Jasmine Guillory can be counted on for a sweet and lovely romance. This one follows Vivian (mother of Maddie from Guillory's last novel) as she finds love across the pond. While this is a perfectly enjoyable book, ideal for when you want a bit of "fluff", I felt it lacked the stakes to make it a real escape/ page-turning read. If you already like Guillory (which I do), then you will be happy.

It's always nice to see a romance for a 50-something black woman too! We need more rom-coms for all types of people and lovers!

Thank you SO much Berlkley Romance for the opportunity to read and review Royal Holiday. I absolutely adored this story as it was something I found relatable and easy to read.

Royal Holiday is a sweet, beautiful book about how you’re never too old to fall in love and pursue what makes you happy. It doesn’t hurt that it’s set against the idyllic world of royalty, either. While it didn’t suck me in as much as Guillory’s The Proposal, that’s probably more of a compliment to The Proposal than anything negative about this book. Definitely worth reading!

This book was a complete Christmas fantasy, and I loved it! Guillory described Britain so well and I loved the journey I was able to follow along on. And so rarely are popular romance novels about older women, it was great to read a story about one who is also a mother.

If a romance is to be judged by how embarrassed I am to read it in public, then this one did great because I giggled embarrassingly to myself a lot.

This was such a change from my usual reads, but I loved it was a nice change on the older couple romance. Will definitely be reading the Wedding Date now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance read, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This is a decadent treat for the holidays, perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, the Royal Family, or anybody who enjoys a brilliant holiday romance!

I couldn't get into this one. The dialog was stilted and not very engaging. You spend the first couple of chapters reading characters having small talk with each other. I needed it to have a faster pace, overall. I was bored with this one.

This is Ms. Guillory fourth novel and am happy to say I have read them all. In this novel we get the HEA after of Maddie(third book) mom love story. Vivian accompanies her daughter to London to dress the duchess and runs into a handsome man of her age who works for the Queen. So begins this novel about an older couple. I love when authors do this have their main characters be over 30. It makes the storyline more believable and realistic. This is set in Christmas/New years eve time. So it takes alot to put the heat of summer out of your mind and read a Christmas love story. With a story where the lovers do not live on the same continent makes you the reader wonder whom of the two will give up their life and move with the other. I love how the author do not totally settle it but make a way where the couple will see each other regular. Again not hit by Ms. Guillory. Review will be on goodreads and amazon.

This was probably more of a 3.5. Very cute light romance featuring main characters in their 50s which is pretty refreshing. Vivian, the female lead, is a social worker, single mom to an adult daughter, and a strong, charismatic, empathetic character. I liked her a lot! She accompanies her daughter on a work trip to England where she meets the Queen's assistant and what happens next is adorable dating and witty conversation. I honestly wasn't sure how their romance would be wrapped up so I appreciated having some slight suspense, as in it wasn't too predictable. Quite enjoyable.

PS I saw the author speak on a panel of romance writers at the LA Times Festival of Books and she was so exuberant and real and now I kind of want to meet her and also read all of her books.

On a spur-of-the-moment trip accompanying her daughter Maddie to London, Vivian meets the Queen’s personal secretary Malcolm and the two click. They spend time together on the Sandringham estate on the lead-up to Christmas, more time together in London, and then must figure out how to navigate a London-to-San Francisco relationship when they are both fully entrenched in their grown-up lives.

The Royal Holiday is still within the Wedding Date series, but the protagonists are several generations older: in their 50’s. Personally, that ,add it hard for me, a 30-year-old, to really connect with and be invested in Vivian and Malcolm’s romance.

Reading Jasmine Guillory's books are like filling in a color by number painting. With every addition, the reader learns a little bit more about a character that piqued their interest in a previous story. In Royal Holiday, we get more familiar with Maddie's mom, Vivian, as she tags along spur of the moment to London with her daughter. A fun romance ensues, and the reader gets a refreshing glimpse into an international fling after 50. Another delight.

A sweet, charming romance with mature adults! Ooh, we need more of these - I loved getting to know Maddie's mom, Vivian, after meeting her in The Wedding Party.

Malcolm and Vivian were delightful, forthright, and had a lot of chemistry! They were grownups with jobs, past relationships, children/nephews, and I loved reading about their path to romance. They talked about problems, there were no idiotic contrivances... it was a charming delight start to finish.

This is the most Hallmark movie of Jasmine's Books, and that is perfect for the season and the story. Love the older main characters and strong sense of place. Pacing felt rushed in the end, but overall a lovely read.

This book needs a new title--It was extremely disappointing to realize that she would not be romantically entangled with a royal but a member of the staff.

The actual royals aren't even one dimensional. They barely exist in the novel. Be real, the reason we read books about royalty is because we want a peek into the life of the royals.

The secondary characters are one dimensional. There were opportunities to flesh them out and give them backstories, but that was eschewed in favor of...I'll be generous and say streamlining the plot.

The main characters have virtually no interactions with anyone other than each other.

This is not a well developed story. However, it is a pleasant read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing this free eARC.

If you hadn't heard, this book was inspired by <a href="https://twitter.com/MrsFridayNext/status/1059147917980827650"> this tweet </a>. And honestly, this is a very good set up for a romance. Jasmine did change the particulars - instead of the Duchess's mom, we get Maddie's mom, joining a Christmas trip to style the duchess. She meets the queen's private secretary, and proceeds to have a very happy holiday indeed. This book shares characters with the Wedding Party (We see Maddie and hear about Theo) and Jasmine's previous books, but can easily be a standalone. It isn't my favorite of Jasmine's books, but Jasmine is ALWAYS excellent and this is no exception.

I want a Netflix Christmas movie of this book so badly. It would be SO, SO perfect and timely. DO IT YOU COWARDS!

As always, if you like a fun romance with good characters, pick up one of Jasmine's books. If you like bonus royal content or older hero/heroine, this one is for you!

Guillory excels at giving readers the warm and fuzzies! I love this shared world she's built with her characters.

Jasmine Guillory’s books are like an old friend-familiar and comforting. This is remarkable since she’s relatively new on the romance scene, but has already developed such a distinctive voice. I loved that this novel focused on characters in their 50s. Such an underrepresented age group in the genre!

I didn't find the writing style compelling. It felt flat. The dialogue wasn't all that interesting, which made the characters flat. There wasn't any real conflict in the character's lives or in their relationship.

This was so sweet. I loved that this focused on an older couple. So swoony. Jasmine Guillory continues to be one of my favorite authors!

I am such a fan of Jasmine Guillory. I would read basically anything Jasmine Guillory writes.

Im happy to see a romance novel about couple older than 20 or 30 something. the setting of the British countryside and proximity to the newest member of the royal family is a nice nod to current events. The actual existence of a black duchess is a romance novel come to life. The inclusion in the storyline only makes it more grounded in a reality not too far from ours.

This couple aren’t trying to figure out their careers or lives. The conflicts come from how to make room for someone else and if its even worth it to disrupt their routine. Each one brings a different perspective of how to handle life’s issues whether with regulated decorum or a welcoming openness. I enjoyed it and the progression of the relationship. Very satisfying conclusion.