“A fragrant French bonbon of a book: love, glamour, perfume, and paparazzi all circling around the wedding of the century…”–Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of THE ALICE NETWORK and THE HUNTRESS.
Named one of InStyle’s best books to put in your totebag for the summer!
Named one of Popsugar’s best books to put in your beachbag this summer and one of the best books of July!
Set … best books to put in your beachbag this summer and one of the best books of July!
Set in the 1950s against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s whirlwind romance and unforgettable wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco, New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb take the reader on an evocative sun-drenched journey along the Côte d’Azur in this page-turning novel of passion, fate and second chances…
Movie stars and paparazzi flock to Cannes for the glamorous film festival, but Grace Kelly, the biggest star of all, wants only to escape from the flash-bulbs. When struggling perfumer Sophie Duval shelters Miss Kelly in her boutique to fend off a persistent British press photographer, James Henderson, a bond is forged between the two women and sets in motion a chain of events that stretches across thirty years of friendship, love, and tragedy.
James Henderson cannot forget his brief encounter with Sophie Duval. Despite his guilt at being away from his daughter, he takes an assignment to cover the wedding of the century, sailing with Grace Kelly’s wedding party on the SS Constitution from New York. In Monaco, as wedding fever soars and passions and tempers escalate, James and Sophie—like Princess Grace—must ultimately decide what they are prepared to give up for love.
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A fragrant French bonbon of a book: love, glamour, perfume, and paparazzi all circling around the wedding of the century.
This beautiful new novel is based on Grace Kelley’s wedding to Prince Rainier in 1956 in Monaco. Before she met the prince, she was Hollywood elite and followed everywhere by reporters and cameras. When she was in Cannes in 1955 for the Film Festival, she was introduced to Prince Ranier of Monaco for a photo op. She wasn’t initially very impressed with him that soon changed. She married her prince in 1956, retired from Hollywood and lived a happy life cut short by tragedy in 1982. Over the years, people continue to be enchanted by her fairy tale story and herlife in Monaco. This novel gives us a more intimate look at Grace Kelley before her marriage.
This novel is made up of two very different stories that are entwined almost from the beginning. When Grace Kelly was trying to escape from a photographer in Cannes, she went into a perfume shop owned by Sophie. Sophie was not only a shop owner but she also developed new fragrances and understood the chemistry behind new fragrances that she had learned from her deceased father. When she first meets Grace Kelly, her business is in trouble and her mother, an alcoholic, is threatening to sell the business and the land in Grasse where she grows the plants that she uses for her perfumes. When she receives a request from the soon to be princess, it may be what she needs to make her business profitable again.
The history behind the royal wedding is beautifully intertwined with Sophie’s story and the story of a photographer named James. It is told in alternating chapters by Sophie and James whose chance encounter becomes one the most significant part of their lives. I loved reading about the spectacle of the wedding between Grace Kelly and her prince but just as interesting were the lives of Sophie and James.
Meet Me in Monaco is a sweeping novel that will carry you away on a grand adventure. Gaynor and Webb bring the senses alive as the reader is transported back in time and becomes a guest at the… wedding… An enchanting read.
Hollywood’s most beautiful star, a glamorous royal wedding, a talented-but-struggling French perfumer, and a persistent English photographer whose stories intertwine. This story of Grace Kelly, a movie star who becomes a Princess (remind anyone of a certain MeganM?), begins in the South of France in the 1950’s and the stage is set for love, crises, and a whirl of complications that unravel over several decades.
A true page-turner with believable, attractive characters, here is delicious, entertaining historical fiction to whisk you into another world!
Set in the 1950s against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s whirlwind romance and unforgettable wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco, New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb take the reader on an evocative sun-drenched journey along the Côte d’Azur in this page-turning novel of passion, fate and second chances…
There is so much to love about this book. Fabulous setting, interesting characters, and a story of second chances we can all root for. Totally enjoyed each page, could not read fast enough and could not put down.
