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.

This book was so good I couldn’t put it down. It was worth the morning tiredness after reading well into the night to finish it. The 3 strong female leads were great characters that you just have to root for. The story of their time in Bletchley Park and beyond is heartbreaking and inspirational. Oh and a little royal romance never goes amiss. Loved it.

Brilliant, brilliant story! I loved this book! Ww2, Bletchley Park, the centre of codebreaking and secrets, and consequently of spies of all sorts. This story draws the reader in from the beginning with characters that spring into life and a mystery soon emerges about one of them. I really liked the way the author has used real people in this fictional novel, as it really adds depth to their characters and to the story. A dual timeline of the early 1940s and 1950s, we meet our key characters and follow their story of recruitment and the highly important work that they do but the story soon begs questions Beth was a highly motivated and talented codebreaker, so why is she now in an asylum? Is she a traitor or is there more to her story??? Will her old friends help her or do they believe that she betrayed her country? This story has so much to recommend it and will keep you gripped from start to finish. Highly recommended read, do whatever you have to to get hold of a copy!

This was my first book by this author and although I love the era and subject I did find it too slow going and too detailed. I loved the 3 female characters and their interactions where interesting and I guess it can only be extreme circumstances that would bring such different people together. Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley.

Set at Bletchley Park during WW2, this is a cracking read.

The three main characters are powerful females, each different from the next, each strong in her own way. Osla is a society girl, mixing with the upper classes, but out to prove her intelligence; Mab is more a commoner, and finds herself send to Bletchley alongside Osla, she comes with far more life knowledge than Osla; Beth is the daughter of the house where the other two find themselves billeted - repressed by an overbearing and cruel mother, before long she also joins the Bletchley Park workforce.

The three women are the central rod of the narrative, around which the story flows: the race against time to crack ciphers, the development of relationships, a bit of romance, and the ongoing war.

Highly recommended.

A really riveting read from start to finish. The storyline has dual timelines, which take place both during WW2 and a few years after. The research that must have been undertaken to produce such a gripping novel must have been huge..
I have never read any novels by this author before, but she is now one I will definitely be on the look out for.
The characterisation of Mab, Os and Beth in the novel was expertly written and although their characters were very different from each other the extraordinary circumstances they faced at BP drew them together until events ripped them apart. The novel is quite an epic and although at probably more than 650 pages it took a while to read I enjoyed every page and was held gripped throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of a really brilliant novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the arc of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

A WHOPPING 5 STAR READ!

If your fans of Kate's other books such as the huntress or even The Alice Network then this is for you, If you love WW2 fiction this is for you 100%.!

It is set in the year 1940, as England is readying up to fight the Germans/Nazi's. This follows 3 girls named Beth, Mab and Osla whom are all very differnet to one another and come from very different backgrounds. They go to Bletchley Park to become what they called 'Code Breakers'. Basically intercepting any messages from the Germans. Doing their bit in war, they all become close and then become friends. Each one of these girls have their own story to tell!! Each one of their personal and working lives are complicated, but because they are sworn to keep this to themselves and secrey they must not say anything or they'll be charged with treason..!!!

What an amazing Historical fiction book, so great to read and amazing and i enjoyed it very much, this was written so well and she does a great job of clawing you in and wanting more!!

5 Star!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Unfortunately whilst The Rose Code was well written and had a good sypnosis I found it too slow moving and not my cup of tea

Uttterly un-put-downable. Kate Quinn is a master storyteller. I read this in one day and was gripped from the very start. Bletchley Park is a place steeped in mystique and the author brings to life the stories of Beth, Osla and Mab against the background of secrets, treason, betrayal, glamour and tragedy. I can't recommend The Rose Code highly enough, Anyone who enjoys movies like The Imitation Game or Enigma will love this book.

Three girls from completely different backgrounds find themselves at Bletchley Park in 1940.
Osla, a beautiful debutante with a dashing Prince as her boyfriend, Mab from Shoreditch who lives with her mum and younger sister but who has a life changing secret, and Beth, with whose family they are billeted, who has an overbearing and cruel mother.
Times change and the three friends are estranged, but one of them is in dire trouble and needs their help? Will the other two ignore the coded message or will they help and not only save her but the country as well.

