By: Daisy Wood
The Royal Librarian is a dual timeline historical fiction novel that is set mostly in 1940 at Windsor. In the modern day timeline, Lacey has found a letter in her grandmother’s things that indicate that she has a whole life and family the rest of them know nothing about. In her search for the truth about her family, Lacey uncovers a thrilling story of a great aunt who narrowly escaped nazis to become a spy in the service of the future Queen of England.
The story was fast paced and on the 1940s side, while the present day timeline was a bit shallow and not nearly as interesting. It is often hard to fictionalize real people and events, but I thought Wood did a great job blending truth and fiction in Windsor with the Royals. The descriptions of the castle and the library where Sophie works are amazing. It was fun to see the future Queen Elizabeth appear as a child.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for this review.