Highly recommend
A fabulous read from start to finish. Kudos to the authors for their obvious research in the art of creating French “parfums” and the art of photography as well as the accurate details of the wonderful settings in the south of France.. The reader is easily transported back to the 1950’s as the story focuses on the real-life events surrounding the marriage of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. Mixing fiction with history and romance, the story offers a wonderful opportunity to truly visit the Côte d’Azur and feel a part of the excitement that transfixed the world.
This beautiful book hit all the right notes for me!
Take the allure of the love story of Princess Grace of Monaco, set it within the framework of another love story – that of Sophie, a struggling french perfume maker and James, a lovable paparazzi trying to keep his life afloat by getting the perfect photograph – and you get Meet Me in Monaco. I was captivated from page one, cheering for all of the characters. I don’t usually read historical, but the setting was so lush and accessible it enticed me in and I loved every beautifully written page.
An enchanting novel… Gaynor and Webb weave a wonderful tale of love and loss, graced with the scents of perfumes, magnificent vistas, and characters you will not soon forget. A delight for Francophiles, perfumistas, film buffs, and everyone who loves a good cry and happy ending.
This is the kind of novel you devour in a day. It’s so beautiful, unpredictable, and luscious, and I lost myself in the scents and scenery of southern France and Monaco. This is the story of Sophie, a perfumer trying to keep her business alive in Provence in the 1950s, as well as the story of James Henderson, a British newspaper photographer coming to terms with post-WWII life. The two meet in the hoopla surrounding the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Sophie is commissioned to make a signature scent for the wedding, and James is given access to photograph the future princess.
The descriptions are stunning and I loved how the novel twisted in unexpected ways, never taking the easy way out. The foreshadowing is subtle but it’s there, creating great tension. The true story of Grace Kelly is woven in seamlessly, and it was like having an insider’s view, behind the public hysteria over the wedding. Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy. This is book is going to be a great summer (or winter!) read and fans of historical fiction should put this on the top of their TBR pile.
What a wonderful read! Light but not fluffy, smart but not too serious. Gaynor and Webb work together like a dream to craft a story that draws you along with compelling characters, knotty problems, and of course, a dash of Grace Kelly glamour.
I loved this story. It wisked me away to a different age and time, with Grace Kelley, perfume and South of France. Perfect summer read.
Swept away by both the imagery and the characters, Meet Me In Monaco was the perfect summer read. Historical, romantic, and vividly picturesque, I felt transported to the shores and fields of the French Riviera.
Meet Me in Monaco is a feast for the senses: the smells, the sights, the flavors of Provence. It will transport you the French Riviera which you will never want to leave. This is exactly the type of book I love to read. I adored the enchanting setting of South of France, I loved the historical backdrop of Grace Kelly and Prince’s of Monaco romance, and I fell in love with the main characters, Sophie and James. Grace Kelly serendipitously brought them together and became the catalyst for their relationship that changed both their lives. Meet Me in Monaco is very close to perfection and I highly recommend it for historical fiction and romance fans.
This book, like the beloved Grace Kelly herself, was enchanting. I had read only one of Hazel Gaynor’s books prior to this one, but I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed her style. It came rushing back as I turned the pages of “Meet Me in Monaco” I am not sure which author was responsible for what, not having read any of Heather Webb’s individual works yet, but she was already on my TBR radar and that definitely did NOT change after reading this book.
This book was a strong four stars all the way through the majority of its pages, making me cry a half dozen times in its final third. After teetering precariously throughout, Part III pushed it firmly into five stars for me.
What I liked about “Meet Me in Monaco”:
The pictures the words painted – Pure magic. I felt like I could see what I was reading. The language was effectively descriptive without being verbose or trying too hard.
James – I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to like him upon initial introduction but as his somewhat awkward, self-effacing manner, he quickly grew on me.
All the feels. All of them – My heart actually ached reading this book. For the way Grace Kelly was depicted, so gracious and genuine and lonely. For Sophie, every time she was dealt a blow to her dreams from dreadfully selfish people. For James, watching him shatter. But also the moments of sweetness, of beauty, of true deep love. And finally angst: knowing secrets would need to be revealed if the story was to be told properly, the fear of what a missing item would ultimately mean, the uncertainty of whether the most critical pieces of our hero and heroine would survive.