Having really enjoyed The Alice Network and The Huntress, I was excited to start on Kate Quinn’s latest book. It certainly doesn’t disappoint as we follow the lives of Osla, Mab and Beth, who become friends whilst working at Bletchley Park during WW2.
Romance, friendship, heartache, betrayal and sabotage, this book has it all and I flew through the 700 pages, eager to find out why Beth ended up in a mental institution and how they all manage to eventually solve The Rose Code.
Historical Fiction fans will love this book and I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by author Kate Quinn and I loved it.
The story concentrates on the three main characters, Osla, Mab and Beth who worked at Bletchley Park during the second world war deciphering Nazi messages. Each girl has a different role to play at the secret establishment but they become close friends, living together first with Beth's family and later in digs. Skip to 1947 and the three are no long in touch and have become estranged. They are brought back together when Beth sends Mab and Osla an encrypted message begging for their help.
The narrative switches between the war years and 1947, gradually unfolding the plot through the two time frames. Of vital importance is the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. The 1947 chapters count down to the wedding day itself and this date becomes vitally important as the plot is revealed.
It's hard to pinpoint why I enjoyed this story so much. The characters of Mab, Osla and Beth are all well drawn. Each has an interesting past, and all (eventually) are strong characters. But they are all flawed and at different times do things not expected of lead character. I wanted to shout at Mab, 'forgive, forgive,' and tell Beth 'to have some backbone'. Their actions and reaction to the events that unfold around them are totally believable and utterly compelling.
The setting of the book too, is interesting. The details about Bletchley Park, descriptions of London during the war and Coventry during the bombing raids all ring true. The details about breaking the Nazi codes and the work carried out in the different sections at Bletchley are fascinating as are the walk on appearances from real life characters such as Winston Churchill, Alan Turing, and the Princess's Margaret and Elizabeth.
Fascinating, compelling and believable. This was a book I was desperate to reach the end of because I wanted to know what happened, yet didn't want to finish as I was enjoying it so much. The characters will live with me for a while.
Thank you so. much to NetGalley for a chance to read.

This is a really epic historical novel. I thought I would be intimidated by the number of pages but it is so well written that you just get swept away with the story and the length of the book no longer matters.. Kate Quinn’s books always magnificently turn the spotlight onto women in history and the significant roles they played enabling them to have their voice heard and to take their rightful place in history. This time the Rose Code shines the light on the amazing women who played their part at Bletchley Park breaking German military codes in World War 2. The story focuses on three completely different women who are forced together when they meet at Bletchley Park. The story is told over two timelines during the war and two years after the war when the three women have to come together again to crack one final code. The characters are so brilliantly written, all unique and strong.

The Rose Code is the latest book by Kate Quinn, whose historical novels are massively popular.
The book begins in 1947 when 2 women with a shared past and no love lost between them get a coded message from another former friend asking for help. Given that the correspondent has managed to smuggle the message out from an insane asylum and is someone they see as wrecking their lives they're reticent to get involved.
The friendship began in 1940 when as 3 young women from very different backgrounds they found themselves working at Bletchley Park, the top secret code-breaking establishment. They are society girl Osla, Mab from the East End of London and local girl Beth, who has no self-confidence due to her overbearing mother,the other 2 women's landlady. The characters ,and life at Bletchley Park,are superbly drawn as a motley bunch of very intelligent people do amazing work in conditions of total secrecy. This means that Osma can't even tell her boyfriend,Prince Phillip of Greece.
As well as the lives and loves of the various Bletchley characters Kate Quinn brings the various amazing machines they used to life and the processes used to break enemy codes.
As time goes on one of the women makes a very disturbing discovery and finds dark forces trying to keep her quiet.
This is a great book and another guarantee'd success for Kate Quinn. Quite a few "real" characters play a part, Prince Phillip,Winston Churchill, the Queen,Princess Margaret among them,which quite often can backfire and make a story seem ridiculous but Kate Quinn pulls it off magnificently.
If you enjoyed "The Alice Code" and "The Huntress" you'll love this.

The Rose Code, perhaps aptly, provides a somewhat rose-tinted view of World War II and Bletchley Park. That’s not to say it needed to be grittier or darker than it was (it is, after all, set during a war, and there are on-page deaths), but the way it presented that war — particularly the way it presented some of the major players (Churchill, namely) — gave it that sort of naive feel.

But let me shelve that particular point for a moment and start from the beginning. I knew, having read The Huntress, that Kate Quinn’s brand of historical fiction is very detailed and very slow-moving. Whereas I wasn’t prepared for that in the previous book and thus got somewhat bored, I was here. I set myself up ready to take a few days over reading it, to not rush it or expect it to move faster than it did.

And then it turned out I actually wasn’t ready.

Because what I expected of this book involved a lot more mystery and a lot more investigation than what I got. The copy I read was 640 pages. It is not until page 523 (the number is stuck in my mind for this very rant) that the flashbacks end. And then two or three pages later, the culprit shows up and says “hey, I’m behind it all!”.

Perhaps the blame can be put squarely on me here, expecting a historical mystery rather than something more… dramatic (in the sense of like a drama), I suppose. Instead, that’s what I got. The book seemed intent on detailing every single bit of drama from when the three main characters meet, up to the point where it falls apart. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except it moved so slowly — there was, it turns out, a heck of a lot of drama to get through. I think one way that could have been fixed was to have the present day interludes move faster. Instead of faffing about thinking about whether they would help Beth escape the asylum where the traitor put her, they could have got her out earlier and then spent more time perhaps investigating the mystery.

