I love Katie Quinn’s previous books like “The Alice Network” and “The Huntress” so I was so excited to be given the chance to listen to the ALC of Quinn’s newest book from #Netgalley.
“The Rose Code” weaves through the stories of three female codebreakers in WWII England. Osla, the debutante, Mab, the dreamer, and Beth, the outsider, become close friends who live and work together under a secret mission to help the war effort. Each woman grows in her own way. Eventually, the trio breaks up and their lives go on, except one ends up in a mental facility, labeled as a traitor to her country.
The former friends reunite to crack one last code, The Rose Code, to find out who the real traitor is and save their old friend.
Like her other works, Quinn seamlessly blends in real life places, characters, and events into her work of fiction. After watching The Crown, I was happy to see people like Lady Margaret, Prince George, and Lord Mountbatten in this story.
The story starts slow, but I then found myself completely engrossed in the story. My heart broke for these women and their stories. I found myself most connected to Beth, who is shy, but learns to stand up for herself with help from Osla and Mab. I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys reading about female leading ladies or historical fiction.

Love love loved this one! I adore this author and I’m so picky with historical fiction but this was amazing!!!!!!!!! Again amazing! I’m definitely grabbing a company to own! Thank you!

I read The Alice Network several years ago and (hot take) didn't love it, but this one... I couldn't put it down - during work assignments, meals, chores, driving, and painting. Kate Quinn did a magnificent job with the story of Bletchley Park and the women (and men) breaking codes during WWII.

I burnt myself out on WW2 fiction, so I was hesitant to start this. But it did not disappoint. One of the things I love about historical fiction is learning about new things. This book is set in England and the protagonists are women whose jobs are to decypher German coded messages. It is written in two time lines, one during the war and one after. After the war we see one protagonist is in a mental institution and the other two hate her. The story drew me and I couldn't stop until I knew what led to that happening. I listened to the audiobook though the narrator is good, I did have a hard time keeping Oz and Mab straight at first. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the narration or if it was the way the story was written.
I encourage everyone who likes historical fiction to pick this up. This is my first Kate Quinn novel, and it will not be my last.

I was already a fan of Kate Quinn as I really enjoyed her novel, The Huntress. I think that she outdid herself with this novel as I don’t have any quibbles with any of the characters and found them believable and interesting. The story revolves around three main characters: Osla, the wealthy debutant, hard as nails Mab and Beth, the anxious and broken spirited genius. These women would likely never had met or become friends if they didn’t have jobs at the top secret Bletchley Park during WWII. The stress and long hours of code breaking enemy messages bonded these women and also introduced an assortment of engaging secondary characters. My favourite was Francis, but the royal family, Churchill and Alan Touring also made appearances.
The novel shifts between two time periods; wartime Bletchley Park and November 1947 in order to solve the mystery of a traitor at Bletchley Park.
The drama and action throughout the 600+ pages kept me riveted and that is a major accomplishment in itself 😆
Thanks for writing a killer diller story Kate Quinn!

Kate Quinn keeps getting better and better! I love her complex characters and careful plotting. Her strong women protagonists never fail to inspire. She is the absolute best writer I of historical fiction. 4 1/2 stars for audio version - I probably would have enjoyed the print copy better so that I can savor the writing. Thank you Harper Audio, William Morrow and Net Galley for the ARC

5 stars!!! O. M. G. I haven't added a book to my "all-time favorites" shelf in quite awhile, but this one definitely deserves a spot there. I may even purchase a hard copy to have on hand. Okay, now that all my gushing is done...

Kate Quinn developed this story beautifully. I loved our main characters. I felt like I knew them and was rooting for them. My heart broke when relationships were fractured and when they experienced death and trauma all too common during a World War. Each character felt unique and like a lot of thought was put into them, which I appreciate. That tends to make or break a book for me.

The story itself was fascinating and compelling. I loved learning about code breakers and the logistics behind how that process worked during WWII. It was a side of WWII history that I wasn't very familiar with and I learned a lot. There is a mysterious and suspenseful element to the latter part of the book that I couldn't quite figure out on my own until the very end.

All in all, I highly recommend this, especially if you're a fan of WWII historical fiction. But even if you're not, I still think this will suck you in.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. I enjoyed the history, mystery, and friendship. The characters are likable, interesting, and memorable. Quinn writes in a way that you really know the characters, and you think about them when you aren't reading the book. Quinn enlightens us about historical events with out boring us. She makes you cheer for the characters, hoping things will turn out for the best as secrets and twists unfold. I did not want to stop listening. Sneaking away to fold laundry just so I could listen!
I thought the narrator did a fantastic job and that the personalities of the voices fit the characters.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC audio of The Rose Code in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kate Quinn’s other books, and this was equally good. The Alice Network was my favorite, but this one is a close second. I love that she interprets the true stories of some of the amazing women in WW2 into fictional stories. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

