I absolutely loved it. I really loved The Huntress, this one doesn't hold back, there's another three people to keep track of, their lives, their loves, it has an absolutely smashing final fifth where everything comes together so smoothly. A banger, it really is. Blog review to come.

Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for a gifted audiobook copy of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. All opinions are my own.

Three very unique women come together in this story about WWII. Osla, Mab, and Beth come from different backgrounds but they are all three hired as codebreakers and required to keep the secrets of Bletchley Park. No one, not even their families, know what they are doing at Bletchley Park.

I loved The Rose Code. The women are each strong in their own way. Osla comes from a wealthy and well connected family. Mab comes from a poor and broken family. Beth has a very overbearing mother and has been sheltered from the world. At times is was heartbreaking but the story is fascinating and inspired a few visits to google facts, especially about Osla's life.

It is a dual timeline which alternates between 1940, as England prepares for war, and 1947, in the days leading up to the royal wedding of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Audiobook: I received a gifted audiobook from Netgalley. The narrator is Saskia Maarleveled. Her voice is clear and easily understandable. 1.75x was a very comfortable listening speed.

This is my first Kate Quinn book and now I want to read them all.

General Fiction (adult)
Historical Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: March 9, 2021

Excellent! By far the best book I've read so far this year. I read this book on audio and the narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, does a superb job as well. I was mesmerized by the story and could not stop listening from start to finish. Most of the time I only listen to audiobooks in my car but found myself finding excuses to listen to this one every extra minute I had throughout my day. I was familiar with the history of Bletchley Park, having watched The Imitation Game, and this book brought that history to life in an amazing way. Kate Quinn does a wonderful job of weaving suspense, intrigue, love and friendship into her book. I am sad to say I had not read any of her books previously but am rectifying that now! I immediately checked out "The Huntress" on audio (so far, it too is excellent) from the local library and also have "The Alice Network" on hold. With this book, Kate Quinn has become one of my new favorite authors!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audiobook of "The Rose Code" by Kate Quinn in exchange for an honest review.

"1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter--the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger--and their true enemy--closer..."

I loved getting to know Osla, Mab, and Beth through their stories and the adventures at Bletchley Park. Having not known much about Bletchley Park or The Rose Code, I didn't know what to expect, but I was hooked throughout the whole story. After finishing the book, I went and did a bit more research on the history of Bletchley Park and it's significance to England and WWII. I don't want to spoil anything from the plot, but I will be recommending this to my friends and family. The narrator was fantastic and really brought the characters to life better than I could have imagined myself.

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Mab is a fierce, practical woman from London’s East End. She just wants a better life for her and her little sister.
Osla is a Canadian born debutante, heiress and the war-time girlfriend of a prince. She’s determined to prove she’s more than a pretty face.
Beth’s a shy young woman who has always been under the thumb of her overbearing mother. She’s incredibly brilliant and a natural code breaker.
These three women become roommates while working at Bletchley Park, a top secret facility trying to break the German’s coded messages. They’re sworn to secrecy and take their jobs seriously. In a later timeline in 1947, the three friends are estranged when it’s discovered there may have been a traitor among them at Bletchley Park.

Three women, three love stories and I was here for it! This novel is so compelling. It is largely character driven and then the suspense hits hard towards the end as it all comes together so ingeniously. It has secrets, betrayal, friendship, love and forgiveness and hit all my emotions.
I received an advanced listening copy and the audio is brilliant. I loved the narration and it enhanced this incredible story.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Kate Quinn is now on my list of favorite authors of all time. This book is over 650 pages and 15 hours on audio which sounds really daunting but trust me it is not. I was bummed that it was over because I was so engrossed with the characters that I wanted to hear how their lives turned out in years to come.

I would highly recommend listening even if you tend to avoid audiobooks. The narrator of this book is amazing!!

This is a book about three women during WWII who work in Bletchley Park that learn to become codebreakers. They are sworn to secrecy to anyone outside of Bletchley Park for the fact that they are intercepting messages from the German Enigma machine (watch ‘The Imitation Game’ film). Throughout the story there is love, loss, secrets and betrayal. The mystery of the traitor is one I did not see coming until the person was actually revealed.

Real historical figures are woven in the storyline, such as Princess Elizabeth, Prime Minister Churchill, Alan Turing are just to name a few. It is told in a dual timeline that spans 1940 - 1947 leading up to the Royal Wedding plus the POV from each woman - Osla, Mab and Beth.

