I absolutely loved this slow-burn, friends to lovers holiday book! Jenny Holiday does an amazing job at “Hallmark with spice” with Duke, Actually.

Dani and Max are wonderful main characters that you can’t help but like. They are both struggling and both independently had amazing personal growth throughout the book. Dani and Max had a wonder slow-burn romance with some nice banter and I loved how their friendship developed.

Duke, Actually is a festive, cozy, romantic comedy with the perfect balance of spice! I read as a standalone but I quickly added A Princess for Christmas to my holiday read list!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the advanced copy.

Duke, Actually gave me all the feels and is probably my favorite friends-to-lovers trope I’ve read so far. I instantly fell in love with Max. Max was my absolute favorite character, he was charming, witty, confident, mature, self-aware, and honestly, the whole Duke thing added to his sex appeal. Dani was also a lovely character, strong, independent, intelligent, and witty, making her red. I liked each character individually, I thought they each had a compelling story, but I loved them together more. The banter between Dani and Max was top-notch. It was clever, sharp and funny. Their chemistry was off the charts; it felt so organic I couldn’t get enough of them. They were delightful characters to read. One of my favorite things about this book was Max and Dani's mutual respect, boundaries, and understanding of each other’s needs. Max and Dani were so well written that even as flawed as they were, in my opinion, I found their relationship to be a good picture of what a relationship between two consenting mature adults should be. They each communicated what their needs and their expectations for their friendship/relationship were and respected the boundaries set. I love reading well-rounded romance novels. Still, Max and Dani's relationship was far from perfect, but their love for each other was so selfless and pure, it lent to such a deep intimacy between them that was refreshing to read. Duke, Actually was such a sweet, heartfelt story with incredibly well-written endearing characters. Duke, Actually is the perfect Holiday read.

I loved Duke, Actually. Dani and Max made a great couple. Their friends to lovers romance was fun to read. And quite steamy, once it took that turn. Overall, a fantastic romance. I'm excited to pick up the first book in the series and see how Leo and Marie met, too.

I absolutely adored this book. Jenny Holiday gives us a true romantic comedy with both heat and deep connections between the characters. Dani is doing her best to come out of a rough divorce. She makes a pact with herself to never change herself for a man and decides to focus on achieving tenure at her job. Her best friend, Leo, has recently moved to Europe as he prepares to marry there and so Dani finds herself spending more and more time talking to Max, an actual Baron and best friend of Leo's fiancé. Max is desperately trying to avoid his fate as future Duke while he can and spending time with Dani provides the perfect escape he's looking for.

I loved the friendship that forms between these two. The physical distance naturally lends itself to long text threads and phone conversations. It was. such a sweet way for them to get to know one another. I laughed over and over again while reading this book. The banter was perfection. One of the things I love most about a Jenny Holiday novel is that she provides such a great balance between a book being light and fun and the characters really going through a deeper journey. Dani is working on trying to find herself and learn to trust again after the way her ex=husband treated her. Max grew up with a domineering, abusive father and is beginning to realize how much this really affected him as he thinks about who he is and what he wants in life. Plus, the side story of the relationship with his younger brother was fantastic. I applaud this theme of being true to yourself and learning to be happy.

The pages turned quickly and kept me reading way too late into the night. Such an enjoyable read! I was already a fan of Holiday's and this book just keeps me wanting more. Highly recommend!

This was the PERFECT blend of Hallmark movie holiday romance with some spice!! What I really loved about this love story was that it took place over the course of the year, giving the two main characters time to develop a real friendship before they took things to the next level.

HIGHLY recommended for fans of Dirty Dancing, Love, Actually or A princess for Christmas (also by this author set in the same universe, featuring Maggie and Leo's love story). Max and Dani are such well-rounded characters I fell for them hard and couldn't put this book down - I was so invested and couldn't wait to see how their story was going to turn out. I also really loved the side story with Max's gay brother Seb and Max's personal growth finding a job he loved and moving beyond the stereotypical palace playboy label he got stuck with.

MUCH thanks to NetGalley and Avon for my advance review copy! I love that this was written by a Canadian author and if it's not already on your #TBR definitely go pre-order it pronto. You are going to want to read this book this holiday season!!

CW: parental abuse (verbal and physical), alcoholism, homophobia, divorce

Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday is a romantic and fun holiday romance. It has great characters, well written and filled with love, joy, and humor.

I remember reading A Princess for Christmas last year and giggling when it went from Hallmark to HOT real quick. I was excited for the next installment in the universe and loved the cover! This book was a cozy hug with some fun banter. And it’s great if you don’t love super Christmasy books but love books with Christmas in them because it’s not holly jolly the whole time! But Christmas does appear and is important to Dani!

