This novel tells the story of a reporter with a deadly secret. I thought this novel was entertaining. It has secrets, mystery, and romance. However, I thought that there would be more information about the Royal family. Still, I recommend this for fans of Kate Quinn, Kate Morton, and Melanie Dobson!

I found this story about an Australian journalist’s rise in an all-male industry to be quite informative. I love historical fiction novels that look at groundbreaking women.

This novel had mystery, romance, and fierce female leads set against the backdrop of the 60s. The royal in the title is a little misleading as the royals come up as only minor characters.

Instead, we get to learn about the newspaper industry and just how hard it was for females to be accepted in journalism at the time.

The lack of depth and the repetitive rape references and other triggers made this book difficult for me to read. Disjointed and drawn-out, I found myself uninterested in picking it up. I appreciate the opportunity given to me by the publisher to review this book, but I won't be recommending it to my fellow readers.

The first half of this book really caught my attention and kept me engaged. I found however the second half didn’t work as well for me. Therefor this ended up being a book that I liked but didn’t love.

This was a refreshing historical fiction with mystery, romance, and murder built into the story. In The Royal Correspondent, we follow young Blaise Hill as she begins work at her local paper in Australia, and eventually works her way to be a Royal Correspondent in England in the 1960s. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and loved how well Alexandra Joel incorporated real historic events into it, and the details she took to paint a picture of the fashion at the times. I truly felt transported from my present-day self to the 60s in England. I felt that it dragged a bit in the middle, but otherwise this book was fantastic. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blaise wants to break into a role as a journalist as a means to help support her family. She gets the opportunity to work as a copy "boy" and hopes to move up from there. But then she witnesses a crime.

I was so fascinated to read her story and see how Blaise approached the news industry as a woman in 1957. Blaise also makes a friend at the papper, Harriet, who is half Chinese and half Australian. Through her eyes, we learn about the intersection of racism and sexism.

This book has everything: intrigue, deception, scandal, royalty, and romance. It travels from Sydney to London, and the author's note clarifies the inspiration for the story and which aspects are historical fact.

Thank you to Bibliolifestyle and Harper Perennial for this book. These opinions are my own.

TW: sexual assault, gaslighting

Blaise is pursuing her dreams, despite the challenges. What she hadn't expected was to witness a crime. Being reassigned to cover the Royals seems like a dream come true until what she witnessed comes back to haunt her.

This one wasn't as dark as I'd have liked, but fascinating all the same. It's a good combination of many different genre types it seems, all of which I love, but it just wasn't my favorite.

One of the worst feelings as a reader is disappointment in a book you thought you would love.

Even though being critical is one of my favorite pastimes IRL 😇, I’m always hesitant to share “bad” book reviews. I don’t have a degree in English or literature or anything of the sort, and I see a lot of “reviews” on #bookstagram that I consider unfair. That’s why I mostly share books I recommend. So let’s consider this me sharing my experience with this book — and if you like the sound of it you should absolutely pick it up.

When I read the synopsis of “The Royal Correspondent,” I thought it was written for me. I’ve recently gotten into historical fiction with a feminist twist, and this book is about a young female reporter in 1960s Sydney. There’s a murder component to the plot. I’m a reporter! I love crime storylines! It was going to be one of my favorites of the year!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the dialogue in this book, and it became enough of a sticking point that I ultimately couldn’t finish it. I kept thinking I had to be close to halfway through … and I quit around 14 percent. It got to the point that I was avoiding picking up my Kindle because I just did not want to read this book.

I’ve seen this book heavily “featured” on Bookstagram accounts but not reviewed on many. If you’ve read it, what did you think?

I really enjoyed The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel! A hardworking Australian female reporter finds herself in London to cover the Royal family. I loved the scenes at Royal events, and some that had been depicted in The Crown on Netflix so that was fun. This story had mystery, murder, lots of conspiring, historical events, lots of gossip, fun fashion, and some romance. Also lots of misogyny and some misunderstandings that were frustrating to read at times but felt timely and not overdone. Really solid historical fiction! I see myself reading more by Alexandra Joel in the future.

Thank you Harper Perennial for the e-arc!

I loved the cover art on this one, it sucked me right in! I was delighted to also find a good read when I got inside the cover. I'm new to historical fiction so am getting my feet wet, but it was really nice to read about a story set somewhere other than Europe. I'll go to Australia in my mind allllll day long. I thought it was engaging and now I need to go check out Alexandra's other books!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I felt right in the moment. I really thought this book took me to another time and place. I felt very involved and invested.