Because that’s my second point in relation to this. You’ve spent over 500 pages explaining the backstory to the mystery, but now you have no time to develop the mystery. Which makes it all the more disappointing when the culprit just reveals themselves for no apparent reason. Did they need to go to the asylum to see Beth? I can’t see why, except for revealing who did it in the most dissatisfying fashion possible. Especially when you still then have 120 pages to go and what on earth are they going to do that makes that worth reading?

If that had been my only problem, perhaps I would have given the book 3 stars instead of 2 (for a lot of it, I was thinking of rating it that). But then.

I mentioned up top about the rose-tintedness of this book and I think there are two things in particular which illustrate this. The first happens about halfway through the book. For what seems to be solely to include Churchill at some point in the narrative, the man himself shows up to inspect Bletchley Park (I would argue the use of Alan Turing later on in the book is for a similar reason). And Mab, whose POV it is at this point, spends a paragraph wishing she could mother him. It opens with the line: “As Churchill thanked them, she felt an almost violent urge to nurture”. And “wasn’t anyone looking after him while he looked after the whole nation?” She “had to clasp her hands to stop from doing up his overcoat as he turned to leave”. I don’t know how to explain the way I physically recoiled at this part. But if you thought this was bad, just wait til you hear what’s next!

In all honesty, if I had known that this book featured Prince Philip — yes, the real life Prince Philip — as a prominent love interest, I would not have touched it with a 7-mile long bargepole. I skipped entire chapters because they were the romance scenes between Osla and Prince Philip. Having real life individuals feature in books is not something I enjoy — I am not opposed to it completely, but I do not often enjoy it (it often only works for me if everyone is taken from real life). Here, it made me shrivel up inside. It’s like — I don’t know how best to put this — a Prince Philip x OC romance before Prince Philip x Elizabeth II endgame. And that’s a sentence I wish I had never had to write. It’s some kind of wish fulfillment, like you see in RPF fics. And I truly hated it.

This, then, is the reason I couldn’t rate it over 2 stars. For all that Kate Quinn is a clearly accomplished writer, she completely lost me with the combination of Prince Philip as a love interest and a mystery that wasn’t.

But if you are a fan of hers, then you’ll probably enjoy this. For me, though, this is a sign I should stop trying.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc of this e-book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this WW2 book set in and around Bletchley Park. The story is fictional although some of the people and events involved are/were real. It centres around three young woman from different backgrounds who are thrown together through their work within the code breaking circle at Bletchley. It's set in two timelines, one during the war, the other in late 1947 in the lead up to Princess Elizabeth's marriage to Prince Philip.
Kate Quinn has written a very well researched novel. It is long, but it is one that is well worth sticking with. I would quite happily recommend The Rose Code to readers of historical fiction and mysteries.

What a story! I always enjoy WW2 fiction and Bletchley Park is a great setting with its secrets and extreme busyness. This was very well written and the characters were well described and developed. I loved it - apart from the use of Prince Philip as a character. I don't like the use of living people in fiction and the book would have been no worse for a purely fictional character in this role. Also I do wish American authors would use New Year's Eve instead of the abbreviated Americanism"New Year's", and we have crossroads, not fourways. And bread was on ration again in 1947 so there were far too many sandwiches mentioned. But this would have cost the book half a star so I have rounded up to 5. With thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read and review this book and to Netgalleyfor providing the e-ARC.

Having lived a stones throw away from Bletchley Park I must say Quinn has done a marvellous job of bringing the richness and vibrancy of the estate to life.

I love a book with strong female protagonists and 'The Rose Code' does not disappoint. The intricacy of the characters, the personal challenges and relationships the three form are credible and authentic. Set against the backdrop of WWII and the wedding of Elizabeth and Phillip make this a must read book!

It is not short though! Make sure you set aside some real reading time, once you get lost in the story you won't want to emerge!

I rushed through the book because it was so good and now I am missing it. I should’ve slowed down and savoured it more. I am from Bletchley so loved all the references to places I know and recognise. A brilliant book about love, life and the reality of 1940s England.

Another fine book by Kate Quinn,author of "The Alice Network " and "The Huntress"

It follows three disparate women in their work at Bletchley Park during WW2 and the unlikely friendship that they form.

Debutante Osla, with the royal boyfriend;

East Ender Mab desperate to escape Shoreditch and;

Mousy Bethan who blossoms amongst the intelligentsia of "BP"

They work away in their huts keeping their secrets from the outside world and each other.

This book records the sacrifices each must make in their own way.