Synopsis:

“There’s a royal wedding on, and things are about to get interesting.

Meet the man of honor

Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, is not having a merry Christmas. He’s been dumped by a princess, he’s unemployed, and his domineering father has sent him to New York to meet a prospective bride he has no interest in. In the city, he meets Dani Martinez, a smart (and gorgeous) professor he’s determined to befriend before their best friends marry in the Eldovian wedding of the century.

Meet the best woman

Newly single, no-nonsense New Yorker Dani is done with love—she even has a list entitled “Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man”—which is why she hits it off with notorious rake Max. He’s the perfect partner for snow angels in Central Park and deep conversations about the futility of love.

It’s all fun and games until their friendship deepens into attraction and, oops…

Falling in love was never part of the plan.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Mentions of Love Actually—I love the movie Love, Actually so I appreciated how it was incorporated into this story and the nuance of the conversation around it! Alan Rickman (may you rest in peace) I am still mad at you!

The Banter—I loved Max and Dani’s banter. I love how their friendship grows and how they bring out the best in each other, though maybe they don’t know it yet.

The Setting—Perfectly captures NYC at Christmas and it’s always nice to visit a fictional snowy European country.

What Didn’t Work:

Didn’t Connect with the Romance—It was a slowwwww burn. Like SLOWWWWWW.

Ending was Rushed—And then once things heat up, it ends so quickly without much resolve!

Miscommunication Trope—If done well, I don’t mind this trope. I don’t know if I’d say it was miscommunication or just general fear of opening up, but something was amuck in this story regarding conversations that just didn’t work for me.

Content Warnings:

Divorce, alcohol abuse, strained parent/child relationship

Character Authenticity: 3/5 Steam Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Festive and fun! What’s not to love: NYC, a Duke/Baron, and love at the holidays?! I enjoyed this ride with great characters. It’s filled with wonderful banter and situations that will make you squeal and swoon. This author is officially an auto-buy for me.

Just think: Hallmark movie with steam!

Thank you Avon for a copy of this novel.

If someone had told me I would love Dani’s story more than Marie and Leo’s, I would have laughed at them. But OMG! Dani’s story blew me away! Dani is a tenure-track English professor and her experiences in higher education were very realistic. Dani’s experience trying to rebuild her life after divorce was poignant. And her friendship with Max creates a great slow burn. I couldn’t put this one down!! It was all I wanted and more!

I loved everything about this book, especially the fact that it was a true, genuine friends-to-lovers story. 75% of this book was Max and Dani growing into their friendship. Even though they came from different worlds, lived in different countries, and had different hang-ups in life, they saw each other in a way nobody else did. Max and Dani each saw into the soul of the other, the good and the bad. They supported each other, talked about everything and nothing, and felt like the best, most comfortable version of themselves. Their friendship felt true and heartfelt and I had so much anticipation for when and how they would become more.

I thought it was written perfectly and their arc from friends to lovers was perfectly timed. I loved that their relationship wasn’t rushed. Max and Dani are the epitome of relationship goals.

It’s never too early for a Christmas read in my book! This is book 2 in a series and can be read as a standalone, the couple from the first book appears in this one, so if you enjoyed it, you will like having them as part of the story again.

I absolutely adored this book and the epilogue was so perfect. I’m still swooning over it!

The banter between Max and Dani is perfect. The book had me smiling and laughing throughout. I true Rom-Com with slow burn and steam. It was wonderful to watch the relationship evolve between the two in a fun way that moved the story along, and also to get a glimpse of the couple from the pervious book.

Did I fall in love with Max? Yes, yes I did.
It’s a 5 star rating from me for sure!


Melli’s Book Breakdown
-Narrator POV
-Book 2 In series (can be read as standalone)
-enemy-ish to friends to lovers
-h dealing with ex husband
-Slow Burn
-Steamy
-Royal Romance

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Dani is in a rough patch. Recently separated from her cheating husband who she works with, and her best friend just moved across the world to get married to a royal. Enter Max, a fellow royal she met through her best friend. They're just friends, possibly best friend, until they both realize their friendship is a little more than they both want to be, but how could it possibly work out? They live in different countries, and Dani has a list of things she wont do for a new relationship, including compromising her job, living situation and being away from her family. But they realize that living apart without each other is harder than they realize.

I absolutely adored this book! I felt like this should have been a sequel to a different book I didn't read though. Everywhere I checked it said it wasn't but I felt like I was missing a bunch of info in the beginning. But it didn't ruin the book for me either way. it is technically a Christmas book although a good portion of it happens outside of Christmas. Max was so charming, and wholesome. I felt so hard for Dani. the secondary cast of characters were both cute and evil. There were just enough twists and turns and nothing felt too dragged out. I finished this a couple of days ago and I'm still thinking about it now!