The Royal Correspondent is a historical fiction story set in the 1960s. It follows the main character Blaise Hill as she tries to find her way as a journalist in a male dominated world. Unfortunately before she can get a full start on her career path, she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses a murder. She helps the murderer, a boy she knew from school, hide the murder weapon and from that moment on she has to continuously look over her should and be unsure who to trust.

Even with her sorted history, Blaise finds herself in several unique situations as a female reporter. She crosses paths with a mysterious man, Adam Rule, who slips her tips for stories that will give her a big break. The first big break comes with the opportunity to go to London and cover the royal wedding of Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong Post. This is originally only supposed to be a two week stint when it turns into something more permanent.

The permanent position allows Blaise to really craft her skills as a woman of the paper. The Royal Correspondent delves into real life situations of women in the work place, gender equality, and classism. Blaise is a representative of both the sexist and classist actions within the papers. Not only is she female but she is originally from a poorer class and is now doing exclusives on the wealthy. And she is expected to dress, act, and look the part.

On the surface, this seems very feminist and something that would be right up my alleyway for a book. Except it didn't just keep this focus; there was also a love triangle. It was obvious to me from early on who Blaise is supposed to be with and it drove me crazy to watch this character who had been so brave and driven before turn herself inside out for these two men. She really started looking behind herself and second guessing every move that she made. I understand that some of this was done because one of the men was gaslighting her and pretending it was love. This is such an important topic that needs to be written more so that more people understand it. Unfortunately, I didn't fully buy the love between Blaise and Adam as anything more than instant attraction and that made it difficult to enjoy them as the more positive option.

If The Royal Correspondent had been more about Blaise's climb to the top of the newspaper world as a female, I think I would have enjoy it more. For me, alot of the positivity of a strong female role trying to find her way in a male dominated profession was over taken by the secondary storyline of romance. For some people, this may work well for them as they would prefer more focus on the romance. I just would have preferred something a little different and more representative of a strong female reporter who always trusted her instincts and a good news story.

The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel
Born and raised in the slums of Sydney, Australia, Blaise Hill has dreamed of a career in journalism. However, during the 1950s a woman was still expected to stay at home. Breaking through this barrier with grit and determination, Blaise ignores the opinons of others and climbs up the journalistic ladder. Her story takes us from Sydney, Australia to Buckingham Palace.
This is a delightful, well written book which I truly enjoyed.

The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel is inspired by real events. The story covers love and betrayal, family secrets and even a thrilling spy conspiracy from the streets of Sydney to the swinging 60s of London. Along the way, readers will, no doubt, remain captivated by Joel’s multi-strand plotline, sure to delight all lovers of historical fiction and gripping intrigue. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I love when I feel like historical fiction covers new ground, and the Royal Correspondent does just that, following a female journalist from Australia to London in the 1960s as she covers Princess Margaret's wedding. I'm probably one of the few people in the world who hasn't seen The Crown yet, but this book makes me want to indulge in more royal family entertainment.

Just like Joel's previous book, The Paris Model, this one has a fun mixture of romance, intrigue, and fashion. It's obviously well-researched. I loved reading the author's note at the end, and how the book reflects her father's story.

I did find the pacing a little slow. And though I loved idea of the feisty and ambitious Blaise, and she does have a few kick-ass scenes, she also seemed naive at times and more lucky then intrepid. 3.25 stars

The Royal Correspondent by
Alexandra Joel

In 1960s Sydney, when women are destined to find a husband and keep house, Blaise Hill is determined to find success in a man’s world. Supporting her parents and polio-stricken sister, Blaise breaks into the London newspaper business as the lone woman in a newsroom filled with swaggering men.

Her strength, persistence, opinions, and skills earn her a plum assignment in the London office. As she covers the comings and goings of the royal family, readers are treated to a delicious mix of fashion, culture, and history. Throw in a love triangle (however predictable) with two successful and dashing gentlemen to make a delightful read.

Although I preferred this Australian author’s first novel, The Paris Model, I
thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This book had SO MUCH potential! I thoroughly enjoyed the time period and the premise, and I loved how independent and opinionated Blaze was. I also liked the love triangle. However the story just seemed to drag for me, was predictable, and it just seemed to lack something that I can't put my finger on. With that being said, I do hope that people enjoy it better than I did!

Wow! This book is incredible! It is engaging, gripping, intriguing, full of twists and turns, and so much more! Whenever I picked up "The Royal Correspondent", I was whisked back in time to early 1960's Australia and England, and went on quite a journey with this story.

