Review: The Rose Code

Oh my good gracious, this book. I very much enjoyed Kate Quinn's last two novels so I assumed I would like The Rose Code. Um, I LOVED IT. I was invested from the start and could not stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I listened to the audiobook, which is still a new-ish thing to me, and found myself  trying to squeeze in listening time as often as possible. Then, when it was done, I was at a loss. Now what is there to do except wait for Quinn's next novel?

Here's the book's description:

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...

As I said, I listened to the audio for this book. The narrator was Saskia Maarleveld and she was phenomenal. She was able to create an ever so slightly different voice for each of the three main female characters and her male voices weren't irritating in the least. (It's something I've found annoying with audiobooks when narrators have to voice the opposite gender - it's not always done well.) I could have listened to her for ages and will definitely take a look at what other novels she narrates! If you're an audiobook fan, definitely think about getting this one (and may I suggest from Libro.fm where you'll support an indie bookstore of your choice?).

There was a lot happening in this book (it's over 650 pages and almost 16 hours on audio) but it all ticks along, never really seeming like it was too much. Of course, I'm a big fan of WWII era books and found the history of Bletchley Park incredibly fascinating so I wasn't bored at all. That might not be true for all readers, of course. I didn't know ton about BP, as the characters called it, but knew enough that there were codebreakers and an intense amount of secrecy which meant it wasn't discussed at all for decades. I have watched The Imitation Game (Turing makes a few appearances in the novel) but now I'm on the hunt for more books and movies (fiction or non) about the group of men and women (so many women!) who worked in the small town in England. Suggestions welcome!  

The story goes back and forth starting in 1940 and moving through the war and 1947, in the days before Princess Elizabeth's wedding on November 20th. There are alternating chapters told in third person POV from Beth, Osla, and Mab. The past (the time at BP) and the, well, more recent past are clearly defined and it was not hard to follow at all. I didn't find myself frustrated with wondering why someone was locked in an asylum and when it would all be revealed. I trusted Quinn and she gave me a magnificent, mysterious tale that when it was revealed, it was immensely satisfying.

I cared about each and every character. The three women were so different but still managed to form a friendship in the most unlikely of situations. They were found family and went through some absolutely horrendous times both together and apart. They were bound by the Official Secrets Act and even though they couldn't tell each other everything, they were still in the BP bubble together and no one outside that bubble could ever really understand what that was like. And even while that bonded them, it also, ultimately, tore them apart. Because I cared about them so much, I felt every emotion each of them was feeling. They had some terrible feelings at times so it was tough to read at some points. But there were moments of levity as well and I appreciated Quinn's talent of balancing the horrors of war with the everyday things people still had to deal with.

The Rose Code is, by far, my favourite of Kate Quinn's novels. It was well-written and entertaining and perfectly hit the kind of history I was really interested in. I highly encourage every historical fiction fan to pick up a copy of this one.

*An advanced listening copy (ALC) was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*