Absolutely brilliant, kept me engrossed until the end.
This book has it all; tension, traitors, romance, heartbreak, history and a cracking plot!
Three women from very different backgrounds meet during the second world war at the secret decoding establishment of Bletchley Park. I was hooked from the first page by the style of writing ,and the characters who immediately came to life and grew throughout the book.
I have read several books about Bletchley Park, and some of the themes have been duplicated here, but they do not distract from the new plotlines and the well described process of decryption - which i finally understood! Kate made the explanation easy by giving the characters different roles within the process.

Using a mixture of real and imagined characters gives a false provenance to the story which will either be enjoyed or rebuked by the reader. in spite of this quandary I can recommend this as a great read.

Likes
This book ticked so many of my boxes before I had even opened the first page. Historical fiction has become a great love of mine, so to find a book that sits within the genre and collates so many themes is impressive. As a math graduate, I have always been fascinated by puzzles, codes and the work that happened at Bletchley Park during the war. I was simply astounded, and grateful, that Quinn opted to house her novel within this wonderful building and focus on the sheer brilliance that happened within the doors. Alongside this we have three female protagonists, three! An absolute revelation to see, especially if you think back to the time period, when women were not regarded with the same importance as men. We then have a mystery element, apparent in the 1947 sections of the novel, the romance, the scandal, the Royals! I don't know what else I could ask for in a novel, clearly Quinn could sense my literary likes and collated them all into a brilliant 656 pages.


Dislikes
As mentioned above, this book was pretty much everything I could have hoped for. One dislike I had was toward Beth Finch's mother. Quinn writes her superbly, a 1940s housewife, devoted Christian, the leader of the household, master manipulator... I hated every interaction with Mrs Finch, I went so far as to loathe some of the things that she did. I could not have felt the things I did had Quinn not penned the doting Beth Finch, the conniving Mrs Finch and created a most toxic mother-daughter relationship. I admire how Kate Quinn managed to rile those emotions within me, from just a few small interactions between the pair.


Final thoughts
If you are a fan of historical fiction and adore a female led novel then this book is for you. It is said that this book is applauded by fans of Netflix's The Crown, and as a watcher of the show I would have to agree. The Rose Code is simply riveting, I was completely absorbed and turning pages right until the final word.


Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and Kate Quinn for allowing me to review this book prior to publication.

I’d heard great things about Kate Quinn, but until I requested this one from Netgalley, I’d never read any of her novels. After this, I’ll be reading more.

The book centres around three very different girls; Osla, Mab and Beth, who all arrive at Bletchley Park, sign the Official Secrets Act, and have very different adventures . All three characters will delight and annoy you in some way; much like a normal friendship. As well as spending their time decoding messages sent by the Germans. they are also trying to decode themselves; what they stand for and what they want from life.

“The drums begin to whir and rotate, their mechanical thrum filling the room an sending a bolt of excitement down Beth’s spine.”

The story alternatives between 1940 and 1947. 1940 sees the girls spending their time at Bletchley cracking codes in secret when, the rest of the world are criticizing them not helping on the war effort. 1947 sees us joining in the preparations 9 days before the Royal wedding. Honestly, I didn’t really get the focus on the royal wedding. Yes, it fleshed out Osla’s personal story and gave an urgency to the ending of the book, but other than that it didn’t really add anything to the story for me.

Beth is the most interesting character in the book. We start the book when she has been institutionalized in an asylum for three and half years for being a traitor to her country. She claims she is innocent and wants to find out who was the real traitor. The whole books centres on how Beth came to be in an asylum, and whether friendship is strong enough to break down barriers.

Although I think Quinn is very clever, and writes well, as she draws you into the story, it only gets 4 stars from me. I dropped a star because I struggled with the first 200ish pages. The story just seemed to drag. I think you could cut out a good 1/3 of the book, and it wouldn’t really matter.

It’s a good story though, and if you do struggle with the first part of the book, like me, just stick with it. I promise it’s worth it.

4.5 rounded down to 4

1940: As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious countey eatate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break the German military codes. Vivacous debutante Osla is the girl who has everything - beauty, wealth and the dashing Prince Phillip of Greece sending her roses - but she burnd to approve herself as more than just 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 code-breaking machines. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local spinster Beth.

