3 stars

A well-written family drama with a unique story line & touches of romance (just not as much as I was expecting from the blurb).

[What I liked:]

•The way Debbie’s life mirrors Diana’s was a cute & clever plot device. It was well executed without it feeling too contrived or gimmicky.

•The posh upper class British family that is also in on the Essex nightclub scene was another slight twist on a trope, I thought.

•The narrative structure is a bit convoluted at times, but the flashbacks to Debbie’s past did keep me engaged & wondering how the present situation got to be the way it is.

•The prose is very readable, the dialogue is smooth for the most part, most of the characters have flaws & depth & quirks, and the pacing was fine.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I did very much enjoy the book, but since it was categorized as a romance I was expecting more on that front. There are two romance story lines that are hinted at, & are just beginning to emerge by the end of the book but that’s it. Most of the focus is on exploring a failed marriage.

•There is a lot going on in this book! Family drama for multiple characters, work place drama for multiple characters, a reality TV show filming, flash backs to the past, and budding romances for multiple characters. I won’t say definitely it was too much for one book, but it did take me awhile to get into the book to get a handle on all the storylines I had to follow. If the focus of the story was more concentrated that might’ve been smoother.

•A lot of the characters were hard to like. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like perfect, boring personas either, but I also don’t want to be nothing but annoyed or irritated by the main characters. I sympathized with Debbie, but I can’t say I actually liked her or her denial & blame shifting. I wanted to like Anne, but didn’t like her either since she was purely stress & cattiness. I would’ve liked to see a bit more character development of Will & Pierce, both of whom I did like okay, but there just wasn’t room in the story. I did like Sarah okay, but she wasn’t my favorite either. It would’ve been nice to have at least one character who I really enjoyed spending time with on the page.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

This was very cute, really liked our dear protagonist and her relationships with her family - that was the highlight for me. I also enjoyed the time period setting!!!

Light book about a woman who is a hoarder. She hoards information about the British Royal Family. Her kids sign her up for a reality TV show that helps hoarders. Of COURSE, she has to confront her past, etc etc. Very cute.

I absolutely loved this book! In my opinion, it was very well written and was really fascinating to read about the mother’s addiction and how she overcame that with the help of her family. I liked how the book jumped back and forth from two different perspectives keeping the reader on their toes. I also liked how this book gave life advice at the beginning of some chapters. It’s not often you read a book in the present and then the book jumps back in time to tell the back story of one of the main characters and how the addiction became to be. That was really fun to read. This book also tells the back story and some history about Britain which was very fun to read because I do not know a lot of history about Britain. It talks about Princess Diana and Charles and their marriage and her death. I was not born yet when this happened, so it was nice learning about the history. I really liked how the characters were from two different places in the world; Britain and the United States. Not only was the story about how to solve the mothers addiction but also how to find your place in the world when your parents are from two different places and how to fit in you are not sure where you belong. I would definitely recommend this book!

I love me a book that mentions the Royal Family so was more than happy to read this little gem. I absolutely loved Mrs Percy, and the supporting characters were all so delightful. It was equal parts of Royal Nostalgia, family drama and a tale of trying to sort one's life out. I also loved the reality TV aspect, and the Downton Abbey vibes of Mrs Percy's ex husbands family.

It was a great lighthearted take on the world of hoarding, with some sprinkles of humour without being hysterically funny. One of those books where you nod and smile your way through.

I must say though, I enjoyed the flash backs more than the present day but perhaps that was for the best as helped to build a really good picture of why things are the way they are in the present. The ending did also feel a little bit rushed, there was all this great build up throughout and then it was just... over.

The author had also written it in such a way that I was picturing the present day in colour and the past in black and white which was just so charming.

A great read for anyone who needs a lighthearted novel , regardless of whether you are a fan of Princess Diana or not. There's also a couple of blossoming romances that really sealed the deal for me in being a fan of this book.

