Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
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?
Vivian nudged her daughter as they walked out of the customs area at Heathrow Airport.
I have reviewed both The Wedding Date and The Wedding Party. I will continue to read all the books in the series as long as Jasmine Guillory keeps writing them. I love that I can pick up one of these books and know exactly what I am going to get- a sweet romance with a strong female character along with a lot of delicious food descriptions! Royal Holiday was no exception.
I want to start out by nothing that, although Royal Holiday is set around Christmastime, Christmas was not the focus. I think you will be okay with reading this any time of year.
Something that I loved about this book, and I wish was more common, was that our main character, Vivian, was over the age of fifty as was her love interest, Malcolm. It was really refreshing to read a romance from the perspective of characters with more life experience. There is still a few miscommunication issues, but there is not as much angst and moaning that is common in many of the romance novels that I have read. Don’t get me wrong, I love we some angst, but Royal Holiday was a nice break.
Vivian just might be my favourite main character of the four books in the series so far. She is so strong and, while she has her insecurities, she is not afraid to ask for what she wants. I thought that her and Malcolm had a great dynamic- they have opposite personalities, but it worked. Plus, I am just a sucker for a Royal romance.
Now, on to the food! I love that food is such a focus in all of Guillory’s novels, and it was fun to read all the different descriptions of British foods. In The Wedding Party, pizza was the star of the show, but in Royal Holiday that award goes to scones. Vivian and Malcolm meet over scones, and they become an inside joke of sorts. I have been craving a scone ever since!
One thing I will say is that I sometimes struggle with the dialogue- it can feel forced and unnatural. It always takes me a second to get used to the way Guillory writes dialogue, but after awhile it is less distracting.
Yes- fans of this series will not be disappointed. Each of the books can stand alone, but I think you should read all of the books in order to get the full experience as there are cameos of past characters in each of the subsequent novels. In Royal Holiday, Vivian’s daughter, Maddie, is the main character in The Wedding Party. It is fun to see how they are all connected and to get a peek into the other relationships!
Oh I’ll have to check this one out:)
It’s a sweet romance!
Yay!
Great Review! Can’t wait to read it!
Thank you! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
I read the first two– sounds like I should continue! I love the fact that the main characters here are over 50. How refreshing!
Exactly! It was so nice to see!