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caaleros's review against another edition
5.0
Three very different women are brought together during WWII while working at Bletchley Park, a secret intelligence base in England where they broke codes to stay ahead of the Germans.
This is now my favorite Kate Quinn novel. Mab, Osla, and Beth were all so interesting and I enjoyed reading each of their stories; there wasn’t one that I wanted to skip to get to the other. Osla is a high class woman looking to prove that she's more than just a “ditsy deb” by joining the war effort. Her language skills find a purpose at Bletchley Park, but she’s always looking for something that will make her stand out. Mab is a tall working class woman looking to snag a husband. Unlike Osla, she is invested in each monotonous job she is given because she feels like she’s making a difference. Beth is the genius of the group, but her whole life she’s been told that she’s stupid. Working to break codes soon becomes her obsession and opens up a new world for her. By 1947 these friendships are in tatters, but the women reunite to break one more code to find out who betrayed them.
It’s difficult to process why I love this book so much-- 3-4 star books are easy to understand, but when a book completely captures me and leaves me on a book high it’s hard to put into words why. I think what really makes this book special is how Quinn balances the highs and lows in the lives of her characters. Historical fiction can often be pretty bleak, and there are certainly dark nights of the soul in this book, but it also has moments of great joy. Those moments of joy are what make the devastating moments worth reading. I also love that there’s a level of suspense as the book slowly reveals what happened to the characters during the war to get them to the places that they are as well as a need to catch the traitor who was in their midst. These things plus characters that came to life on the page are what make this book amazing to read.
The Rose Code is a fantastic historical fiction that is both character-driven and suspenseful. It highlights the work of code breakers, translators, and typists in the war effort while telling a thrilling and emotional story about these three women. It is a novel of friendship and betrayal, romance and heartbreak, and the isolation of secrets and the discovery of home.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is now my favorite Kate Quinn novel. Mab, Osla, and Beth were all so interesting and I enjoyed reading each of their stories; there wasn’t one that I wanted to skip to get to the other. Osla is a high class woman looking to prove that she's more than just a “ditsy deb” by joining the war effort. Her language skills find a purpose at Bletchley Park, but she’s always looking for something that will make her stand out. Mab is a tall working class woman looking to snag a husband. Unlike Osla, she is invested in each monotonous job she is given because she feels like she’s making a difference. Beth is the genius of the group, but her whole life she’s been told that she’s stupid. Working to break codes soon becomes her obsession and opens up a new world for her. By 1947 these friendships are in tatters, but the women reunite to break one more code to find out who betrayed them.
It’s difficult to process why I love this book so much-- 3-4 star books are easy to understand, but when a book completely captures me and leaves me on a book high it’s hard to put into words why. I think what really makes this book special is how Quinn balances the highs and lows in the lives of her characters. Historical fiction can often be pretty bleak, and there are certainly dark nights of the soul in this book, but it also has moments of great joy. Those moments of joy are what make the devastating moments worth reading. I also love that there’s a level of suspense as the book slowly reveals what happened to the characters during the war to get them to the places that they are as well as a need to catch the traitor who was in their midst. These things plus characters that came to life on the page are what make this book amazing to read.
The Rose Code is a fantastic historical fiction that is both character-driven and suspenseful. It highlights the work of code breakers, translators, and typists in the war effort while telling a thrilling and emotional story about these three women. It is a novel of friendship and betrayal, romance and heartbreak, and the isolation of secrets and the discovery of home.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
dawn1117's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ejoliverio's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
marekemp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
miralebl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smodderman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
valthegervs's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
missywhidden's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
rosemwood's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Told in two time periods. The first in 1940 and the second 1947. It is a slow build-up story that could ha e been 200 or so less. The three protagonists are Osla, Mabel, and Beth. The chapters are short, and the plot is pretty strong. There is some romance with some steamy scenes. It is set in England. It is sad, mysterious, and emotional and check the trigger warnings.
djf15's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was amazing. It is dense and intimidating to start. It is over 650 pages, and it doesn't really feel like you're making progress because of how thin the pages are. However, the imagery and story is so rich within the book that you just get lost within the story and want to continue reading to determine what is going to happen with the war and with these incredible women. I love learning about WWII and just finished reading a Holocaust memoir, so I wanted to continue reading about the time period. Admittedly, I thought this book was going to be different. I'm really glad it was about these code-breaker women, though, because it is an incredibly important part of history that I was completely unaware of. The author's note at the end also brings up how she based these characters on real people during the war effort, which was really interesting to read about. I do think that there were portions of the book that could've been shortened, such as the beginning 3rd of the book. It was a little long. I did feel like I was reading the book for forever and while I wanted to finish it, I wanted to get to some of my other books on my tbr as well, so I transitioned to audio for the 2nd half of the book. I'm not a big audiobook fan, but the audio was amazing! The narration was really well done and she brought so much life to these characters! I am really glad that I listened to some of it. Overall, 4.5 stars rounded up.