Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

An avid reader whose current interest lies in mysteries and thrillers. Line 'em up! Also personally love fantasies and any stories to do with magic, and a sucker for the occasional (good) romance.
5 star, buddy review

Buddy Review: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter–the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger–and their true enemy–closer…

Welcome back to another buddy read here at Down the Rabbit Hole! This time we are taking a dive together into historical fiction, a novel set in UK in the 1940’s, during World War II. And man oh man were we impressed. As we were reading through it together, we were already getting more and more excited. I was a bit hesitant through the first part, but Andge already loved it. I was completely on board after reading a tiny bit more. Both of us agreed that the book was heading to either a 4 or 5 Drink Me Potions rating depending on the ending. And as you can already see, the ending really delivered. Read more below to get a further breakdown of what we thought of The Rose Code!

Pacing and Suspense Build-Up

Yes I know this is technically not the heading you expect to see in a historical fiction, but this story played out a bit like a mystery/suspense novel, so here it is! This story takes place over two main time periods: during the war and after the war (“the present”). The author is intentionally quite vague in the present, leaving out many names and leaving us in the dark about the outcome of our three protagonists. There is also a mysterious incident that leaves the three of them estranged in the present day, even though they meet and become best of friends in the past. These different elements comprise the element of “mystery” that we as readers are so desperate to find out as we read through the book.

Overall the pacing of the book is very well done, at a speed that isn’t too slow and isn’t too fast either. We are introduced to a lot of information but it is fed to us at a reasonable pace. The suspense was even more well done. Even though Andge and I had continuous discussions trying to discuss what might happen in the book, we were still blown away when all was revealed. Sure we were able to guess a few elements, but there was also so much more that we were not expecting. Excellent pacing and suspense in this book gives a good sense of forward momentum in this book, something Andge and I both thoroughly enjoyed.

Historical Elements

I am no expert when it comes to historical fictions, but I think I have also been spoiled in my reading career, only having read historical fictions when I get a recommendation – which really limits the number of “bad” ones that I read. However, that being said, even I can tell that The Rose Code was meticulously researched, and the elements were slipped in so smoothly, we both felt like we had time travelled back to the 1940s when we were reading this book. The use of the old-fashioned terminology and terms of endearment, as well as the set up of the whole environment of the war and after the war felt super realistic. Serious kudos to the author Kate Quinn.

Another thing Andge and I really enjoyed was the perspective of history that this novel took. I personally normally have less interest in war novels, especially in the aspects of fighting the actual war. However, in this novel, we focus more on the tactical and strategic behind-the-scenes aspects of the war. Honestly this wasn’t even an aspect of the war I was very familiar with, and that gave it an extra spark of life as we learned about this secret world of code cracking. It was relatable too, as we could imagine ourselves to have probably been recruited to such a facility as well, should we have been alive during WWII. Being surrounded by these educated codebreakers definitely seemed like an environment that we might also have thrived in, which provided another layer of interest.

Characters

There were the three main ladies as our protagonists but as well as a wealth of other characters that appeared on their journey. It was truly a magical experience to journey through all their storylines. Each character came from such a different background and upbringing, yet each belonged at BP in their own special way. The way we got to see them come together and become billet-mates then best friends from strangers certainly took Andge and I on an emotional journey. And what was it that happened to trigger their estrangement? Aside from the whole backdrop of the war, the storyline of these three women was truly something to be invested in.

These three were lovable and personable even with all their individual quirks. And we as readers almost felt as if we were part of their friend group too, since we come so close to witnessing everything that transpires between them. In a world full of secrets and the sworn oath to the Secrecy Act, nobody knows who to trust. Every other character that you come across could be either friend or foe. This really created a whole element of tension and excitement, as you might find in a mystery book.

I wish I could tell you more, but I already feel dangerously close to giving away too much! The characters develop well and all three storylines are very intriguing and balanced, no throwaway POVs (thank goodness). One last thing I will mention though is the character (based on the real) Prince Phillip. Yes, you know the one – of England who has recently passed away. The only thing we found “weird” about this book was reading about young Prince Phillip – it’s hard to imagine any other image in our heads other than his…usual look. In other words, sometimes it’s hard to separate the real person from a fictionalized version when said person was someone in our own timeline. That aside though, the research into all the characters based on real humans in history was also very well incorporated – another point for the author here!

Ending

Again, an interesting header for a historical fiction novel but hear us out. Obviously no spoilers here, but given that there was a mystery and suspense element, of course we had to talk about how we felt about the ending! Andge and I were super excited by about 2/3 of the way into the book, talking about how it really could be up to a 5 Drink Me Potions kind of book, or possibly just a 4 with a very weak ending. But let me just tell you now, the ending had everything we wanted to see and more.

The finale was worth every part of the suspense that was built up, and it was an extremely satisfying ending. We were discussing that we would be okay with a closed or an open ending, and we won’t spoil which one we got, but I can definitely tell you even within the category, we got so much more than we bargained for. We thought that the ending (and the entirety) of this book was so good, we just might have to do another Kate Quinn for our next buddy read. Seriously, we highly recommend this one. Even if you aren’t a fan of WWII historical fictions, give it a try – I think you’ll like what you find!

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Appreciation for Book Bloggers

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

JUNE 18: APPRECIATION FOR BOOK BLOGGERS (RUKKY)

Prompts: Do you feel appreciated as a book blogger? Who do you think appreciates the work of book bloggers the most? Do you think that bookish social media is aiding in the depreciation of book bloggers or is it supporting them? Is it wrong to want compensation from the book industry for our work?

Welcome to the middle of June, everyone! Time passes by so quickly, honestly. Anyway, this week’s topic is from our very own host Rukky over at Eternity Books!

