The Palace Girls Secret is a story of life in Buckingham Palace and the staff within its walls set in 1952. The story centres around the telephone exchange in the Royal Household and especially telephonist Helen Hill, but it also includes sub plots of her friends who work in different parts of the palace On a daily basis, Helen hears many private conversations which must be kept confidential. When she meets Jake, a dashing journalist he wins her over with his charm and brings to her hectic life a sense of joy and freedom that she hasn’t had in years - but is he all he is cracked up to be? This is a beautifully written and thoroughly researched novel that offers a fresh perspective on life behind the walls of Buckingham Palace. When I finished reading it, and googled Emma Royal, I discovered that there is a previous book called The Palace Girls which I’ve now bought to read as I loved the characters and want them to be part of my li
Isabelle Broom whisks you away to the sun-drenched island of Majorca in her new book The Orange House. The spirit and beauty of the island is captured on the pages, making the book come alive and pulling you into the story. This is an emotional journey for Violet and Henry whose son Luke is dealing with metal health issues, but this is dealt with in a very sensitive manner. However, while the setting and character development are exceptional, the pacing of the novel occasionally felt slow, with some sections dragging slightly, but that could be down to my impatience to know what was going to happen! Fans of emotional, character-driven stories set against stunning backdrops will find much to love in this book. A solid four-star read! Top of Form Bottom of Form