This book is amazing! The character development is on point and the plot is gripping.

While reading see if you can find all the references to Alice in Wonderland that are sprinkled throughout the book. 😉

Side Note -
Watch BBC’s series called Bletchley Circle and The Imitation Game movie if you want to continue learning about the historical background for this story.

In the 1940s during the war, Mab and Osla are summoned to Bletchly Park but for a reason in which not only are they unaware of, but one that will change their lives forever. They are to be trained to break German military codes. The two stay at a house where they meet Beth, quiet, shy and mousy Beth who soon joins them at Bletchly becoming one of the top cryptanalysts. The three endure secrets, heartbreak and betrayal which tears their relationship apart. One betrayal proves to be bigger than any of them imagined, landing one of them in an asylum. After 3 daunting years, in a final attempt to unravel the mystery behind the traitor that individual is able to reach out to the other two for help. With the clock ticking they reach out to their Bletchly Park family one last time to crack their biggest message yet. Will they be able to crack the code and clear the individuals name before it's too late?
This was an audio ARC that I was fortunate enough to receive from Netgalley and Harper Audio. I absolutely loved this book! This book had me sucked in the whole time. It had romance, betrayal, mystery and more. So many emotions as I read this book and I sincerely loved every minute of it. The narrator did an amazing job and in my honest opinion was a great pick. This is my first book by Kate Quinn and it definitely won't be my last! This is a must read for sure! I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is such an entertaining and intriguing historical fiction that towards the end felt like a fast paced mystery. It follows three women: Mab, Beth, and Osla as they decipher coded messages during WWII.
There are so many twists and turns along with spin-off plot lines throughout this nearly 700 page book. It took a while but this was thoroughly enjoyable.

What an amazing story about 3 extraordinary women who became code breakers during WWII. I love the way Kate Quinn weaves the lives of these women together. They had many hardships in their lives and relationships with different men but were true to each other in the end when it mattered. I also enjoyed the fact that Prince William dated Ozla the beautiful society girl. He does ditch her to marry the now Queen Elizabeth who he called Lillibeth. Then there is Mab who comes from poverty. They meet Beth when they rent rooms from her Mom. They get Beth to break code with them and she becomes one of a few female cryptanalysts. You find out many secrets from their pasts but they keep the secrets of their job until they die. They find there is a traitor amongst their men friends. Danger exists trying to break the Rose Code to find that traitor. The book is long and with all the characters you really have to pay attention and you may get lost in everything that is going on. All in all I would recommend this book.
Thanks to #HarperAudio, #netgalley and @KateQuinn for an ARC of this audio book.

The Rose Code is set in WWII England with a group of unlikely women and men that come together to become codebreakers in the war effort. Skills they need: math, chess, puzzle cracking, language abilities, perseverance and grit. Osla, Mab and Beth become roommates and coworkers in Bletchley Park. They each play a part in breaking the German Enigma code to bring any and all advantages to the Allied troops. Did you watch The Imitation Game? That focused more on Alan Tuering, where this focuses on the women involved.

There is so much in this book and a lot for every reader. There are historical people (Prince Philip of Greece, Winston Churchill!), places and events. It's a story of female friendship and how that friendship can form and break. It's also about family, what that means and how you can create it. It's got adventure and romance and mystery.

Enjoy this delightful read. Or in my case, listen. The audiobook is excellent and narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I have grown a bit tired of WWII fiction, simply because I have read so many books from this era recently but this author has the ability to draw me into every single story she writes. This book follows a group of three friends who become involve in breaking Nazi codes in England during WWII. We watch them as they mature, work through new and old heartbreaks, and the stress that comes with war. The book also gives us a glimpse into their lives seven years after the war where one of the three women is in an insane asylum and the former close friends all despise each other. The story unfolds perfectly. This book isn't as dark as The Alice Network or The Huntress but it is just as exciting to read. I will read everything this Kate Quinn writes in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader's copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Kate Quinn book but I’ll absolutely be reading more of her work after enjoying this one so much.

I’ve been obsessed with codes for as long as I can remember, and I spent many an hour after school devising my own codes or writing letters to my friends in lemon juice or hieroglyphs for them to de-cypher. We even installed a little mailbox on the fence between our house and the neighbors so the girls next door and I could pass notes back and forth each day. Of course, the codes the characters in this book were trying to crack at Bletchley Park were quite literally the difference between life and death, versus me complaining about my annoying little sister.

