Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

9 reviews

srah's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

I took off a quarter point for being a bit longer and slower than it needed to be, and another quarter point for the graphic descriptions in the

Café de Paris

scene, which I have been thinking about all week since I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Genocide and Homophobia

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

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

emotional informative tense medium-paced

• 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

For the most part, The Rose Code was a gripping, compelling work set against the backdrop of the Bletchley Park codebreaking operation in Buckinghamshire, England, during the Second World War.

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

(who the fictionalised Osla is in a relationship with, as was the real Osla before he married the now-late Queen)

, the-then Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Winston Churchill.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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.

She also has an affair with a married man called Harry Zarb. Harry and his wife Sheila have an open marriage, staying together for the sake of their only son, who has polio.

czfries's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

vel629vet's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a hard book for me and I do need to start paying closer attention to trigger warnings. However, Quinn gave us another superbly researched and written 5 star historical fiction that had me entranced and gave a wonderful ending. I liked Alice Network more throughout the story, but I liked this ending more and it left me more satisfied. Highly highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: War

ahallen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Gore, and Sexual assault

jenkneebee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

liteartha's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

2.5

this was a bit of a disappointment. i'll start by saying that i've read and enjoyed kate quinn's books in the past and do think she's a remarkably skilled voice in historical fiction, but this one missed the mark for me.

despite excellent narration from saskia maarleveld, the 15+ hour audiobook (over 650 pages) felt excessively long and it was a challenge to stay invested at times. the three leads were all interesting and distinct characters, but i didn't feel like their relationships were well enough developed over the course of the story. i was most interested in the code breaking and interpersonal dynamics between the three main characters, both of which were certainly featured, but for a book of this length, i'd have liked more exploration of both.

my interest in this book also suffered dramatically for it having included prince philip as a prominent love interest, which felt entirely unnecessary to the plot and distracted me greatly throughout. i truly can't see the point of it.

thank you to netgalley and harper audio for providing this advance copy of the audiobook

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

ninjamuse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Ableism, Cancer, Medical trauma, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty