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    Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding
    Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding
    Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding
    Audiobook9 hours

    Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding

    Written by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

    Narrated by Nancy Peterson and Jeremy Arthur

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Set in the 1950s against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s whirlwind romance and glamourous 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, fending 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 23, 2019
    ISBN9780062934499
    Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding
    Author

    Hazel Gaynor

    Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, and Irish Times, bestselling author of historical fiction, including her debut THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S DAUGHTER was shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown award. She is published in thirteen languages and nineteen countries. Originally from Yorkshire, Hazel lives in Ireland with her family.

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    Reviews for Meet Me in Monaco

    4/5

    159 ratings21 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Light and easy to listen to. If you are a Grace Kelly fan you will enjoy this.
    • 5/5
      The readers amplify the lyrical language of this superb tale.
    • 4/5
      The Cannes and Monaco settings is the perfect setting for this book. Rather than this book being another book about Grace Kelly I loved that she is a character in the book and it adds so much to the story. I fondly relived my quick day trip to Monaco on my way from France to Italy (years ago)through this book and loved it!
    • 4/5
      Great summer read, I loved the end. Didn’t turn out quite as expected! The historical setting and hoopla of Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Rainier made the story all the more interesting!
    • 4/5
      Just saying 1955 Cannes evokes glamour and style, doesn't it? And who better to epitomize that old Hollywood glamour than Grace Kelly? How hard must it have been to be so sought after, so in the spotlight, all the time. But even as Kelly was embarking on what was seen as a real life fairy tale, another, quieter love story was happening around her in Meet Me in Monaco, a charming historical novel by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb.Sophie Duval runs her family's boutique parfumerie in Cannes. The shop and Sophie are both struggling after the death of Sophie's beloved father. But on a day when the film festival is in town, Grace Kelly ducks into Sophie's shop in an effort to elude a very persistent British photographer. Sophie makes the split second decision to protect the star, kicking off a warm connection between the women that will change Sophie's life. The photographer, James Henderson, snaps a photo of Sophie instead of his intended subject and after he abruptly returns to England, he will not be able to forget the beautiful parfumeur and the brief, happy time they spent in each other's company before he was called home. Given a second chance to photograph Grace Kelly, this time for her wedding to Prince Ranier, James contacts Sophie in hopes of meeting her again.There is a love story, the threat of financial ruin, duplicity, soul mates, Hollywood, and royalty all wrapped into this story about two people brought together by chance in the orbit of Grace Kelly. It is far more Sophie and James' stories than Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier's but the glamour of the moment swirls around the lesser known couple too. Love is won and lost and never forgotten. The romance was a bit predictable but still pleasing for all that. The details of creating a perfume, the chemistry and the special intangible spark, that go into an entirely new fragrance are fascinating and the personal tale is bittersweet and mostly lovely. Fictional newspaper reports about the courtship and wedding are sprinkled between chapters, showing the world's love affair with the princess to be and giving a timeline for James and Sophie's relationship. The story behind the breathless newspaper accounts is interesting for showing more detail of the realities of covering the wedding of the century and the reserved young woman marrying a prince. The various secondary characters are drawn to different degrees of completeness but each of them help James and Sophie come to realizations about themselves and about what matters most to them in their lives, family, passion, loyalty. In the end, this is an engaging novel for fans of historical fiction and of novels set in France or Monaco who don't mind more than a little romance in their stories and who don't care if the famous person in the novel is not the focus.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed the entertained stories (which, happily, featured Grace as a tangent rather than the main plot), but didn’t feel much connection with the protagonists, especially Sophie, oddly enough. On the whole, very enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Sophie is a young woman who is trying to make her way as a perfumer in Monaco at the same time Grace Kelly is falling in love with her Prince. On what starts as an ordinary day Grace Kelly comes running into Sophie's shop to try and escape a photographer. Sophie hides her and that leads to unexpected friendships. While I was a little excited that Grace Kelly would play a larger role this is Sophie's story. Ms. Kelly is a very minor player. Still, this is a sweet story albeit with a really strange ending. That's the one thing I still can't reconcile.
