Force taught their flight crews that it was their duty to escape as soon as possible. Kenneth had no problem with that; he wanted to fly, win the war, and go home. He had tried to escape several times, and was caught and punished every time.

When James arrived at the POW camp and was assigned to a hut, he had just been released from the hospital and still had a broken arm. He knew the Lord had a plan when he found himself in the same hut as Kenneth, and the two friends had a happy reunion. Due to James’s broken right arm, Kenneth wrote letters for him, and Beryl was stunned that the man she spent time with at Oxford was with her brother.

The Geneva Convention allowed POWs to receive packages from charitable organizations that included foods and vitamins, playing cards, and hygiene necessities. Beryl was told about the top-secret new Monopoly games Waddingtons made to be sent to POW camps by such organizations. These special games included cleverly hidden items such as a small file, compass, and map showing how to get out of Germany from any of the POW camps. All mail was reviewed by censors, so she had to find a way to tell them to play the games when they received them. Even if they got away, nobody escaped this prison without being recaptured.

This is one of the most fascinating novels in the series! The men and women were engaging and very likable, conversations were realistic, and the novel itself researched very well. Watching POWs and their families on the home front, and knowing some of the horrors of this particular war, shows why people of this era were called the Greatest Generation. There was no instant communication, and mail took a month or more to be delivered. Those in England lived with the constant threat of air raids, and several European countries were occupied. Yet, love of God, country, and families were priorities. I highly recommend this novel to those who appreciate well-written, well-researched Christian WWII fiction.

From a thankful heart: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher through Celebrate Lit and NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

The Escape Game is written by Marilyn Turk. This is part of the Heroines of World War II series. The series is written by multiple authors and focus on a strong and brave female. The books can be read as stand alones. However, I have been fortunate enough to read all of them and they cover such a wide variety of stories. I love that there is some true historical story within the fiction.

This one is set in Leeds, England. Beryl Clarke came home from college when the war started. She lost her father to it, and her brother is currently involved with the conflict. Her mother, has been slowly fading away after the death of her husband. Beryl has a lot on her plate. She works two jobs and is caring for her mother.

Her brother James and his friend/college classmate, Kenneth find themselves reunited in a not so great situation. Being a POW as a pilot had it's perks since the Nazi's did honor the Geneva Convention for the most part. Both of them try and concoct a plan to escape the Nazi POW camp.

One of Beryl's jobs is secretary at Waddington Game Company. She accidently discovers that the owner is going to be used to assist in the escape plan of the POWs. Monopoly is one of my favorite games and I love that it had a secret meaning. I really thought this was a super cool concept.

The author has shared how much she enjoyed her research. I also did! I love learning some new stuff within a story. The story is well written and the characters are well developed. Thank you to the author, publisher and Celebrate Lit for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.

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The Escape Game by author Marilyn Turk is a Christian historical romance novel. Set in Leeds, England in 1941, this is a World War II story inspired by real events. It is centered around prisoners of war and a board game that helps them. How intriguing is that!

This is the story of Beryl Clarke. She is a secretary at a Game factory in Leeds, England, and also is an Air Raid Warden. Her brother, a pilot, is a prisoner of war along with his friend American Kenneth Borderlon.

The author has done a great deal of research for this book. She takes readers into the middle of the war and POW Camp. Her characters were believable. Their conversations sounded authentic. I learned a lot from this book. It was fascinating to read how a board game helped the soldiers.

I had trouble becoming invested in the story and characters for the first part of the book. It seemed slow to me. Finally I did and I was glad I stuck with it. This book leaves readers with her findings on the war. It provides a story full of intrigue, adventure and romance. Be sure to read the author notes at the end.

Even though I had difficulty with the first part of the book, I would recommend it. It is a different type of war story and fascinating. I loved that it was based on true events. There is much to be gleaned by reading it. It gets a 4 star rating from me. A copy was provided by Celebrate Lit and NetGalley, but these are my honest words.

Interesting story of allied POWs in a German prison camp trying to escape, and a young British woman trying to care for her widowed mother, while working in a toy factory and writing to her brother and friend in the camp. I learned some interesting bit of history here, which is always my goal when reading historical fiction.

Another great installment of the women of wwII series. This was my first time reading this author.

I loved this story. I never even thought about escape plans in board games. The story is very interesting from the beginning and had a wonderful end. I can’t wait to read the next book.

While part of a series easy to read as a stand alone book.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read and review. All opinions are my own.

In England, Beryl Clarke has just lost her father to a German bomb. She becomes one of the wardens who helps people escape to bomb shelters whenever the warning sirens are heard. Her older brother and his friend Kenneth are prisoners of war in Germany. Kenneth has tried to escape several times, but failed with each attempt. Then the game company, where Beryl is a secretary, starts hiding escape kits in Monopoly games and sending them to prison camps through the Red Cross. Will they work? Will James and Kenneth return home?
I love the brotherhood of the prisoners. Kenneth was the only American for most of the book, and proud of it. The others were from England, France, Australia, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, etc, but found brotherhood and alliance with common purpose. I especially love the bond between James, Kenneth, and Angus. Kenneth's over-confidence can be annoying when it's toward James but it's hilarious toward the Germans. Beryl's perspective of daily life in England during the war is interesting. Love the generosity she and her mother share. There were some typos (primarily a couple repetitions). I love how the book wrapped up.
On page 54, they say they're accumulating a library twice.
Also, cats and lactose intolerant.

This is a story that takes place during WW2, and we get the point of view of two characters who have up front and personal seats to this war.

