The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Happy Thursday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things blog tour for Kate Quinn's latest historical novel, The Diamond Eye. 

Mila Pavlichenko's dream was to finish school and take up a position as a historian. She wanted to provide for her son. And she wanted to be free of her marriage. 

It was these things that prompted her to train as a sniper. 

She never expected she'd use her talents in the war. And she certainly never expected to gain recognition across the globe as one of the most successful military snipers of that era. 

But when an injury forces her away from the front lines, she finds herself in a foreign land faced with a new danger.

Kate Quinn has a knack for pulling together stories based in the most fascinating aspects of women's history! The Diamond Eye is no exception and features a character wholly based in truth who's story is not only fascinating but inspiring as well. 

Now, this is of course fiction. But Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko was, as mentioned, a very real person. She was known as Lady Death because of her prowess with a sniper rifle. And she did make friends with Eleanor Roosevelt and tour the United States and beyond after the war. 

She was also a young, single mother and a historian. 

And I know I'm not the only person who'd never heard of her before reading The Diamond Eye!

And obviously there's some creative license taken with the story. No one can know the inner exact inner workings of Mila's mind through the war and beyond. And both her thoughts as well as those of Eleanor Roosevelt do take center stage throughout the story. 

That knowledge aside, The Diamond Eye reads as convincingly authentic—something I think every historical fiction storyteller strives for and something that Quinn truly excels at. What's more, the pacing is excellent and all of those insights into Mila's thoughts and motivations make her a character not only easy to sympathize with but one whose story you genuinely want to read!

The Diamond Eye is another example of Quinn's fabulous talent as an author and is a must read for anyone interested in women's history, strong female characters, or simply an enthralling story!

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm super excited to be part of the Random Things Blog Tour for Kate Quinn's latest, The Rose Code. 

WWII is raging on and England is preparing for the worst. The highly classified work that takes place at Bletchley Park is key to winning the war. But what brings together three very different women is also what tears them apart. 

Eight years later, two of them have gotten on with their lives and the third has been institutionalized. They no longer speak to one another, much less consider themselves friends. But when the one who's supposed to have suffered a mental breakdown reaches out, they're brought together once again. 

For over three years, this woman has been living in a sanitarium under a name that's not her own. And it's quite possible she was never supposed to be there in the first place. Because she suspects someone at Bletchley was a spy. And she needs the help of the other two to not only prove it, but to help catch the traitor once and for all. 

Right about the time I snagged an ARC of this one, I'd been thinking about how much I really missed Bletchley Circle, a show that found former codebreakers working together to solve murder mysteries post WWII. And it was fabulous! 

So to say that The Rose Code landed in my lap at the perfect moment isn't an exaggeration!

The book begins in 1947, leading up to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Osla Kendall, goddaughter to Philip's uncle, has found herself the focus of tabloids like the one she writes for thanks to her own relationship with Philip, which means preparing to attend said wedding is something that requires careful consideration. 

But it's a letter that arrives in the mail that really kicks off the story. 

The letter is in code and it not only leads her to reconnect with someone she thought she'd left firmly in her past, but it takes the story back to Osla's days at Bletchley Park. 

Osla is a society girl, born in Canada and raised in England. And when her mother ships her off to safety during the war, Osla stubbornly returns, determined to get a job doing her part! She's working building planes when she gets a letter ordering her to Bletchley Park for an interview.

It's there that she meets Mab and Beth. 

Mab is the daughter of a single mother, determined to meet a man worthy of marrying. Her goal isn't love, but support and comfort. Enough so that she can secure a better future for her youngest sister. Which is why she scrimped and saved to put herself through secretarial school. And lands an interview at the mysterious Bletchley Park.

Beth is the twenty-four-year-old daughter of Osla and Mab's landlord. A shy woman seemingly meant for spinsterhood and primary caregiver to her domineering mother. But she excels at crosswords, which is why Osla has the idea to put her name forward for a job. 

The three women aren't allowed to speak about their work, even with one another. But they forge a strong bond nonetheless. And they couldn't be more different from one another! But the war and their work are what they have in common. 

The reader learns fairly early on that they no longer speak to one another, but the why plays out over the course of the story. We're brought back to their days just before Bletchley and through their experiences there, alternating with their present time—the days prior to the royal wedding. 

I loved how Quinn built each of the woman, taking time and care to create three very different personalities, while also focusing on the historical aspects of the war and Bletchley Park. I thought the research that must have gone into the book was so well integrated into the story, that even though I'm no expert by any means, I was convinced Quinn was true to the era and the people who would have found themselves at Bletchley. 

The Rose Code is a hefty read, but it doesn't fell like it! It's so easy to get swept away in Osla, Mab, and Beth's stories to begin with that the espionage aspect feels like an added bonus. In short, this is a highly entertaining read perfect for anyone who loves spy fiction, WWII fiction, or even just stories about strong female friendships!