The Windsor Conspiracy by Georgie Blalock (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the review copy of The Windsor Conspiracy by Georgie Blalock.

Do you have a favorite color of flowers?  I love all flower colors, but red is one of my favorite colors.  I really like my red lilies that are blooming right now in my garden.  My lilies have been having a hard time this year as I have a couple of rabbits that are eating them.

Amelia Montague is a young cousin of Wallis Simpson.  After a personal tragedy of her own, Amelia leaves America to be a private secretary to her cousin Wallis in Europe.  She arrives just in time to witness Wallis Simpson marry Edward VIII after he has abdicated the throne of England.  The now Duke and Duchess of Windsor remain exiled in France.  Amelia at first is eager to learn about her new role and is touched at how Wallis helps her out of her difficulties.  As the world inches towards WWII, Amelia becomes concerned about the relationship between the Duke and Duchess and their friends in Germany.  Are they giving military secrets to the Germans?  Why are they banished to the Bahamas?  Are they still spying even in their banishment?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have always found the love story between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson to be so romantic.  This story definitely took the stars out of my eyes as it detailed the callous way that Wallis treated the Duke as well as their traitorous activities with the Germans.  Both Wallis and the Duke were very self-centered people.

·       In the acknowledgement section at the end of the novel, author Georgie Blalock details the very real history she used to put together the story of the Duke and Duchess.  She also used various books about people who worked for the Duke and Duchess to come up with the fictional character of Amelia.

·       I especially enjoyed it when Amelia became a spy for MI5 and the FBI.  I did feel stressed though as Amelia spied on Wallis and tried to get the information to the proper people.

·       There is a light romance in this novel between Amelia and Robert, an employee at the American embassy.  I adored it.

·       The characters were very interesting and richly imagined.  It was quite the time to be living.  I found myself at first liking Wallis and then greatly disliking her.  She was an interesting multi-layered character.

·       I read this book quickly.  It was engaging and fascinating to read.

·       Favorite quote, “Wallis had said the best revenge was a life well lived.  She’d been right.”

Overall, The Windsor Conspiracy is an engaging story set before and during WWII focused on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and their traitorous activities.  I enjoyed Cousin Amelia’s spunk as she investigates them.