    • 4/5
      Sophie is startled when movie star Grace Kelly runs into her perfume shop in an attempt to escape a photographer. Sophie takes charge, hides her, and sends James, the photographer on his way. Later, when James is one of the handful of photographers present at the first meeting between Grace Kelly and the Prince of Monaco, he gives her Sophie's business card. Grace orders perfume from Sophie, and a friendship is born. James, unable to forget the beautiful and alluring Sophie, writes to her, and the two begin a flirtation and relationship. This was a well written and engaging story. It was well paced and presented. Sophie and James were dynamic and realistic characters. The settings of Cannes and Grasse was interesting and well done. Overall, well worth picking up.
    • 4/5
      Grace Kelly is, at best, a secondary character in this book, so if you're looking for something about her and her romance with Prince Rainier, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a sweet story about two people brought together by Grace Kelly, this is the place to go. Sophie Duval is a parfumer struggling to follow in her father's footsteps and keep the family parfumerie afloat. Jim Hutchinson is member of the paparazzi, trying to get a picture of Grace Kelly at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Grace ducks into Sophie's shop to try to elude him, bringing the two together.The rest of the book is a classic will-they-won't-they. Will they be able to be together? Will either of them be able to make professional progress? It's a sweet book, with an unexpected, but satisfying ending. But both characters perserverate a bit too much for my taste, making it a bit of a chore to read. For fans of sweet romances, though, this atmospheric book, with a a taste of Provence and royal weddings will be just the thing.
    • 4/5
      *I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.*Until this novel, I'd mainly encountered Grace Kelly's romantic story of becoming the Princess of Monaco in tangential pieces of news stories, novels, and documentaries. Meet Me in Monaco, however, brings the tale to life and imagines what living through the romance and publicity of a royal/Hollywood wedding would have been like. I loved the characters of Sophie and Jim, and the independence and ambition they both show to pursue their futures on their own terms. This novel made for fun reading and a perfect escape.
    • 4/5
      Meet me in Monaco is a novel of romance and historical fiction. James and Sophie meet as he is attempting to photograph Hollywood star Grace Kelly. Their lives become connected to Grace’s as they develop a complicated relationship.The co-authors Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb did a nice job of providing tension, obstacles, and the atmosphere of Monaco. I was initially put off by the switch between characters but became adjusted pretty quickly.This was a pretty predictable book but a nice form of escapism. I received my copy of the novel from the publisher through Library Thing in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I spent the most glorious weekend in my garden in the best immersive reading experience with Met Me In Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. When a story whisks me away to a time, location, feeling where everything else just melts away and you simply are inside the story with the characters I’m all in, hold everything, until the curtain is down. Gaynor and Webb masterfully build characters and settings that merge real, historical, and fictional, in a beautiful way that creates a wonderful story that takes place in Monaco at the time of Grace Kelly’s wedding. While Grace Kelly and her royal wedding feature in the book the main focus is on a perfume maker, Sophie Duval, and photographer, James Henderson. We experience the events through their eyes. I loved evolution of Sophie and James, individually and together. The only thing that kept this from being five stars for me was a pacing choice later in the book. It didn’t work for me personally. I highly recommend Meet Me In Monaco for readers of romance and historical fiction, knowing the book contains elements of both. Thank you to LibraryThing and William Marrow for an advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review Meet Me In Monaco.
    • 4/5
      Lay back, kick your feet up and imagine the sun of the French Riviera on your face. Perfumes delight your senses and the warm sea breeze plays with your hair. This book will transport you to a time of Royal Weddings and exotic locales. Before the wedding of Meghan and Harry was the wedding of the famous movie star Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco. "Meet Me in Monaco" by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb is a story based on real events. Its main characters are Sophie Duval, a perfumer, and James Henderson, a press photographer. Through the eyes of these two we witness the royal wedding and the events leading up to it. I loved seeing Grace Kelly and learning more about her through Sophie and James’s eyes. There was truly wedding fever. The stories of Sophie and James (fictional characters) are very beautiful as well. I especially love Sophie, learning about perfumes and how she creates