Wow. Now I know why this has been on so many "Most Anticipated Reads" for 2021 lists. What a remarkable story! A debutante, an impoverished dreamer, and a spinster, the most unlikely of friends, come together to work in Bletchley Park: Britain's best kept war secret. As the war drags on, their jobs become more important, more strenuous, and more secretive. Just when they think nothing could sever their bond, D-Day arrives, and blows their friendship apart. The war ends and years go by. When one of them reaches outside the walls of her prison, asking for help, will the old friendship they'd rather leave behind be strong enough to save her?

PRE-ORDER this book RIGHT NOW. It was an incredible read. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy an advanced audio copy of this book. As always, Saskia Maarleveld did a wonderful job narrating.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - Book Review 4.5 Stars

Kate Quinn has done it again! She has pulled me into wartime England with such detail and precision that I feel like I am right there with the main characters.

The Rose Code introduces us to three unique, complex and dynamic women who devote their talents to the wartime effort by working as code breakers at Bletchley Park. The hallmark of Kate Quinn’s books is intricate character development and the revelation that every day people can become heroes and heroines.

The story begins in a mental institution in 1947. A woman claims she has been trapped in the institution after being betrayed by her two best friends and a traitor at Bletchley Park. In dual timelines between present day 1947 (days before the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip) and 1940-1943 we follow debutante Osla (who happens to be dating Prince Phillip), young spinster Beth, and London shop-girl Mab, as their lives intersect and intertwine at a crucial moment in their lives and history.

There are two mysteries to be revealed: how did three best friends become enemies and who was the traitor at Bletchley Park. This is my favourite type of historical fiction because it seamlessly grounds historical events and public figures with believable fictional characters and storytelling. There is also a delightful amount of romance and genuine love stories.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction and strong women characters, you will love this book. The characters will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Harper Collins for an advanced reader's copy.

#Historicalfiction :#History #Herstory #BletchleyPark #WWII #Codebreakers #KateQuinn #HarperCollins #Strongfemalecharacters

The Rose Code follows three young women who worked at England's Bletchley Park, a country estate converted to a code-breaking facility during World War II. Employees at Bletchley Park deciphered encrypted Nazi communications, providing vital information to the Allies.

The story alternates back and forth between the war years 1940 to 1945 - when England was imperiled, and the postwar year 1947 - when Britain was agog over the upcoming marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

The main characters are Osla Kendall, a beautiful wealthy socialite with ties to the royal family; Mab Church, a go-getter who grew up poor, but means to better herself; and Beth Finch, an unsophisticated country girl who's bullied by a selfish mother.

In 1940, Osla and Mab meet on the train to Bletchley Park, which has recruited them for war work. After accepting their positions and signing the Official Secrets Act, the girls are billeted at the Finch family home, where they meet Beth. Though Beth is almost pathologically reclusive, Osla and Mab note her facility with puzzles, and Beth is soon working at Bletchley Park as well.

Each of the girls is assigned to a different unit. Osla's fluency in German eventually lands her a translation job; Mab maintains the Bombe machines used to decipher messages encoded with German Enigma devices; and Beth is a gifted cryptanalyst with an almost preternatural ability to decode covert transmissions.

Working and living together fosters close friendships among Osla, Mab, and Beth. This camaraderie is important because the ladies are forbidden to talk about their jobs to outsiders, and must tell family and friends they're file clerks. The women can be more honest amongst themselves, but are nevertheless prohibited from revealing classified information even to each other.

The work at Bletchley Park is difficult and stressful, and England is being bombed by the luftwaffe., but the girls still manage to have some fun and search for romance. Mab meets a war poet, Beth gets involved with a fellow cryptanalyst, and Osla dates Prince Philip, who's an eligible bachelor in the early 1940s.

Skip to 1947, and Osla, Mab, and Beth are angry, estranged, and haven't spoken since the end of the war. Beth is a mental patient in Clockwell Sanatorium; Mab has a husband and children; and Osla is preparing to attend the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Osla is hurt by Philip's engagement to another woman, but knows she must present a brave face and carefree attitude.

As the royal nuptials approach, Osla and Mab each get a letter from Beth. Beth claims she discovered a traitor at Bletchley Park, who - fearing exposure - got her committed to Clockwell asylum. Beth writes that Osla and Mab 'owe her', and asks them to get her out so she can expose the Judas.

The book contains fascinating details about England breaking Nazi codes, leading to the discovery of German plans. The Brits then have to use the information in way that doesn't alert the enemy to the exposure of their secrets.

