I have been looking forward to this book sense it has been announced. The story covers two people who meet just as World War II is ending. One has aspirations to be a writer for the BBC and the other is looking to open his own restaurant. Plans change when Jack's wife is killed in an accident during some intense fog. Olive is in the typing pool at the BBC and takes a chance on reporting on the first Christmas for Queen Elizabeth at Sandringham., As Jack is grieving his wife's death, he is encouraged to come to Sandringham to help in the kitchens. As fate would have it, both Jack and Olive are reacquainted. Each are working through the relationships that forged friendships at the end of the war and to navigate the secrets that followed.
I enjoyed the book immensely. I like the insights of being at Sandringham at Christmas and 'seeing' a side of Queen Elizabeth interacting with her family and staff that served the royal family. I could imagine what it might be like to be a fly on the wall during some of these personal and intimate experiences.

Inspired by the true events of Queen Elizabeth's inaugural Christmas broadcast at Sandringham, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes featuring the royal family and their mix of strengths and flaws. However, the overarching narrative chronicling the prolonged ups and downs between the two main characters felt quite tedious. I genuinely wanted to enjoy this more, as the writing is beautiful, but as time progressed, I found myself increasingly frustrated by their poor communication, especially when much more was at stake. I would have preferred if the writers had centered the story around the royals, relegating Jack and Olive to the background.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

England 1952. The war years are behind; lives have been altered. Three characters are facing change and perhaps second chances. Olive, single mother of Lucy, is struggling to break into the male- dominated world of BBC journalism when she comes face to face with the father of her seven year old. Jack, an American chef who met the love of his life during V-E Day celebrations, struggles now to adjust to the loss of his wife. When offered a temporary job working for the Buckingham Palace kitchen, he defers his dream to open his own restaurant and accepts. Elizabeth, young wife and mother, struggles with the loss of her father as she accepts the duties facing her as Queen; must importantly, proving to her subjects she is capable. Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb frame their storyline around the royal Christmas messages. The reader witnesses the imagined thoughts and actions of Elizabeth as she meets Olive and Prince Philip as he meets Jack. Because it is a “cozy” tale, the action weaves gently back and forth to how Jack and Olive met and why they keep failing to unite. All in all, it is a delightful Christmas treat!

This was such a great book! I really enjoyed reading it and it truly put me in the Christmas spirit. Jack and Olive's love story throughout the years captivated me and had me rooting for their relationship the entire time. I really liked how the authors incorporated these characters' jobs into their stories, particularly for Jack and him being a chef for the royal family. I loved Queen Elizabeth II's chapters in this book and wish there were more of them featured in the story. I also liked the tidbits of Prince Philip included in the story as well; him and Queen Elizabeth II's relationship was just as endearing and interesting as Jack and Olive's one to me! I am such a huge fan of these two authors and I cannot wait to read more of their work!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Christmas with the Queen
by Hazel Gaynor; Heather Webb
Pub Date: November 19, 2024
Thanks to the authors, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
’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.
Great book I will recommend to my historical fiction readers.
This book has all of the makings of a good holiday kick off romance. I enjoyed that it is set in a timeline of history that is often not written about in favor of 1940s WWII era. Both Olive and Jack were enjoyable characters with enough development of their personalities to keep you invested. While there are no plot twists, and the ending is predictable. It offers everything a cozy holiday read should.

The one thing that I was missing - to the point that I kept desperately trying to turn the page- Where are the recipes?! This is a book that does a fantastic job talking about working in palace kitchens, opening an inventive concept restaurant and describing fantastic food. It would benefit from a recipe for Olive's Tomato Soup, or Po Boys, or anything!

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for access to this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I looooooved this. If you love The Crown and Downton Abbey this is 100% for you. Set during post WW2. This story follows Jack, an aspiring chef, Olive, an aspiring BBC reporter and Elizabeth the Second, a…well the Queen obviously. To describe anything other then the fact that the story revolves around their intertwining lives would be to cheat you of a fantastically yummy reading experience.