them. It is fascinating how perfumers try to learn a person’s personality, favorite memories, etc., and match that to a scent or combination of scents. I appreciate Sophie’s love of beauty and her perfume work that she is very passionate about. However, I don’t like how Sophie cheats on her fiancé and I feel like the main character was condoning affairs at one point. Later Sophie does face the consequences for keeping secrets from James and realizes she was wrong in doing so, which I appreciate. James and Sophie learn that you must grasp life while you can. And the end, well, you have to see for yourself if they will get their own happy ending.Lovers of history, Grace Kelly and Royal Weddings will love this book! Content: reference to an alcoholic; alcohol is consumed; the word “hell” is used; a man smokes; the word “bloody” is used; the Lord’s name is taken in vain; the word “da**” is used; the word “a**” is used; there are a few fade-to-black sex scenes; there are some sexual innuendos.Rating: I give this book 4 stars.I want to thank Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb, Harper Collins, William Morrow and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.
    • 5/5
      As an avid royal watcher, this book could not have been more entertaining for me! First the setting in the south of France makes for a book that is a true escape and a perfect pairing with a glass of rose. YOu an almost imagine yourself there! For those who love a romance, Sophie Duvall, a parfumeur and James Henderson, a World War II veteran on the hunt for the perfect picture of Princess Grace, couldn't be a better match. Watching their romance blossom while the story of Prince Rainer and his beautiful bride serve as a backdrop just make a perfect story. The plotting is well-done and the historical background stays true to the actual events. I loved this book and recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys the genre.
    • 5/5
      Meet Me in Monaco tells the story about Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier as told through the eyes of the fictional characters Sophie Duval and James Henderson. While the story focuses on the romance between Sophie and James, I was completely fascinated by the details of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. I did not know much about their real life story so I found it to be an interesting read. In the fictional story, Grace enters the Duval family perfume shop and is hiding from a persistent reporter, James Henderson. James and Sophie meet and seem to be drawn together from the start. The unfolding of the story of Grace Kelly, the struggles of the perfume business and the Duval family business and the relationship between James and Sophie make for a dynamite storyline. I really enjoy books by these authors and I was excited to receive an early reviewers copy from LibraryThing Early reviewers. This is a terrific read and I recommend it to others!
    • 4/5
      This book was everything I hoped it would be--full of charm, beauty, love and wistfulness. I've always been fascinated with the story of Grace Kelly becoming Princess of Monaco. It's one of those stories that makes you believe anything is possible. That is the same "love conquers all" feeling I had for Sophie and Jim. Despite all of the circumstances and years that separated them, love wins in the end. This is a feel-good story that is part historical fiction, part romance, and all parts delightful!
    • 4/5
      When I first read about ‘Meet Me In Monaco’ by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, I thought that this historical fiction novel would be about Princess Grace and her new life with Prince Rainier of Monaco. The book did evolve around Princess Grace’s wedding, but its real focus was upon the lives of a French perfumer, Sophie Duval, and an English photographer, James Henderson. James was in Cannes prior to the historic wedding, and was on assignment to take pictures of the famous movie star Grace Kelly. As he attempted to chase down Ms. Kelly for a photograph, the iconic screen star slipped into the perfume shop of Sophie Duval and escaped her perpetrator. This first encounter initiated a series of events in which Ms. Kelly and Sophie’s lives became intertwined through a long-standing friendship, and Ms. Duval’s perfume was selected for the celebrated event. In addition, Grace Kelly inadvertently brought together a most unlikely couple, James Henderson and Sophie Duval, who discovered an unbridled love in this tiny principality. I was so intrigued by the lives Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, as well as the lovely coastal setting of Cannes. It was so many years ago that I drove the winding roads of Monaco to visit the casino in Monte Carlo, and this story brought back memories of that memorable trip. The authors deftly portrayed the ‘romance of the century’, as well as the more intimate relationship of Sophie and James, brought together in what is probably the most romantic backdrop in the world.
    • 5/5
