As Dawn Breaks

The year is 1918, and Rosalind Graham is about to married to what is known as a "scunner" in the local parlance, and she can't stand the thought.  Her uncle arranged the marriage to his own benefit, and the man is abusive at best.  Her friend from the munitions factory where she works, Tilly, is holding a shower for her after work and sends Rose to her cottage to get cleaned up before the party.  Tilly gives Rose her number badge so that no one will stop her on her way out.  Once Rose is at Tilly's cottage, she hears an explosion and sees that the factory has gone, along with Tilly and her other friends.  In Tilly's cottage, she finds a five pound note and a letter telling her to take advantage of making a new life away from Chilwell and her uncle and fiance.  Tilly ends up in Gretna Green, Scotland, working for a munitions factory there using Tilly's name.  

Alex is being sent home after injuries he suffered when his brother, Ian, crashed and died.  While Alex hadn't crashed, he tried to save his brother from the burning wreckage of the plane Ian was flying.  Now, Alex is being "discharged" to try to catch the Rhymer before he can blow up another munitions plant.  It just so happens that the next plant on the Rhymer's list is in Gretna. He comes home to find his parents have rented out his room to Tilly/Rose and his sister, Hannah, is working at the munitions factory as well.  

This is a book filled with espionage, double-dealing, secrets, and treason.  It's also filled with pranks, practical jokes, and winning over the opposition.  And, just to satisfy my romantic tastes, a bit of falling in love. 

Kate Breslin is one of those authors who knows how to fill a book with enough twists and turns to keep the reader involved from beginning to end. Sometimes I get impatient with a book and I want to skip to the end and find out how it all plays out.  I couldn't do that with this book, because there was quite a bit of unpredictability in the plot.  

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and some tatties and neeps. 

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.