I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Quinn is one of my favorite writers of historical fiction. I have read The Alice Network and was enthralled. I loved The Rose Code as well.

This is a story of one of the most interesting parts of WWII history - The Codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Here, three women from different backgrounds are recruited to Bletchley for their individual skills and spend the entire war decoding German, Italian and Russian war codes. The characters are based on real people and real situations. I absolutely adored the book. Can't wait to start on The Huntress.

A stunning WWII historical novel. I love this genre and Kate Quinn is a master. Quinn weaves a beautiful story that grabs you from the very start and does not let go. Left me with an intense book hangover.

Wow, this was SO, so good. One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to and you must read or listen to this book if you like historical fiction, novels about WW II, the movie The Imitation Game, or the TV series Bletchley Circle. The characters were so well developed, the plot was heartbreaking but most of all it felt so real. I loved this book!

I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction! This book is so good and I loved the narrator. The Rose Code came out earlier this month on March 9, 2021, you can purchase HERE, and I hope you consider reading or listening to this one!

Ian Fleming from the Admiralty (known as the Phlegm among the many BP females he has backed into a corner) is a classic case in point: damp hands, gin fumes, slinks about like something out of a cheap spy novel.

The Rose Code tells the story of Mab, Osla, and Beth as they maneuver life in WWII England. Mab and Osla meet meek and mild Beth when they are lodged in her house as they work at Bletchley Park. The story alternates timelines between present day and back during the war. What happened between the 3 friends to make them so distant? Who is the traitor of Bletchley Park?

Kate Quinn has done it again. I absolutely loved this book. The writing was top notch, the characters were well formed, and the setting was perfectly staged. She managed to find a way to mix in twists and turns that were perfectly placed and concealed. I listed to the audiobook for this one and the narrator was fantastic. This is a long book so the audio was great to be able to mix it up. I loved the ending more than just about any other historical fiction ending. This book was so immersive and I highly recommend it to historical fiction fans!

This is an incredible story -- I could NOT stop listening to it! Three friends, working at Bletchley during the way. They go their separate ways and one is betrayed. SO GOOD!
I loved how it moved through time, back and forth, from during to after the war.
I loved these characters as well.
Narration was spot on perfect! I was so impressed how well the narrator did male voices, too.

If you enjoy WWII stories, do not miss this one!!

full post will be on Beth's Book-Nook Blog

This is the first Kate Quinn book that I have read/listened to and now I know what everyone has been raving about. This novel focuses on three very different women who work for the British government at Bletchley Park, where the code breakers are working. Mab, a woman raised in poverty, Osla, a debutante who is dating Prince Phillip and Beth, a shy and quiet girl who can solve puzzles quicker than most people. These three women are all living in Beth's parent's home, become friends and work in various roles at Bletchley Park. There are two timelines, the 1940s during the war and then in 1947. The story during the war is of relationships, dating, finding themselves and their worth, the work they are doing and disappointments. They become best friends, until tragedy strikes, this tears apart their relationship for years. 1947 finds Beth locked away in an asylum, after a breakdown. She is not crazy, she did not have a breakdown, she was unjustly accused of being a traitor, but she knows who the traitor at Bletchley Park really is, and has the evidence to prove it. That is the person who is responsible for her situation. There are only two people whom she trusts to help her escape the asylum, Mab and Osla. Time is running out for Beth.

This story pulled me in right from the beginning. I loved the writing, the descriptions, the way the story flowed. The two timelines were intermingled throughout the story, but it was woven together well. I could feel the tension during their codebreaking days. The days were exhausting, tedious, and mind numbing, working crazy hours to break the codes to save lives. Many of the workers did have breakdowns, due to exhaustion. I loved the three women, their friendship, camaraderie, antics, jokes, and easy way they interacted. The three women were best friends who supported one another. I was rooting for them all to find themselves and what they wanted out of life. The tragedies broke my heart along with theirs. The hospitalization of Beth was heartbreaking. Unfortunately, this was common in history, if a man said you were crazy or had a breakdown, that was all it took. This was a long book for me, but my attention never wavered. This was a wonderfully written and plotted story, that introduced me to another piece of history to further investigate. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She is one of my favorite narrators, who I never fail to enjoy. Her voices, accents, expression, tone, and pace are all perfect and I definitely recommend you read or better yet listen to The Rose Code.

