Royal Holiday Book Review

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Vivian Forest’s Christmas is going to be a little different this year; when her daughter gets the incredible opportunity to dress royalty in England, Vivian is thrilled to be invited along too. Spending the Christmas in England will be different to what she’s used to, but it’s about time she did something for herself! On her first day in Sandringham, Vivian’s barely settled in when she meets Malcolm Hudson – tall, dark and handsome, Vivian is thrilled when he asks if she’d like a guided tour of the estate! As Vivian and Malcolm spend more time together, she relaxes and realises she may be falling for him a little too much. But regardless of their feelings for each other, they live thousands of miles apart so what’s the point in investing in a relationship that’s so long distance?

Okay firstly I have to briefly mention my gripe with this book – when American authors write books set in England it’s really important they do their research!! Now while I don’t doubt that Guillory did research the places, I think she could have spent just a little more time doing so. At one point Vivian describes them as being in ‘northern England’ while being in Norfolk – very much in the East of England!!!

Bad geography aside, this book ticked every box it needed to for a slushy romantic Christmas story. The way Vivian and Malcolm slowly opened up to each other was heart-warming and while I didn’t think the writing was amazing, I liked the characters enough that it didn’t really matter.

Vivian’s struggles with her career was relatable and grounded the story where it was otherwise a little implausible. For me, this story had a good mix of unrealistic romance and plausible characters and stories.

Other books I’ve read about the fictional English royal family tend to go a little overboard, but what I like about this one was that there was hardly any appearances from royalty, which made it more believable – being English we know how fascinated Americans are with the royal family so I’m glad this one didn’t go over the top!

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If you’re looking for a run, romantic, cheesy, festive story then pick this one up! I loved the warmth this story exuded and while it was nothing ground-breaking, it really didn’t need to be!