Another brilliant book by Anton again a lovely storyline I couldn't put it down loved the characters and a warm feeling when reading it look forward to more by him ,

I am not one of Anton’s legion of adoring fans, so I haven’t read the first in this series. However, I love the glamour of Strictly, the beauty of dance and novels set in the 1920s/30s. I’d heard good things about this novel so thought I would give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised and would now seek out the first in this series because I think it would have been better to read them in order.

This novel returns to the Buckingham Hotel and characters established in One Enchanted Evening. In fact there’s such a long and eclectic roll all of characters that I was glad the author provided a list. There are rumours of war and George VI is now on the throne. I was impressed with how the author weaves these character’s stories within the historical framework, using period detail to bring his characters to life. For example, in parts, Raymond de Guise, is over in the US but we still hear about his life via letters as he experiences exciting new dances like the jitterbug and jive that haven’t reached England yet. I also loved how the joy of dancing is expressed through these dances and how much freedom people could express in them, compared to other ballroom dances. I also enjoyed the mix of characters from well to do hotel residents, to those that work in the hotel. It gave the novel that sense of upstairs/downstairs seen in Downton Abbey or Mr Selfridge - I could see them making good Sunday evening television.

There are a few characters to keep track of, especially if you haven’t read the first novel, so the useful character list at the front of the book helped me out. The two page prologue is a gripping and exciting to start to the novel. Dancer, Raymond, is called to say the Grand Ballroom is on fire and he plunges into the flames. Then the action rolls back to eighteen months earlier and we see the events leading up to this cliffhanger moment. The hotel guests have suffered a series of thefts at the beginning of the book, and Charles Maynard is determined to find the thief. He decides to hire a private investigator, but it is a man he can’t stand. The rest of the novel never really picks up the pace of those first two pages.

Nancy still works at the hotel and her brother Frank is now working alongside her. She also gets roped into all sorts of mischief with Miss Edgerton, daughter of the hotel’s main investor Lord Edgerton. Usually a permanent resident at the Buckingham, Miss Edgerton seems to be sober in recent months and is a rare visitor to the ballroom of late. Principal dancer Helene, has a chance of love with an Irish guest, but risks this and her job over clandestine meetings with her secret daughter. Overarching these and other characters stories is the hotel’s need for investors and Raymond is splitting his time in the US between learning new dances and finding a wealthy candidate. What will he find when he brings the wealthy John Hastings Junior to London? The other characters are involved in storylines that cover issues like addiction, racism and sexism. The main romance between Raymond and Nancy is left hanging to the very end. Will Raymond return to London permanently or has his head been turned by the bright lights of Hollywood.

Although slow in parts, I felt the novel benefitted most from the historical backdrop. It was well researched and convincingly detailed, especially the sense of tension brought about because the characters and the reader both know the clock is running down to 1939 and seismic change brought about by world war. I think there was an element of ‘seize the day’ for some characters, who clearly understand their lives will change forever. The ballroom is a glamorous diversion from those fears and I did enjoy the tension between the glamour and the more seedy aspects of criminality and debauchery, although written with a very light touch. The whole novel is a diversion, full of secrets, scandals and romance. A fun, easy read with the darker undertones of 1930s London.

A nice entertaining read about dancing and love in the inter war years.The glamour of the ballroom is beautifully recreated and Anton has created a fabulous day of believable characters.
I hadn't read the first book in this series but it didn't matter, as the author explains the important pieces of the back story.
Thank you to Netgalley for gifting me a copy of the book.

Well you can definitely 'hear' Anton's voice through out this book. It is just the sort of story I can imagine him creating. However it feels as if ALL the characters have had the Anton du Bek treatment making them over dramatic and even the servants glamourtised! For me there were too many characters overall. I know that a list was provided but I wasn't going to keep referring to it on a Kindle and I lost track of who was who. All a bit much for me but good fun too if you like this type of thing.

A pleasant return to the Buckingham and the pre WW2 years. Anton du Beke causes the reader to live in another world of glamour, luxury and dance, whilst in this novel also recognising the poverty of the world outside the hotel. War is looming, which I’m assuming will drive the next novel’s return to the Buckingham.
Perfect for fans of Strictly!

Not for me I’m afraid. It’s a period in time I have a deep affection for but I failed to engage with the characters and gave up after a few chapters

So, Anton's first novel was a "Sunday Time bestseller? Sorry, must have blinked and missed that! As for this, I couldn't get away from the thought that it was exactly like a Sunday night 8 or 9pm ITV drama - glittery, rather insubstantial, but pleasant enough on the whole. Having said that, Anton is to literature what I am to ballroom dancing - I can get around a floor without falling over, but there's a distinct lack of grace and style! The writing is pretty cliched, the dialogue totally incredible (hotel chambermaids simply don't use that sort of vocabulary!!) and the plot pretty predictable. I did get to the end though!

Moonlight over Mayfair by Anton DuBeke is a great second novel from the acomplished Dancer.

It was great to go back into the story and learn more of Raymond and Nancys time in the Buckingham Hotel. A great super novel and now looking forward to the 3rd instalment!!!!

