Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

 

Title: Christmas with the Queen

Author:  Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Narrated by:  Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong, Esther Wane

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 15 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

Have you ever wanted to visit somewhere else for the holidays?  I’ve always wanted to go to Germany and England at Christmas.

Jack Devereux and Olive Carter had a brief romance at the end of World War II that never took off.  Jack fell instead for Olive’s friend, Andrea.  Years later, Jack is a widower and the two meet again at Sandringham House at Christmas.  Jack is now a chef working for the royal family and Olive is a reporting on the royal family Christmas traditions when the two meet again. Will they ever be able to truly connect?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       There are three narrators of this novel.  Jack, Olive and Queen Elizabeth all narrate portions of the book.  The audiobook has three different narrators for these parts which works out great.  The primary narration is Jack and Olive.

·       The novel starts in the 1950s and goes through several Christmases in the 1950s.  I enjoyed that most of the action was during the Christmas season.

·       There are flashbacks showing how Jack and Olive met at the end of WWII.  Olive also has a brief meeting with then Princess Elizabeth celebrating the end of the war.

·       The near misses in romance drove me crazy at times!  I was like NOOOOOO – just tell him/her how you feel.  This story is two shy people afraid to ever say their feelings and rock the boat. 

·       The story was cozy. 

·       Jack is a Louisiana native and brings spice and new dishes to the palace.  He dreams of owning his own restaurant like his grandfather before him.

·       Olive is a single mother.  She lies that she is a war widow to hide the fact that she is an unwed mother.  Her journey was interesting working as a female in a man’s world while also trying to hide that she is an unwed mother

·       I liked the royal happenings throughout the story – it reminded me of The Crown.

·       The ending of this novel was perfect.

Overall, Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb is a lovely slow burn historical romance set at the Christmas season.  I enjoyed reading this one!