From the New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and a “rising star in the romance genre” (Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance.Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal … work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.
Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.
Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day…or are they?
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A super adorable romance novel from a rising star in the genre. Four delicious stars for Royal Holiday. Is it true that the main character was modeled after Meghan Markle’s mother?
If you aren’t reading Jasmine Guillory’s Wedding Date series, shame on you. No really, this series features smart women and strong but sensitive men. Even though some of the characters are famous, each story is grounded in reality. The relationships are authentic and the diverse group of characters sparkle and create a wonderful tapestry, weaving humor and romance in a way that seems tailor-made for me.
Royal Holiday is a bit of a departure from the series as it features Vivian Foster, the mother of Maddie, the MC in The Wedding Party, and Malcolm Hudson, who works directly for the Queen of England. They meet when Vivian accompanies her daughter on her assignment to outfit the Duchess.
I was extremely excited about reading this book. If the holiday in England wasn’t enough to tempt me, (and it was) I was really intrigued by the promise of a romance between an older, or more mature couple. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was an okay story, but in my opinion, it doesn’t compare to the rest of the series. That said, Royal Holiday was entertaining and it was fun to see the overall story continue and to keep tabs on some of my favorite couples in the background.
The good news is that even though this one wasn’t my favorite of the series, I did enjoy it and definitely look forward to more from Jasmine Guillory
I adored Jasmine Guillory’s “Royal Holiday.” Besides the fact that I have read and enjoyed previous books in this series, I’m a sucker for any story relating to royalty, so I couldn’t wait to get this book in my hands. Even though neither of the main characters, Malcolm and Vivian, were actually royal in this case, their proximity to the British royal family while the story took place was more than enough to satisfy me. I enjoyed the characters’ interactions with the royal family, and this background gave the book a delightful fairy tale feeling.
I loved that so much of Vivian and Malcolm’s courtship was conducted through letters and postcards. It was romantic and old-fashioned, and really felt perfect for their characters. I also loved how realistic their relationship seemed to be. Life isn’t perfect, and it’s incredibly rare to meet exactly the right person at exactly the right time and place and have things work out perfectly from there. Malcolm and Vivian had to make a conscious decision to be together and find ways to make their relationship work, which they did because they loved each other and were willing to make sacrifices in order to grow as a couple.
Finally, it was great to check in with Vivian’s daughter, Maddie, to see how well she’s doing, both in her career and with her boyfriend, Theo. I very much look forward to Ms. Guillory’s next book and hope that we will catch glimpses of all of these characters again!
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
Christmas in England
Vivian Forest is 54 years old, has never traveled much, and loves her job as a hospital social worker in Oakland, California.
So she was reluctant when her grown daughter asks her to come to England with her for a few days over Christmas. Her daughter has been asked to be the holiday stylist for one of the royal Duchesses. Vivian surprises herself by saying yes.
They get to the Sandringham Estate where the royal spend the holidays and on the first day there Vivian meets handsome 52 year old Malcolm Hudson, the Queen’s private secretary. And sparks start to fly.
I enjoyed this Christmas romance a lot. I loved the characters and I loved the fact that Vivian and Malcolm aren’t twenty-somethings but mature adults that happen to really like each other, different as they are from each other.
I received this book from Berkley Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
I loved this book! It was a sweet, slow-burn romance full of passion and no over-the-top drama. It was entertainment based purely on the real-life circumstances and situations between Vivian Forest and Malcolm Hudson, … okay, as real life as one can get being Vivan is in England because her daughter is working as a stylist for the Royal family, and Malcolm is the Queen’s private secretary … their romance was believably sincere and lovely.
You may remember Vivian’s daughter Maddie from the ‘Wedding Party’? In ‘Royal Holiday’, Maddie has the opportunity to go to England over Christmas to help prepare the princess for the royal Christmas festivities. Because Maddie has never been away from her mother at Christmas, she invites her along. With Maddie being working all day and into the night, Vivian is left to entertain herself. When the very handsome and intriguing Malcolm suggests he show her around, Vivian can’t resist his charm, and goes all-in on her royal holiday!
Rarely do we get romance stories with older characters and when we do, they are relegated to secondary ones. I was so excited to read about new love and second-chances experienced by older characters. I wish we had more of them!
Copy received from publisher via Netgalley for an honest review
I have enjoyed the previous books in The Wedding Date series, and I was really looking forward to this jaunt across the seas, however, it did fall flat for me.
I did like that our leading couple were an older couple (it is getting harder and harder to get into a lot of these NA/college aged books as I am getting older). I did like the holiday fling aspect of the story, but once it moved from there, it just lost some of it’s magic for me. I think we had to suspend way too much of our belief in this story than the previous Jasmine Guillory stories, and it takes you right out of things.
I am sure plenty of others will absolutely love everything about this book, but this one and I were not a great fit.
Jasmine Guillory is new author to me and I enjoyed her whimsical romance about a 50’s social-worker that goes with her daughter to London, and meets the perfect man. Royal Holiday is a fun look at what might be the goings on in a royal household, while visiting over the holidays, and a chance meeting with the Queen herself.
The travel log that highlights the visit, the food offered in some of its ethnic restaurants, as well as typical British fare, added to the enjoyment. This would be the perfect read, on a trans-Atlantic flight.
Fun, interesting, and likable characters in a nicely developed story.
I would definitely read the others in this series.
Thank you to Goodreads, #PenquinRandomHouse and #BerkleyPublishing for the ARC