This is an entertaining book. A couple meeting and falling in love around the meeting, marriage and death of Princess Grace. Very well done with glimpses into the whirlwind romance of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier. There are news blurbs throughout the book which add to the realism of the book.

A wonderful historical fiction book. Grace Kelly is chased into Sophie’s family perfume store in Monaco by a photojournalist, James, and then hid Grace Kelly from James. A simple jester that develops into a lifelong friendship between Grace Kelly and Sophie. We follow Sophie and James during the time Grace Kelly is in Monaco, meets Prince Ranier, and until her death. It is a beautiful love story where Sophie learns to love and follow her dreams while falling in love with James, who has his own issues. Does Sophie and James find long lasting live, or is it only for a short time period.

Thank you for the chance to read this. I’ve had it in my library for a while, but wish I had read it sooner! What a love story, woven around events surrounding Grace Kelly’s career and later wedding. Such a good story with amazing characters. I loved this book.

Sophie Duval, a perfumeur in Paris, gets her big break when she is chosen to create the wedding perfume for Grace Kelly for her marriage to Prince Rainier. This love story between Sophie and English news photographer, James Henderson, unfolds against the pageantry of a royal wedding.

The book includes the in-depth story of Kelly's and Rainier's whirlwind romance and wedding, which I found interesting since I knew little about it already. Though it was a subplot, it did overpower Sophie and James' story, but I don't think it took away from the book as a whole. Sophie's and James' lives at the time were very much entwined with the Princess'.

I really enjoyed the history and the romance between the two main characters. This is just the type of historical fiction I love. It was well-researched and rich in history and covered an incident I knew little about. I would recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction and I am going to suggest this one for my historical fiction book club.

Thank you William Morrow and Custom House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy.

*I received this book from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

This was a breezy read. It was interesting to get a glimpse into Grace Kelly's life, as I admittedly don't know a whole lot about her life other than the very basics of her acting career and marriage. This novel doesn't dive too deeply into more detail, but does offer a peek into who she was as a person (versus the roles she's played on screen and in life). This story is told through the viewpoint of two people who meet her and get to know her during the time of her life when she first meets, and then marries, Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Set mostly in Monaco and the lush region of Provence, France, I did love the writer's attention to the senses when describing the various environments. With one main character a photographer, and the other a parfumeur, much attention was given to the feelings, scents, sights, architecture and natural beauty all around them throughout. It made the reader feel like they were there, and that was very well done.

The story itself could have used a bit of a deeper dive into the very likeable main characters and their relationships however. Some of the writing felt like the author was taking the easy way out instead of spending just a little more time diving in on a deeper level.

All in all, I liked it. I just wish it could have been a little bit more.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3993234696

Meet Me In Monaco is a light historical fiction novel that uses the theme of fragrance and the life of Grace Kelly to propel the story forward. I had originally anticipated a fictional account of Grace Kelly’s life in Monaco, a story I am somewhat familiar with, but instead found that she was merely a side character. I was initially put off by this, but that didn’t last long because I found the main characters extremely likable on their own. I also appreciate that this meant the details of Grace’s life remained fairly factual with few liberties taken.

There aren’t any deep revelations within the pages of this novel, unless you are unfamiliar with Grace’s story, but I still feel that the book was a delight to read and ticked all of my boxes, i.e. historically accurate, enticing setting, likeable characters, and a well constructed plot. I also appreciate the fact that the authors left a small twist at the end in order to keep the story from being tied up too perfectly or becoming too sweet.

I found the process of making perfume particularly intriguing and would have liked to learn even more about that within the pages of the book, but that is about the only criticism I have to offer. I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and think it would be perfect for a light summer read.

The book was fairly predictable and didn’t have much mystery to it, which I don’t know that it was meant to do, but I started losing interest in it quickly without it. It was an interesting glimpse into a small period of Grace Kelly’s transition from being a star to being a princess from Sophie’s, the fictional perfumer’s point of view.

