McMorris has done it again! She has delivered an excellent book. It was a very exciting read. I was in the edge of my seat with each turning page. Fessa Vos is a chameleon and an illusionist, Magic is her game and tricks give her a name.
I loved all the intrigue and bravery of the characters. My heart did ache when the part of the story I wanted to work out a certain didn’t, but the show must go on.
Disappear into this great read!

4.5*
Historical fiction is always a win for me when it is during WWII. An interesting research by this author on the board game created by British Intelligence and how they were used for hiding information and holding off the Germans. When soldiers were stranded, this was aid for their escape. There is another book you can find more about this interesting tidbit "Inside Monopoly's Secret War against the Third Reich." Under classified documents, this intelligent ploy helped approximately 35,000 soldiers find their way back to their bases.

Another fascinating but horrendous look was the Italian Hall tragedy in 1913 Michigan leaving 73 people dead, mainly children in a stairwell for a false fire alert. People were trampled under the feet of those fleeing from nothing but fear. The narrator, Fenna, begins her story in a mining town in Michigan and is caught under the trample with one of her friends, Arie.

Fenna and Arie are inseparable and find their way back to each other after being separated as youngsters. Fenna loses her dad in sickness and she is whisked away to an orphanage. Her fight to get back to Arie is an emotional journey showing her bravery and loyalty to him.

When Fenna is older, she is hired by the British as an inventor and designer of these escape tactics during the war. She had worked as an inventor and assistant of an escape artist so her talents were helpful. This is an interesting tie-in and I found it fascinating to read all the tactics used in magic shows and the war. Arie and Fenna have a beautiful love story to tell in this Historical Fiction.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this title in exchange for my honest review!

Like the most skillful sleight of hand, Kristina McMorris' WAYS WE HIDE was beguiling, engaging, and deeply involving. The story of magicians, of gritty truth and expert illusion, set during World War II, was convincing and kept me up way too late reading one more chapter. No holds are barred, no opportunity to challenge her intrepid heroine are missed. I particularly enjoyed the genuine and artful ways she evoked a bygone time in Fenna's story of an incredibly capable woman confined to a secondary role rather than shining her own brilliance. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I received a digital ARC from Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley.

My absolute favorite parts of this story focused on the growing friendship between Fenna and Arie. I look forward to reading more of the author’s novels.

This was a good book. I was expecting more because of the praise I've heard of Ms. McMorris' first book, but it didn't give me those excited tingling feelings I was expecting. I just felt it was average. I did like the highlighting of the two historical stairway deaths and loved learning that those were based on true events. I enjoyed that we met adult Fenna and learned that she had committed some unknown, unforgivable offense to Arie, and then we got to meet them as kids. It really helped with those feelings of wanting them to rekindle and wondering what could have possibly happened to go from childhood to where they are now. I enjoyed learning about the different things that were created for captured Airmen and soldiers that allowed them to escape. I really enjoyed the historical aspect of all this. However, when everything went down with Arie, that's where it fell flat for me. It became less historical fiction and more of a romance novel. I just felt Arie's storyline became too convoluted and it made me lose interest. I wish the ending had been a bit different, but I can't really explain without spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that. 3.5 stars for me.

This book was a fascinating read as it mashed up the life in a circus and life during the war. It's a heartwarming story of a woman finding her way and purpose in a patriarchal society. A book worth the time indeed!

Another war historical fiction? I've read so many lately my first thought was I need something new. Well this isn't your ordinary war novel.

This book is a bit long - but well worth the read.

Fenna Vos grew up in Michigan where she experiences trauma and loss at a young age. This trauma informs her character throughout the novel. Magic becomes her salvation thanks to her friend Arie who gives her a book about Houdini. As an adult, she can only assist in her magic shows because of her fear of being closed in. When she falls out with her partner, she is offered a position with MI9 developing spy gadgets for British intelligence.

I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first as the pace seemed to pick up. MI 9 gets little attention in WWII historical fiction so that increased my enjoyment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Yet another historical fiction novel that takes place during World War II? Yes! But featuring a little known aspect of WWII that keeps it fresh and new? Yes, really! Although this is such a crowded genre, Kristina McMorris has managed to pull out something I had not heard of: how escape aids were smuggled into Nazi occupied territory for Allied prisoners of war by hiding them in Monopoly game boards! This tidbit, combined with the Italian Hall disaster of 1913 in Michigan, where many children were tragically killed in a stairwell stampede because they believed there was a fire, form the backstory for our fictional protagonist, Fenna Vos, a performing illusionist who is recruited by the London War Office as a "temporary wartime civil servant." Since Fenna is ready for a change, and she is hoping to run into her old friend Arie, she accepts the job thereby setting in motion a series of events that will upend both of their lives.

I had not read a book by Kristina McMorris before, so I was blown away by the beautiful writing, dialogue and endearing characters. Fenna was strong, spirited and brave; Arie was sweet, tough and protective. I didn't expect the romance to play such a big part, but I'll admit I loved that aspect. The story moved along quickly with short chapters that made the book feel like less that its nearly 500 pages. I will definitely read this author's work again.

I will highly recommend this to readers who like historical fiction and women's fiction.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris. The story takes place during World War II and we meet Fenna Vos.
Fenna experiences many events and readers will be amazed at her courage both as a child and adult in overcoming obstacles. She learned how to survive at a very young age.

