Review: ROYAL HOLIDAY by Jasmine Guillory
Royal Holiday (The Wedding Date, #4) by Jasmine Guillory Also by this author: Party of Two , While We Were Dating
Series: The Wedding Date #4
Published by BERKLEY on October 1, 2019
Genres: Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Holiday
Pages: 304
Also in this series: Party of Two , While We Were Dating
Source: Netgalley
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
ROYAL HOLIDAY Review
Royal Holiday is the fourth book in Jasmine Guillory’s popular romance series, The Wedding Date. I actually haven’t read the first three books in the series but requested this one from Netgalley because I was in the mood for a holiday romance and I loved that this story is set in London and has royalty in it.
The synopsis promises a charming and fun holiday romance and it really delivers. I especially loved that the main characters, Vivian Forest and Malcom Hudson are a more mature couple. Vivian is in her fifties and is visiting England for the first time with her daughter, Maddie, who is there for work. Maddie works as a stylist and has been tasked with styling a duchess over the holidays. What this means for both Maddie and Vivian is that they will actually be staying in a royal household. Talk about a bucket list trip for Vivian! Almost as soon as she arrives at the royal residence, Vivian finds herself face to face with the handsome and very charming Malcolm, who is about her age and who works as the private secretary to the Queen of England.
Vivian and Malcolm hit it off right away. I thought their time together was just so sweet. Malcolm takes her on several special sightseeing dates because he wants to make her trip as special as possible. Both Vivian and Malcolm haven’t had the best of luck in the relationship department so this second chance at love for both of them really warmed my heart.
About the only thing that would have made this an even more satisfying read would have been if I had felt a little more strongly about Vivian and Malcolm and their long-term prospects as a couple. As I moved through the story, however, I found myself feeling content however the author chose to end the story. If it was just a holiday fling that ended as soon as Vivian went back home to America, fine. And if it ended with the two of them together, making a go of a long-distance relationship, fine. I like to feel a little more invested in a relationship than that. Regardless though, it really was a sweet story reading about their dates and watching them flirt with each other a little more each day.
Royal Holiday actually reminded me of one of those heartwarming Hallmark Christmas movies that are so popular every year. If you like second chance romances and you’re looking for a charming little Christmas story to get you in the holiday spirit and put a smile on your face, Royal Holiday is your book.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and “rising star in the romance genre” (Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling new novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance.
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?
About Jasmine Guillory
Jasmine Guillory is a graduate of Wellesley College and Stanford Law School. She is a Bay Area native who has towering stacks of books in her living room, a cake recipe for every occasion, and upwards of 50 lipsticks.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’m Planning to Read this Fall
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books On My Fall 2019 TBR. As you’ll be able to tell from my list, I’m planning to read a variety of ARCs and older books. The older books I’m reading are a mix of authors I’ve been wanting to try as well as several that will also work for my retellings challenge. Fingers crossed I can stick with this list, especially since it’s more than 10.
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Books I’m Planning to Read This Fall
1. SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE by Kristy Woodson Harvey
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2. THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams
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3. THE BODIES IN THE LIBRARY by Marty Wingate
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4. THE SHAPE OF NIGHT by Tess Gerritsen
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5. TWICE IN A BLUE MOON by Christina Lauren
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6. THE GRACE YEAR by Kim Liggett
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7. THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell
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8. GODSGRAVE by Jay Kristoff
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9. DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING by Tricia Levenseller
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10. RED WINTER by Annette Marie
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11. FIRST & THEN by Emma Mills
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12. THE WRATH & THE DAWN by Renee Ahdieh
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13. CILKA’S JOURNEY by Heather Morris
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Question: What books are you planning to read this fall? Are any of my titles on your list?
Top Ten Tuesday – Snacks for the Reader Who is Also Dieting
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is actually Favorite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading (submitted by Jana’s mom). While I would normally love that topic because I definitely have plenty of favorite reading snacks, I had to tweak it for this week. Why? Because about three weeks ago, my doctor put me on a low-carb diet and I basically had to eliminate all of my favorite foods to snack on from my diet. Since then, I’ve spent much of my time trying to find low-carb alternatives to the chips, cookies, and ice cream I would typically be indulging in while flipping the pages. As you can tell, I’m not much for healthy snacking and I also have no interest in anything that involves prep time, so this has been a challenge. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. And by all means, if you are on a similar diet and have suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
10 Snacks for the Reader Who is Also on a Low Carb Diet
1. PEANUTS. Peanut butter would normally be a go-to reading snack for me, but it has way too many carbs. I’ve switched to these individual packs of peanuts, which only have 8 grams.
2. CHEESE. Cheese and crackers were another favorite reading snack of mine, so I just ditched the crackers and now snack on cheese only. I usually go for either string cheese or these little individually wrapped pieces of sharp white cheddar from Cabot.
3. YOGURT. Yogurt can be challenging because so many of them have a lot of added sugar, but I like this one. It’s Dannon Light and Fit Original Greek and it comes in a lot of different flavors. It’s only 80 calories and has 12 grams of protein and only 8 grams of carbs.
4. HARD BOILED EGG. Even though these obviously involve some prep time, I like that I can make several at once and then have a few days worth of snacks. I just chop the egg up and sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper.
5. CARROTS. I can’t eat many of these because they still have a fair amount of sugar in them, but I’ll buy the baby carrots since it’s easy to see the serving size to help me keep track of the carbs. I like to dip the carrots in a light Italian dressing I found that has minimal carbs per serving.
6. KIND MINI BARS. I actually just found these at the grocery store over the weekend. They’re very small, no more than a couple of bites worth, but they are delicious and a mini bar only has 8 grams of carbs. I usually nibble on it a little at a time to make it last me a few chapters, lol.
7. ATKINS CHOCOLATE CANDIES. Peanut M&Ms are my all-time favorite reading snack but since I can’t have those anymore, I purchased some of these Atkins candies to see how they compare. They’re clearly nowhere near as good as real M&Ms, but they will do the trick in a pinch.
8. ATKINS CHOCOLATE COVERED ALMONDS. A Snickers candy bar was also a favorite of mine, so I picked up these dark chocolate covered nuts. Like the Atkins candies above, these would do in a pinch if I really wanted something sweet to snack on.
9. COFFEE WITH SUGAR FREE CREAMER. I also have a couple of go to beverages when I’m reading and I’ve tweaked those so that I can still have them. I swapped my usual coffee creamer for this sugar-free French Vanilla from Coffee Mate. It has a lot less carbs and it tastes good so it’s a win.
10. HERBAL TEA. My doctor told me that I shouldn’t eat anymore for at least 3 hours before I go to bed. She recommended having a cup of herbal tea instead of a snack. I’ve taken her advice on this one and bought this caffeine free mint tea that I really like. I put a packet of stevia in it, which has 0 carbs, and it’s really nice.
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What are some of your favorite foods to snack on while you read?