My #BookReview of #TheRoseCode by @KateQuinnAuthor @HarperCollinsUK #WW2 #BletchleyPark

1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.
 
Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.
 
Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.
 
1947, London.
 
Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, disaster threatens. Osla, Mab and Beth are estranged, their friendship torn apart by secrets and betrayal. Yet now they must race against the clock to crack one final code together, before it’s too late, for them and for their country.

As my followers know I’m really into my World War 2 novels this year, and when I saw The Rose Code, I just knew I had to buy it.

Now it is a HUGE book 600+ pages, but don’t let that put you off and it, it is an immense and thrilling read.

Kate Quinn has obviously done a lot of research in writing The Rose Code, because the depictions of Blethcly Park and its team of cryptoanalysts and the women who worked there are totally realistic and the pages came alive in my mind whilst reading, rather like a movie.

I loved the three main characters of Osla, Mab and Berth and the story and plot that involves all three, is immersive. But the thing that stood out was the realism of the settings, from Bletchley Park to London to Coventry, it really is a marvellous read. And I must be going a bit soft in my old age because I adored the love story that flows with each character – and the addition of Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth’s to-be husband was frankly amazing! I have to also admit at one stage to crying over characters and events that happened!

The Rose Code is a tremendous novel about courage, love, betrayal and of what it was like to live and work during WW2 as a woman. The plot and storyline are impeccable as is the cast of characters, this was a real page-turner and I couldn’t get enough of The Rose Code. I was gripped right up to the last page.

If you like novels set during World War 2 then I urge you to read The Rose Code, it really sets the standard of this period and I rate it a well worthy 5 Stars.

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.

You can buy The Rose Code HERE

You can read more on Kate Quinn’s Website HERE

You can follow Kate Quinn on TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

Advertisement

My #BookReview of #SpeakOfTheDevil by @Rose_Wldng published by @BaskervilleJMP on 22.6.2023

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man’s severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women – the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him – has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she didn’t. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who did.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer.

A beautifully written debut thriller about love, loyalty, and manipulation, Speak of the Devil explores the roles in which women are cast in the lives of terrible men . . . and the fallout when they refuse to stay silent for one moment longer.

Huge thanks to Baskerville for kindly sending me a copy of Speak Of The Devil.

Speak Of The Devil is a fantastic feminist thriller, written by Rose Wilding, who I would imagine will go on to be ONE of the writers of our time!

The opening chapter sees the reader meet a group of seven women, on New Year’s Eve 1999, sitting in a semi-circle all facing a kind of altar with a head of a man on it!

We then move through the novel from the point of view of each of the seven women – Ana, Sarah, Kaysha, Josie, Maureen, Olive and Sadia – we find out from each of them how this man has impacted their lives and how they have all come to this moment.

And it is amazing how Rose Wilding has written Speak Of The Devil, each woman’s story slowly eases out with each page and each awful thing that our bodiless man has inflicted on them. It’s a tale of love, fear, abuse, hate, lies, control, correction and murder and it is brilliant. The cast is written with a real feel for how women act and feel in relationships where not everything is as it seems, the plot is wonderful and I love the fact that there is a lesbian lead character! I feel this is an important novel in today’s crime fiction as it lets women have a voice, and I blooming loved it! I could not put it down and read it over 2 days, a total page-turner from beginning to end!

A huge 5-star read and I cannot wait for Ms Wilding’s next novel – a fantastic talented writer. I hope Sperak Of The Devil wins prizes and accolades as it certainly deserves too!

Rose Wilding is a queer, working class writer with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester. She lived in Newcastle Upon Tyne until she was 27, where she worked in customer service, collecting idiosyncrasies from everyone she met.

You can buy Speak Of The Devil HERE

You can follow Rose Wilding on TWITTER INSTAGRAM

My #Review of #TheBleeding by @JoGustawsson @OrendaBooks

Three women
Three eras
One extraordinary mystery…
 
1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.

1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.

2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.

Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…

The Bleeding is the first novel I have read by Johana Gustawsson, and after reading it, it won’t be my last!

Firstly a word about the actual hardback published by Orenda Books, it is a divine little beauty, the size of a paperback but in hardback form, with a glorious cover (Those who know me well, know I LOVE cover art) and beautiful sprayed edges…it almost had the feel of an old fashioned book, and it works SO well with the story! Such a keeper!

Now the novel is set in 3 time zones and we hear from 3 women who each tell us their story, at first I was unsure about this and how it would work but let me tell you it is absolutely sublime the way Johana Gustawsson has managed to weave the timezones and characters together. And the feel of this book is gothic, its gritty, and so vivid, there’s so much to the storyline but as you know I never give away spoilers (it’s SO hard with The Bleeding as I want to shout from the rooftops about it!) but if you like a bit of history, maybe some magic and witchcraft mixed with a modern murder and Police Investigation, then this is the book for you.

The Bleeding is an absolute little gem of a book, I couldnt put it down and it really got into my head. I loved the way it was written with such aplomb by Johana Gustawsson, in fact ive gone straight to order her previous books! A final word to the translation by David Warriner, who has again managed to make it read like it was written in English, trust me there is nothing lost in translation here! And the ending was utterly shocking and i had not guessed it would end like that at all!!!

So I am giving The Bleeding a rapturous 5 stars (if I could give it more I would), a bloody wonderful book! You must read it!!!

Born in Marseille, France, and with degrees in Law and Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty countries. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband and their three sons.

You can follow Johana on TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

Johana Gustawsson has her own WEBSITE

You can buy The Bleeding HERE

My #review of #WomenInLove by #MiriamBurke @renardpress published UK 23.02.22

‘I couldn’t sleep that night; our conversation was like a trapped bird flying around inside my head. The next morning, I texted to say I wouldn’t be coming back. I lied about having to return to my country to nurse a sick relative. I couldn’t bear to see my story mirrored in his eyes, and to see what we never had. I knew he’d understand.’

Women and Love is a thought-provoking collection of seventeen tightly woven tales about the power of love, all its trials and complications, and the shattered lives it can leave in its wake.

The stories explore a huge variety of sorts of love surrounding women in wildly differing settings and features an unforgettable cast including GPs, burglars, inmates, emigrant cleaners, carers, young professionals, and many more. Navigating heavy themes, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ experiences, including gender dysphoria and searching for a sperm donor, the stories leave the reader burning with indignation, full of empathy and wonder.

Firstly, Thank you to Will at Renard Press for sending me a copy Women in Love to review.

This isnt my normal genre of book, but I was so intrigued by the description, that I wanted to read something different.

Here is a book with a plethora of love stories about women, they are well written and its clear that Miriam Burke knows her subjects well, in the description of all the various characters throughout the book.

Here we have 17 short stories about women in love. The clear who sees relationships from the outside and has a sad secret, the wife whose husband of many years makes a decision that rocks her world forever, the struggling single mother who encounters every parents nightmare.

I loved the way the stories were written so frankly and found all of them easy to read and compelling. and you can really feel yourself emphasising with the chrachters. My favourite was The Currency of Love, really gripping. I will also say that there are going to be some trigger warnings in these stories.

Overall a nice collection of short stories by Miriam burke, and a word for Renard Press as I loved the book cover design!

A 4 Star read.

A writer from the west of Ireland, Miriam Burke’s short stories have been widely published in anthologies and journals. She has a PhD in Psychology, and before becoming a writer she worked for many years as a Clinical Psychologist in London hospitals and GP practices. Women and Love is her debut collection.

You can buy Women In Love HERE