Osla, Mab and Beth are strong characters who end up working as Bletchley Park code breakers.. This book will mess with your emotions as you read about the personal sacrifces and the courage these women had.. The story also flips between wartime and the events leading up to the marriage of Prince Phillip and Princess Elizabeth. Fans of Historical fiction will love this book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction

Kate Quinn’s previous novels have all been fantastic reads but she has really excelled herself with “The Rose Code”which is mainly set in Bletchley Park, the secret code breaking complex which was so important to World War 2.
Osla Kendall, a wealthy young debutante and Mab Churt, an East End girl who wants to better herself, meet on a train to Bletchley where they have both been assigned to do war work. Osla hopes to use her German skills and Mab plans on some sort of clerical position. They do not realise they are heading for a top secret place of employment and that they will have to keep all they do there from family and friends.
They soon become firm friends and when they meet, Beth, the downtrodden daughter of their landlady, they manage to get her a job there too. Beth who has never been good at anything before is an absolutely amazing codebreaker, using her unusual skills to help in the war effort.
However the book moves to 1947 where Beth is in an asylum for some reason and throughout the novel the story moves between these two timelines as the reader discovers why the three women have lost touch and what happened to them during the War including why Beth is locked up.
This book has been meticulously researched- there is an incredible amount of information about the work that went on at Bletchley and some of the characters in the novel actually existed- I looked them up.
I have visited Bletchley Park several times over the years and it is a fascinating place so this novel was right up my street. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. Despite its length I raced through it in a couple of days, it is a mystery, a romance and an historical novel all rolled into one and it was the sort of book I just couldn’t put down. In fact the last quarter of the book was so exciting that I didn’t want to go to bed last night, I just wanted to find out what happened which is indeed an accolade.
I loved all the characters, they were all so different but incredibly appealing. Both Mab and Osla were courageous and heroic, bravely getting on with their lives, despite the war. There is still some romance and fun in their lives despite the awfulness around them.
Beth was a desperately sad character at first but as the novel progresses her intelligence and strength shine through.
If you’ve read Kate Quinn’s other books you will love this and if you haven’t read The Lilac Girls or The Huntress, reading The Rose Code will make you want to read them too!
Definitely a five star read for me - preorder your copy- it is published in a few weeks.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many good elements to this book especially the details of the work at Bletchley Park and the roles of women, but it just didn't work for me. Story relates to 3 women who are recruited for Bletchley Park, Mab, Osla and Beth. We know from the beginning of the story that in 1947, Beth is in a mental institution but manages to get messages to her estranged friends, Mab and Osla that there was a traitor during the war at BP. The story then flips between wartime and 1947. The first half of the book became tedious as it never seem to get closer to why or if Beth was insane. The author had done a massive amount of research and I felt she wanted to put everything in. The end is improbable and far too pat. Sorry this just wasn't for me.
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

One of the most enthralling books I have read in a long time.
Set in Bletchley Park during World War Two it involves three women who meet and become close friends during their time as code breakers.
Following their lives during this turbulent times it leads us into the trials and tribulations of people who lived and worked during the war.
It describes the complexities of code breaking and the consequences it had on the war, but this book Is also a love story as well and on many different levels and the lengths individuals will go to to save and help the ones they love.
This book has another side though because there is a traitor loose in Bletchley Park and peoples lives are at stake as well as the country’s security.
Just could not put it down
Well researched with a little poetic license and absolutely brilliant

Three young women are stationed at Bletchley Park during World War 2, undertaking secret missions to crack the Enigma code. They become good friends even though they are from totally different backgrounds. They feel the pressure of the important work they need to do to help win the war.
At the start of the book, after the war, one of them is in a Sanatorium having been betrayed by the other two and she sends them a coded message asking for help to escape. We then find out their stories during the war that led to this point.
I loved the writing style and the descriptiveness of the situations. Loosely based on reality, Osla has a relationship with Philip, now Prince Philip, which is great to read about. Having visited Bletchley Park I felt transported there and absorbed into the characters and storyline. If you haven't been to Bletchley Park, you will want to go after reading this book. A great book combining fact and fiction.

