This story is not at all as I was expecting. Although the story of the twins being maids for a royal tour of Australia is quite entertaining, I was expecting more detail abput what goes on behind the scenes at such royal events. I was wanting more detail about what the actual duties of a maid in such situations required. How they were expected to act, the kinds of duties that were expected of them, that sort of thing. What standards had to be met before they were even considered for such a job. This was not the case with this book. As it turned out, this is a story of sibling rivalry and not of royal service.
To make matters worse, neither twin was very likeable. I couldn't really connect with either one. Daisy was completely nasty and vindictive and Violet was a weak, sniveling victim to be walked over or overlooked, but who somehow seemed to bungle everything she attempted to do or to get caught when trying to out maneuver Daisy. I don't know, this wasn't what I was looking for in this story but it did entertain me and I stayed with it till the end so it was not all bad. Many may enjoy it even more than I did, if this is what you are looking for.
Thank you to HQ Digital and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

A variety of characters thrown togther and having to navigate the strange world around them. I was not as invested in thos book as I thought I would be. The idea is a promising and interesting one, but I could not warm to the characters. The twins each had seperate personalities and neither felt genuine. The storyline felt ruched in some parts and drawn out in others.

That said i love the information at beginning of each chapter, enjoyed thinking about a royal tour might actually work and found out more about Australia.

I am sure that mant others will have loved tis book, but sadly it was not for me. Thank you for the oppertunity to read an advanced copy.

Although I enjoyed the read I found the content a little predictable and the characters rather shallow.
Not sure how far the historical content is correct but felt that some of the escapades of the twins was a little implausible.
If wanting a holiday read this will do

Fans who love Bridgerton and The Crown will love this book.
Set at time when the Queen and Prince Phillip were on tour in Australia.
The twins are very different personalities and they clash sometimes.
i really enjoyed this book was a light easy fun read.

This was a bit of a disappointment, and not at all what I expected. It’s well enough written, but didn’t hold my interest. That these 19 year old twins even managed to secure these positions on this voyage seems implausible to me.
As regards their story, they are not likeable characters, so I found it difficult to care much about them.
Some interesting detail on the background to a Royal tour with the Queen and Prince Philip. The prince was cast in a less than flattering light, which was unfair, in my opinion.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this novel.

I didn't like either twin much, so I wasn't invested in their story. Some ridiculous things happened. It's a shame as there's potential in this story, but it wasn't executed. To give the book some credit, I did carry on until the end, so it had something. I suppose I wanted to find out the fate of each twin, even though I didn't like either of them. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers for an ARC of this new novel, telling the stories of twin sisters who by a twist of fate end up accompanying the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their Australian tour in 1954.

The narrative of the tour is fascinating, although it is explained later that some of this is imagination rather than fact. The two sisters are rather unlikeable, although it’s hard not to feel sorry for Violet given the reason for her circumstances. It’s an entertaining enough tale, with interesting glimpses into how these sort of royal tours work - it sounds exhausting!

I enjoyed the ending and felt it tied up the outcomes for the two protagonists well, with both adjusting to how events had affected them. An interesting read, albeit one that in parts felt a little too unrealistic to really grip me.

This is the story of identical twins who at 19yrs managed to get jobs attending to a lady who was accompanying the Queen and Prince Phillip on their first tour of Australia.
The twins had recently lost their mother and then their father. After their mother was killed one twin blamed the other which caused a massed rift between them. It didn't bode well for sharing a small cabin on a ship.
Although I enjoyed this book I think it went too much into the realms of fantasy especially when the subject matter was set around a historical event you tend to expect the historical aspect to be true.
The twins weren't very likable characters, one in particular was really horrible.
There were surprising twists and turns which kept me turning pages mainly to see one twins get her just deserts.
It had a good ending but most of the story of the ship and the royal couple I believed to be true came from the author's own imagination which disappointed me.