I will be reading this again.

This feels quite a wholesome read, not sure if it's the time period or maybe the setting but quite a feel good story. Yet not without tragedy.
The story felt a tad slow with the story advancement at times but it made it possible to know our characters in a deeper way.
I found our main character Olive, slightly frustrating. At times she would be happy with herself and striving for more at her job and then she would talk about how she just couldn't be content without a man to fulfill her life. I enjoyed the bits of the behind the scenes with the royal family, especially at Sandringham during Christmas time.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a light any charming read. The story's plot was somewhat predictable, but it was a very sweet story and enjoyable to read. The inclusion of the Queen in the story added a little sometime extra..I always enjoy seeing her and the corgis. The was not a deep read and did not offer a lot that was new but it was heartwarming.

Thank you for the ARC.@NetGalley. I typically don’t care to read books set at Christmastime during the summer, however, for this one, I was happy I did.
The story is told with an emphasis on Christmas time from 19552 through 1957. The main characters met each other on V-day in London, and then are linked by their relationships with the Royal Household. I enjoyed the historical details, such as including the Great Smog of 1952, as well as the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, as well as the long-lasting impact WWII had on England. A bonus was the focus on cooking and the struggle for women to move into male dominated roles. Overall, a good read!

#ChristmaswiththeQueen #NetGalley

I wanted to love this book, having read both authors before I figured it was a given. Unfortunately I made it 39% and just can't connect with this story.
Maybe I will try again but for now this is a dnf.

Review coming soon!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

Heartwarming, festive, beautifully researched and well crafted! I loved this fictional yet informative and intelligent glimpse into the lives of Queen Elizabeth II and her family at the holidays. I also truly enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of single mom reporter Olive and widower chef Jack and their respective families, whose characters were well developed and relatable. Gaynor and Webb are a dynamic duo, and I look forward to each of their collaborations.

This would be a great stocking stuffer / gift for fellow historical fiction and/or royal watching readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morris for the privilege of an electronic ARC. Opinions are my own.

I just recently finished watching the entire series of The Crown on Netflix, and I was SO bummed when I got to the end. Christmas with the Queen made me feel like I was watching it again while I was reading! I really enjoyed that the main characters were not members of the Royal Family but had quite a bit of interaction with them, and I loved getting the brief interludes from Queen Elizabeth. It was an interesting concept to visit the characters each Christmas for several years in a row rather than focusing on one specific Christmas. The one thing I did struggle with was Jack's character and his seeming indecision between Olive and Andrea. It felt difficult for me to tell which woman he truly felt was his first choice and then also made it a bit hard to believe he would all of a sudden be in love with Olive.

Christmas with the Queen is another wonderful collaboration between authors Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. Be sure to read the authors’ notes at the end to learn more about their research and inspiration. This story follows the lives of Olive and Jack as they intersect with the Queen and Prince Phillip over a series of Christmases. Hazel and Jack are old friends from the end of the war, but we soon learn they have an even more important connection. While Olive struggles against the man’s world of the BBC, Jack works his way up through the kitchen’s of the royal family. A great holiday read or for anytime of the year.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Courtesy of Netgalley, I received the ARC of Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. I loved learning about Queen Elizabeth's Christmas radio broadcasts from 1952 through the introduction of the annual television broadcast in 1957...such an interesting perspective! Romantic relationships occupy a primary role in both the Royal Family and the fictional characters of Olive and Jack and their families and friends, beginning with VE Day. Missed opportunities and difficulties with communication take center stage! The news events of throughout the years were informative in providing background information.. Highly recommend!

Christmas with the Queen is a historical fiction read set after WWII and follows the dual narratives of 3 people; two commoners and the Queen. I absolutely loved how the thoughts of the queen were added into this book and woven into the stories of the main characters! Olive, a single mother and aspiring journalist. Jack, a heartbroken chef and recent widower. Olive and Jack find themselves through circumstances coming together after years of a lost friendship, but can they find what might have been between the two of them?