I just lost myself in The Rose Code by Kate Quinn for the last couple of days. This historical fiction gripped me a few pages in, with the three main characters, Mab, Osla and Beth and their work at Bletchley Park during the war years. Kate gives everything from romance to intrigue and tragedy, all played out alongside the total societal subordination of women and a puritanical household. Contraception, adultery, attempted rape and horrific mental health practices pepper the secrecy and dedication of the mixed bunch at Bletchley. Kate uses real events and this gives the story its added zing. Literary licence with well known characters in the Royal family and aristocracy pull the past and the present together to paint a very authentic and inspiring picture of the graft, sacrifices and wounds of war. This is a truly great read. I have no hesitation in giving 5 stars and thoroughly recommend but a caveat.... make yourself take breaks. It’s a good long read, absorbing and enjoyable.

Quinn's previous WW2-centred novels, The Alice Network and The Huntress, are among my favourite works of historical fiction. The Rose Code is a firm addition to that list.

We enter the frantic world of Bletchley Park (BP) through three female codebreakers: Osla, Mab, and Beth. Swearing an oath to maintain absolute secrecy, these three young women dedicated themselves to becoming a cog in the large wheel of codebreaking operations undertaken at BP. They helped to decipher enemy communications, and ultimately help the Allied forces win the war.

We oscillate between this timeline and 1947 when Osla's ex-boyfriend Prince Philip of Greece is marrying the future Queen, Princess Elizabeth. Having parted ways as enemies rather than the close friends they once were, the young ladies need to put their difference behind them and aid one of their trio who has been locked up in a sanatorium. She claims that a BP secret-selling traitor put her there - can they prove it?

The Rose Code is one of those novels that I just didn't want to end. I didn't want to leave these fascinating characters or the world of secrets that they live in. Blending historical fact with fiction, Quinn has once again produced an outstanding novel full of twists, turns, humour, and heart-break. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

A brilliant mix of historical fact with fictional characters!

This was my first novel by Kate Quinn, which drew me in from the outset. “The Rose Code” proved to be a brilliant mix of historical fact with fictional characters.

The timeline is from 1940 - 1947. It gives a real insight into the secret vital work that occurred within Bletchley Park during World War 2 and the aftermath. This wonderful tale is full of twists and turns. It portrays the roles and expectations of three women from entirely different social backgrounds . . . Osla a debutante. . . Mab from the London East End . . . and Beth a spinster leading a very sheltered life, under the influence of her draconian mother.

The three ladies are thrown together because of their individual skills, in cracking the Enigma Code, making them invaluable in this secret area . . . Bletchley Park tucked away in Buckinghamshire. Under “normal ” circumstances, Osla, Mab and Beth would not mix socially at all. However, they become quite close, and the men in their lives are also remarkably interesting characters, each with their own set of skills.

Everyone seemed to get on well, but due to a spy in their midst and relationships breaking down, unfortunately, a dreadful event occurred, causing shock waves throughout Bletchley Park. This takes us up to the Royal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece in 1947.

Events dictated that the three ladies were thrown together again, leading to a dramatic conclusion, tying up all the loose ends. “The Rose Code” was quite a long novel, but I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t want it to finish! Thank you, Kate Quinn!

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Any book that is connected with Bletchley Park (BP) has always fascinated me ever since some of the details were revealed some years ago concerning the ‘cracking’ of the Enigma cypher. I visited BP not long after the opening of the visitor centre, so reading the Rose Code allowed me to imagine the descriptions and activities of the wartime population of the varied experts that were brought together to fight the ‘code war’.
Once again we have an author who takes a real-world scenario and applies a detailed personal storyline to bring that world into sharp focus. I found the characters very real in their quite different personalities and backgrounds, yet they all brought something critical to the work of decrypting the coded messages used by the German military during the war. In some cases, the intelligence gleaned in near real time enabled countermeasures to be taken by the allies that saved lives or inflicted severe damage to the enemy.

A very enjoyable book that kept the reader guessing all the way through despite the flashback technique, and the epilogue is well worth reading!!

