"As Dawn Breaks" by Kate Breslin

Amid the Great War in 1918 England, munitions worker Rosalind Graham is desperate to escape the arranged marriage being forced on her by her ruthless guardian. When the Chilwell factory explodes, killing hundreds of unidentified workers, Rose realizes the world believes she perished in the disaster. Seizing the chance to escape, she assumes a new identity, taking a supervisory position in Gretna, Scotland, as Miss Tilly Lockhart. RAF Captain Alex Baird is returning home to Gretna on a secret mission to uncover the saboteur suspected in the Chilwell explosion, as Gretna's factory is likely next. Alex is surprised to discover a young woman, Miss Lockhart, renting his boyhood room, but the two eventually bond over their mutual affection for his family--until Alex receives orders to surveil her. Rose squirms beneath Alex's scrutiny while she struggles to gain her workers' respect. But when her deception turns to danger, she and Alex must find a way to put their painful pasts behind them and together try to safeguard the future.

I'd known of the women who worked in munitions factories for the war effort in WWII, but I hadn't realized how many women had in WWI as well, or what dangerous jobs they held--where the atmosphere was so physically explosive that one couldn't even have metal bra hooks or silk stockings, lest a spark from the static electricity blow the factory. And I can't imagine that so much exposure to TNT that one turned yellow was good for long term health. It was a fascinating bit of history!

As with any time one is lying about one's identity, there's the expectation that it will blow up worse than a munitions factory when one's secrets are revealed, and such is the case for Rose. I loved how she grew through the story, but I can see why Alex takes such great affront at her lies--she does look highly suspicious regarding the Chilwell explosion, and when there's a threat of sabotage where she's currently employed . . . it would be all too easy to come to the wrong conclusions. I greatly enjoyed some Mission Impossible-esque elements, though as is the case with any master of disguise plot, my head was left spinning trying to figure out who and what I has missed throughout the story. It was a pleasure to catch some cameos of characters from a previous book (High as the Heavens).

Thank you Bethany House and NeGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.