This was a reading group book and I am like WHY? There is nothing offensive about it but there is nothing to get your teeth into either. It was easy to read and I got through it quickly but it's historical romance lite. There's no intrigue or even any real jeopardy. Another review called it vanilla and that's as good a description as any. ( )

Thanks to Patricia Adrian, HarperCollinsUK, and Netgalley for the chance to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Bletchley Women will be released on Mar. 10, 2022.

Two women from two very different upbringings are brought together to help their country by cracking German codes during WWII. Evie Milton is a society debutante who is expected to marry a wealthy aristocrat and become a lady of their home. Rose Wiley is a farmer's daughter who is engaged to a local boy who joins the RAF to fight for his country and is expected to raise a large family in the same area she was born in. Each woman is in search of something they are missing - Evie is looking for her brother and Rose is looking for her freedom from expectations. As the women learn how to decode Nazi messages, they realize what they truly want out of life and do all they can to make it happen.

The codebreakers of Bletchley Park have been a topic of interest for me as I love learning about the role women played during WWII. I wanted to fall in love with this book but I found it lacking. For me, the story was far too long and it wasn't as intriguing as it could have been. It was more based on fiction than on actual women or procedures used during the time. There were also far too many characters brought in during the story to allow for complete concentration on the main characters. A little more research may have benefited the author to make the story more appealing. ( )

The Bletchley Women by Patricia Adrian follows two women as they leave their homes in 1940 and start working at Bletchley Park. Both women know German, but they are from opposite walks of life. Rose is an educated woman, but she grew up on a farm and expected to marry soon. Evie is the daughter of a an English lord who is expected to marry well and spend her time doing good works. Another offer comes their way. The two women can help the war effort by decoding messages of the enemy. They cannot, though, tell anyone the true nature of their work. The ladies become close during the long days spent translating missives. The Bletchley Women is told from Rose Wiley and Evie Milton’s point-of-view (for the most part). If the war had not happened, they each would have married and led lives similar to their mothers. The story has a slow start. The book becomes more interesting when Rosie and Evie begin working together at Bletchley. I felt that the characters lacked development. I wish the author had taken the time in the beginning to introduce them properly instead of diving into the story. We meet Lucy Stevens later in the story. She joins Rose and Evie in the German Air Section. The Bletchley Women is easy to read, but the pacing is a little slow. The author is wordy with her detailed descriptions. Some of the sections on decoding the messages are confusing and I found them to be dull. I ended up skimming through those areas. There is a lack of action in the story. I tried, but I could not get invested in the story. The lackluster main characters, the dull decoding room, and the officious men left me yawning. I believe that The Bletchley Women is too similar to other novels set in this time period. It needed some intrigue to give it some zip. The Bletchley Women transports readers back to 1940 inside Bletchley Park where three women work to decode enemy transmission. ( )

Great historical fiction, a must-read. Over the past few years, novels set in WWII about strong women rising to the occasion have filled our booklists. They are enjoyable stories, but they have become a little familiar and repetitive. Not so The Bletchley Women. Talented author Patricia Adrian has made this a unique, engaging tale filled with interesting characters and fascinating bits of history about Bletchley Park. While you can’t necessarily relate to the events taking place in this time, you can probably relate to feeling like you don’t quite measure up to expectations, frustration at not being allowed to make your own decisions, and heartbreak and sadness at having to make impossible decisions between two equally important choices.

Evie and Rose are very, very different young women, with very, very different lives ahead of them. Until war breaks out. Then, somehow, through very different means they both end up with many other young women at Bletchley Park decoding intercepted Luftwaffe messages. They are exposed to events and circumstances they never even imagined, and suddenly have dreams they weren’t even aware of. Their work is vital to the war effort, and they feel a purpose to life unlike any other they have experienced. Unfortunately, this vital work is also top-secret. Not being able to share where they have been and what they have been doing causes personal problems, some that may be insurmountable.

Author Adrian magically makes The Bletchley Women different from the rest. Rose, Evie and the Bletchley Park crew feel special as she tells their stories. You may not always like their personalities or the family they must deal with or the choices they make, but Adrian makes you care what happens to them, and immerses you in the day-by-day drama and danger of the war effort.

Thanks to One More Chapter, Harper Collins UK for providing an advance copy of The Bletchley Women via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest opinion. It truly is a cut above the rest and most definitely worth reading. All opinions are my own. ( )