Intriguing story of wartime secrets and betrayals. It is the beginning of WW2 and three women from vastly different backgrounds and personalities, suddenly find themselves living together and working as codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Ordered to sign the Official Secrets Act they have no idea what this will come to mean to them as their lives are taken over by the importance and mind punishing work of breaking the codes. Unable to reveal what they are doing they are bound by the secrecy, friendships and passions of those they work with. However there is a traitor amongst them who betrays them in the most appalling manner. The characters of Mab, Osla and Beth are beautifully created, I could picture them and how they looked in my minds eye. I could feel the stuffiness and tension of the airless huts they worked in. It would make an excellent series for television. Highly recommended.

As a fan of historical fiction, especially with a spy angle, and a fan of Kate Quinn, I was looking forward to reading this book.

Set in the 1940’s, starting as a story of friendship which develops into a gripping read. It follows 3 very different, young, intelligent women, Mab (East End London working class), Osla (wealthy Canadian debutante) and Beth (shy and downtrodden, living at home with her parents). We see the forming of their friendship and then it’s journey and subsequent fall out. The insights into life as a code-breaker and at Bletchley Park during WW2 are well researched and very interesting. There is intrigue thrown into the story with romance from Prince Phillip and a mention of Winston Churchill and Alan Turing too. The friendship breaks down but the girls need to work together to break one more code, the Rose Code, and unmask a co-worker traitor.

The side stories of the main characters and the plot lead to an interesting and gripping book. The characters will stay with me, as will the details of life at Bletchley Park. I really enjoyed this book, it isn’t a short book at 656 pages, but is well worth losing yourself in.

I rated this 5 stars.

I've always been fascinated by the events at Bletchley Park during the war, and maybe I should take myself up there. After this book, though, I really feel glad I wasn't swallowed up by that machine.

We are thrown into the phoney war and see what Osla, Mab and Beth are up to at home. Then we switch to post-war, to the days leading up to the Royal Wedding (that's Princess Elizabeth, with five years to go before she becomes queen, and Prince Philip.)

The use of real events is a masterful stroke. It is so easy for the reader to associate with these people. Even writing this, I feel tension in my shoulders as I worry for them, will I do them justice here? It is really hard to believe they might not be real. The way Kate Quinn gets into the hearts and minds of all these characters is a tour de force. The setting is certainly a character, nowhere else would be the same.

I was so gripped by the characters and the story that I had to force myself to take breaks. I was deeply gripped by the work, the concentration, the messages passing through the girls' hands. They were unable to mention them to anyone, not even among themselves, only to those in their own small sections. And total secrecy of what they did, or where, when outside. And as for Beth's situation--the result of her attempting to crack the Rose Code--the task that Os and Mab have to solve (surely they will do something) in the Royal wedding era; well, there's a word in there that scared the bejasus out of me the first time I discovered what it was, and is worse to me than a dozen ordinary chambers of horrors.

The stakes are incredibly high, both for the country and for themselves. The Rose Code is masterfully written by Kate Quinn. This MUST be the book of the year. I don't think I could stand it not being. Completely brilliant.

This book is set at Bletchley Park in 1940 & 1947. Set against the background of the 2nd World War and the upcoming Royal Wedding. The blurb for the book created my interest as I have visited Bletchley Park a couple of times and watched The Imitation Game & Enigma about cracking the German codes: It wasn't wrong, it was a great read, that I couldn't put down until the end. The 3 main characters, Osla, a debutant, Mabel, a working class girl and Beth a local girl all had their own back stories which in normal times would not have enabled them to forge friendships. The storyline was generally fast moving and you felt the stresses these people were under, particularly with the Official Secrets Act. They couldn't talk about their jobs, some of the men particularly suffered abuse as they weren't in uniform so therefore deemed to be not supporting the country at war. The description of the air raid Osla got caught up in London was well described. She was Philip of Greece's girlfriend before he met Princess Elizabeth. During the latter years, Beth had discovered that their was a traitor in the ranks and set out to solve the Rose code which enabled her to find out the name of the traitor. When this person became aware of her findings she was locked up in a mental asylum. This experience was well written and I felt quite scared for Beth. The medieval practices used in these so called hospitals was barbaric.
I highly recommend this book and will be looking out for more books by Kate Quinn. Thank you for allowing me to read it.

