Play Book Tag discussion

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
5 stars

I love me a good WW2 historical fiction featuring strong women who played a real-life role in the war that should be more well known. Kate Quinn is on a short list of go-to authors that fill this niche genre.

Quinn takes us to Bletchley Park, which you likely associate with Alan Touring and the famous Enigma machine. BP--as it is affectionately referred to in the book--was a hotbed of code breaking and secrecy that played a critical role in the allies' victory.

What I did not realize was how expansive BP was! We start The Rose Code early in the war. BP is a small number of shacks and our three main characters--Osla, Mab, and Beth--each find themselves swearing an oath of secrecy and entering the world of codebreaking. As the war progresses, their roles change and the BP population swells.

Unfortunately, we have to have a dual story line. Am I the only one who is ready for this trend to pass?!?

Skip ahead several years to the end of the war, and Beth is in a mental asylum, swearing that there was a traitor in the midst of BP, but she just can't seem to put the pieces together. She reaches out to Osla and Mab to save her. But the reader is left to wonder why Osla and Mab aren't coming to rescue their friend without her pleas?!

Through the dual timelines we learn about the women's roles in the war as well as the changes in their personal lives. We also see how their secrets strained their friendship to the point where it fractured. We wonder if they will reconcile to save Beth and if Beth will uncover the traitor. And, through it all, the time reference seems to be the royal wedding between then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Which was kind of odd, but tied into the story nicely.

The ending tied up in a nice little bow, which doesn't really bother me, but the length felt too indulgent to award that coveted tag of "favorite." Coming in at over 650 pages, the editor could have definitely tightened this one up a bit.

Overall, Quinn remains a home run hitter and I will be scouring book blogs for news of her next release.

I just finished The Rose Code today, and I loved it! The 600-plus pages went by fast for me, with the help of going back & forth between Audible and my hard-copy. I also loved The Huntress and the Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I liked all 3 of the main characters in The Rose Code, Osla, Mab, and Beth. So many interesting historical details!

I agree it was a fast read! I really enjoyed those other Quinn nooks you mentioned as well. She is a great HF author!

Can’t wait!

I like her too. Liked Alice Network so much I went back and read one of Quinn's early Roman era historical novels, which is definitely not something I 'd usually read. It was also well written. I heard her speak a couple of years ago and she was wonderful - very down-to-earth about writing and marketting. Nice that she's found a niche with WWII.

I have seen some of her non WW2 books but haven’t picked them up yet. Good to hear they are good though!!

I'm picking this up from the library tomorrow - it sounds exactly like the type of book I love.

Enjoy!

Nicole R wrote: "I have seen some of her non WW2 books but haven’t picked them up yet. Good to hear they are good though!!"

I read Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn last summer and it was really good! I don't usually read books from that time period, but I enjoyed Kate Quinn's WWII novels so much, that I had look into her other books!

Both of those books are on my TBR - Rose Code and Mistress of Rome! Super can't wait. My library has it in queue for me!