Cover Image: Royal Holiday

Royal Holiday

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Member Reviews

Guillory's royal-adjacent novel is a real Christmas treat. Guillory is a fantastic author, and I've adored each of her books. This one, with its cameos by real life royals, is especially delicious.

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ROYAL HOLIDAY is the fourth book in THE WEDDING DATE series, and this time we’re off to England from not-so-sunny California. Maddie has a job filling in as the stylist for the Duchess and has to go to England to fulfill her obligation. Maddie jumps as the chance and brings her mother, Vivian, along with her since they will be gone for Christmas.

Their trip is a whirlwind. While her daughter is working, Vivian is being entertained by Malcolm, the Queen’s private secretary, after a chance meeting in the kitchen of the cottage where they are staying. There’s an instant attraction between them, and it’s lovely watching them get to know each other.

Malcolm is very thoughtful and always has Vivian’s best interests at heart. He wants to make her first visit to England very memorable in more ways than one. The interactions between the characters were terrifically fun, and it all seemed real. The author brought England alive with her vivid descriptions. The reader gets to play tourist with Vivian and watch her enchantment with all things English, especially with Malcolm as her tour guide!

The story seemed choppy at times but overall was an enjoyable read. I wish some of the previous characters we’ve met had at least a small role in this book, but that in no way took away from the romantic storyline. There is nice closure especially with the epilogue which takes place nine months after the story ends.

I’ve read all four books in the series and hope there will be more. I look forward to reading what Ms. Guillory writes next.

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Perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory's "wedding date" series. Features an older woman romance that starts off as a fling in England.

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Another entertaining one from Guillory. She just keeps churning them out! I love how the characters from previous books are intertwined into new stories that are just as lovable.

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Very sweet, endearing story with diverse characters and older adults. A quick, feel good read. Not too spicy - good for readers just getting into the romance genre, especially if they're older adults.

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I purchased this novel for my collection and have suggested it to patrons. If they like Jasmine Guillory's other novels, they will enjoy this title as well. The novel was fine and the characters likable. I really enjoyed the development of their relationship via correspondence and I really like that our couple were older. However, the story was a bit unbelievable and it mostly felt a little flat.

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Super cute. Really great story! This story is perfect for romance genre readers who want a little holiday love mixed into their story. 4.5 stars! Highly recommend!

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This wasn’t my favorite of the series (though I do appreciate Guillory featuring a couple in their 50s), but it was cute and quick and fun. As always, I love how Guillory makes FOOD such a focal point and that the characters have careers about which they are passionate.

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Royal Holiday was a cute continuation of The Wedding Date series. I loved that it was a romance featuring older adults, it’s so rare to see those! I also loved getting the glimpses into the lives of the royals in the books, it was fascinating.

However, this one fell a bit flat for me. I couldn’t ever get into the plot, there just wasn’t enough tension for me to stay interested. The drama seemed a bit manufactured, particularly given that the characters were older. I think if the book had been a bit longer, a lot of the plot points could have been developed more, giving the main relationship more depth.

Overall, this one was just okay for me. If you’ve liked the other books in this series, you may like this one as well.

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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One of my favorite reads of 2019! I loved the older characters and the setting. It was nice to read a royals romance about the staff. Highly recommend.

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I was hoping that because this was a royalty romance, I would enjoy it, but I think I have to admit to myself that jasmine Guillory just isn’t the author for me.

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Cute holiday read. Love the fact that the mom is the one with the love story! It's refreshing that someone besides the 20 year olds can find a match.

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Malcolm and Vivian are so sweet and cute. I love seeing their relationship blossom over time and the London background is perfect. A wonderful read.

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After reading the Wedding Date, I was excited to get an ARC of Royal Holiday. I loved Vivian's character and was excited to see her get her own story. However, in this novel the entire romance was very lackluster and pointless. I will continue to read Jasmine Guillory because she has a unique writing style, but I would probably only recommend the first one in this series to my readers.

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I really wanted to like this book. After all the first three in this series really appealed to me. I thought this was a slam dunk. I did not feel the magic of the first books in this one, I can’t tell you why. It felt very “The Christmas Prince” to me. If you are looking for a light romance that is royalty adjacent this is for you. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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Not my favorite of Guillory's books, but I liked it a lot better than The Wedding Party. I loved that it was set in London and that the couple was older. I think it's super rare to have older protagonists so it was something new! Overall it was a sweet holiday romance.

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Another good entry from Jasmine Guillory. Her fans will love it. I thought the new setting was interesting (nice to get out of California) and the characters were fun. Maybe some time they should not end up together

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I adored this story. Vivian and Malcolm were wonderful together and I loved that they were a mature couple of color that found love. They were fun … they were funny … they were absolutely adorable.

Vivian was wonderful. She was a self-assured mature woman who knew her likes and dislikes. She wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion and wasn’t afraid to accept the consequences. She had a wonderful sense of humor that shone throughout the story. She had a wonderful daughter and a family that depended on her. She also had a job that she adored. But, she never put herself first until her holiday to England.

Malcolm was interesting. You would think, being the Queen’s secretary, that he would be snobby, formal and utterly English. But, he wasn’t. He was respected by all who came in contact with him, loved by his family and had a healthy taste for scones. He was taken with Vivian the moment he saw her and became a very uncharacteristic Malcolm to the delight of everyone around him. He was attentive, a gentleman and showed Vivian the utmost respect and support.

From the kiss under the mistletoe to the fireworks on New Year’s, I loved every moment of this story. It was fun and interesting. It brought out a mature sense of humor and romance. And, when they made love, it was just that. It was done with feelings not a sense of complete urgency and I loved, even at their age, they used protection! I thought that was the cutest thing.
This was my first time reading Jasmine Guillory and can’t wait to read more from her. Her characters were well-defined. I was thrilled with the way the story flowed. I loved the notes and the postcards. They just made this story so much more enjoyable. Then there was wonderful ending. I loved how she brought them back together and showed us that even a mature couple could have a healthy, loving relationship when they least expected it.

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LOVE! The older couple at the center of this romance made me so happy, and I loved the extension of the rest of Guillory's series leading up to this. A cozy holiday story with an unconventional couple with welcome depth = WIN.

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I adored The Wedding Party and I was so excited for Royal Holiday. This one just didn't quite work for me (completely because of me) in the fact that I just couldn't get into the romance between the two older characters. I really do love this world and think it was a case of just me being in the wrong headspace so I am not going to review this one on my social media pages/provide feedback.

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