Go ahead and pre-order this book. Pack it in your beach bag & add some kind of sign that you can hold up while reading that tells people to bugger off. I love historical fiction & this one threw in all of the features of the genre that I love most. A confessed Anglophile who has never been to Buckinghamshire, I don’t think my life will be complete without a visit to Bletchley Park. The audio version was long, but it was well done with lots of balanced voices. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

I really enjoyed this one! It’s entertaining and I feel like I learned something. In general I am cautious with my WWII historical fiction. There’s just so much of it. It can be overwhelming and I want to pick titles that do it justice. This one definitely does. I got an advanced copy of the audiobook. So thanks to @harperaudio and @netgalley.
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The book is long and as with any war fiction is quite heavy at times. The code breaking work is interesting and the spy hunting is griping. The pressure the characters are under to keep it all secret plus the general hardships of war make their lives very difficult. The reader really gets a sense of how much personal sacrifice was required and how willingly it was given.
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The story follows three women, Mab, Osla, and Beth, who have been recruited to work at the code breaking operations at Bletchley Park in England. It is top secret and very elite. The three women could not be more different but become as close as sisters. The book jumps between 1940 and 1947–during the time that they are working and then after the war is over and they’ve gone back to normal lives. Well, except for one of the women. Beth has been locked up by the English government in a mental hospital. She’s not insane but has been caught up in a spying scandal inside Bletchley Park and was the scapegoat. She smuggles letters out to the other two women who are definitely not on speaking terms to try to get some help before she’s lobotomized. Yikes!

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is a wonderful story about friendship, loyalty, love, adventure, and service to one’s country. Three young women meet at Britain’s Bletchley Park to help with the war effort. They are from vastly different backgrounds, have quite different personalities and outlooks on life. Their life experiences make they the most unlikely of friends, but best friends they become. As they work at code breaking, they also work at finding out who they are and where their lives are leading. They get to know the meaning of love, friendship, as well as the losses that come with any war. Once a traitor is discovered within Bletchely Park, their lives begin to fall apart, their friendship tested, and their allusions shattered. As the war ends and the traitor is identified, Osla, Mab and Beth survive and learn that there are always second chances in life and friendship can offer the home and family everyone wants. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with some adventure and romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is fantastic historical fiction. I was interested to see with how long the book is if it would have pacing issues. But shockingly, it did not. The characters were well-developed and grew over the course of the story. There were appropriate twists and turns and they weren't all predictable (although some were). Loose ends were tied up properly. It remained interesting throughout and I did care about the characters. I listened to this as an audiobook, and sometimes I wonder if I sometimes judge books unfairly because I comprehend them better reading compared to listening. But then I come across a very high quality book like THE ROSE CODE that completely captivates me as an audiobook and I realize that listening is actually a very good way to determine if a book is really good or not.

If you enjoyed The Imitation Game, or historical fiction revolving around war, you will love this. And even if you aren't a huge historical fiction fan, you will probably still like this because it is very well done.

Kate Quinn may becoming one of my favorite authors. I’ve only read the Alice Network so far, but I am absolutely enthralled with her writing. Both the Alice Network and the Rose Code tell little-known stories of women’s roles in the world wars. Especially in this book, it felt meticulously researched and very real. Quinn intertwined the three main characters stories (as well as two timelines) wonderfully. And the narrator Saskia Maarleveld does impeccable work. There are a variety of accents and a plethora of characters and she gives a different flavor to each one. Excellent storytelling all round.

The Rose Code is what I would consider epic historical fiction! In my opinion, it transcends the typical historical fiction genre as it has a little bit of everything; history, romance and mystery.

I love when historical fiction novels focus on real, ordinary women who did extraordinary things and The Rose Code does exactly that. The story is told from the perspectives of three very different women, Osla, Mab, and Beth as they spend the years of WWII working as German code breakers. I enjoyed how the three women have different personalities and come from different backgrounds but find a friendship in the place that brought them together.

What I loved:
-Main characters based off of real women in history
-The various storylines that combine history, romance, and mystery
-Intriguing topic (code breaking and cryptanalysts)
-The audiobook narrator was one of the best I’ve ever heard

What I struggled with:
-Technical information was difficult to understand at times

The audiobook is long (approximately 15-16 hours), but it is well worth it. The narrator is able to speak with various English dialects and does both the male and female characters so well.

This will definitely be one of my top favorite historical fiction reads and I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars!

God, I’m such a fan of Kate Quinn. Her characters are always wonderfully realized, and her particular sense of humor makes her books immensely enjoyable. The Rose Code is her longest book yet, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. While The Huntress is still my favorite book of hers (that I’ve read) for personal reasons, I believe that many will consider The Rose Code to be Quinn’s best book yet. It’s very heavy on both characterization and plot (hence the high page count) and I thought both these aspects were extremely well done. I listened to the audiobook by Saskia Maarleveld, who did an amazing job: each character – main and side alike – has their own distinct voice.

I adored each of the three main characters:

Osla: She’s lively, hilarious, and wants to prove to the world that she’s more than a “silly debutante.” She’s the heart of the trio and brings light to this often dark, gritty story. She’s quick to see the potential in others and I would love to have her as a friend.

