This is a quick short read. Molly Graham works for a very special museum in New York. It’s a museum of literature. And her museum is just getting ready to start an exhibit on Jane Austin, and some books have been lent from a very private estate in the UK. On the night of the big Premier party, our main gal, Molly has had enough of peopleing and goes back to find there’s a stranger in her office. Figuring this stranger is some ductal candidate they have a fantastically fun night together as this new British guy, Al, just wants to see the sites of New York. They have an amazing couple of months together and Molly thinks things are going somewhere until one day she is ghosted. She is left at the Met and her date never shows up. When the end of the exhibit comes, she’s travels to the UK to return the book and finds, her Al waiting for her. This book is exactly what someone expects when they read the title and the description. This book has all the tropes, but you love them. This book is very predictable, but the book is about the ride and how you get from the beginning to end, then the ability to predict, the happily ever after. This was a fun romcom and I really enjoyed it. It was just the perfect length. Any longer and it would have veered towards boring or overdone. This is the first book in a series and it was good enough, I’d pick up the second book.

I received an advanced audio copy of Royal Valentine by Jenn McKinlay from the publisher Dreamscape Media via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Molly Graham doesn’t really believe in love at first sight or fairy tales, but she really loves her job at the Museum of Literature. So when her best friend challenges her to aim high and go for men who are not in her league, Molly isn’t interested. However, on the night of a Valentine’s Day gala at the museum, she meets the mysterious handsome British Professor, Albert George who too is overwhelemed by the gala. Together, the two escape the gala and start a whirlwind romance. However, when he disappears and he isn’t who he appears to me, can love really win out?

What I Loved: Truthfully, not a lot. I liked I read it during Valentine’s Day and it was a silly little book to break up some books.

What I Didn’t Like: This book is cheesy and the pacing is not great. This book is kind of written like it was a Hallmark movie, so it’s like reading a Hallmark movie. It doesn’t necessarily have characters you care for or chemistry you buy into. It just was a big EH.

Who Should Read It: People who love royals and Hallmark.

Summary: A woman meets a mysterious man at the Museum but he just might be too good to be true.

This might sound like a really dumb criticism for a novella, but I wish it was longer. I just feel like because of the length of this novella you weren't really given a chance to fully connect to the characters or their stories so because of that I found myself liking it, but unfortunately not loving it. I think the premise and what we saw of the characters was super sweet and cute, I just wish we had gotten more in terms of both length and witty banter

I will always stan a book with an Austen twist. Royal Valentine by Jean McKinlay is no exception. A treat for the season of love.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Listened to this one on a drive. The short format made it too simple. This felt like the first book an aspiring author might write, one that is too dependent on clichés and timeworn tropes. The audiobook reader also did not have a great British accent for the British characters, which made it even more unbelievable. All in all, not my favourite, but not horrible. Would recommend to certain people pending on their wants in a read.

I did not enjoy Royal Valentine, and struggled to get through it even though it's so short. I just couldn't connect with the characters, never became invested in the love story, and found it to be a little too cheesy and cliche for my liking. I also didn't particularly care for the narrator's treatment of the voices that required accents. Lastly, I would recommend making the synopsis less detailed. The entire plot was summed up in that synopsis, so there were no surprises. I felt like I'd already read it.

will be the start of a month-long romance. It abruptly ends when Albert George ends up ghosting her, and she can’t find any record of him anywhere. When Molly travels to England for work, she meets Lord Insley - better known as Albert George - who is determined to win her back.

This was pretty much an insta-love story, but it is a novella so that is expected. It’s fun, it’s quick, it’s cute, it’s pretty predictable. I would rater this higher if it had been a full length novel

Royal Valentine finds Molly Graham (rare books librarian, AKA coolest job ever?) falling for Albert George (British professor) over the course of a whirlwind, month long love affair. Until Albert suddenly disappears and Molly finds out that her "Albert George" doesn't exist. Fortunately, Molly has a work trip to England to help her recover from her heartbreak. Until she arrives and realizes that "Albert George" is actually a Lord in line to be Earl. Will Molly and her suitor be able to find a way to make their love work?

