12 December 2024

Christmas with the Queen - Book Review

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
Publication: November 19, 2024
Pages: 384 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Olive and Jack's love story was a slow burn, but the surrounding details were delightful and made the wait enjoyable
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The story starts out in 1952 with Olive trying to advance her reporting career despite the reluctance of the male-dominated BBC to have anything of importance reported by a woman. Jack is excited to leave the toxic kitchen he's been working in for a short assignment in the Sandringham royal kitchen during the new queen's holiday stay.

Fast forward a bit, and Olive and Jack end up seeing each other over the holidays during good career developments for both of them. They got along fine when they ran with the same social group of singles years ago, and getting reacquainted is a pleasant surprise for them both, even if it is just for a few minutes.

Both their lives continue to progress, with Queen Elizabeth II's life and reign an influential event that continues to affect both of them. The descriptions of the settings where the story takes place and the other people in both their lives are charming and a fun escape to read about. The book also included a few quotes from the queen's Christmas speeches over the years, which were intriguing and reinforced the historic part of this pleasant fiction. 

Overall, it was quite nice to read about the early years of Elizabeth II's monarchy, her life with her husband (sorry, forgot his title right now) and their children. The Christmas details and descriptions made the story a fun holiday read as well. The book earned 4 out of 5 stars and would be great for anyone who likes British royalty stories, 1950s fiction, and modest love stories. 


Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my electronic copy of this book. Receiving this book for free did not influence my review.



 

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