This book has all of the makings of a good holiday kick off romance. I enjoyed that it is set in a timeline of history that is often not written about in favor of 1940s WWII era. Both Olive and Jack were enjoyable characters with enough development of their personalities to keep you invested. While there are no plot twists, and the ending is predictable I absolutely did not find fault in this. It offers everything a cozy holiday read should.

The one thing that I was missing - to the point that I kept desperately trying to turn the page- Where are the recipes?! This is a book that does a fantastic job talking about working in palace kitchens, opening an inventive concept restaurant and describing fantastic food. It would benefit from a recipe for Olive's Tomato Soup, or Po Boys, or anything!

Goodreads Review Link: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199531640-christmas-with-the-queen" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Christmas with the Queen" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1717773456l/199531640._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199531640-christmas-with-the-queen">Christmas with the Queen</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5774172.Hazel_Gaynor">Hazel Gaynor</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6824844518">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Christmas with the Queen is a historical fiction read set after WWII and follows the dual narratives of 3 people; two commoners and the Queen. I absolutely loved how the thoughts of the queen were added into this book and woven into the stories of the main characters! Olive, a single mother and aspiring journalist. Jack, a heartbroken chef and recent widower. Olive and Jack find themselves through circumstances coming together after years of a lost friendship, but can they find what might have been between the two of them?<br /><br />This book has all of the makings of a good holiday kick off romance. I enjoyed that it is set in a timeline of history that is often not written about in favor of 1940s WWII era. Both Olive and Jack were enjoyable characters with enough development of their personalities to keep you invested. While there are no plot twists, and the ending is predictable I absolutely did not find fault in this. It offers everything a cozy holiday read should. <br /><br />The one thing that I was missing - to the point that I kept desperately trying to turn the page- Where are the recipes?! This is a book that does a fantastic job talking about working in palace kitchens, opening an inventive concept restaurant and describing fantastic food. It would benefit from a recipe for Olive's Tomato Soup, or Po Boys, or anything!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6905170-aftan">View all my reviews</a>

What an absolutely lovely book! If you love English History and Christmas, then this book was made for you! I really enjoyed how it was told from different perspectives but it all tied together so perfectly. A wonderful group of characters as well. Perfect holiday read.

Sweet and uplifting, and yes, a little predictable, this is a charming story perfect for the holiday season. The authors have done a tremendous job with their research and they incorporate historical details into the narrative in a seamless way; in other words, the research never gets in the way of the story. Speaking of the story, the storylines of both the royal family and the primary love story are such fun reads! I think readers of historical fiction will fall in love. The second chance romance angle really keeps the pages turning. I look forward to more from this talented pair of authors.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This work of historical fiction set in post WW2 London interwoven with the royal family over the course of several years has all the ingredients for an incredible story, but has so many missed opportunities, that it ends up falling shy of the mark. I have so many thoughts for how this story could have been tweaked to improve it. There's no real sense of connection between Jack and his first wife, which makes his grief over her loss feel heavy-handed. The notion of Jack and Olive's lives crossing paths over the Christmas season each year loses the plot when one year is completely ignored and never alluded to, even in retrospect. I wanted to love this with my whole heart. It makes me sad that I didn't.

This is the second book by this pair of authors I have read. This one does not disappoint. Part love story, part historical fiction, this Christmas story has a little something for everyone. Olive is covering a story for the BBC on the royal family’s Christmas when she bumps into an old friend. Jack is working at Sandringham as temporary help in the kitchens for the holiday rush. As they begin to realize their feelings for each other, they face many ups and downs along the way and over the years.

This delightful tale highlights loss and love, hopes and dreams, adventures and disappointments, tradition and new, second chances and happy ever afters. This is one you will want to reread each holiday season.