The unique childhood friendship she develops with Arie Jansen plays a considerable role in Fenna’s life. As her best friend, Arie gives her a book of magic tricks and her life is changed. I think I can safely say that she idolized Houdini. Fenna’s character was well written. I love that the author refers to Fenna as a “skilled illusionist”.

As a young woman, Fenna is working in Brooklyn developing staged escape acts with a partner. One night after her show, she is approached by an Englishman and he wants her to design secret and hidden escape aids to help the Allies thwart the Germans. She is not quite sure that she wants to do this, but eventually Fenna moves to London to use her skills to assist. She is pulled into a secret mission and learns the meaning of courage and loyalty.

I’m fascinated by the gadgets and the ‘tricks’ she engineers to impede the enemy. And… “a classified use of Monopoly boards to smuggle escape aids to Allied POWS” …why yes!!! Tell us more!!!

Readers will be captivated by this story and how she perseveres through her experiences and of course, a little romance along the way always helps!!

I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This historical novel was really entertaining. From the story of Fennas early life, to her relationships with Arie and Charles, to illusions and espionage as part of the war effort, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story.

Fenna is a strong character and she has to be as she is cast out on her own from quite a young age. She has to fight against the expectations of society to pursue her career in magic and a job in espionage is hardly a typical job for a woman of the time either. I was very much rooting for her throughout the book.

The story of her and Arie, lifelong friends brought together by a tragic event and then separated by the war is so well told.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for a chance to read an early copy

“The Ways We Hide” is a great historical novel by Kristina McMorris.

Thinking I was reading a typical Great Depression/WWII novel, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The focus of this novel is on Fenna, who, because she was poor, had to quickly develop street smart skills. Those skills lead to her working as a magician’s assistant (though she was the one developing the tricks behind the curtain). Yet, such expertise leads to her assisting Great Britain during the war.

Feena was a delightful, spunky character, and I loved the friendship she had with her childhood best friend, Arie. This novel does more than tell a good story, but makes us fall in love with a woman who survives hardships is a very unique way.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for the privilege of reviewing this book.

It took me several chapters to get interested in this book.
I think the book got better about half way through. From there it becomes more of a page turner.
It’s interesting that Fenn was a female magician and that helped her at times during the war.
It’s an interesting story set during WW2
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

It took me a little bit to get into this story, but once I did I couldn’t put it down. There are so many stories set during WWII, but McMorris created a unique story to kept me interested. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This is a great read. It's a beautifully written WW II novel that weaves fact with fiction that will keep you turning the pages. The author brings the story to life with your words and keeps you spellbound. Loved it and highly recommend to fans of Historical fiction.
U received a complimentary copy from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

As someone who grew up in Wisconsin and has family in the Upper Peninsula, I had to request this.
Equal parts heart breaking and inspiring, you learn about Fenna Voss, who grew up in Michigan's Copper County. She grows up to be a magician and serves her county overseas in the British Intelligence. She helps design products such as using Monolopy pieces to help spies evade capture.
A historical fiction book based on real life suitations and characters, this book was a hit!

I love when I start a book and do not know anything about it. This was the case with The Way We Hide and I loved it. I wondered if it would keep my interest for just shy of 500 pages and it certainly did.

Fenna Vos is a scrappy little character. She lives in Michigan with her father and her best friend is Arie Jansen. She loves magic and is fascinated by Houdini and her and Arie practice tricks for hours. After Arie moves away and her dad passes she is put in an orphanage. She escapes and finds Arie and his family. There is a lot going on with her traveling with her magic show, the war starting and her moving to England to work in MI9 developing gadgets to help POWs escape. She eventually takes on a special assignment in Denmark to help Arie. The action never seemed to slow and kept me reading along.

I loved Fenna. She worked honing in her craft and a large base of knowledge to help get her out of troubling situations. Her motivation for escaping things was being caught in a stampede as a child and her ability to assess a situation and come up with a plan after looking at it from many different aspects. The character was so likeable I could not help but root for her and Arie. There were some secondary characters that helped her in England that were quite interesting like Clutty and a young woman driver, Lenora, that she was friends with.

Bottom line is I loved this book and plan on recommending it to multiple people.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a digital copy.

This story is a fictional story dating back to 1942 when WW2 was going on. I’m definitely in the minority with my 3 star rating but I had a hard time following this story. I’m sure it’s just me.

My thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc of this excellent read.

Fenna is an orphan girl who becomes an escape artist/illusionist where she is recruited after one of her shows by the government to put her skills to work to.use against the Nazis. Then the story turns and goes all the way back to.how she was orphaned and met the love of her life Arie. That takes up a big amount of time and I started questioning "what happened after she took the offer?" Then,story reverts back finally as to her government work. She is then asked to go undercover to investigate questions behavior Arie may be doing against the government, which then leads her on a trip to finally use her illusionist skills to help someone near to her escape the Nazis.

Book was an excellent read but very head with a lot crammed in. It seemed like it was never ending. Was I reading a magic book? A love story? An escape from the Nazis? I wish the book would have started with the orphan and meeting Arie part instead of breaking in the middle and disconnecting the flow and continuity of the story. Bur all in all, a very good book.

Received the book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I've always enjoyed Ms. McMorris's stories, but this is definitely my new favorite among her work. There was definitely realism in the tragedies her main character, Fenna, experiences as a child. But what really makes this story come alive is the overall arc on how the talents we acquire in life sometimes require us to change the way we look at things. Plus, this was not a typical romance, something which also made the story more real.