There are also appearances by real historical figures, including naval admiral Lord Mountbatten, codebreaker Dilly Knox, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, computer scientist Alan Turing, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and others.

This compelling and suspenseful historical novel is an excellent example of the genre. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kate Quinn, and William Morrow Publishers for a copy of the book.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Audio for audio ARC of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. This was an historical fiction based on fact. I thought it was really well done, Bringing 3 women together, friends, and weaving the story around them. Very enjoyable listen!

This was a JOURNEY!

The majority of this story follows three female codebreakers at Bletchley Park during World War II. The three women billet together during the time of their wartime work. Osla, Mab, and Beth come from three extremely different backgrounds. There are fast forwards to 1947 where it's revealed that the three women are no longer on friendly terms. There's friendship! There's romance! There's betrayal! It's good!

What I thought this book did extremely well was character and setting. The main characters as well as the more secondary characters were excellent. It was not hard to care about these characters. Even when I was frustrated with their choices I was rooting for them. I was especially invested in the friendship shared by the three women.

Bletchley Park may be a real place but I felt Kate Quinn did a fair bit of world building. While I was reading this I found myself aching to be there. It doesn't seem fair that I can't time travel back to the 1940s and see what these characters saw.

This plot was intense. Early on it is revealed that there will eventually be a betrayal. I liked being able to learn about their situations in 1947 and trying to work backwards to figure out how they got there. This book is long and that's a lot going on but I never felt bored.

I will warn that there are brief descriptions of violence and sexual assault. I did not find these descriptions to be overly graphic but some readers may feel otherwise.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. Her narration was excellent. She did unique voices for each character but it wasn't overdone. I really enjoyed listening to her and I highly recommend the audiobook.

If you like WWII historical fiction this will be a winner for you.

(crossposted on goodreads)

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Katrina Schubach's reviewFeb 02, 2021 · edit
really liked it
bookshelves: netgalley

Thank you to #Netgalley and Harper Audio for a chance to listen to this book. All thoughts and opinions of this title are my own.

Three girls with vastly different backgrounds get thrown together to break and keep the wars biggest secrets to help their country stay safe. A friendship is developed that though gets rocked by scandal and war soon finds themselves thrown back together to solve a a mystery.

Not everyone at Bletchley Park was aboveboard and one of the girls (Beth) finds themselves trapped in a sanatorium desperate to prove who was the traitor. A traitor who sold her out to protect his own skin. Beth calls on her friends Osla and Mab who are reluctant to get caught up in a web of someone who appears to be crazy. They both have their own war wounds and betrayals they have compartmentalized. Can they solve the mystery before it is too late?

Overall I enjoyed it. It didn't quite get 5 stars for me because the middle dragged on a bit and I just didn't necessarily care for some of the background but I do have to admit it helped with timeline and atmosphere. I do however wish the traitor was revealed in a different manor or at least a bit later. Once I knew the who the rest just seemed like padding. The mystery could have been dragged out just a hair more I think. The ending was neat but not too neat and I am glad all three girls found a life worth returning to after the War.

Kate Quinn is quickly becoming on of my favorite authors. She writes such strong and interesting female characters. This is the second book by her I have read and I will be certainly adding her to my must read list from now on especially if it is WWII centered.

This novel has a complex and intricate plot that unfolds like a rose. The heroines are strong and driven and their story was a complete delight! This is a must read for any historical fiction fan.

This book follows three women who were employed in Bletchley Park as part of a secret code breaking team.. Mab is a girl from a working class family hoping to find a good husband and hiding secrets of her own. Osla is a wealthy debutante who wants to be taken seriously and to make a difference in the war effort. Beth is a seriously introverted and sheltered woman who discovers a hidden talent at cryptology. The story follows their experiences working in various roles supporting WWII efforts. We see the struggles facing the women and men as a result of the war. It also moves forward in history to a time when their friendship has been destroyed. These women must put aside what divides them to work together to solve one last code to determine if there was a traitor at Bletchley Park. They are under a deadline to find the traitor.

My favorite part of great historical novels is researching what parts were based on reality and feeling like these historical characters are now friends that I know better!! This book definitely drove me to learn more about the history of code breaking and Bletchley Park. I completely fell in love with Kate Quinn! I will definitely pick up more of her novels in the future.

Thanks to Net Galley for a free advanced Readers Copy so that I could provide my honest review!!