This was a wonderful historical fiction novel set in England during WWII. The story revolves around the code breakers of Bletchley Park and was so intriguing, The three main characters were wonderfully unique. A must read!

Kate Quinn is just a master at WWII Historical Fiction. The Rose Code was a tremendous read, involving three women, Osla, Beth, and Mab. They are hired to work at the mysterious Bletchley Park, where some extremely important Code Breaking is going on. This is a must read with intrigue, friendship, espionage, fearlessness, love, passion, and pain.

I listened non-stop because I just had to know what was going to happen next. It is never clear who is going to turn out to be good and who will be highly deceptive. There is deep love in here, too and your heart will be torn. Can some horrible actions ever be forgiven? Will we know, b/c some Codes can never be broken.

Excellent, get a copy right away and start listening or reading!

Thank you, Net Galley, Kate Quinn, and William Morris Audio for an ARC of this on Audio. I also got the book and read it along. It worked out great this way.

As this book wrapped up and the narrator read the last few lines of the last page I cringed. After so many chapters I was still not ready for it to be done. The story itself left me breathless; and then to realize during the epilogue that the lives covered in this book were real, I was flabbergasted again. The ladies who aided the war behind the scenes were many and so many aspects of the war have been hidden to so many until stories like this are now being told. The code breakers that helped decipher intercepted messages from the Germans and Italians and even the Russians spent countless hours, days and even weeks on the same portions in secret locations without civilians and even military branches being clueless. This book covers some of the real life people that did just that. Mab, Osla, Beth among these heroes are the ladies who's stories are told in the pages of The Rose Code. The marriage of Prince Phillip and Crown Princess Elizabeth, the MI6, the asylums that took patients and trapped them there to experiment and test. The pages of this novel melted by and continued to hold every ounce of the reader's attention, never dragging on and always keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Kate Quinn's epilogue adds the bow to this fantastic present and I praise her historical correctedness throughout.

Sometimes it can feel like the WWII genre has played itself out, but Kate Quinn came through with a new, unique story for us! The Rose Code dives into the lives of female code breakers at England's Bletchley Park (BP) during World War II. Alternating between the war and the 1947 wedding of Prince Phillip to Queen Elizabeth, we discover the brilliance of those working at BP and the impact they have on the war. We're also treated to some romance and some mystery.

Even though The Rose Code is a thicc boy, I didn't tire of the book. The melding of stories about code breaking at BP, a potential traitor selling war secrets, and a love connection with Prince Phillip kept me engaged through all 15 hours of audio. While there is some sadness in this one (it is a WWII book, after all), it is not the tear-jerker that other WWII books are, and I was thankful for that.

Pick this one up if you like reading historical fiction about WWII but were starting to tire of reading the same old story or if you like a mystery with some historical aspects!

This book was outstanding--one of the best historical fic titles I've read. I loved it and highly recommend!

I loved everything about this book, including the narrator. Loved her voice and she was very easy to follow as to who was talking.
What an interesting story about smart women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII, focusing on Osla, Beth, and Mab. Three very different women who'd likely never become friends form a bond that's tested as they're forced to keep the oath they took to never tell what their actual job is, to keep the government secrets they learn every day.
Throw in there the fact that Osla Kendall (IRL) dated Prince Phillip before he married Queen Elizabeth in the story and it adds to the mix of suspense, tragedy, romance, history, and what makes a family.
The author did a fantastic job of sucking me into the story built on both real and fictitious characters, real history, and an interesting story that kept me guessing right up to when the traitor was revealed.
I consider this a must-read for all historical fiction fans! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the audiobook.