Not only is this book a glimpse into the past and the fascinating code-breaking work that was being done in the UK during WWII but it’s also an intimate story of three very different women, who you get to know in such detail that you’ll be thinking of them long after you’ve finished this book.

Osla is beautiful, rich, and has Prince Philip of Greece courting her, but is determined to prove her worth. Mab is from the east-end and pulling herself up by her bootstraps. Beth is the shy, quiet daughter of their landlady who they are determined to bring out of her shell, and who ends up becoming one of Bletchley’s few female cryptanalysts.

All three are so different, but together they have the ability to solve more puzzles than they realize, and they’re going to have to rely on each other whether they like it or not.

The audiobook is performed by Saskia Maarleveld who brings the story to life beautifully. You might recognize her voice from The Alice Network, Secrets We Kept, Serpent and Dove, Other People’s Houses, The Golden Hour, and so many other amazing works. The audio comes in at 15 hours and 39 minutes, but once you get going I guarantee you won’t want to stop and it will fly by before you know it.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Pub Date: March 9th,2021
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It was year 1940s and as England prepares to fight the Nazis, three different women were invited and called to the mysterious Bletchley Park and on to a different kind of fighting sans the guns and bombs against the Nazis. Bletchley Park or BP is where the brightest brains of Britain come together and train to break German Military Codes. Dashing debutante and socialite Osla, smart, strong willed and self-made Mab. Both friended the conservative local village spinster Beth, who possesed a briliant mind and an asset among the best cryptanalysts. These three young women navigated their lives and relationships as they fought the war just like the men on the front lines.
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The Rose Code is another spectacular and riveting historical fiction ever written by Kate Quinn. These women has given me goosebumps as they navigate and deal with their personal lives despite the awfull and difficult situation the war has brought while maintaining true to the oath of secrecy in the line of their job. I love how the conflict was slowly built as the book moves back and forth with timelines and between voices. The characters were majorly readers and lovers of books that they actually have a book club! The more reason for me to love the book aside of course from the very fact that this screams of girl power all through out! Yay heroines!! The twist --that is finding out who the traitor was, simply made the plot even more frantic, rousing and gripping which lead to a wild chase of sensational ending.
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Thank you to #Netgalley, #williammorrow and #harperaudio for the advance audiobook copy narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. I had a hard time at the start since the accent was so rich. Nevertheless, it was narrated beautifully just as magnificently written. I am excited for this book to be available for the general public to enjoy.
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#katequinnauthor #katequinn #therosecode #advancedreaderscopy #advanceaudiobookcopy #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #williammorrowbooks #williammorrowpublishing #harperaudio #harperaudiopresents #bootkstagram #bookstagramphilippines

I am so glad to be reading historical fiction again, and this one will definitely be on my top reads list for the year. It was incredible, and I could not put it down once I got started. I had the audio from NetGalley as well as the gorgeous ARC to accompany it, and I was set. Quinn’s latest book focuses on three women (Osla, Mab, and Beth) who are trained to break German military codes during WWII. It is told from each of their POV’s, and switches from present day 1947, where we are gearing up for the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, to the past, 1940, where the ladies are on their way to the estate of Bletchley Park and learning about the place and task that they have been called to do. There are so many subplots from both the past and present with each of the women along with overarching plots that you would think it would be too much, but let me tell you it is not. Each character is fabulous in her own way, and the way Quinn weaves and connects the stories together is mind blowing.

As the timelines work together and it builds at the end, it was gripping and heart pounding as the gang reunites for one last code break. This was just phenomenal and I cannot put into words how amazing this book is. I thought the work in of the royals was utter genius, and I really have nothing negative to say about this book, it is historical fiction at its finest.

A huge thank you to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC to review. Pub date is this Tuesday, 3/9/21, so you won’t have to wait long, make sure you add this one to your list, it is fantastic.

Fantastic! The narration for this audiobook was wonderful and really brought the story to life. Kate Quinn is the master of WWII era historical fiction. The Rose Code gripped me from start to finish. Beautifully written and well paced, the characters were developed and relatable- it was easy to get invested in the novel. Highly recommend

I absolutely loved this book! Yes it’s another book set in the WWII era, but it’s so different with the focus more on the unsung hero’s, whose work behind the scene was so important. I learned of Bletchley Park a number of years ago, so I was so excited to read/listen to this historical fiction book. I did receive an ARC of this book (or is it a ALC since it was in audio format) in exchange for an honest review.

I usually listen to my audiobooks on my walks, but this was I was listening to as I was cleaning the house, cooking, at the grocery store and basically anywhere I could put my earbuds in and listen.