I think generally I do feel appreciated as a book blogger. When people leave their lovely messages or insightful comments, it does spark joy in my heart, and makes me feel like an integrated part of the community. In addition to the readers, other bloggers will also visit each other and give feedback and interact with one another, and I think this also helps to create a nice sense of community that makes me (and hopefully others) feel appreciated.

As for who appreciates the work of book bloggers the most… I honestly would have to say other book bloggers. It takes one to know one right? Not that readers don’t appreciate the work, but to fully appreciate how long it sometimes take to create a post, or the thought that goes into curating content or even just posting through bad moods…I feel like I only appreciated other book bloggers’ work when I started to do more of it myself. It takes quite a lot of discipline to be a stable and prolific book blogger. Especially those of you out there with huge followings, I can imagine there’s pressure to always churn out (good) content, which is really intense!

Bookish social media I suppose is just a natural progression from book blogging as technology advances and the popular types of social media continue to evolve. I don’t think they’re necessarily contributing to the depreciation of book blogging. They may take away attention, since the trend now is to have short, punchy, clickbait titles and content for readers to consume, as the average attention span is shorter this day and age. In a way though, such social media can also be a good tool in advertising for a blog, which can be seen as supporting the bookish blogging community. Social media, as always, is just a tool, and the way it is used could potentially be used to support or detract from the book bloggers.

I don’t think it is inherently wrong to want compensation for work! Although there is definitely something to be said about the powerful extrinsic motivation of money taking over everything you do. That being said though, if a blogger were to be putting in many hours into creating amazing content that has a lot of followers and ends up making a huge impact, I could see reason for why they might want compensation from the industry. The power of suggestion and a community mindset can really push the popularity of a book up or down in a big way. I am sure that there are many books that wouldn’t have reached as much of a critical mass in popularity without these blogs spreading the word and encouraging others to read and join the hype train.

What do you all think about the way book bloggers are seen and appreciated? May I just have an overly optimistic and rosy view. Sure it may not be the forefront of social media popularity, but I don’t think it’s a dying art just yet!

3.5 star, adult

Review: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

You won’t want to leave. . . until you can’t.

Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge–there’s something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in. . .

This was another one of those books I just randomly picked off the (library) shelf based on the cover and synopsis alone. Ironically, neither of which I find incredible – I almost just returned it without reading it, since I didn’t feel the strong urge to read it. However, just before it was due, I decided to just race through it, and honestly I’m fairly satisfied that I did.

The Sanatorium takes place at a newly constructed building located in the Swiss Alps, once a sanatorium turned into a fancy hotel. Elin, our protagonist, is there to celebrate the engagement of her estranged brother. However, quickly things start taking a dark turn. People start going missing, the weather gets worse and worse, all poetically coming up to a big climax as the tensions continually increase.

Although the story revolves around our protagonist, the first portion of the novel actually takes us through a series of different perspectives. This I found to be a little bit distracting, as the novel quickly introduces us to more and more characters, making it a bit hard to focus on the main story. I think I remember maybe 3-4 storylines? I suppose part of the suspense is sometimes not being able to remember every part clearly, but it also takes away some of the tension and suspense that is built when it is too diverging.

The characters in this story were quite good and well-developed. People were consistent in their character and actions, and suspicions were easily cast around as new information came to light. This really helped captivate me in the story, as each character seemed like a reasonable suspect, and each had their secrets to hide. Being a little bit invested in each character is an important aspect of a novel to me, as it really helps bind the story together (e.g. not skipping parts about characters you don’t like), and I felt that that was pretty well done here.

The suspense in this story was well done, but nothing too dramatic. There was kind of an underlying tension and suspense that was growing throughout the story, but over all, each little arc of tension and resolution weren’t too heightened. Even at some of the most tense moments, I found that the resolution came fairly quickly, and perhaps I was let off the hook almost too easily. This is obviously just personal opinion, as to how much suspense “should” take place, but for me personally, I was expecting more from the resolution of the tension. I was often left thinking: oh that’s it?

Now for my biggest gripe: the ending. Yes, it was fairly unexpected and I didn’t totally see it coming. However, that didn’t mean it was quite satisfying either. Similar to our buddy review for Don’t Look For Me, where the ending was completely unexpected but also seemingly a little bit out of nowhere, I found the ending in this novel to not give me the satisfying “aha” moment. The best moments in these kinds of suspenses and mysteries are when you finally come to the realization of how everything has panned and played out, and how everything has come to lead up to this exact moment. Let’s just say that in this novel, there is an explanation yes, but it just all seemed like explanations for explanations, and covering up loopholes, as if everything was explained in hindsight, rather than being planned from the beginning. Does this make sense at all? All in all, this ending just really didn’t do it for me.

I would say overall I did enjoy the story though. The suspense was good, the characters were good, and there was good tension in general. The story and history woven in were good, and the general intrigue was well-executed – I enjoyed all the little details of how everything was put together. Perhaps I’m just a little bit too much of a stickler for the ending, if anyone else has read this, what did you think?

Overall Recommendations

The Sanatorium takes places in a beautifully constructed new 5-star hotel (once a sanatorium) in the Swiss Alps, where our protagonist, Elin, is visiting with her boyfriend to celebrate her estranged brother’s new engagement. While seemingly luxurious in its minimalistic design, more and more strange events begin to happen at the hotel: starting with the bride-to-be going missing. What exactly is going on here at this new hotel and who is behind it all? With the heavy storm incoming, how much danger exactly has Elin walked into? This novel had good characters and decent suspense throughout the whole novel, and I would recommend it to any mystery/thriller reader who likes to focus on those elements.