Kate Quinn’s book start off a little slow for me, but they quickly get rolling and I can’t put them down! The Rose Code is no exception. I love her strong female leads and the entwinement of accurate historical facts. This novel was another winner! I like the way she jumps between the past and future - it leaves me wanting to keep listening to find out how situations played out. And of course, the ending wrapped things up quite nicely.
This book was fantastic and I can’t wait for another one :)

Kate Quinn never lets her readers down. The Rose Code was such an incredible story and quite possibly one of my favorite WWII reads yet (with The Alice Network being another one of my favorites)! Her characters are always so well rounded and interesting. I also found myself tearing up more than I care to admit during this read. The stories and background stories of the main women were all so fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. I loved playing detective to figure out who the traitor was. So so so good! I'm definitely looking forward to Kate Quinn's next riveting read!

I found this quite thrilling all told. Some moments may have swayed toward the melodramatic, but Quinn always pulls us back and reminds us that the characters are more complicated than they may appear. THE ROSE CODE is a work of fiction that I find provides a valuable gateway into a different time and way of life. I haven't read much about this time period or subject matter, but it has always intrigued me. Through Quinn's characters and world building I feel that I now have a better sense of how and where these people were in history and look forward to some further reading on the subject now that the door is opened. And I must say how I enjoy unsung heroes getting a bit more air time. Delightful audiobook (and I'm sure a page turner for all those who decide to read). I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley and give this review freely in the hopes that others will enjoy this title in future.

The Rose Code is the new WW II novel from Kate Quinn. I listened to the audiobook version of the book.

"Three women - Osla, Mab and Beth - find themselves living together after being recruited to work at Bletchley Park - the center of Britain's code-breaking efforts during WW II. They form a deep friendship even though their backgrounds and personalities are very different. But when there is a fatal betrayal the trio is fractured.
Now years after the war, they must all come together to find the evidence to expose a traitor that was in their midst at Bletchley Park - before it is too late..."

This book begins with the Royal Wedding of 1947 and goes back and forth between war-time and the days leading up to the Royal Wedding. Osla had been in a relationship with Prince Phillip but had to break it off during the war. Beth struggles to break apart from the hold of her mother, but it's nice to watch when she does. Mab was my favorite - tough beginnings, a big secret but determined to make a better life - and not afraid to stand tall. If you're not familiar with Bletchley, Quinn does a great job explaining what's happening there. And the seriousness of the Officia Secrets Act!!
I like the surprise for Mab and how the end came together. Quinn makes it work. This is a long book - the hardcover is 656 pages and the audiobook is 15+ hours. There is a lot of detail and backstory.
Great performance from Saskia Maarleveld, the narrator.

A must-read for fans of WW II and Bletchley Park historical fiction.

Trigger warnings: war, violence, gaslighting, attempted rape, involuntary mental hospitalization

(3.5 stars, rounded up)

Three women are recruited at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park as codebreakers during WWII. Osla and Mab meet on the train to Bletchley, and Osla recruits Beth after noticing her talent for solving crossword puzzles.

The story is told in alternating timelines, starting both before and after World War II. Readers are taken through the early days of WWII until America joins the Allies. The post-WWII storyline takes place in November 1947, right before the royal wedding. The women's time at Bletchley comes back to them as they investigate a traitor.

Socialite Osla Kendall meets the handsome young Prince Philip before the war. She enjoys writing to and flirting with him during the war when he is away with the Navy. Osla's fluency in German makes her an asset to the British codebreakers at Bletchley; she takes messages that have been decrypted and translates them into English. Her later story takes place when she is preparing to attend Philip's royal wedding.

Mabel "Mab" Church leaves Shoreditch (London) in the hopes of eventually bringing her mother and little sister with her. Their safety cannot be guaranteed in London, but her mother refuses to leave her home. Mab is working for herself and her family but longs to marry so she can feel financially secure. Her work at Bletchley involves using and fixing coding machines. In 1947, Mab is a married woman with children who is reluctant to dredge up the past, potentially endangering her family.

Beth Finch has suffered emotional abuse from her mother, leading her to believe that she is stupid and has nothing to contribute to the world. Upon joining the team at Bletchley, she struggles with feeling incompetent and useless. Beth's 1947 timeline revolves around her time at a mental institution and initiating contact with Mab and Osla about the spy within Bletchley.

Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and she does a great job on this one. My only complaint is that when books have multiple points of view, I like the audio production better when there are different narrators for each character.

Recommended for readers of World War II fiction and fans of Kate Quinn.