I try to write reviews before the ARCs I receive are officially published... but "The Rose Code" was so beautiful that I wanted to read it slowly and enjoy every moment of it. :)

I highly recommend the audiobook version of this book. The narrator, Saskia Marrleveld, did an amazing job bringing the story to life with her reading. I fell in love with a relatively minor character, Frances Gray, through her voice. I desperately ached for all of the women as they struggled to find their recognition for being more than 'just' women-- hearing Marrlevel's inflections and character reading was well-suited to the story.. Marrleveld had a lot to work with though, as Kate Quinn did an amazing job writing the story.

In the mid-1970s, information about Bletchley Park became declassified, allowing the public to learn a bit about the German Enigma code and code breakers involved with the task of unscrambling the messages. "The Rose Code" is historical fiction- characters based off people, quotes by famous figures, and the general timeline of events were true. Yet, there is still a lot of mystery behind the going-ons of Bletchley Park during wartime.

Kate Quinn does a masterful job of weaving characters and plot. The people are engaging and believable, minor events from the plot are brought full-circle by the end of the story. I appreciate the amount of thought put into making details count throughout the story- characters and events were not dropped. And as a bonus, the wording is beautiful. There is romance, but not in the "fluff" romance sort of way. The story is a bit bittersweet, but it is satisfying and the end of the book left the kind of feeling that a fun trip at a park does- exciting and a bit tiring, but happy and memorable.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperAudio for an ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This was an all-around beautiful story that I hope will be read by many.

Kate Quinn has been a favorite of mine since The Huntress and The Alice Network. And here she goes again writing another amazing story from the 1940's! If you like The Bletchley Circle which you will find on Amazon, you will definitely enjoy this. Wonderful narrator!

The unsung heroes of most wars have been the women who were not permitted to fight physically. Women have always contributed, spies and codebreakers are just some examples. Strangely, their contribution is often ignored even to this day. (Note: edit the last with sarcasm font. No one is surprised.) The Rose Code is about some of those women. Some real, some not, in a retelling of the people who broke the German and Italian codes during the war.

Osla, Mads, and Beth are extremely different. Yet, they all end up in a top secret program working with the military to break the coded messages of the enemy in hopes that they will come to the messages that help them win the war. Osla really did work at Blechley Park when she was a young debutant. We come to her first when she is preparing to attend the wedding of her ex boyfriend, Prince Phillip, to the Queen of England. She and Mads, a tall (must be important because they mention it A LOT) woman who is trying to overcome her earlier reputation meet on the train on the way to a job neither of them knows exists. They are rooming in a home with Beth, who thinks she will never leave her mothers home. She is mousy and has no confidence in herself or her ability to contribute to the world.

These characters are a bit cliche but they are fun to read. Of course these very different women end up with very different jobs at BP. No one is supposed to talk about what happens in each separate department, but with hundreds or a few thousand people living all on one compound, things get said and things get done. All three women come into their own during their time there, No one more so than Beth. Who ends up in a mental institution. One way to control women was to pretend it was for their own good. When the story starts, she has written Mads and Osla to ask for their help getting her out. All we know is that she says that she is not insane and that she was on the trail of a traitor. Mads and Osla need to get past their anger with Beth and each other if they are going to help her.

The story from there weaves back and forth between the days just before the big royal wedding and the time at BP breaking codes. The growth of the three women is told alongside the war effort. While the romance parts were interesting for character development, each woman became a different person than they originally imagined themselves to be romantically, and their growth as code breakers. Beth especially comes out of her shell as she throws herself headfirst into her work. The story unfolds showing how these three first became close and then fell apart as they balance life with their top secret work.

This book was historical fiction done right. A reader should want to learn more about the subject and the story should be told in a way to not take away from the importance of the historical events being portrayed. It is a good balance. The narrator was varied enough to hear the voice of each character and keep them separate. Her telling added to the intrigue and enjoyment.