What I didn’t care for:
(Full disclosure: I am going to nitpick here because there really was very little I didn’t love about this novel.)
The villains – I realize that this likely indicates that they were written effectively but Lucien made my skin crawl and Sophie’s mother frustrated me into oblivion.
And now I need to visit the French countryside and Monaco. The end.
hen actress Grace Kelly is chased into a perfumery shop in Cannes, France by a photo-journalist, many things are set in motion. One of them, that Grace and parfumeur Sophie Duval become life-long friends. But there’s more. Sophie and that photographer, James Henderson, also find themselves forming a relationship.
On this trip to France, Miss Kelly will also meet her future husband, the Prince of Monaco. That meeting changes her life, but doesn’t diminish her glamour. She will go on to have a wedding that set the world talking. That wedding will involve Sophie and James as well.
This was a lovely read. It portrays Grace Kelly in the best light possible, and makes her seem real. But more than her story, it also brings to life the world of perfume: the growing of flowers, the slow and careful development of new perfume formulas, and the challenges that modern, chemical perfumes brings forth for the small, traditional parfumer. Sophie, like her father before, her, believes that the traditional way is the best. And this book is more about Sophie, her traditions, and her life, than it is about the future Princess of Monaco.
This book was sweet and wonderful. It was a quick and easy book to read, and I enjoyed it very much.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
Meet Me In Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb is a delightful love story revolving around the romance between Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, but not really about it. Sophie Duval is a second-generation perfumer working out of Cannes with her laboratory on a property owned by her family in Grasse. James Henderson is a photographer, a good one, but not really cut out to be paparazzo. He chases Grace Kelly into Sophie’s boutique in Cannes. Sophie has hidden the actress and Jim leaves without a photo. Thus begins a friendship between the perfumer and the woman who is to be a princess. Through a twisted road, Sophie ends ups designing the perfume Grace wears on her wedding day, and also meets Jim and begins a short, but sweet love affair, which is torn apart by misunderstanding and tragedy.
This was absolutely a sweet story as well as a tragic one. The romance, wedding, and death of Princes Grace were traced through “newspaper” articles sprinkled throughout the book. It was nostalgic for someone who remembers much of it, but it was not really the story. The story was one of heartbreak and sadness for each of two people: Sophie and Jim, and a romance that wasn’t practical. Jim’s ex-wife and her husband were killed in a car crash that left, Jim’s daughter, Emily, injured. Sophie had to rescue her dream, which was to salvage what was left of her nearly bankrupt business. These things and geography kept the two apart, but their loved never faded. It was a charming story. I recommend it.
I was invited to read Meet Me In Monaco by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #meetmeinmonaco
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3.5 stars
I thought this would be a story of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier’s romance, but they, and their wedding, are really just background characters. The story itself belongs to Sophie, a French parfumeuse, and James, an English photographer, and though they are fictional characters, they were inspired by real people connected to Grace Kelly and the royal wedding.
The story, told in three parts, is told by Sophie and James, and explores “what influence a woman like Grace Kelly might have had on those who did come in contact with her, however briefly.” In part one, Sophie has a chance encounter with both movie star Grace Kelly and photographer James Henderson, setting in motion the events to come, events that will forever change her life. We also witness the initial meeting between Grace and her future husband. Part two focuses on the upcoming wedding of Grace to Prince Rainier and the developing relationship between Sophie and James. Then, in part three, we are transported twenty-six years to the days following Princess Grace’s death and the impact it has on Sophie and James.
I have enjoyed everything I have read by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb and this was no exception.
Great book…………..
Meet Me in Monaco transports you to the South of France. The heartwarming novel intertwines a fictional star-crossed love story with the real fairytale marriage of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. After reading it, you’ll think about perfume, news photographers scrambling for celebrity photos, and princesses with more understanding. A fresh, engrossing story with surprising depth, it’s a joy from start to finish.
I really enjoyed this story. Having remembered Grace Kelley and her wedding. This read was so much fun, along with the romance. Thank you for a wonderful time.