Mab: She grew up in a poor area of London, but she’s ambitious and determined to raise her position in society. She’s far from vain, though; she cares immensely for her younger sister and she’s a wonderfully loyal friend. She also has an acerbic wit and reminds me a lot of Eve from The Alice Network.

Beth: She’s my favorite of the three! I love that she doesn’t find her purpose in life until the age of 24, discovering a level of intellect she never knew she had. She’s socially awkward and shy and begins to find herself stifled by the tight rein her mother keeps on her. Watching her blossom into a more confident person is so satisfying to witness. And I love how much agency Quinn gives to Beth’s character – in many ways, I feel that this is really Beth’s story.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning, as Quinn sets the stage for intrigue early on. I was left dying to know: What tore these three women apart? And who is the traitor? As this book is lengthy, it takes a while to get the answers to these questions. At certain points, I wanted the pace to quicken a bit, but looking back, I can see why Quinn decided to draw out some scenes. And when I did get my questions answered, it was chillingly satisfying. One particular event in this book felt like a punch to the gut, but the bleak tone doesn’t stay for long, as action and adventure ultimately take precedence. By the end of the book, the tone is exciting and hopeful.

In short, The Rose Code was a knockout for me, and I can’t wait to read Kate Quinn’s next novel!

I received an ALC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Kate Quinn and definitely won’t be my last. I have had The Alice Network and The Huntress on my radar for some time I just haven’t had a chance to read them yet so when I saw The Rose Code pop up in audiobooks I jumped at the chance.
I’m a bit of a hard sell when it comes to narrators but I truly loved Saskia Maarleveld narration. She was really able to bring each character to life and kept my interest the whole essay through.

1940
Bletchley Park, the estate that was home to Britain’s code breaking team during WWII. Sworn to secrecy the employees were not allowed to breath a word about their work or happening that went on at Bletchley. The book follows 3 Bletchley employees, Beth a spinster still living with her parents, Mab who came from nothing and really wanted to make a better life for herself and and Oslo a society girl looking to contribute to the war effort. Together they work day In day out at Bletchley trying to crack the German codes while dealing with romance, heartache and family trials.

1947 Beth is in an asylum and the three friends have been estranged since the war. The week before Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip are to be wed Mab and Oslo get a cryptic message from Beth begging them to help her. Will they be able to help before it’s too late?

Goodness I loved these three characters. Strong loveable women each leading their own lives and keeping the secrets of Bletchley. Kate Quinn did a fabulous job of weaving these two timelines together into one gripping story that I was sad to see end. At almost 16 hrs running time it was a long read but totally worth it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Audio for the advanced copy.

My expectation was that The Rose Code would be heavy on code breaking and the important role women played at Bletchley Park. This is not exactly how things played out. Bletchley Park is a major part of the setting, and the main characters do work there and contribute significantly to the war effort, but I would say that the first two-thirds of the book focuses on the main characters’ romances and a bit of plot building. I confess I got a bit bored. The real meat of the story begins about 60% through it. That is when things get exciting. That is when I found it hard to turn off the audiobook. So, although I found the first part of the book disappointing, the ending is everything for which I was hoping.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

The Rose Code is the story of code breakers at Bletchley Park in England. Focusing on three women, the novel goes back and forth from the war and three years after. Beth, Mab and Osla are unlikely friends put together by circumstances. Beth is the quiet, slightly odd, brilliant daughter where Mab and Osla are billeted. Mab comes from a poor background but her quick wit and determination will lead to a better life. Osla is a socialite who has been dating Prince Phillip who wants to prove she is more than a silly deb.

Kate Quinn does such an amazing job of building the characters of these women. I loved Mab and Osla. Under the wonderful narration of Saskia Marleveld, I got lost in the story.

4.5 stars- After reading and mostly liking Kate Quinn's previous two books (The Alice Network and The Huntress), I was really looking forward to reading her new book. First of all, I love the distinctive cover. Love, love the yellow and silhouette. I was also very intrigued by the premise of English female code breakers during WWII and I wondered what Kate Quinn would do with it.

I am very happy to say that this is my new favorite Quinn book. I loved the trio of Mab, Osla, and Beth. I thought their different personalities and upbringings were interesting and gave the story such depth. I liked their struggles and how being a state secret keeper soaked into who they were. I loved their friendship that was complicated and not all pretty and real. The code breaker setting was riveting and dosed out in a way that was easy to understand and very entertaining. I also loved that Prince Phillip (pre-Elizabeth) and Alan Turing were fictionalized characters and liked how Quinn used them to remind you of the reality of WWII England.

My only real criticism is that the pacing was a little slow and then rushed at the end and it was a little too long (16 hours on audio.) I did love the narrator of Saskia Maarleveld who does a lot of historical fiction (including my previously read two by Quinn) and does a fantastic job. She creates distinctive voices for each characters and really adds to the snappy dialog. Kate Quinn books are good WWII women historical fiction and this one continues in her streak. I can't wait for others to read this (she's one of my mother in law's favorite historical fiction writers) and I hope that everyone enjoys this as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance audio copy for review.