The characters are lovely and the book is a well written and easy to follow book. Cant put it down once you start.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for the ARc.

What an enchanting book, I was transported from sitting in my conservatory listening to the rain to this wonderful glamorous world of dance, where I could feel the music vibrating through the wooden floorboards and hear the swish of the women’s gowns - magical!!

This is the second book in the series and we return to the glamorous Buckingham Hotel. The characters and the vivid descriptions bring this story to life.

In the first book we met dancer Raymond De Guise and Nancy amongst other hotel staff. This time Nancy is eagerly awaiting the return of Raymond from America.

I loved reading about the guests and staff working at the hotel. The story is full of romance, lies and theft.

A must read book for all fans of dancing. I confess to being a wannabe dancer but sadly have 2 left feet and no rhythm!!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Moonlight over Mayfair by Anton du beke.

The book is about the lives people of the high class Berkeley Hotel in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, in the late 1930s after the Great Depression and before war has been declared from the board of directors to the chambermaids and the band in the ballroom.

The story intertwined and evolves and nothing is quite what it seems there are many secrets which mosy pull at the heartstrings.

A Great read beautifully set in a time of glamour when the world is starting to change with Mr Mosley in Britain and the rumblings of Hitler in Europe.

I Look forward to reading the next book and continuing saga about the Berkeley Hotel. Beautifully written not what I expected thoroughly enjoyable.

I didn't expect to love Anton Du Beke's first novel, One Enchanted Evening, as much as I did but I've been desperate to get my hands on the sequel since finishing it! I'm so pleased that Moonlight Over Mayfair was just as good as the author's debut.

If it's possible the cover of Moonlight Over Mayfair is even more beautiful than the previous novel. Usually I cringe at family saga/romantic historical fiction covers but I'm blown away by this one, it's such a sophisticated cover.

I was hooked from the very first page, there's a couple of pages detailing a tragic event that will happen at the hotel that catches your interest instantly. Then we go back in time eight months to begin the story properly, with the reader on the edge of their seat!

Moonlight over Mayfair revisits some of our favourite characters from the previous novel as well as introducing us to a few new ones. I adored the new characters as much as the old ones and was rooting for them all during their highs and lows!

This was a joy to read and I really hope Anton du Beke plans on writing many more novels set in the Buckingham hotel!

The characters are intriguing and many have secrets: Raymond - is he who he says he is? Vivienne (is living at the hotel as stepfather keeping her away from hey mother) has turned over a new leaf and is secretly giving her allowance away to help the poorest of the poor; Maynard is hiding his dying true love and Emmeline knows about it, he also thinks way is coming ; Hélène has been married and has a child being brought up by the in-laws - they're black, Hélène is white.

The tale of the Grand dance floor and the Buckingham hotel is seen through the eyes guests and staff with good grace and elegance that you'd expect from Anton du Beke!

Thoroughly entertaining - like the author himself! Anton Du Beke is surely a star born out of his time. It is no wonder after being the stalwart of Strictly Come Dancing since it started back in 2004 and taking a sell out stage show (with professional dance partner Erin Boag) around the country and an album, the classic song and dance man (so much in the mould of the late great Bruce Forsyth) that he might also turn his hand to novels about dancing too.
This is the second book in what looks to be a long series. As Anton states himself the world of a hotel - such as The Buckingham - which is the location of the action - always has people coming and going and so many chances to bring new plots to the table.
The leading dance man - Raymond de Guise (surely Anton in disguise) is the romantic hero who with Helene Marchmont take the lead male and female roles in the Grand Ballroom every night. There is a whole page of characters, but although some aren't fully formed most fit snugly (if sometimes stereotypically) into the plot. The novel begins with a serious fire in the hotel and we then take ourselves back to the earlier part of the year 1937 and what has brought this potential tragedy to all in the hotel.
It's a bit Downton/Upstairs Downstairs with a slow foxtrot but not bad because of this. There is a world beyond the hotel but the main characters flow between the area with ease although I was quite taken with rich Vivienne Edgerton (stepdaughter of a horrible man who has stolen her mother) recovering from addiction and accompanied by Nancy (Raymond's love interest) seek out and help at the Daughters of Salvation homeless hostel run by Mary Burdett - someone I felt the author could have developed more..
1937 pitches us at a dramatic time in a rapidly changing world. There is a new King and the hotel director Maynard Charles hopes to have him as a guest as they did the previous monarch (more known for dancing the night away). But the hotel is struggling financially and Raymond has been sent on a mission to cosy up to American businessman John Hastings Junior who is known to be seeking out investments in Europe. But the political map is changing and a second war is looming. There is unrest and violence not just with the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany but over the Irish Sea with the bombings caused by the IRA.
The plot rattles along and Du Beke perhaps leaves us wanting for more dancing rather than intrigue as numerous twists and turns take place. There is a dash of Hollywood (Fred and Ginger get a mention of course!) and it appears there will be more about the world of The Buckingham Hotel in the future from the author. "Worlds within worlds. Secrets within secrets." The themes of the novel and it sums up a fairly decent, entertaining read that's light on its feet but skilful when needed....sort of like Du Beke himself!!

