Book Synopsis:
Could she be the secret daughter of the Prince of Wales? In this dazzling novel by the author of Sisters of the Resistance, a young woman seeks to discover the truth about her mysterious past. Perfect for readers of Shana Abe, Bryn Turnbull, and Marie Benedict.
Cleo Davenport has heard the whispers: the murmured conversations that end abruptly the second she walks into a room. Told she was an orphan, she knows the rumor—that her father is none other than the Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. And at her childhood home at Cairo’s Shepheard’s Hotel, where royals, rulers, and the wealthy live, they even called her “The Princess.”
But her life is turned upside down when she turns seventeen. Sent to London under the chaperonage of her very proper aunt, she’s told it’s time to learn manners and make her debut. But Cleo’s life can’t be confined to a ballroom. She longs for independence and a career as a jewelry designer for Cartier, but she cannot move forward until she finds out about her past.
Determined to unlock the truth, Cleo travels from London, back to Cairo, and then Paris, where her investigations take a shocking turn into the world of the Parisian demi-monde, and a high-class courtesan whose scandalous affair with the young Prince of Wales threatened to bring down the British monarchy long before anyone had heard of Wallis Simpson.
My Review:
The Royal Windsor Secret is an absorbing, intrigued read that I absolutely loved.
The story follows Cleo from 1935 and through the second world war as they negotiate their new lives away from their childhood in Cairo. I really liked the two main characters Cleo and Brodie and enjoyed following them throughout the book. They are both some warm, realistic characters that I was immediately on their side and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to them.
The author does a great job of describing the various settings in the book so that I felt like I was actually there experiencing them all for myself. I especially loved the scenes set in Cairo as the colourful sunsets sound really beautiful. I would definitely like to visit there as soon as possible. I wish I could go back in time and experience Paris too as it was then as the shopping and social life sounds really fun.
I thought the book had a lovely pace to it and I loved being absorbed into Cleo’s life, following her through the many different things she experiences. The time the book is set in means the reader, with the benefit of hindsight, knows that war is imminent and I was intrigued to see how they would negotiate that. It was lovely to see Cleo and Brodie grow closer and found I was routing for the pair of them the whole book, getting very frustrated when things stood in their way.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book. If you’re a fan of historical fiction then you need to read this book.
About The Author:
Christine Wells writes historical fiction featuring strong, fascinating women. From early childhood, she drank in her father’s tales of kings and queens and epic struggles for power across the globe, and has been a keen student of history ever since. She began her first novel while working as a corporate lawyer, and has gone on to write about periods ranging from Georgian England to World War II France. She loves dogs, the beach and antiquing on Instagram and lives with her family in Brisbane, Australia.
Over The Rainbow Blog 