First I want to thank netgalley and the publishers for giving me an opportunity to read A House full of Windsor in exchange for my honest review. I love anything that plays on the royal family and I thought this was such a cute story. I enjoyed having the POV of both Sarah and Debbie. I felt like it gave us more of an inside knowledge than if we would of only had one POV. I loved how there was nostalgia thrown in with British lifestyle and family issues. Make sure you add this one to your TBR ASAP!

I have a bit of a soft spot for the UK royals so this book was straight up my alley!

I was not sure what to expect from this book but I fell in love with it immediately and dove straight in and found it hard to put down. My parents were a bit on the hoarder side so I really understood the kids and how much they are over their Mom. But I also inherited it all so I get how hard it is to let go of things that have memories attached.

This novel is told from both Sarah's and Debbie's POV with Debbie's flipping back and forth from the post to present day.

Highly enjoyable, especially for fans of the royals!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this story! I love royal weddings and Diana and Kate so there were lots of mentions in this book! I would recommend!

I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I don't know if this is because I'm not feeling the best or because it's just not that good, but it was a "meh" read for me. Not bad, not good, just get it over with book and that's it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are many, many books that draw on the royals for inspiration, but A House Full of Windsor is one of the most thoughtful and touching. The royals are certainly woven throughout the story- what would royal watching be without memorabilia, and Debbie certainly has more than her fair share. I loved that Contino showed a less glamorous side of the royals; as Debbie's marriage fell apart, so did the Wales'. This made it a much more poignant comparison though, and I think really speaks to how people view the royals- they are seen as part of peoples' lives, even though they've never met them. (I've read nearly every chick lit book vaguely related to the royals, but none will stay with me like AHFOW.)

I think that choosing to anchor the story around Debbie's hoarding (of said royal memorabilia) was the perfect way to go here. It is easy to mock people who hoard for simply "having too much stuff", but Contino thoughtfully explores the reasons and emotions behind Debbie's hoarding, and how it affected each member of her family. They don't all understand, but that is reality for all of us. I didn't know if I would, but very quickly on, I was incredibly invested in Deb- I don't often root for characters, but I was rooting for Debbie. It can be sad to read at a few points, but that only made me want to read more- I had to find out where it would end. From start to finish, a rich, royal read!

This book was so fun! If you loved Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell Antonia or love the British Royals, you’ll love this book!

This novel follows Debbie (mother) and Sarah (daughter) as their family is profiled on a reality TV show for hoarding. It weaved in the British royal family in such a unique way as it alternates between present day and flashbacks with Debbie. THE HOUSE OF WINDSOR was laugh out loud funny and a short and enjoyable read from start to finish filled with royalty, relationships, secrets, and forgiveness.

I look forward to sharing this book with our audience and will consider it as a book pick for our virtual book club. Thank you to Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A House Full of Windsor, Kristin Contino (Reading Copy, to be published July 13, 2021) Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing Inc, Deadwood, Oregon
This is an Uncorrected Pre-Publication Review Copy, advanced to me by Net Galley for review.

Kristin Contino has written a delightful novel. With its clever foreshadowing in alternate chapters through ‘Sarah Says’; a first chapter in which the introduction and skilful characterisation of Debbie and her children Sarah, and twins Anne and Will is accomplished swiftly; and with a polished establishment of important plot features Contino shows that she is very much at home with smart writing. The American family’s connection with the English aristocratic name, Percy, and deft intertwining of Debbie’s story with that of Diana, Princess of Wales, to whom in part the novel is dedicated, adds an element of humour. As an Australian who longs to return to her pre-Covid twice yearly visits to the UK, and with an affection for a woman ‘whose inspiration lives on’, I could not be happier reading A House Full of Windsor. These populist aspects of the novel enhance, rather than detract, from the development of a work that revolves around the serious nature of the problem Sarah, Anne and Wills meet to try, once again, to resolve with Debbie.

