srah's review against another edition
4.5
Spoiler
Café de ParisGraphic: Gore, War, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Genocide and Homophobia
inked_in_pages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Death, and Child death
daniallreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, and Rape
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
rc05's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Murder, Confinement, Death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
jillgoober's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn follows three women (shifting perspectives chapter to chapter between each) who work at Bletchley Park, a code breaking center, during World War II. The book flips back and forth between the earlier days of the war (starting at 1940) and a few years post war (1947). At the start of the novel, you know that by 1947 these three women hate each other to some level but that when they worked at Bletchley Park, they were close friends. The big question: What happened between then and now?
This story includes romance, heartbreak, grief, friendship, and, of course, historical facts about the real Bletchley Park. As you can read in the Author's Note, Quinn modeled a good amount of her characters after real life people and did loads of research to make sure the book was as accurate as possible. This contributed greatly to the people and situations in this novel feeling so very real.
I will say that I'm partial to a historical fiction book that has a female protagonist (or multiple) but I do think any historical fiction reader would love this book, regardless of gender.
Graphic: Grief, War, Forced institutionalization, Child death, and Death
franklola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, War, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Child death, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Genocide
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The novel follows three women who worked there - socialite Osla Kendall, working-class Mabel "Mab" Churt, and shy but brilliant local girl, Bethan "Beth" Finch who today would probably be diagnosed as autistic.
Kate Quinn excels in creating a vivid atmosphere, rich in historical detail with characters who feel three-dimensional. These characters are either composites of real people, fictionalised versions of real people, or actual historical figures - such as the late Prince Philip
Spoiler
(who the fictionalised Osla is in a relationship with, as was the real Osla before he married the now-late Queen)But even though it's clear that Quinn did her homework on history, I found that upon reading the extensive author's note, I disliked the way she adapted characters and historical events to suit the plot. I know most authors of historical fiction do this, and normally I don't have a problem with it, but somehow it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it's because the backdrop of the novel is set in (relatively) recent times. I don't know - maybe it's just me.
Anyway, The Rose Code is still a beautifully written and excellently-paced novel - but if you're a historical purist, it might not be your cup of tea.
Graphic: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, War, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Racism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Ableism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Antisemitism and Genocide
Spoiler
A past gang rape attempt is described. The survivor, Mab, manages to fend off her attackers, and as a result of this, she has a fear of sexual intimacy. Another main character, Beth, is probably autistic - although this is never stated explicitly. She is bullied by her mother. Once employed at Bletchley Park, Beth experiences breakdowns and burnout, and works for hours at a time. She is later sent by one of the other employees at Bletchley Park to a sanatorium in order to ensure her silence about an act of treason. Once there, she is coerced, abused and gaslighted by the staff and on one occasion exchanges sexual favours for information. She also later is threatened with undergoing a lobotomy, and the procedure is described in detail. It does occur to another minor character, but Beth is rescued before the procedure is carried out.genevievefv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was a little daunted because of the size of it but honestly I was excited to read it every night before bed and it truly never disappointed - so glad we chose this for book club!
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Confinement
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Sexism, Injury/injury detail, Racism, and War
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Slavery
navayiota's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Torture, and War
Moderate: Classism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, Bullying, and Car accident
Minor: Cursing