Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

4 reviews

madsmcw_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The Rose Code is a WWII story that takes place at Bletchley Park where they were responsible for decoding enemy correspondence. And let me tell you these people were incredible. I loved this take on the era because it's unlike any story I've read from the era! There's a lot going on, for 75% of the story there's dual timelines and multiple POVs but it flowed so well. I never felt like I wanted to be reading the other timeline or a different POV because it was so perfectly paced, and for a 600+ page book that's not always easy to do. Quinn does a great job of keeping things historically accurate and changing details when necessary to move the story. There are obviously a lot of content warnings as this is a story set during war time so please take care with those.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, and Alcohol

jencolumb0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

A sweeping historical war-time novel; almost a math geek's League of Their Own. I enjoyed learning about an aspect of WWII history that I had not previously heard about. I also thoroughly enjoyed coming along for the ride of the (fictionalized) rise, fall, and rise again of a trio of war-time friends. As one would expect with a novel set in England during WWII, there is a fair amount of discussion around loss and violence. As the book is centered on a trio of women, the loss and violence they experience is, to a certain degree, reflective of their gender and the patriarchal constructs of the time, though I do appreciate the author's challenge to these experiences. There was just enough romance blended into the book and a solid HEA/HFN for each of the primary characters to keep it from being a complete, war-time downer, though please do read through the content warnings if you have any sensitivity to specific issues because, in more than 600 pages, pretty much every type of loss/traumatic experience is explored to some degree. I did not love that the character coded as autistic ends up spending

three and half years in a mental institution

, even if it was completely irrelevant to their neurodiversity. It just felt kind of ick. Though I, overall, enjoyed the character development, after about 500 pages, had to chuckle at the neat twists that had to snap into place to get to the HEA/HFN. While improbable on balance, those twists make for a satisfying (if not slightly madcap) outcome to an interesting corner of well-fictionalized history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

The racism and islamophobia are challenged to a degree. There is also a favorable depiction of an open marriage where criticism thereof is challenged.

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced

• 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

Kate Quinn DOES NOT MISS! So far, she is one of my favourite authors. She has such an engaging writing style and I have a real soft spot for historical fiction so her stuff is right up my alley, though I was a bit worried when I saw that prince Philip was a love interest in this one, haha. Seriously did not disappoint, I will definitely be reading the rest of her books. I loved Mab, and I think she is one of the best characters in the book. I really felt her pain and wanted to beat up the ones who hurt her. I really recommend this book, but be sure to check the triggers!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Cursing

fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free review copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book! It's a perfect complement to the typical WWII books and I've always been interested in the Bletchly Park codebreakers. I did feel that it was a little too long, but it was beautifully written and I can't wait to read more by Kate Quinn. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Sexual content