I read and listened to "The Rose Code" by Kate Quinn slowly and the commitment to 624 pages was well worth it! It was, at times, very detailed, but I"m not sure that any of the details could have been left out in order to lead up to the wonderful conclusion.
Being a lover of WWII historical fiction, especially their roles in the war, I enjoyed this book very much. The connection and story of these three heroines was unforgettable and the true accounts of Bletchley Park are just as fascinating.

Synopsis:
"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..."

SUCH A CAPITIVATING HISTORICAL FICTION NOVEL!

Set in the 1940's, this phenomenal historical fiction thriller follows three extraordinary and very different women. Their lives cross paths as England prepares for war with the Nazis and they accept positions working at the infamous Bletchley Park, training to become codebreakers. In this gripping, heart-shattering novel, the three friends are continuously tested as various obstacles are thrown into the course of their lives. Osla is a gorgeous and wealthy socialite who also happens to be dating Prince Philip of Greece. Mab is beautiful and looking for marriage and financial security. Beth is reserved, insecure, and timid, until she discovers her talent.

Beth decodes a message and discovers that there is a spy among them within Bletchley Park.

The story begins in 1947 with Beth being held at an asylum. In addition to this, she also learns that she is scheduled for a lobotomy. In a desperate attempt to save her life and brilliant brain, she turns to the women who she once considered her friends. Unfortunately, this incident comes after the trio had a rather nasty fallout, three years prior. Can Beth rely on Mab and Osla to come to her rescue one last time? Not to mention, right before getting sent to the asylum, Beth decodes a message and discovers that there is a spy among them within Bletchley Park. If she can escape from the asylum, she will also need help decrypting one last code, The Rose Code.

Historical fiction is without a doubt my favorite genre! Kate Quinn is such a master at what she does! I was captivated from beginning to end and I love novels with strong female leads. I appreciated how different Beth, Osla and Mab were. I loved getting to know the three female protagonists and seeing their characters develop throughout the novel. At various parts of the novel, I found myself relating to and getting attached to different characters. The fierce trio suffer through heartbreak, loss, and betrayal. They live a secret life of duty and obligation, a choice they willingly made. I learned a lot about the war, the secret life of codebreakers, and Bletchley Park. The storyline and setting of The Rose Code reminded that these courage women lived in a time where it truly was a man's world. There are indeed different ways to fight in a war.

Kate Quinn truly outdid herself with this one! This novel was absolutely phenomenal and I just can't get enough of her work. I was completely in awe at the end to learn that the main characters were based on actual female codebreakers! How awesome is that?!

Special thanks to author Kate Quinn, William Morrow, HarperAudio and Netgalley for this wonderful ALC narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.

Kate Quinn always knows how to deliver a great story! I feel in love with all three characters in this historical fiction and could not have enough. I look forward to every Kate Quinn book and was not surprised with this gem. Do yourself a favor, get yourself a copy of this book and be ready be taken back in time to a time where men AND WOMEN were fighting the atrocities of WW2. I look forward to more books from this author.

Where do I even begin? First, Kate, you are in my top three favorite authors, but I’m mad at you. What happened in Coventry? Oh, just rip my heart out and stomp on it and make me think of it for the rest of the book. Yes, I will forgive you, but only because of what Harry does with Boots at the end. 🥰

The depth of this book is astounding. The character development was amazing and there are so many intricate and thoughtful layers to this book...it truly amazed me!

Personally, I think this is Kate Quinn’s best book yet! And Saskia Maarleveld is absolutely brilliant! I am soooo incredibly thankful that William Morrow approved me to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook on NetGalley! This is a book that I will absolutely positively purchase and read again. If you love historical fiction, it is a must read! I highly recommend it!

I absolutely adored this book. It was the perfect combination of history with story. I loved all of the three main characters, and having it told in multiple timelines was genius! Every time I felt myself starting to get bored or slow down, the next chapter would be Beth in the asylum and I was RIGHT BACK IN IT! I think Osla and Mab and Beth are perfect contrasts of each other, and I never saw the traitor coming! Fantastic read! This was my first Kate Quinn and I can’t wait to read more! The narrator was also absolutely fabulous :)