enjoyed this SO much! Such a great blend of historical tidbits, character development and romance! And I'm not a huge romance reader, but I was cheering for Olive and Jack so hard! Will be recommending this to all of my friends this season!

The story itself was interesting and a unique concept. I liked that the book followed regular people and their challenges and aspirations at Christmastime, but yet it also incorporated the queen and royal traditions as well.

I think the authors’ note at the end where they said they wanted to explore the notion of what happens when “ordinary people might become entangled with the royal traditions through their own jobs and how that might lead them to become entangled with each other” perfectly sums up the book.

Where Christmas with the Queen fell a little flat for me was in the writing. Some of the conversations just felt stilted and unrealistic. It was also more telling readers what happened rather than showing them.

This book is good for readers who enjoy stepping into the world of royalty, enjoy a holiday romance, and don’t mind a little cheesy dialogue. :)

Set in 1950s London, where friends reunite and love grows over the years. Jack longs to own restaurant and Claire longs to be BBC reporter. They each end up working for Queen Elizabeth and reunite but their jobs take them to travels away from each other. Light book easy to read. No explicit language or sex.

Thank you to NetGalley for this fabulous copy of Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb in exchange for a honest review..This is a well-researched and written piece of historical fiction set in the period right after WW2 and then from 1952-57 at different times of the year but in particular during Christmas time. The two main characters are Olive a reporter who eventually works for the BBC and Jack an American with the Seabees. When Olive and Jack see each other again in 1952 Olive has a 6 year old daughter and is filling in as a BBC reporter and Jack is working in the kitchen at Sandringham , the Queen’s residence during Christmas time. Olive dreams of having a more permanent position at the BBC and Jack dreams of opening a restaurant but has recently suffered the tragic loss of his wife. The chemistry between the two is palpable but they keep their emotions in check not believing the other is interested in them.Olive is also hiding a secret that could destroy their budding romance.Will Olive and Jack finally find lasting love? Read the book and find out.Highly recommend.

🎄 Christmas with the Queen - Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb

5 ⭐️ - Oh my, I loved this. Calling all Royal family and historical fiction lovers! This one’s for you. I instantly fell in love with the Royal holiday feel, the characters, and how their worlds collide.

We have Royals. We have Christmas. We have a strong female lead, who makes decisions that are best for her AND a swoon worthy man. I loved how this story was told, how the characters grew, and the history of London and Queen Christmases along with each character’s professional role. Olive’s strong, independent, working woman stance is empowering and inspiring. Jack’s professional drive is admirable given all he’s gone through. The audio is HIGHLY recommended for a full cast and a GREAT Queen Elizabeth. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Crown. I went to London almost 10 years ago, and this book made me feel homesick for it. This was the perfect way to jump right into my Christmas reads. I was obsessed with everything this book had to offer.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the early ARC! This one is out now!

It’s 1952 and a young Queen Elizabeth II is going to make her very first Christmas Day radio broadcast at Sandringham. But in this story, the Queen is not the main character. Olive and Jack fill those shoes and share center stage in this will they-won’t they Christmas historical fiction.

Jack Devereux, an American from Louisiana, finds himself working in the royal kitchen after the tragic death of his wife not sure if he will be able to carry on the dream of opening his own restaurant someday.

Olive Carter, a single mother and journalist working for BBC, finds herself at Sandringham, after a colleague becomes ill from the London fog, to write about the Queen’s speech and the preparations for Christmas.

A chance meeting between these long lost friends starts the back and forth story and a step back into the past that Jack and Olive shared right after WWII ended. The years continue to pass by as Olive and Jack continue bumping into each other during Christmas time.

I throughly enjoyed this book by author team Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (who also wrote one of my other favorite Christmas historical fiction novels, The Last Christmas in Paris). I loved the added fun of Queen Elizabeth and Phillip and how they interacted with Olive and Jack.