      Meet Me in Monaco is such a beautiful book. I loved every page of it. The story of Grace Kelly and her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco is such a romantic one and I absolutely adored how her journey from actress to princess is intertwined with that of James and Sophie.James Henderson is a British press photographer, a reluctant one, when he finds himself in Cannes for the film festival. He is chasing Grace Kelly, desperate to obtain a much sought after photo of the Hollywood starlet, when she ducks into a perfume shop to try and escape him. Sophie Duval is the perfumer, a woman with an incredible nose for scent and a skill for putting them together to create the most beautiful fragrances. James’ pursuit of Grace throws Sophie into the path of both of them, with a friendship being forged between the two women and rather more between James and Sophie.I always love books that use real life events as the base for the story but sometimes it does feel as though that element and the other part of the story don’t sit completely well together. Not so with Meet Me in Monaco where the two strands are perfectly woven together to create an engrossing, cinematic and memorable tale.I have to comment on the fact that two authors wrote this book. I don’t know how they do it, as in whether they take it in turns, write a ‘voice’ each or just work together at every stage, but it’s absolutely seamless. It’s a very successful writing partnership indeed.This book is full of the atmosphere of the French Riviera and the glamour of the film star lifestyle and yet we also witness Sophie’s worry over the future of her business, the one that her father passed onto her. She’s trying desperately to keep it going and Grace Kelly’s patronage might just help with that.There are articles written by a journalist about Grace scattered throughout the book and at the beginning there is a lovely picture of her. It all adds together to make this a book a visual delight. And whilst I can’t smell the perfumes that Sophie creates, I can almost imagine the scents from the descriptions. It really is wonderfully evocative.The rapport between Sophie and James is beautifully drawn. I so badly wanted them to make it and I really wanted Sophie to hang onto her business. I can't tell you if all worked out for them but I liked the conclusion very much. Meet Me in Monaco is the perfect read for those who like a hint of reality in their fiction. The life and death of Grace Kelly is well documented but I felt she was brought back to life in this book. The real story, however, is that of Sophie and James and what a truly gorgeous story it is. I found this book a complete pleasure to read.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Meet Me in Monaco” by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, William Morrow Publishing, July 2019Kudos to Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, Authors of “Meet Me in Monaco” for writing such a beautiful, romantic, breathtaking and elegant story about Royalty, Love, Dreams, and second chances. I love the way the characters and landscape are vividly described in this novel. The Genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Romance. The authors describe their dramatic characters as creative, down to earth, complicated and complex. The timelines for this story are the 1950’s and 1980’s.The American Actress Grace Kelly was always in the public eye. The Public loved her and the Press hounded her. Grace Kelly’s life became more complicated when she met, got engaged and married the Prince of Monaco. Can you imagine an actress becoming a princess? Actually, the truth can be stranger than fiction, as we just saw another actress give up her career to become married to royalty. Now the paparazzi was in a frenzy. To escape a reporter, Grace Kelly steps into a small perfume shop, and the owner Sophie Duval, hides her. The photographer, James Henderson steps into the shop and inquires if the actress is there. Of course, Sophie protects Grace Kelly, making a friend. The photographer leaves with Sofie’s business card.James Henderson is assigned as one of the photographers taking pictures at the wedding. Sophie is invited to the wedding, for making Grace a signature perfume. Somehow, love is in the air, and there is an attraction between the two of them.Both James and Sophie have major problems and complications in their lives. Is there a possibility that love can conquer all? There are tragedy and betrayals and problems. I would highly recommend this beautiful and emotional novel. There are some Kleenex moments. Happy Reading!
    • 5/5
      As I sit back and sigh contentedly over this lovely read, the words that come to mind are…enchanting, romantic, tantalizing, glamorous. This is one of the most satisfying reads I have had in a while. Before Meghan Markle’s wedding there was the wedding of Grace Kelly to the Prince of Monaco. Through Gaynor and Webb’s exquisite descriptions of the vistas, the clothing, and the scents I felt like I was part of the story. The book also has several very memorable quotations. More a love story than historical fiction, it should please readers of both genres.I love how the story follows the notes of a perfume. Part One: the Head notes – “The initial impression of a perfume; the notes that greet the nose immediately and evaporate quickly.” Part Two: the Heart notes – “The main body or heart of the parfum; scents that emerge in the middle of the dispersion process. Part Three: the Base notes – “Notes that assert themselves when the others have evaporated; scents that diffuse slowly, with respect to time. The notes that linger the longest”. Romance…friendship…chance meetings. A chance meeting of James, Sophie, and Grace set this whole story into action. I loved both James and Sophie and wanted them to find happiness…preferably together. Difficult choices. Regrets – “We thought we had it all the time in the world. What fools we were.” Thank you to Tall Poppies and Edelweiss for an advance reading copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are my own.