Alexandra Joel is such an incredible author! Her writing style is visceral, vivid, and hooks the reader from the very first page. Her work is so well-researched, and I truly felt immersed in the world of this story. Her characters spring to life right off of the page, and, as the reader, I felt like I got to know each and every one. Furthermore, Ms. Joel's plot is engrossing. I do not want to spoil anything specifically in this review, but, I will say, there were quite a few moments that had me on the edge of my seat holding my breath. Not everyone in this book is who they seem or claim to be. Ms. Joel brilliantly places some foreshadowing throughout the book that makes you question what is really going on, and my mouth dropped a number of times with curveball moments as truths were revealed.

Blaise is such a brave, strong, intelligent, and kind young woman who loves her family deeply. She dreams of being a reporter who tells breaking news stories that will really impact those around her. However, many around her try to knock her down simply because she is a woman. In a world where male reporters cover the kinds of stories she wants to, Blaise does not take no for an answer, and continues to push forward. One night, she witnesses a friend of hers killing a man, helps her friend escape, and takes the knife to hide it. When a man named Adam (who is a family friend of Blaise's friend) offers to make the knife disappear, and promises not to tell anyone what happened, Blaise is drawn to the mysterious man for more than one reason. Later, Blaise is asked to go to England to be a royal reporter, and her life changes forever. She meets a man named Charlie, soon sees Adam again in England, and her life in the past soon starts to come back to her. As she continues to grow in the reporting world, she starts to receive anonymous letters from someone who seemingly knows what happened the night of the murder. Without knowing who she can turn to, will Blaise be able to find out what is really going on? With so much more going on than initially meets the eye, lies, and with darker and deeper secrets than can be imagined, will Blaise be able to survive? A brave fighter, she never gives up. You will just have to read to find out what happens.

From reading the synopsis given of the book, I thought it would involve more surrounding Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, and the Royal Family in general. While they do play a very important part in the story, it isn't quite as focused on them as I originally believed they might. However, even with this said, the book is still amazing and I could not put it down.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages from late at night into the early hours of the morning to see what would happen next, and how and if everything would work out. I so look forward to reading what Alexandra Joel writes next!

Thank you so much to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, as well as to Harper Perennial for sending me a physical ARC as well, it is incredible. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please Note: This book deals with some extremely heavy topics.

I love historical novels but recently noticed that I hadn't explored too many set during the '50s, '60s, or '70s. So I set out to correct that and luckily came across The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel. First, I have watched The Crown, and I love all things related to The Royal Family, so the premise instantly got my attention. Once I began reading, I found myself caught up in a world where nothing ELSE could hold my attention other than this story. It was so much more entertaining and intriguing than I'd imagined it would be.

I loved traveling from Australia to England and seeing all of the fun events and glamourous lifestyles of the 60s while also seeing some of the realities being lived by women of that era. I loved our lead, Blaise Hill, and her character development as the story evolved. She dealt with a time when being a woman wasn't as easy as now, but she was still set on rising above the rest and proving her worth. The battle for her heart by the two male love interests was also a lot of fun to live vicariously through Blaise.

I loved that there was a bit of espionage, fashion, scandals, historical icons, and a juicy love triangle, all while involving actual historical events.

This was a delightful book, and I look forward to picking up others by Alexandra Joel now!

Those who enjoy historical, women’s fiction should definitely mark their calendars for this title’s release date. It was a fun and absorbing read set in both Australia and England.

Protagoras Blase Hill grew up poor in Sydney. She has promise and wants a career. With the help of one of her teachers she secures a newspaper job. Blaise’s career will take her far, all the way to being the Royal Correspondent of the title.

Blaise’s early jobs taught her a lot about fashion so names like Yves St. Laurent, Mary Quant and Cecil Beaton make appearances in the novel. Her later career puts her in the midst of mid-century history; readers follow her as she covers Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones. Readers also meet John Profumo and Christine Keeler, and learn about spies including Kim Philby. It makes for a fascinating background.

This novel also has a romantic story line, family and friendships. Will Blaise find love with Charlie who seems to have it all; this includes a high government position, a family seat, charm and more. But…there is also the mysterious Adam Rule. He knows a dark secret from Blaise’s past; will he use this against her? Readers also get to know Blaise’s sister Ivy who contracted polio and the close friends with whom Blaise lives in England. Readers will be turning the pages as they await the resolution of the novel’s several strands.

Ms. Joel writes an interesting note at the end of the novel sharing her inspiration and resources. This background places the book in context.

The Royal Correspondent reads easily and I always looked forward to picking it up. Here is a good escapist read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.