The description and detail of the smells and world Sophie lived in were lovely. I’ll be honest though, I didn’t care for Sophie’s character much. For a female business owner in the 50’s I find it hard to believe she’d be successful when she had very little spine with her personal and business relationships. She avoided confrontation, she wasn’t honest if it would potentially cause conflict, she didn’t fight for much other than her shop, and even that was only if it was easy and without personal conflict (eg: confrontation that was needed with her mother, boyfriend, buyer etc). I didn’t care for the ending in that respect either. The characters just let things happen to them. They didn’t fight for each other when they had ample opportunity without an enormous amount of effort until the very end, and only when it was convenient.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love is in the air along with the scent of perfume. This romantic historical fiction is set in France's beautiful Cot d'Azur. The novel intertwines a love story of fictional characters James and Sophie with the wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. A chance encounter with a persistent British photographer and a struggling perfumer turn into a lasting romance. This is a novel of fate, passion and second chances.

A gorgeous love story intertwined with the true historical event of Grace Kelly’s wedding made this read into one of its kind. Highly recommended to all those that enjoys tales of modern monarchy.

Meet Me in Monaco is joie de vivre in your favorite cozy reading nook. The story takes place in the picturesque and sun-drenched southeast part of France and Monaco, and alternates back and forth between French perfume maker Sophie and English photographer James as Grace Kelly's trip to Cannes for the film festival leads to a royal marriage in Monaco. I actually feel like the story is better when focused on the budding relationship between James and Sophie and the obstacles they face to being together. The parts focused on Grace Kelly, despite that being the thread the pulls the story together, seem dull and uninteresting - possibly because the woman was so graceful and PR-savvy and the authors want to portray her in a positive light. They do, but she comes off as one dimensional compared to the complex and interesting James and Sophie. The other things that elevate this story is choosing an interesting time period in a beautiful place with elegant and descriptive language. It makes me want to go outside on a beautiful sunny day with my dinner and a glass of wine and take in the smells, sights and sounds around me.

“What a gift life had delivered when Miss Kelly walked into my boutique in Cannes”

Meet Me In Monaco was such a fun and quick read! A chance meeting will change the life of Sophie Duval in ways she could never expect. Sophie was likable and easy to relate to. I enjoyed learning about Grace Kelly and the fictional friendship she had with Sophie,

Thanks to William Morrow for having Meet Me in Monaco as a Free Read Friday for the Book Club Girls. #MeetMeinMonaco #NetGalley

I can’t review this without spoiling it so I’ll just say I’m pretty disappointed. This moved entirely too slow. The ending was unsatisfying with unanswered questions.

This was a light, enjoyable, read! I loved learning about Grace Kelly and it was nice to read about a different time period, instead of reading about WWII all the time!

4.0 stars

I received a complimentary e-book from William Morrow Paperbacks through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, William Morrow Paperbacks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

If I had one word to describe this book it would be LOVELY. This is a fictional novel that is set when Grace Kelly meets Prince Rainier and then the "Wedding of the Century". It involves a photographer, perfumer, and an actress. It was just beautifully written by the two authors and evoked Provance and Monaco for me through all of my senses, but most especially scent. I so want to visit this area of the world during spring and enjoy what was described in luscious detail.

I really needed a nice LOVELY book as I have been reading so many deep WWII novels again. This was just what I needed on Mother's Day. Thank you to the authors!!

Definite recommend!!

Charming and sweet love story. If you love historical fiction this is a good choice! I struggle to get into historical fiction but have been pushing myself out of my box and am so glad I did for this one.

Very well written. Gave a nice vision of Grace Kelley. But, so enjoyed the love story and trials of becoming an independent woman of Sophie.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction. It was about Grace Kelly and her marriage to Prince Rainier, but I felt the fictional characters were the main focus. The story was told from 2 points of view, James, an English photographer and Sophie, a perfumer. I am not a big fan of romance stories but this book was just so good, I was sorry when it ended.

I would say if you are searching for an enchanting book that will transport you to a fascinating time and place in history, this is the perfect read for you! Before reading I didn't know much about Grace Kelly but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of this book. I loved learning more about her!

Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb's, Meet Me in Monaco, is a lovely afternoon read. Such a real-life love story presented in a historical fiction format that gives the reader insight into the destination, the people, and the overall story while presented in a relaxed, enjoyable format. I enjoy reading historical fiction and enjoyed this book.

Great book! The characters are believable, the setting is beautiful. I could see this actually happening. Fun story!