Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

It's January of 1953 and hotel owner Edie Howard hopes that Queen Elizabeth's coronation in June will provide her enough income to get the hotel back on it's feet. Her establishment, the 400-year-old Blue Lion, is right on the route that the queen's coach will take through London. With the Blue Lion being in Edie's family since it's inception, she's under a lot of stress to keep the hotel going. Painter James Geddes, who is half Indian, has taken a room at the Blue Lion because he has a huge commission to document the Queen's coach as it passes Cartwrights' Hall. With its close proximity to Cartwrights' Hall, the Blue Lion is the perfect base for Jamie to spend the months leading up to the coronation to make sure his painting is absolutely perfect. Meanwhile, Italian Stella Donati has come to London for a job as a photographer for Picture Weekly. She is using the Blue Lion as her home base, since Edie's and Stella's families are friends. Coronation Year follows the lives of Edie, James, and Stella as they get to know one another in the time leading up to the coronation. It's an enjoyable read with an added bonus of Robson including characters from her books Goodnight from London, The Gown, and Our Darkest Night.