‘Primp Before You Prep’ Sarah Says, introduces Debbie’s long-term problem – hoarding. Indeed, Debbie does primp. She is impeccable in appearance with tamed grey curls, a crystal poppy brooch on her turtleneck sweater and smart trousers. However, her house is a maze of boxes of china and journals, plastic storage bins, bags with new purchases and more on every surface and against the walls. A Kate Middleton Top Shop purchase (she wore the same design when she was pregnant with George, explains Debbie) lies amongst the boxes. A lolling Prince George doll strengthens the image. Debbie’s pillow and blanket on the sofa are clues to the state of her bed. The long wait between the children ringing the front doorbell and Debbie’s opening it not only infers the build up inside the house, leading to a protracted exit, but provides time to scrutinise Sarah, Anne and Will, their relationships with each other, and the impact their mother’s hoarding has had on them.
Debbie suggests that her incessant shopping, in person and online, is ‘fun’. But, as the novel proceeds, in alternative chapters Debbie recalls her past in England. As a student she completed her degree in London and rearranged her flight home to America so as to see Diana and Charles’ wedding and to invest in the romance arising from meeting an attractive man in a pub. In these chapters multiple explanations are advanced for Debbie’s hoarding. At the same time, it is apparent that Debbie has always collected, her teenage bedroom floor was a mess (whose was not?) and her fascination with the royals, from the family name to the particular affinity she feels with Prince Charles and Princess Diana, has a rationale. She feels that her married life has followed that of the doomed royals. And, with that in mind, her collection of royal memorabilia grows.
Will’s enthusiasm for Debbie’s participation in Stuff, a reality television program on hoarding; Sarah’s involvement, causing difficulties in her own television job, at Good Morning New York and a possible romance; and Anne’s concern about the impact of Debbie’s television appearance on her marriage provide a backdrop for more serious questions: will Debbie participate? And if she does, what impact will it have on her hoarding? On her burgeoning relationship with the antique shop owner? Her relationships with her children and their father, with his new wife and child in England?
My knowledge and understanding of hoarding are based on various fictional representations. Amongst those, Contino’s version stands up well. Debbie’s first-hand account of her experiences, feelings, and strong desire to please her children by changing her behaviour, conflicting with her addiction to shopping and despair over the possible loss of any of her belongs rings true. The failure of her marriage and undermining of the possibility of another romance demonstrates the intensity of Debbie’s passion for ownership of a multitude of goods, whatever its impact on her relationships. Even more sensitively exposed is Debbie’s failure to provide a home to which her friends and those of her children can be invited; their enduring fear that Debbie will be hurt by the avalanche proportions of her belongings; and concerns about the publicity accompanying what seems to be a very real possibility that something can be achieved by Debbie’s participation in Stuff.
With its humorous moments amongst the well-drawn misery of hoarding, for self and family; the realistic interactions between Sarah, Will and Anne; and Debbie’s portrayal as a woman who is trapped, but far from beaten, by her addiction A House Full of Windsor is such a good read. I shall be avidly watching for more of Kristen Contino’s work.

I was thrilled to discover this book and even more excited that I got to read it early. Absolute joy! Any royal / UK fans will love. I mean the cover alone is adorable. From the beginning to end, I was happy reading and invested in all the characters. Cant wait to see what comes next from this author. I wouldnt be against a sequel...

This was a nice read to pass the time. I was immediately intrigued by the Princess Diana/Royals aspect in the book. I enjoyed the split POV between daughter and mother along with the flashbacks to really round out the character development. I really liked all the characters, but it was good to see both sides of their relationship dynamic in particular. I went into this book excited. I mean reality TV and the Royals? Yea, sign me up! But the pacing seemed a bit off, particularly in the beginning so my excitement wavered at first. It definitely picked up halfway into the book though and ended on a good note. Overall, I thought it was a good book but nothing to get excited about.


***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!