A self confessed work of fiction set within an actual historic event. Whilst I quite enjoyed the story, the main characters, the twin sisters, were not very likeable which did leave me rather uninvested in their story. I also felt it didn’t paint a very good picture of the Duke of Edinburgh which I guess I felt was somewhat unfair.

An interesting story set in the 1950's on one of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth's world tours. The main protagonists are twins who find themselves working for the royal household. INteresting to see how the Queen and Prince Philip are portrayed. I think there is a little poetic licence used there! I'm not sure how believable the story is but it was an entertaining read nonetheless.

I don't understand the low ratings as this book is positively entertaining. It's full of glamour, humour, deceit, adventure and the love/hate relationship between twin sisters. I especially loved the notes of each place visited in Australia so much that I googled much of it for more info. A most enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A clever retelling of the true-life royal tour of the Commonwealth with realistic fictional characters seamlessly woven into the story. A gentle, comforting story where you can't help but root for all of the characters.

I was excited to receive an arc of this as I loved the Gown and enjoy watching the Crown. However it wasn't what I expected and I was disappointed it wasn't really about the Queen.
I also found both of the twins unlikeable which meant I didn't enjoy the story as much as I had hoped. I also found some aspects of the story too unbelievable and the book didn't quite gel for me

I liked the historical part but wasn't a fan of the fictional sisters as I found them too unrealistic and a bit underdeveloped.
There's a lot of potential but it wasn't my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Based on the historical royal trip in 1954 was a good read but I am not so sure of the sisters place within it. It would have been a better read if the girls story was more realistic and for that reason I am giving this 4 stars. The book on the whole was well written.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this e ARC

I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would. A tale of twin sisters recruited for the royal tour of Australia in 1954. I found the sisters a bit annoying and unrealistic. I liked the factual accounts.

Nineteen-year-old identical twins Violet and Daisie Chettle can hardly believe their luck when they are recruited as maids on newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II’s royal ship.

It’s just the ticket they need away from cold, grey London and the tension that’s been brewing at home since the tragic loss of their parents.

But the 1954 royal tour to Australia, is a far cry from the glitz and glamour they had imagined. Life below deck is hard-work, and whilst Violet is prepared to keep her head down and be seen and not heard, Daisie has her sights on doing everything she can to hang up her apron and mingle above deck – even if it means leaving Violet behind.
But as Daisie begins to win royal favour, she receives a letter from London. The sisters can’t outrun their past any longer… Violet has committed an unspeakable act of betrayal that will change their relationship forever.
With their positions on the tour hanging in the balance, have the sisters ventured too far from home to ever find their way back?
Not only is this a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds.

I really enjoyed this, it didn't half draw me in - from the sadness of the twins, Violet and Daisie, losing their parents to the excitement of being part of the Royal tour. Life is never simple for this pair, with Violet living in the shadow of outgoing Daisie. Behind it all we have the mystery of the long lost aunt that they knew nothing about until after their mother's death. Entertaining, sad, funny, and always with family at its heart. how much of the royal references are true adds to the fascination, but I think it shows us it really is hard work and not all glamour. I really enjoyed this. #netgalley #thejourneyafterthecrown

The Journey after the Crown by Andrew Mackie. Pub Date: April 12, 2022. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟. I have always had a fascination with the Royal family so when I saw this book featured a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, I immediately requested it. When I started reading this book, I quickly realized this is a story about twin sisters who are complete opposites that get jobs as maids on the Queen’s tour of Australia in 1954. The Royal family is a background to this story and the novel takes the reader on a journey of what it’s like to be “the help” amidst royalty. I found this story to drag and not have much substance to it. Neither twin sister is super likable which made it hard for me to be invested in the story. Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. @netgalley #hq #thejourneyafterthecrown #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads #netgalley

3.5 stars
A slow burner of a read with some great characters. I found the relationship between Daisie and Violet fascinating- identical twins with such different ambitions. The below stairs adventures both on board the Royal ship and in Australia were entertaining and it was interesting to see how both the sisters characters developed and grew over the time of the trip.