I really love Jenn McKinlay books and this was the perfect February read. It was a really good, quick audiobook. The narrator was amazing and incredibly engaging. I did find that the story suffered a little from quite how short is was as sometimes happens with short stories. But overall, I loved all the concepts behind this. Molly has the coolest job and I love the focus on books and museums and England. So romantic and lovely!

I honestly would have rated this book higher if it was longer, even 50 more pages could have done the trick. I never felt fully grounded in the relationship between Molly & Al, and so I felt even less connection with them when the crux of the plot was revealed. I enjoyed the banter and a slight glimpse into the museum world that I know so well but ultimately this just fell short. It was fun, short, and sweet but will I think about it in a month or want a re-read? Likely not.

I always enjoy Jenn McKinlay's writing whether it is one of her cozy mysteries or romance. This was a cute valentines short story.

This was a fun novella! It moved pretty fast, and included many of my favourite things (Jane Austen! Bath!). It was light and fun, and the perfect book to listen to while I try to forget that I have covid- I've tried listening to many books in the last week, but this is the only one I wanted to continue.

The narrator was good but not my favourite- I found that she could have given slightly more emotion at some parts. However, she handled genders and accents well!

What a cute Valentine’s Day novella that reminded me of a Hallmark movie with just a smidge more steam (but don’t mistake that for this being a steamy book). It delivered on exactly what it promised: a short story about mistaken identity and royalty.

Sara Young was the voice of the story and I enjoyed listening to her. And it seems this is the first in a series, and I would listen to the next one.

This was a very short and sweet read that I did enjoy, I feel like the one major con with it was that it wasn’t a full length novel. I found that while this book plays on a lot of the very typical cliches, it’s still enjoyable. That said, there was so much detail that could have been expanded upon between the two main characters who I found to be quite endearing and also semi-poor decision makers. That said though, a very sweet read that I really enjoyed, it just loses a star for its far too brief length and for the insta-love that was forced to come with it.

The audiobook book was really good for this book though, so I definitely recommend checking that out because it really did bring the characters to life.

Special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (3.5 stars)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a lovely little novella, perfect when you're craving a splash of romance. I started this around Valentine's Day, and just wasn't interested in the story enough to engulf it in a timely manner (hence why I'm reviewing this mid-March). The romance reminded me of how sugary sweet The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams was, in the way that it was borderline cheesy/cringe. However, it's a novella, so I can't expect it to have the fully fleshed out storyline that a full length romance novel would have. Overall. the plot and characters were fun. It satisfied my British Invasion 2016 high schooler self.

The literal cutest!! Full heart eyes emoji for this book and four fabulous stars! Thank you so much for the chance to listen to the audiobook! But one day I hope the NetGalley app has better audio quality bc it does impact the reading experience.

This was and cute and quick novella. I would have rated it higher if I didn't find Molly's reasons and stubbornness during the last half of the book to be so frustrating. I thought she was focusing on the wrong thing to be mad about.

This was such a cute novella. I really enjoyed the characters and the dual settings in New York and Bath. The pacing was excellent. Nothing dragged or felt rushed. My only annoyance was at the stubbornness of Molly in refusing to understand or forgive Al’s omissions. While the plot was predictable, this familiarity felt like a warm hug rather than a bore. I’d love to read more from this author.

A delightful novella to celebrate love! If you're an Austen fan who enjoys watching The Prince and Me, then you will absolutely adore this second chance story. It was the perfect read to get me in the holiday spirit and the audiobook was a delight to listen to!

While this book was adorable and a great escape from reality, I felt that it was really lacking in something. That potentially was length! It felt so rushed that I never really got invested in the love story-- I found myself not really caring about the characters and what happened to them. I wish there had been more time spent on developing the characters and their story so i would feel more invested.

This cute little rom-com is nicely narrated by Sara Young. The storyline takes us on a journey from New York to the English countryside. There are definitely enjoyable moments in the audiobook. This is a nerdy introverted booklover meets handsome nobleman. None of the characters really stood out to me. I did enjoy the premise of this story and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun quick read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.