This book is the sequel to "One Enchanted Evening" and continues the story of the staff and guests of the fictitious Buckingham Hotel in the years immediately prior to WW2. Although this is a fairly lightweight tale it does touch on some of the political and social issues of the day. Nancy, Raymond and Vivienne are once more major characters, but Helene also has a bigger part this time out. Escapist literature from the king of the ballroom.

“Moonlight Over Mayfair” is the second novel written by Anton Du Beck and features the plush London based Buckingham Hotel and it’s Grand Ballroom. Set in 1937, I loved visiting this era and felt the author really captured the atmosphere of the time, politically and socially, absolutely perfectly.
There’s a checklist of characters at the beginning, which is always a useful addition to any book and I was pleased to see that the dazzling characters I fell in love with in the first book - “One Enchanted Evening” - were making a pleasant return. I couldn’t wait to see what new events were happening in the hotel and what new dances were being introduced to England. As with any sequel, it’s always nice to read the first book to become acquainted with the characters and although you can probably read this book as a stand-alone, I do feel you’d get more enjoyment from reading the first and seeing how the characters develop, romantically and through their occupations within the Buckingham Hotel.
I particularly enjoyed reading Maynard Charles’ story with his arch enemy Abner Grant and Maynard’s partner Aubrey. Though this book does start off a lot slower than its previous counterpart, it does pick up towards the end and rollicks to a satisfying conclusion.
Anton is not just a talented, suave and debonair dancer and a respected television personality but is also now a very sophisticated, intelligent and creative author. I’m very impressed by his literary skills and I’m delighted to hear there will be more to come from him in this truly delightful and sassy series, suitable for all ages. I’ll be booking my suite again for next year at Buckingham Hotel and I can’t wait to catch up with Raymond De Guise, Nancy and all the other endearing and captivating characters.
Perfectly written, easy to follow and very addictive, I’m more than happy to recommend Anton and his fashionably historical romance sagas set during the 1930’s.
4 stars

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed being back at the Buckingham hotel with Nancy and all the others.

While the first book felt like a very fictional world this one touched upon some very real things that were happening in the world during the 30’s.

This book was hard to read at times but it invoked a lot of emotions. I laughed and I cried.

The very end of the book could of gone one of two ways and either would have made sense. The ending we actually got was perfect. I loved it so very much.

Having read Anton's first book, I was really looking forward to catching up with the characters from the Buckingham. This book does not disappoint and is enjoyable to read . Can highly recommend for lovers of the ballroom.

Firstly thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the wonderful Anton for an ARC of this stunning book. I have to admit I re-read the first Buckingham adventure before starting this one and can honestly say it could have been just one book. Sometimes when a first book is written so well the follow up can just be slightly lacking but not this time. This is not my normal genre of books but as a fan of the author thought I would give it a go. I absolutely adore both books and am waiting rather impatiently for the third and the on going stories in the lives of all the main characters. This was an absolute joy to read and I would heartily recommend to all regardless of age.

I really loved the first in this series, One Enchanted Evening, when I read it last year, So much that I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this sequel. I really missed the characters that I had got to know and yearned to know what happened next. What would the author put them all through this time? If you haven't already read the first in series, I would recommend you do that before starting this one - character development and backstory and all that!
We have moved on in time a bit - with the country still suffering fallout from the Great Depression, a new King on the throne and talk of another war - as our story starts, Raymond de Guise is still Stateside. Separated from chambermaid Nancy he keeps her abreast of his shenanigans via frequent correspondence. It appears he is very much enamoured by the new dances there; jitterbug and jive. Meanwhile, Nancy is still working at the Buckingham and has now been joined there by her brother. But the Buckingham is floundering and in need of investors. Raymond has the chance of persuading an American to do just that, and he visits him Stateside to plead their case. But what will they find when they return to England. There are other factions uprising, ones that threaten the very core of the hotel and indeed those that call it home.
I love how this author weaves his story around what is actually happening in the Country at the time in which it is set. I won't spoil things by going into detail but it all just adds to the colour and flavour of what is going on in the Buckingham. As well as Nancy and Raymond, several of the other returning characters get their time in the limelight in this book too. I absolutely love what is happening to Miss Edgerton as she ropes Nancy into her night-time shenanigans! Helene also has her chance of Romance, wooed by a guest, but juggling her clandestine life proves tricky. Is it really worth it? I also got all wrapped up in Hotel Manager Maynard Charles' story which was, at times, heartbreaking. Honestly, as well as a cracking story, it is so very character driven. And with a wonderfully eclectic cast, the story just reads itself off the page, so well it is all executed.
And it really has it all. Secrets, lies and duplicitous behaviour flow from each and every page as we follow what is going on. Interspersed with some really great uplifting times despite some heart in mouth moments along the way, this was a cracking read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Only downside is that I now have to wait to reconnect with the staff and guests of the Buckingham. Hopefully soon...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This was a perfectly fun read! If you're looking for something easygoing, that won't be too taxing and is sure to make you feel fuzzy, look no further!