What a spectacular novel, full of mystery and intrigue with romance thrown in. I found it a real page turner set in 1940 revolving around Bletchley Park.- it was enlighting to learn more of what went on there. Those that worked at Bletchley Park were brave, remarkable people- both men and women- we should all be eternally grateful and respectful about the work they did and the risks they took.

3.5 Stars!

Kate Quin is one my favorite historical fiction authors, so I was really excited to read this latest book of hers set during world war 2 and revolving around the code breakers geniuses of Bletchley Park.

The writing as always was so engaging, Its almost 600 pages long but I read the entire book in 2 days so that says a lot, especially because some of the themes presented in the book are very harrowing. The concept and the setting was absolutely fabulous. We really got to see the behind the scene stuff. People with extraordinary minds coming together to help in the war effort and the huge contribution and sacrifices they made so that the Allies could win the war. Also hatsoff to the author, she did her research well and it shows in the narrative. I also loved the book club inclusion in the story..It was interesting to see how people would find normal things to do even in such difficult times and it truly was very hopeful. Also, Ian from The Huntress showed up, I loved that little inclusion.

However, despite the brilliant writing and concept, I was not able to really connect with the characters or liked them for that matter. Osla was somewhat likable but I did not like Mab and Beth, I know both of them had their own struggles and are very flawed but I just couldn't connect with them. Plus, I wasn't a fan of how the mystery surrounding the traitor of Bletchley Park was revealed, I mean we had such a brilliant build up and at the end, the traitor just shows up and accepts all their crimes in a desperate bid to save them self. I think I would have love the book more, if a little less time was spent in the past and some more time was spent in a more dramatic reveal of the traitor.

Overall, a very enjoyable WW" books, with a very unique slice of history. Must Read!!

Having read and watched quite a bit about Bletchley Park’s part in WW11, I was keen to immerse myself in a story which focuses on three very different women who work there: society girl Osla, East End Mabel, who calls herself Mab, and mousy Beth, stay-at-home daughter, bullied by her mother. ‘The Rose Code’ is a gripping read, steeped in history and with plenty to interest those who enjoy flawed yet realistic characters.
Kate Quinn is adept at including period detail effortlessly without the reader feeling that she is keen to display her in-depth research by giving us a history lesson at the expense of the narrative. Whilst Bletchley Park is at the centre of the story, her descriptions of the terrifying Clockwell facility where those who suffer from mental illness are incarcerated are horribly persuasive. Similarly, the bomb blast at the Café de Paris in London is vividly and movingly portrayed. The novel does introduce love stories, flirtations and gossip yet the reader is never allowed to forget that these are serious times with people living under terrible pressure, not least the threat of invasion.
‘The Rose Code’ is a real page turner and yet it is also a novel about quietly heroic people working incredibly hard, hoping that ‘doing their bit’ for the war effort will eventually bring victory for the Allied forces. It is not, however, a better past that Kate Quinn describes. Racism, illegitimacy, cruelty, ignorance and religious fanaticism all rear their ugly heads. What the narrative does celebrate, though, is that people are by and large decent and a common purpose can be powerfully unifying.
My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

In 1940 3 young women from very different backgrounds are recruited to work at the top secret Bletchley Park base.
Mab, a solid, capable East Ender who is longing to escape her poor background and move up in the world.
Osla a “dizzy deb” who seems to have it all including a charming Prince but who longs for somewhere to call home and shy local girl Beth who is bullied by her overbearing Mother and is brilliant at solving puzzles.
All three are quickly absorbed into the hectic world of Bletchley Park and prove to be brilliant at their given positions all helping to decode enemy messages saving hundreds of allied lives in the process.
1947, the war is won and Bletchley Park is closed for good. Britain is in a state of excitement about the upcoming Royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip of Greece.
The 3 women, all once close, are scattered across the country having not spoken to each other for over 3 years. One of them needs help desperately to unmask a traitor and is hoping against hope that the other two will answer the call before the Royal Wedding because her life is literally at stake.
Brilliantly written, with just enough technical details to interest without over complicating and overwhelming the reader. This story of friendships built in extraordinary circumstances and the secrets and lies made necessary by war is totally engrossing and utterly believable. I loved every second of it.