The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

 

What has been your favorite book club read this year?  Our Rogue book club read The Rose Code by Kate Quinn this year and this ranks as one of my favorite book club picks of the year.  I have previously enjoyed The Huntress and The Alice Network.  I was glad The Rose Code was picked for my bookclub so that I put it on the top of my pile!  We read this back in September, but I got sadly behind on my reviews and I am just now posting about it.

In 1940, three very different women answer the call to work on a top-secret project in Bletchley Park in England.  Osla is a young and beautiful debutante who is dating the handsome Prince Phillip of Greece.  Mab grew up in poverty in the East End of London, but she is determined to make a better life for herself. Beth lives a secluded life controlled by her mother.  She has a gift with solving puzzles and finds herself one of the few female cyrptoanalysts at Bletchley Park. The three women become friends, but circumstances tear them apart during the war.  After the war, will they be able to forgive and help each other?

I read this book when I had COVID in early September, and I couldn’t put it down.  I was riveted by the story.  I loved the real history that was included in the author’s note at the end and I loved how different the women’s personalities were.  It was exciting reading about the high society life of Osla dating Prince Phillip, but I also loved how Mab was able to step away from a life of poverty, and how Beth was able to break away from her mother to find herself.  The story was written in a very engaging style in two timelines – one during the war, and the other storyline after.  It keeps the reader wondering, what happened that tore these friends apart?

I am also nerdy and loved the work that they did on breaking the codes during the war.  It was also interesting that women were able to be involved in this important war work, but that they were not able to talk about their roles afterwards.

This book does get emotional, and I did cry during one part of the novel. 

The Rose Code is historical fiction at its best with an engaging storyline and great characters.  I highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley and William Morrow Books. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.