Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

I am beyond excited to talk about Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory! It was my favorite holiday read last year and I don’t think it’ll be beat. I just knew I had to include this book in this year’s holiday reads. Nothing beats the lovely atmosphere, the romantic storyline, and the holiday feel of it all!

Vivian Forest has only been out of the county once, so when her daughter invites her to a work trip in England to style a member of the royal family, she refuses to say no. She’s excited to spend the holidays talking in all England has to offer and it gets even better when she meets a special someone with an amazing British accent. Malcolm Hudson has worked for the queen for years as her private secretary and has never given a personal, private tour till now. He’s intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and can’t wait to spend every minute possible with her. Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their love affair come New Year’s Day…or are they?

Jasmine Guillory is an author I will always read. Even if I’m not super interested in the plot of the book, I still read it. Having black authors write romances with black characters is so important. Representation matters! So I’m always going to show up and support! But I really enjoyed the entire plot line of this book! Vivian was living her best holiday vacation life and I was quite jealous! I loved how she always put her daughter and family over herself but decided to start showing up for herself. That such a valuable lesson that many women don’t learn till later in life. It’s okay to show up for yourself. I truly believe you can’t pour into others if you’re a empty vessel yourself. Don’t get me started on how swoon worthy Malcolm was! Plus he had a true dream job okay! I absolutely loved that Jasmine Guillory wrote a novel about two older people finding love. In many novels the characters are young or still in the early part of their lives. You can find love any any age! This book really leans into finding love later in life and normalizing that.

I would absolutely recommend this book for holiday reading season. This is easily a 4 out of 5 stars read for me. This novel just felt like a cozy day in winter, snow on the ground, and a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. It gets no better than that whatsoever! Especially because I live in hot Florida. If this is your first Jasmine Guillory read, I promise this won’t be ya last!