Beryl Clarke was a college student until this war broke into her life. Not only did it upend her college plans, but it also killed her father. Now with her brother James off to war, she needs to take care of her mother who is just really a shadow of who she used to be. Out of all the characters, Beryl's mother is the one that I felt for the most. She was in a deep depression, with the loss of her husband, her missing son, and the bombs falling all around. Now Beryl must work and take of her mother, all the while trying to keep her own fears at bay.

Kenneth Bordelon is an American pilot who also had been going to college along with Beryl. Then he signs up to fight with his British brothers, only to get captured and taken to a POW camp. Here he meets other pilots, but his main goal is to escape.

This story was interesting in how it dealt with the coded Monopoly game. I do wish there was a little bit more romance, the story focused mostly on Beryl's and Kenneth's individual lives and experiences during the war.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

“…as members of the Royal Air Force, it is our duty to try to escape.”

Bravo for Marilyn Turk, who, in The Escape Game, has penned a very different kind of WWII book than I have yet read. Part of the Heroines of WWII series from Barbour, each novel stands alone. This is a slightly dual-timeline novel, where we meet Grandmother Beryl at nearly 100, then go back and learn of her life in war-torn England.
So many themes are presented, while the storyline is so engaging, you won’t want to stop reading until you find out what happens to the POW’s. Of course, you’ll want to discover whether the relationship between Beryl and American Kenneth can grow by heavily edited correspondence.

A bereaved widow, young women helping the war effort in ways that take bravery I can only imagine, an elderly lady with no family, and men desperate to escape the POW camp. What wonderfully diverse characters, each with their particular strengths and weaknesses. The thought that impressed me, was from the King of England down to the average Britisher, so many gave so much in the way of self-sacrifice. And many understood the value and hope provided by trusting in God at such a horrific time. Plus, the need to pull together to be successful. Kenneth may have some room to grow in all of these areas! Thankfully, people around him blaze the way spiritually as he attempts to blaze the way physically.

My fave secondary character? It would have to be a tie between Beryl’s mother (what a journey she makes in this book), and Mrs. Dowd (she both complicates and enriches others’ lives).

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“The greatness of any nation is in the spirit of its people.”- King George during WWII

“As far as Kenneth was concerned, if he wanted a miracle, he’d have to create it himself. And if God wanted to help, He was welcome. He could start with a hot dish of jambalaya.”

“He pitied those who didn’t have that hope, because it was hope that kept them going.”

I have always gravitated toward war stories or war time settings (especially WWII), and The Escape Game is a good example of why. So much history, adventure, intrigue, and even a bit of romance. It’s a bit strange to say I enjoyed reading a war story dealing with POWs in a Nazi camp, but I was taken on quite an adventure and learned something new! I wasn’t aware of the games of escape and found this aspect of the story the most fascinating.

Historical facts, well-crafted characters, and components of faith are blended to create an intriguing work of fiction. This is a relatively quick read, but it stays with you long after the last page. I’ll never look at a Monopoly game board the same way again.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are 100% mine.

The book takes us to WWII and the devastation people endured. It is hard to read about the bombs going off in neighborhoods and the horrific loss that happened everyday. Can yo imagine hearing sirens going off where you need to go to a bomb shelter for safety? The women who are left behind must find ways to support the family. They were given rations that were barely enough for a family. The author paints a realistic look by her vivid details. I could hear the sirens, bombs and screams as families ran for safety.

Beryl is a very good character and tries to do her part to help out. She left college to take care of her mum and I loved how compassionate she was. Her heart is full with wanting to help others and takes in an elderly lady after her home was destroyed.

James and Kenneth find themselves at the same POW camp. I’m sure is was a comfort for them to be together since they are friends. They seem to be treated better than other POW’s because they are airmen . It was nice that they were able to receive packages from home as well as from the Red Cross. Their determination to escape was intriguing. There were many attempts and I wondered if they would succeed. Their bravery is one that I hope we all recognize. They represent those who fought for our freedom.

The most fascinating thing for me was how the game Monopoly was used as an escape plan. Hidden within the game were useful tools and information which could help the men escape. I had never heard of this and was very interested in learning more about a very clever way to help POW’s escape by the use of a game.

I loved how James never gave up telling Kenneth about God. At one point Kenneth realizes that God is watching over him. He now knows that without God he would not be safe. The relationship between Beryl and Kenneth were nice but it seemed to develop very fast. I liked how the past and present are brought together in this beautiful illustration of hope.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

An engaging read set during WWII, that follows Beryl Clarke and an American soldier as they wait out the war, she in England working for Waddington Game Company and Kenneth in a German POW camp.

Beryl has put off her plan for schooling due to war as well as her mother's failing health, she is a hard worker and does what she can to make her mother more comfortable. I liked the friendship between James and Kenneth, and how he encourages Kenneth to take a closer look at Christianity. Kenneth is a good friend, clever and quick thinking, I liked how he and the other soldiers stuck together while in the prison camp.

Overall it was an entertaining read, with a touch of romance, but mainly a story about the brave men and women who lived through the war. It was so cool learning about how games were used to help the troops on foreign soil. An enjoyable read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A bit disappointing:
I must admit that I was expecting more from this book and was hoping for more tension, suspense and even romance. What we got instead was a rather tame WWII story which found to be rather mundane and not very exciting. I have read and loved all of the prior books in the series and one of the things that made them so special was how unique they were and that they revealed little known or forgotten aspects of the war. I did find it interesting learning about the special Monopoly game for POWs but didn't feel as if this took enough precedence within the overall story. There was a light romance and whilst I liked both characters, I would have liked to have seen them interact more and show greater characters development.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.