I'm not sure why I wanted to read this novel, but I think I misjudged the genre, which is more beach read romance (published by Avon, yikes!) than straight historical fiction. There's the usual dual timeline, Second World War Blighty and post-Covid America, with tacked on meet cutes in both eras (I swear the brother-house guest pairing was lifted from The Holiday). Lost correspondence and internet researches also make cameo appearances.

The pacing was fine in the introductory chapters, with young Sophie and Hanna in Nazi Vienna versus Lacey needing a reality check in modern day Philadelphia, but following Sophie the spy through her library work in Windsor bored me to tears. The plot was obvious and I didn't really care about any of the characters, apart from maybe modern day Hanna (and poor Cedric!) Lacey certainly needed to get the hell over herself.

‘It was eighty-four years ago today.’ Gubby’s voice petered out; she swallowed and waited a few seconds before continuing. (If this was Goodreads, that actual quote would have inspired a gif - I mean, come on!)

The author has clearly done her research, apart from the parts of history she completely made up, but the writing still had a Downton Abbey-written for Americans vibe (Lacey's boyfriend gets a pat on the head for knowing about King Edward VIII!) A quick read - got through the whole book in a day, apart from when I passed out and skipped a whole chapter about Sophie saving the day by cooking a meal, or something - but instantly forgettable. I'd leave my copy on the bus if I hadn't read the Kindle edition. ( )

Will Lacey be able to find out the history of her grandmother Sophie's life?

We meet Sophie, Hanna, and their parents in 1938 as Hitler takes control of Austria.

Their father was removed from his position at the library because of his Jewish heritage and was shot during an incident.

Their mother owned a bakery but was taken away because of her resistance.

That left Sophie and Hanna as orphans and with only one thing to do - they had to leave Austria.

Hanna was sent to America and Sophie was able to get employment in London at the Royal library.

We follow both sisters during the war and Lacey in 2021 as she tries to find out about her grandmother.

Historical fiction fans and fans of the Royal Family and Windsor will be thrilled with this book.

THE ROYAL LIBRARIAN is a lovely, enjoyable, heartfelt, well-researched read with a mystery to solve about Sophie along with some surprises.

I was curious about what Sophie was up to and enjoyed reading about Queen Elizabeth and her sister in their youth. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ( )

Sophie’s family has been destroyed by the Nazis. Her parents are dead, she has sent her little sister off to the states, so Sophie jumps at the chance to go to England. Hopefully she will be out of the Nazis reach. She ends up in the job of Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle. But, it is not as glamorous as you would think!

This is an intricate family mystery with lots of enjoyable twists and turns. Add in the dual timelines and you have a story made just for me!

I love how this author melds these two timelines together. When Lacey finds the mysterious letter from Windsor castle in her Grandmother’s papers, she knows she has a lot to discover. This story unfolds slowly with a little tidbit here and a tidbit there…very captivating!

Need a tale which will wrap you up and keep you enthralled…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today! ( )

This story has two timelines it goes back and forth between 1940 as the war rages and bombs rain down on Britain and present day Philadelphia with Lacey Turner digging into her great aunt’s family tree and coming across a book bearing the stamp of Windsor Castle’s royal bindery. Thus, begins a journey that will take Lacey from Buckingham palace in a quest to find out what is behind this mysterious book and the secrets Sophie Klein, her grandmother’s sister, has been hiding for so long.

The dual time line works seamlessly, the voices alternating between Sophie (1940) and Lacey (present day) as they tell us what is going on. It is a good story although the part in America was slightly boring and a bit too long. Once Lacey set foot in Britain and the two stories came together I was totally into it and flipping the pages to see what Sophie really was doing at the Palace. Escaping from Austria to take up a position in the Royal Library to translate letters written by the King to the Nazi regime...was she a spy? The past was definitely the more captivating story but the present brings closure.

This story is interesting we have no shortage of information of what was happening at the time. By featuring real people and their lives with fictional characters the author has giving us a tale that could be as true to life as possible. “The Royal Librarian” is an interesting recreation of a moment in time and is played out by wonderful and well-drawn characters. In whole this story is easy to stay with it, the pacing is steady and the narrative is quite engaging.

Most historical fiction enthusiast should love this one.

My thanks to Avon Books UK as well as Netgalley for this ARC ( )