Series: The Wedding Date, Book 4
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible
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 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?
Royal Holiday is a Hallmark Christmas movie waiting to happen. It’s a picturesque bit of fantasy that’s blessedly low on drama and high on sweetness.
Vivian Forest is a social worker with a clear love of her job and the people she helps, which won me over immediately. Vivian rarely does things for herself, so when her daughter, Maddie, talks her into taking a vacation to England where Maddie has been asked to dress a member of the royal family, Vivian packs her bags and is along for the ride. I loved seeing someone as hardworking, kind, and generous as Vivian get to sit back and enjoy herself. But life as the guest of royalty isn’t all tiaras and scones. There’s also the Queen’s sexy private secretary, Malcolm Hudson. Malcolm is the picture perfect version of a holiday fling. He’s handsome, sweet, and I seriously envied the private tours he took Vivian on.
Malcolm and Vivian are both in their fifties, know their own minds, and generally avoid manufactured drama, which I liked. Vivian’s time in England is the stuff of dreams, from picturesque walks on royal grounds to a private visit to the V&A and more. I adored being whisked away from reality by author Jasmine Guillory and was happy to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. Malcolm and Vivian’s love story glides with relative ease, keeping with the overall lighthearted tone of the book. I think it had potential to be more than a fluffy read had Ms. Guillory delved more deeply into both characters. It’s a pity, because Vivian and Malcolm both hinted at rich and interesting histories, so I would have loved to see them better fleshed out. And as much as I like a sweet read, I will say that Royal Holiday edged into saccharine territory more than once. Someone laughing or giggling on almost every page (most of the time for reasons I couldn’t understand) for the first three-quarters of the book was distracting and made me wish for tighter editing. But even with these issues, I think Royal Holiday is the kind of warm and cozy book you’d want to escape with on a cold winter’s night.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
0 comments:
Post a Comment