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

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of “ Christmas with the Queen”. The royal family has always fascinated me, and I love how much I learned about the Christmas speech that was so special to her nation. I wish the authors had focused more on the Queen instead of the story of Olive and Jack, a couple who should be together but gets dealt nothing but bad luck, but you find yourself rooting for them the entire time.

A charming fictionalised idea of the Royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk , England. There’s a running romance blossoms between a young couple reunited for the festivities too . Jack Devereux and Olive Carter , she’s a single mother ,typist and aspiring reporter at the BBC. She jumps at the chance to cover the holiday celebrations and when she meets the young queen . She even gets to help her with her Majesty’s Christmas radio address .Jack is a renowned chef from New Orleans originally, he has heartbreak in his life too and jumps at the chance when a friend points him the way to the palace. He accepts the job of working in the palace kitchen as cook. When he meets an old friend ,their spark is reignited. He and Olivia have a history and catch up. Over five consecutive Christmases the pair share their lives and become closer as their lives intertwined at Christmas time.until that first televised Christmas speech. And we catch an imaginary insight of the queen in residence at Christmas time. Sublime writing and great forethought to the characters , scenes are well described too.

I loved the history in this book, so much so that I after reading it, I did further research and watched a compilation of snippets from Queen Elizabeth’s annual Christmas broadcast from 1957-2021, the first of which is highlighted in this story. I enjoyed the alternating narration between Olive, Jack, and the Queen. I was not quite as interested in the love story between Olive and Jack in this book. I would recommend it!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“Christmas with the Queen” is a sweet slow burn historical romance set against the backdrop of the Royal household in the 1950s.

Olive and Jack met on VE Day but fell out of touch. Now he is a widower working as a chef for the Royal family and she is a single mother covering the family for the BBC.

They reconnect and spend years getting to know each other again.

The pace of the book was a little slow for me, and featured one of my least favorite tropes (lack of communication) but ultimately was just what the doctor ordered when it comes to holiday historical fiction.

I’d highly recommend this book to readers who love The Crown, Downtown Abbey, and mid-century British historical fiction. This book won’t disappoint!

Historical fiction and holiday books are two of my favorite genres, so I was thrilled to read one that combined both! And I absolutely loved this book. It’s my favorite holiday book I’ve read so far!

This is the story of Jack and Olive. Two friends who meet on VE Day in 1945 and continue a friendship over several years. Jack is a chef who cooks for the royal family and Olive is a BBC reporter who gets assigned to the queen’s Christmas reports. Their paths haven’t crossed in a few years, but they are excited to see each other. Jack is still dealing with the loss of his wife, and all of us a single mom to a beautiful daughter, Lucy. The two friends only see each other at Christmas time at Sandringham, but they try to meet up more often. They had good chemistry when they first met, but they went different ways.

I loved that Olive was so ambitious and that she was able to work her way into getting that Christmas reports and even seeing (and helping!) the Queen. Jack and Olive had so much in common; I really admired the way that they both went after their dreams. I also loved all the description of the holiday foods that Jack cooked and his New Orleans background. Overall, this was just a really fun and interesting novel.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @williammorrowbooks @hazelgaynor and @msheatherwebb for my gifted book.

Wow, these 2 authors did it again. Their historical fiction is the best. This tells the story of Olive and how she earns/gets an opportunity to be near the Queen during one Christmas season. Olive ends up being an ear for the Queen to try out her first Christmas speech to the country. Olive then ends up near the Queen during several more Christmas seasons and events. It was fun to read the behind the scenes happenings of the palace and the estate. The story gets interesting as we find out that Olive knows a chef who is also at the estate and then we also find out their history from several years prior. This was a great story and I couldn't wait to find out how it all played out for Olive and Jack.

1952

The newly crowned Queen Elizabeth is experiencing her first Christmas as Queen and is busy writing her first Christmas speech. Christmas will be celebrated at Sandringham.

Jack Devereux has been invited to work in the kitchen at Sandringham. He is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana and was trained by his grandfather. When his wife steps out in a thick fog to pick up some more gifts, she is hit and killed by a vehicle. Mourning her, he does not think he can be able to continue to Sandringham, but his friends encourage him to carry on.

