The Bletchley Women by Patricia Adrian

EXCERPT: ‘Where are we?’ I ask the army officer, while he pushes me towards the guards hut. I brush by the other two girls I came with, not registering their faces. ‘Where are we?’

‘Move inside,’ he barks, hurrying me along. ‘You talk a lot, miss.’

‘Welcome to Bletchley Park,’ says one of the guards, a man about my father’s age with a drooping moustache.

Bletchley Park? Hmmm.

I am still none the wiser.

I may have no clue about where I am, but I certainly know what brought me here.

Aunt Mavis, of course. Last Christmas.

ABOUT ‘THE BLETCHLEY WOMEN’: From debutante to farmer’s daughter all roads lead to Bletchley…

In a different world, Evie Milton would have accepted her fate, married an aristocrat, and become the doyenne of one of England’s finest estates, just like her mother.

In a different world, Rose Wiley would have married her fiancé, David, established a modest homestead, and brought up a brood of babies, just like her mother.

But this isn’t a different world and these women are not their mothers. Rose dreams of a life filled with more than family and duty to her husband – a life of purpose – and Evie dreams of a life far away from her rarefied existence. Now, as they perform vital work at Bletchley Park decoding intercepted Luftwaffe messages, their role in turning the tide of war in the Allies favour shows Evie and Rose they don’t have to settle for the life once laid out before them.

MY THOUGHTS: I expected more than what I got from The Bletchley Women. It’s very vanilla. I have read and enjoyed several other books set around the code breaking work of Bletchley Park. This had many subplots based on family and relationship issues and petty rivalries within the workplace. It was too long with too many irrelevancies and lacked intrigue.

We never really get to know the characters in depth, but I really did get fed up with Rose blethering on about her ‘darling David.’

I would have liked more focus on the work the decoders did and the problems they faced. What we learned was very superficial and I finished this feeling both disappointed and frustrated. It’s a nice, light read, but not what I was looking for.

The narrators, Imogen Wilde and Antonia Whillans, narrated well with good range of tones and expression.

⭐⭐.5

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#historicalfiction #romance #WWII

THE AUTHOR: Patricia Adrian always wanted to write books, ever since she penned (literally, with a pen) her dozen-page long ‘novel’ in fifth grade. Her interests also include history (especially women in history), skulking around social media for much longer than she should, and reading, particularly when she’s on a tight deadline and should be writing instead.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio, One More Chapter via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of The Bletchley Women for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

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