Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, reviewed by Dale Rutherford

William Morrow, 2019. Available from Chapters (here) or from your local independent book store (here).

This book was a Christmas gift from my sister, who had already read it, loved it and thought I would too.

She was right.

Beautiful in its simplicity, Meet Me in Monaco, is a light read, full of everything you want in a January curl-up-on-the-couch read.

I was captivated from the first page to the last, loved the main characters, Sophie and James, and even the “baddies” Lucien and Mrs. Duval played their parts well.

Due to their respective involvement in the courtship and eventual marriage of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, Sophie Duval and James Henderson meet by chance and a friendship begins.

Sophie is the owner of Duval, a small perfume company based in Grasse, France with a shop in Cannes. I loved both of these settings and found this an interesting background for her side of the story. I was immediately sympathetic to her desire to continue her family’s business in the tried and true methods of old, to see it come back to life and to save it from uncertain times.

There were wonderful themes here that the authors explored; of memories evoked by scents and creating fragrances as individual as the wearer, and eventually the need to move forward out of the past. Sophie’s relationships with her mother and Lucian also gave me reason to cheer her on.

Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

As an amateur shutterbug myself, I sympathized with the photographer in James who would much rather have photographed sunsets and beautiful landscapes than find himself amid the thousands of press people chasing Grace Kelly’s every movement. However, in his need to capture just the right shot for his paper, he meets Sophie, something sunsets and landscapes would never have given him.  

Naturally, they fall in love and of course we want them to be together, but there are problems, people and things that stand in their way. James has a ten-year-old daughter, at home in London, England. Sophie has Lucian and a meddling mother. And Grace has Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Meet Me in Monaco is well written with realistic characters, flowing and beautifully descriptive narrative, creative and genuine dialogue and wonderfully vivid settings.

Much like Grace Kelly is portrayed in this novel, Meet Me in Monaco is charming and quite simply, beautiful.

***

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Include a short bio at the end of your piece and attach a photo of yourself if you have one that’s okay. 

Dale M Rutherford has a passion for historical fiction, sweeping sagas and happily-ever-afters. Her writing career began late in life as her commitments to work and family lessened allowing her time to focus and research. 

Born a small town in southern Ontario, she is the third of four daughters born to a peach farmer and his wife. Growing up on the farm, on the shores of Lake Ontario in the house built by her great grandfather, Her family roots, which run deep into the heart of Scotland, Ireland and England, provide inspiration for the creation of her protagonists. 

In her spare time, Margery is a certified Energy Healer, Life Coach and Past Life Regression Therapist with an avid interest in genealogy, and photography. Her two grandchildren keep her young in mind, body and spirit.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.