I was drawn to this book by its premise.
However I was extremely disappointed as it was executed badly.
It felt very far fetched and was poorly written.

Once again, readers are given yet another misleading description. From the premise THE SECRET GUESTS sounded intriguing...where the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are sent to Ireland into neutral territory during the Blitz of WW2. And I had such high hopes for this book. But honestly...it was boring. It was so boring - a snore fest, even - I don't think I can even attempt to write my usual informative review regaling the lead-up to what had promised to be an exciting read.

It touched a little of the young princesses under their assumed identities as Ellen and Mary, but mostly it was about MI5 and those protecting them. Most of whom turned out to be pompous, arrogant or I just had so little regard for their presence I didn't much care what happened to them.

The story was meant to be an imaginative "what if" scenario had the Princesses been evacuated to the neutral territory of Ireland, when in actual fact they spent most of the war hidden away in the formidable Windsor Castle.

The Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, now known as Ellen and Mary, are secreted away in the night during the Blitz to board a naval ship that will take them to Ireland. Their charge, female MI5 agent, Celia Nashe, awakes to find Ellen asleep in her bunk with the distinct stench of vomit and Mary missing. She searches the ship until she finds young Mary on the deck watching the distant bombs falling on their retreating country. Celia pulls her away from the edge so suddenly for fear she may fall in that the precocious young Mary defiantly states that her father has a much bigger boat than this and she's allowed to stand on deck whenever she likes. That she knows what to do on boats.

When they arrive in Ireland, they are met by a diplomat from the Dublin Embassy and a Garda detective who then accompany them to their new home, a rundown estate belonging to a distant cousin of the former Queen. Despite their attempts at keeping the identities of their secret guests hidden, it isn't long before servants and locals reveal that they are in fact the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Then a kidnap plot is hatched by those of the Irish rebellion and the plot just gets a little ridiculous. In the end I gave up.

THE SECRET GUESTS was a disappointing let down for me as I had such high hopes for it. It promised to be an exciting read when instead it was a snore fest.

I don't like to leave bad reviews but sadly this was such a disappointment it leaves me no alternative. I wish "Ellen and Mary" had featured far more than they did...after all, they were the drawcard in both the premise and the title.

I would like to thank #BenjaminBlack, #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for an ARC of #TheSecretGuests in exchange for an honest review.

Reading the description of this novel, I thought it would be something I really enjoyed. A fictional take on what happened to the future Queen Elizabeth II, then just a fourteen year old princess, and her sister, ten year old Margaret, during the war. The idea behind this book is that the two princesses are whisked off to Clonmilis Hall in Ireland, home of Sir William Ormonde, to be kept safe until after the war.

It is 1940 and London is under attack, when this novel opens. With the Blitz literally outside their doorstop, it seems prudent to take the precautionary measure of moving the girls away from London. With a mix of crime and historical fiction, this considers how safe the girls really were. With Ireland unsettled, we have locals who are IRA supporters, and so it is essential that their identity is kept secret.

I enjoyed the setting, and characters. I particularly enjoyed Celia Nashe, the female member of MI5, tasked with keeping the two princesses safe. An enjoyable alternate history, with a good cast of characters. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

My thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This speculative recount of the time spent by the Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, in Ireland, during the early stage of the Blitz, is an absolute joy. The focus is not so much on the Princesses themselves, but upon the people called upon to effect the move to an isolated and gloomy setting in the Irish countryside, the people who make the discovery of just who is living in secret in their midst, the people who find themselves trying to protect the two young girls in this situation.

It isn't terribly clear if this is an actual event or a 'rural, rather than urban, myth' but it is an enjoyable and well written story, with some strong elements of farce and comedy. The sense of place, the gloomy, would-be stately home, the decaying gentleman at the centre of the house, the struggling detective, left to make shift in a hovel nearby, are all richly drawn and feel realistic for the time. A really very rewarding read which will leave you asking the question, 'did this really happen?' and feeling slightly incredulous.

I was fascinated by the blurb but unfortunately the story didn't met my expectations. It's well written but quite slow and I couldn't connect to the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The prose in this book was evocative of a time long gone by. Great vocabulary and descriptions. A slowly unfolding tale of IRELAND during WW2

Although well-written and in parts interesting, it didn't quite work for me either as historical fiction or a thriller. I wanted more about the girls, who are quite cardboard, and I certainly wanted more of Nashe and Strafford. The thriller part was all in the last few pages and the rest was just too slow even for me. It was such an interesting concept that I was disappointed with the result.

Very well written with terrific period detail and a well defined sense of place. A little slow in places, but overall entertaining

Unfortunately this wasn’t even close to what I was expecting, and so it was quite a let down. The writing was beautiful in its lyricism, but the actual plot and pacing and everything like that was just not great. Sadly it’s not something I would recommend.

"The secret guests" was such a let down for me. It's described as an "enthralling historical mystery" and the only thruth in that is that is set in an historical moment. Period. No mystery. No enthralling at all. With such an interesting premise I was expecting so much more. The "secrets guests" of the title are merely secondary characters, the story being centered around the people trying to protect them. The first couple of chapters got me intrigued but then nothing happened till the last 15%, and when it did it was a plot so out of the blue and so rushed in its resolution that I couldn't help but keep my eyes rolling back.

2/5 because in spite of being a bit boring it was beautifully written and it gave some interesting historical context I wasn't aware of.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ignore the fact that as far as the public is aware Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were at home in Windsor Castle during the Blitz, and this is an entertaining, historical novel. The language is period appropriate and more interesting than the basic premise is the way the author has drawn the portrait of relations between England and Ireland at this time. This was definitely and interesting read with compelling characters.