These 3 women, all so different, forming this bond because of the secrets they had to keep. I don’t want to give anything of the plot away, so anyone reading this can discover everything on their own, but if you are into WWII historical fiction books, women’s fiction, mysteries, or in general just a really good book, then I highly recommend this, it will not disappoint!

Also, once the book is done, research Prince Phillip’s life before he married Queen Elizabeth.

This book was very engaging, and at times heart breaking. I enjoyed listening to it. The narrator is one I enjoy, and she did not disappoint here.

The book revolves around three women that worked at Bletchley Park in code breaking efforts during WWII. It delved into their lives and there was a mystery at play. I thought the story-telling was enjoyable and kept me interested. It went back and forth between two timelines. One after the war in the lead-up to the royal wedding of Elizabeth and Phillip, and the other took place during the war. There were also flashbacks and times to other character-shaping events. Despite the time jumps, I didn't find it hard to follow, once I got used to it. It can be a bit hard to follow time jumps in audiobook format, but they were clearly marked and it worked for me.

The women were inspired by real life women -- Beth and Mab less specifically, it seems, but Osla was specifically inspired by the real-life Osla Benning, who was Prince Phillip's first girlfriend. He was a side character, but an important one in Osla's story. I think it worked, but I don't typically enjoy such direct relation to real-life characters. I think I'm not quite sure how to react to such characters -- is this how they were? should that matter? -- but despite that I did enjoy the book.

Mab, Osla, and Beth each have heart break and love in their storylines. They are compelling characters. There were times Mab was less than sympathetic as a prickly character, but as you come to understand her backstory, she made sense and I liked her overall. Beth was interesting. She was sheltered and the work at Bletchley Park gave her a whole new world and life. Osla was a socialite and was trying to have meaning in her life. I probably enjoyed her story the most.

The reason I kept this as 4 stars rather than 5 is that I think that the ending was a bit hokey. It felt cinematic and intentionally so. Oh well, it's a minor complaint, but I didn't feel like it fit that well. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, set in an interesting time, and I plan to read more by this author.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a chance to listen and review this book. Views are my own.</i>

This is an amazing historical fiction novel based on the actual codebreakers and analysts who diligently worked on deciphering the German's coded messages during World War II. I was fascinated by the movie THE IMITATION GAME and when I found this book to be along the same lines, I knew it was going to be a fascinating read.. I was not disappointed.

The narrator helped to bring the characters to life and to convey the excitement and energy of the story.

I highly recommend this book for loves of historical fiction and for libraries to add to their collections.

Three women from totally different backgrounds end up doing their part for the War at Bletchley Park. The secretive work that they do and the oath they swore so they cannot even discuss the details with each other, is the main thing that holds them together and helps bond their friendship. The oath is also what ends up tearing them apart after a horrible tragedy. Three years after the war has ended, they have all gone their separate ways and they have not seen or spoken to each other in over three years. An encrypted message secretly sent from behind the walls of an insane asylum brings them together again to once more fight for Britain and to uncover the traitor who was with them at Bletchley Park. The story was amazing with more detail than I have read to this date about what went on at Bletchley Park. But even more amazing were the three characters that came to life in this book. The audio version really showed the emotion and the feelings of the three main characters and allowed you to feel like you were a part of their lives. If they were typical of the majority of women who worked at Bletchley Park, then no wonder historians say their efforts and work shortened the war by at least two years. A must read for anyone who loves character driven historical fiction.

First, I want to say that there has not been a Kate Quinn book that I have not loved. I read both a hard copy and listened to the audio book together. Both were great. You cannot go wrong either way.
Based upon Bletchley Park which was a top-secret Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) where they used enigma machines and bombe machines to break codes that were sent during WWII. The story follows Osla, Mab and Beth who become friends because they all worked at Bletchley Park. The story line goes back and forth between two time periods. The first is during WWII starting in 1940-1945 and the other is postwar 1947, days before the royal wedding of Elizabeth and Philip. I love all of the cultural references throughout. The story line, although there were a lot of characters and it switched POV’s often, was easy to follow. Osla, Mab and Beth go through a major fallout yet are called back together to find out who was the spy at Bletchley Park, who was leaking information? I loved the mystery aspect of the story. As always, the writing of Kate Quinn was wonderful. This is a story that will sweep you away. One that you will not put down until the end, and the characters will stay with you for a long time. This was a story of friendship, secrets, loss and finding your voice.