Olive Carter is a trainee reporter for the BBC. She is an unwed mother but wears a wedding band saying she is a widow. Since her boss is unable to go Sandringham to cover the royal Christmas, she is approved to go in his place.

Olive and Jack have known one another from their earlier years when they all met up and partied together. But there is a secret Olive is keeping from him. Will she be able to tell him the truth someday?

Oh, how I loved this book. I have long been an avid follower of the English royal family and Queen Elizabeth was a wonderful woman. The almost whimsical meetings with the Queen were so well and realistically written. The hard work that Jack put into his cooking was amazing. And lastly, the love between Jack and Olive took quite some time to grow but I’m so glad of the beautiful ending. This is a delightful story and I hope readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Super cute Christmas story! Will recommend to my friends and family that like to read seasonal books in the winter.

This is a fun, sweet escape for fans of Christmas and royal fiction. Over the course of several Christmas holidays during the 1950s, we follow the lives of a chef and a journalist who weave in and out of each other’s lives as they move in and out of the Queen’s orbit. We also see snapshots of the young Queen and her family during consecutive holiday seasons.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Happy Pub Day to my favorite Christmas Book of 2024 -- Christmas with the Queen!

I loved this Christmas historical fiction described as The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally from one of my favorite author duos. Christmas 1952 is the first year the new monarch is Queen and she's trying to figure out the tradition of the Christmas radio broadcast and meld the old with the new at Sandringham. Both Jack and Olive (fictional) are at Sandringham as part of the royal Christmas preparations and these old friends reconnect. I loved seeing both Jack and Olive as well as the Queen around the holidays each year from 1952 to 1957 and how their paths all cross.

I loved how seamlessly the fictional characters blended into the story and getting a glimpse into the Christmas preparations for the royals. It was the perfect blend of historical fiction. It was a heartwarming story and put me into the Christmas spirit!

I highly recommend reading this Christmas book this year! Thanks to William Morrow Books for my advanced copy..

This slow-moving story told over the course of five Christmases in the 1950s is primarily about the relationship between an up-and-coming royal correspondent and an up-and-coming chef in the royal household.

I didn’t always like the main female character or agree with her choices. I often felt she was full of excuses for her actions. That said, early on I didn’t much like the main male character either but he did grow on me as the story advanced.

I feel like the buildup lasted too long and the forgiveness/acceptance came too quickly.

I enjoyed the glimpses into the private life of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and I wish they had been more part of the story.

This book got repetitive at times. It was a cute story but i felt like i needed a little something... more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc.. The plot and the cover really attracted me to this book. The characters were interesting and for the most part the book was good. My two problems with it was that the British slang used felt forced and overdone and could have used polishing. My other problem was that I felt the book lost momentum towards a the middle so I just started skimming pages to get to the end. I'm sure I'm in the minority and I think as a whole the book will appeal to anyone who is looking for a cozy Christmas book.

Christmas with the Queen combines three stories:
1) The young Queen Elizabeth II finding her feet as the new monarch
2) That of Olive, a single mother, and aspiring reporter at the BBC
3) And Jack, a recently widowed chef who reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham.
The three each have their own POV, which I usually dislike, but worked for this book.

Queen Elizabeth must find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast, and it is that which keeps the threads of the story coming together and then parting. I was charmed by the queen and her relationship with her husband. Olive and Jack are old friends who are surprised to be reunited after losing contact with each other for seven years.

The miscommunications between Olive and Jack as the years went on became tedious and repetitive, however. How many times could the two of them almost get together and then part? (Apparently, many!) I would have found Christmas with the Queen more enjoyable had it been more about the royal family and less about Olive and Jack. One of my favorite things was how, over time, the new monarch embraced changing technology and public sentiments. I loved that!

Thank you #WilliamMorrow for providing this book for review consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#RoyalFamily #Friendship #Romance