I love historical fiction and historical fiction written by Kate Quinn even more. I loved “The Alice Network” and “The Huntress”. Both of those books were exceptionally well written and gripping. Even going in with those high expectations “The Rose Code” did not disappoint.
It was a riveting and compelling novel that was brilliantly written in a dual time line (1940... and 1947 right before the Royal Wedding). The Rose Code was a masterful piece of historical fiction that explored Bletchley Park and three women who became code breakers.
The plot was suspenseful and vivid. The characters were well developed and vibrant. Kate Quinn’s research for this book was impeccable in my view. I listened to the audiobook that was expertly read by Saskia Maarleveld, the different voices accents and intonations made listening a joy. It ran for over sixteen hours but I was so absorbed in the storyline that I hardly noticed. I did not want to stop listening. The Rose Code was so captivating.

The biggest part of the novel is set in Bletchley Park in 1940, Bletchley Park or BP had been established to fight the war of intelligence and counterintelligence, decrypting and decoding. Very intelligent men and women were being sought out to work as code breakers, machine operators and translators at Bletchley Park. These talented men and women would learn how to break German and Italian codes, translate them and get them into the hands of the British military.

Three very different women meet at the mysterious Bletchley Park sworn to absolute secrecy, bound by the dangers of war to their loved ones and working and living together.

Osla Kendall, a debutante and socialite’s daughter, that wanted to do something worthwhile for the war effort.
Mabel(Mab) Churt from London’s poorer parts wanted more out of life and is quite good at operating the code breaking machines.
And Bethan Fynch, Beth is painfully shy but brilliant when it comes to solving puzzles, a natural cryptoanalyst.

After a couple of years apart after the war the trio needs to get over painful memories and work together again to figure out if there is a traitor in their midst.

The Rose Code is a book about friendship, secrets, love, loss, betrayal and forgiveness. It touched all emotions. I am still thinking about the story and the characters and I enjoyed my time with them so much, I already miss them...
I loved every part of The Rose Code and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Harper Audio for allowing me to listen to this advanced copy of this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I actually finished listening to The Rose Code several days ago and I couldn't write my review immediately. Writing the review and rating the book meant that it was really over and I had finished the book. There are a lot of books that take place in WWII and quite a few that focus on the strong females of that era, but this book is not like the others.
The three women who find themselves together at BP have a sisterhood like none other. They struggle and are forced to question those around them, but have a level of trust with one another that does not waiver even when their friendships do. Additionally, they are such dynamic personalities and several times I actually laughed out loud. My favorite of the girls was Osla, I felt so excited for the story to focus on her and the handsome Prince Phillip (yes, the Prince Phillip we all know!).
The story jumps between during the war and a few years after. The suspense of what was happening in the post-war storyline was enticing and kept leaving you wanting more.
I am so jealous of everyone who gets to read this book for the first time. This was my top read of the month and certainly a contender for top read of 2021!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publishers for my honest review.

Kate Quinn has a beautiful way of bringing history to life. Her prior reads are always incredible and bring history to life. In The Rose Code, Quinn shows us the lives of three women who take on the role of living secret lives while breaking communication codes in Nazi, Germany. Showing their unique skills that are also their biggest danger. In the end they are reunited to crack one last code years after separating.

If you enjoy historical fiction that is captivating and information packed then I would recommend all of Kate Quinn's novels.

To be honest at first when I realized the sheer volume of this book, I was intimated beyond belief and thought it would at least take me a year to go through this book. Oh, how I was wrong. Here I am, only a few weeks after I started listening, and have finished the book. Kate Quinn's characters, Mab, Osla, and Beth all had a special place in my heart after the first few sections. They were all so distinct, so vividly described, yet bound together by their allegiance to their country. I laughed with Oslaw, cried with Mab and was horrified with Beth. This story is complex, almost impossible to guess the ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for the magic of fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to listen to an advance reader copy of this audiobook in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I was so excited to receive the ARC copy of this audiobook. As excited as I was for this book, I could not imagine how amazing it was; I absolutely loved this book, I could not listen to it fast enough. This author has a way with fictional wartime stories, they hold your attention right from the beginning and the characters are so rich and interesting, they jump right off the page they are so vivid, it’s almost hard to believe they are fictional.

This book is told in two time periods, early part of the war starting in 1940 and the “current” part of the story in 1947. Three women join forces in Bletchley park, three women who couldn’t be more different if they tried, Osla, a debutante who is garnering the interest of prince Philip, Mab a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who wants to prove herself and find herself husband, and Beth, a shy, meek girl who doesn’t realize her worth. The three are brought together as different cogs in the code breaker scheme at Bletchley park along with a huge cast of characters who are all colourful and bring so much to the story. We follow these three women through war time as they try to live their lives as well as break codes to try to help stop the enemy from winning the war. The current day story is not long before the wedding of queen Elizabeth and her husband prince Philip, at this point the three women whose friendship seems shattered and unrepairable are brought back together to break one last code and to find a traitor amongst them.

