The Royal Correspondent

Joel (The Paris Model) serves up an engrossing story about a woman’s determination to succeed as a journalist. In late 1950s Sydney, Australia, Blaise Hill is almost 18 when she gets a job at the Clarion newspaper as a copy girl. After witnessing her friend Joe Blackett stab and accidentally kill a man in self-defense, she meets a mysterious wealthy Englishman named Adam Rule who claims to be a friend of Joe’s family and takes the knife off her hands. As Blaise climbs the ladder at the Clarion, she meets Adam again, who helps her out by offering her news tips. Blaise’s career continues its upward trajectory, and she is assigned to cover the wedding of Princess Margaret in London, where, once again, she runs into Adam. Despite being warned away from him by Charlie Ashton, a rising-star politician, she can’t deny her attraction to Adam, which is complicated by Charlie’s romantic pursuit. Joel does an expert job at portraying Blaise’s fortitude in her quest to achieve journalistic success in an era when women were often forced to choose between marriage and career. This will keep readers turning the pages. (Sept.)