Christmas with the Queen ⭐⭐⭐

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

~I love the cover~

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue in the tradition of her late father and grandfather’s beloved Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must move with the times, and the Queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, two old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—find themselves reunited for the festivities. A single mother, typist at the BBC, and aspiring reporter, Olive leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, despite self-doubts. When a chance encounter with the Queen presents an exciting opportunity, Olive begins to believe her luck might change.

Jack, a grief-stricken widowed chef originally from New Orleans, accepts a last-minute chance to cook in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. When he bumps into a long-lost friend, an old spark is reignited.

Despite personal and professional heartache, Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmas seasons and they find themselves growing ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret.

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, Olive decides to reveal the shocking truth of her secret, which threatens to tear her and Jack apart forever. Unless Christmas has one last gift to deliver…

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christmas, Holiday, Romance

I feel a HEA coming on...

Day 1 - Not bad. I'm almost a third of the way. This is Olive and Jack's story and how things are run in the royal household with the holiday hustle bustle, more so than the Queen "finding her feet". They have crossed paths and so have the corgis! 

Day 2 - Disappointed there aren't more "Queen Elizabeth II" chapters.  I looked at the Chapters List (table of contents but they don't call it that for some unknown reason) and there are only five QEII chapters out of 58, plus the epilogue. It's not very Christmassy either. I would have titled it "The Long Lost Love Story of Olive and Jack". Christmas with the Queen obviously would grab more attention but again, I feel like it's a bait and switch worth losing a ⭐over. 

⭐⭐⭐

Overall Enjoyment 🎉🎉🎉

Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣

Would I recommend it to anyone? 🗣️ 🤷 If you're looking for a holiday romance but not if you are looking for a Royal Christmas story.

Would I want a sequel 🕮 No ➖

Would I want to read more books by this author 📚  🤷. The writing wasn't horrible so maybe.

Trigger Warnings 💣💥Not really

Spice 🌶 No

Plot twist 🌪 No

Tidbits 💻I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was promoted as a holiday romance. The audio version was a little over 10 hours long. The Queen chapters were about 30 minutes worth. Mostly fiction with a wee tad of history thrown in about the new young queen and royal traditions. 
One ⭐deducted for the bait and switch and one ⭐deducted because it took them five long tedious years to finally get together and for Olive to tell Jack her "secret". Talk about your slow burn. And then they wrapped up the HEA with a bright shiny Christmas bow.

It would probably make a decent Hallmark Christmas movie. 

🎧Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong, Esther Wane 


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