The narrator of the story did a fantastic job, the pace was good and the story was made so much more vibrant from her reading of it. I love the way the story went; it kept me on the edge of my seat, the ending was so satisfying and brought everything full circle. I look forward to reading more of this author’s books. This could very easily be one of my favourite books of 2021.

My favorite era of historical fiction is WW2 and I love it when authors tell a story I haven’t heard before. Kate Quinn does that (yet again) with “The Rose Code”. Quinn’s characters in her novels is exquisite. She captures how I would imagine the women really felt at that time. In “The Rose Code”, she tells the story of the women of Bletchley Park, the code breaking center for England during the Second World War. Not only does she manage to teach the reader so much about what happened there, but she also teaches about what it was like to be a woman in that time and place. I was so invested in the story about Beth, Osla, and Mab. I thought the character development was great. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was great. Her voice was pleasant to listen to and helped me get lost in the story. Overall, this was a great read and Kate Quinn will forever be a must read author for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Rose Code is the first book I have "read" that is in Audio format!
I love Historical novels and this one does not disappoint. Kate Quinn keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next.

If you are at all interested in the underside of a war effort, then this book will keep you entertained throughout. I was fully engaged with the story from the first words.

There is so much more going on when countries are at war than the fighting on the front lines. There are spies and counterspies., messages going back and forth. Codes about airstrikes, bombing raids, and so much more. Who are these people who decipher these messages and make sure the proper parties are informed?

The Rose Code takes you into those back rooms where hundreds of people are working on codes that need to be de-coded. Secrecy is the Number one rule of anyone working in these backroom decoding centers. Working under pressure with secrecy being primary, some of the girls form life long friendships that no one can break. That is until one of them is broken.

Will the secret agent get away with his deceptions and force an innocent girl into an insane assylum for the rest of her life? Or will the sisterhood of the Rose Code break her out and point the finger at the undercover spy in their midst?

This is a great book and one that I think I would have preferred in hard copy. I like to go back and re-read certain parts to get a clearer understanding and with Audiobooks that is not as easy to do.

That is my only negative about this reading experience. The book, the story and everything else is great!

This book will be available March 6, 2021 and I listened to it with #netgalley!

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this audiobook courtesy of HarperAudio via NetGalley.

Release Date: March 9th, 2021

The Good:

This might be the book that gets me hooked on Historical Fiction again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I went into it unsure based on its length (600+ pages) and genre, but the content and plot sounded too good to pass up. And boy am I glad I didn’t skip this one! I’m extremely intrigued by stories focusing on women in WWII, especially the woman secretly on the front lines of these code breaking operations. The Rose Code falls brilliantly into this category. However, it isn’t only a book about women working at Bletchley Park. It’s a story of friendship, forged through war and torn apart through conflict. It’s about going against societal norms and creating your own path as a ‘working woman’ in this era. It’s about complex topics interwoven through the viewpoints of three woman who come to Bletchley Park as strangers and grow into friends.

There is an alternating timeline aspect to this book that I found brilliant. It starts in what would be ‘current time’ for the story, and alternates back to the past by counting down ‘6 years ago, 5 years ago etc.’ as the story progresses. This leaves the reader wondering how this story could have ended up where it did. There is always the undertone of this mystery woven throughout the plot. Especially as the timeline gets closer to the ‘present’ we start to see the events clearer. The plot builds us a picture of how the ‘current day’ events came to be. Along the way there are plenty of little side plots and avenues the author wonderfully explores without derailing the overarching plot.

The Bad:

I’m not sure I have anything truly to pick apart in this story. If anything, there potentially could have been some bits that were described quicker or left out to make the story shorter, but there was nothing in the moment I felt could have been cut. Nothing felt dragged out or unnecessary, which is quite a feat a book this length. As long as you understand going into the story that it is a long read, the length doesn’t take away anything from the book. Since its a book that alternates some timelines, there wasn’t that typical ‘middle of the book drag’ that can occur in books of any length, but especially can be common in longer books. If long books aren’t your jam, then maybe skip this one, but that’s maybe all the negative I can think to say about this story.

The Bottom Line:

An incredible tale of bravery, independence, intelligence and complex friendships between three woman working at Bletchley Park helping break codes in WWII-era England.