Christmas with the Queen

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb
Narrator: Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong, Esther Wane
Published by HarperAudio, William Morrow on November 19, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Biographical
Length: 10 hours 14 minutes
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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’Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me in Monaco, and Three Words for Goodbye.

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve 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, old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn’t go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously. 

Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition. 

As Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything. 

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver… 

I had such a great time with this book! I have had a lot of luck with Hazel Gaynor’s writing previously, so I was eager to dive into this book. This was my first experience with Heather Webb’s work and I was impressed by the story this writing pair was able to tell. I was pulled into this story immediately and couldn’t wait to see how things would work out for this group of characters.

I am not usually drawn to holiday novels but I really enjoyed how the season was incorporated into this story. We see the Queen, starting from the earliest days of her reign, throughout the story as she delivers her annual Christmas message. Olive, a driven single mother, makes her way to Sandringham House where holiday celebrations are underway by filling in for a BBC reporter. Jack, who has just lost his wife, lands a job working in the royal kitchen for the holiday season. Olive and Jack have a little bit of history and are surprised to run into each other.

This story spans many years, so the characters grow and change. I enjoyed learning about Olive and Jack’s past. They have both been through a lot. Olive poses as a widow since having a child out of wedlock is considered a disgrace during this time. Her daughter, Lucy, means the world to her and she has the support of her parents. Jack lost his wife suddenly in a tragic accident and is having a hard time dealing with his grief. They were part of the same group of friends when they were younger and I enjoyed seeing that spark that had at one time start to appear again.

Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong, and Esther Wane did an excellent job narrating this novel. Each narrator reads one of the main perspectives of the story: Olive, Jack, and the Queen. I thought their voices complimented one another very well and appreciated that they were distinctive enough so that I always knew which character was being represented. I loved that they all added just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I am certain that their narration added to my enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought this was a touching story filled with characters that were easy to care about. I am so glad this book found its way into my hands and hope to read more of this writing pair’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from William Morrow and HarperAudio.

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