Jenny Holiday had me from the get go with Dani and Max's witty banter. There is so much to love about these two characters. Watching their friendship grow and change, as well as their life goals, drew me into the story even more. And then, of course, there are the characters you love to hate--Vince and Max's father, ugh! When I first started the book, I wondered if I would be confused by a dog with the same name as the male lead, but Jenny made it super cute, and I fell for the dog too! Although this is so much more than a holiday romance, there are enough Christmas scenes (the holiday plays quite a major part in the story) that it would make the perfect book to get in the mood for the season. A sweet romance with some spicy parts and true-to-life struggles. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

This adorable book had such a perfect vibe for the start of the holiday season and kicked off my holiday romance reading in style. Like the author's holiday book last year, A Princess for Christmas, it had that Hallmark movie vibe although the holiday feels were more understated this time around. The MCs, Dani are the best friends of the previous couple and meet during the initial preparations for Leo and Marie's royal wedding. Dani, a tenure track NYU lit professor, is Leo's best friend and is going to be his "best woman", while Max, a wealthy baron, is Marie's former fiancé and best friend and is going to be her "man of honor". Max immediately is attracted to Dani, but she's coming off a bad breakup in which her lit professor spouse dumped her for a 20 YO coed, so she has declared herself to be post men and doesn't want anything to do with him.

However, when Max comes to NY for a short visit and looks Dani up, she asks him to be her date to an NYU departmental holiday party that her ex will be also be attending, and from there, a lovely friendship grows between them. Max has the usual wealthy playboy reputation but Dani soon learns that there is a witty, clever heart of gold under that uncaring tabloid exterior. After he leaves to go back to Eldovia, they start texting and calling each other. As their friendship grows over the course of the next year, and as Dani slowly heals, so does their mutual attraction, until finally she comes for an extended visit and they give in to the sparks that have been there from the beginning. Their romance was a lovely slow burn, in keeping with both their characters. By the time they finally got together, I was so invested and just liked them so much that I wanted nothing more than for them to be happy. Much as I enjoyed last year's book, this one was even better.

Duke, Actually is the follow-up to last year’s A Princess for Christmas, featuring Leo’s best friend Dani and Marie’s best friend Max. Max contacts Dani while he is in NYC and Dani asks him to accompany her to her faculty holiday party where her loathsome ex will be in attendance. Thus begins a friendship between Dani and Max that eventually turns in to more, This a slow burn romance featuring witty banter between the main protagonists. I enjoyed the way Holiday took scenes from the movie Love, Actually and changed them to suit a romance novel, Duke, Actually is a great book to enjoy at the holidays or any other time of year.

I'm a huge fan of Jenny Holiday's books! I've never met one I hadn't liked, though I definitely have my favorites... and this is a new favorite! Infinitely better than its predecessor, A Princess for Christmas, this story has two likable, independent, and entertaining main characters who seem to be made for each other. A Christmas for Princess was almost *too* Hallmark, until it took a sudden, steamy turn in the middle, whereas Duke, Actually has better balance. The build-up and banter throughout the book make it an enjoyable read for the whole journey. Couple that with some Christmas magic and a dash of royalty, and we have a winner! I really hope this series continues (Max's younger brother, please???) as I love nothing more than a good open holiday romcom.

Thanks to Avon for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

Last holiday season I read and enjoyed A Princess for Christmas and couldn't wait until December to read the follow up, DUKE, ACTUALLY - a rom-com with serious Love, Actually vibes mixed with romance festive steam. Imagine a Hallmark movie- but make it spicy.

I loved seeing Dani and Max's (actually a Baron- not a Duke) heartfelt, blossoming friendship turn into more. You start out drinking cozy, delectable hot cocoa and then (record scratch) someone spiked your Egg Nog. It's a slow, simmering build-up as she finalizes a divorce and he rethinks his wild image. But it's so much more than a love story- their friendship truly brought out the best in each other and the way they support each other was positively endearing. The ending may have been predictable- but it was cinema-ready and I loved it!

This could be read as a stand-alone, but I enjoyed it more with the background from A Princess for Christmas.

This book was an absolute delight! Put me in the Christmas spirit even as I read it sitting outside with temps in the mid-80s. in October. Love the continued story of the Eldovian royals and hope there are more stories to come!

Duke, Actually is my first Jenny Holiday book and the follow up in the A Princess for Christmas series. I have not read the first book so all the characters were new to me. I think i would have enjoyed the book a little more if I had read the first one but this book really can stand on its own. It tells the story of Dani, a literature professor in the process of divorce, and Max, a baron from a small European country in the Alps. The two are brought together as their best friends prepare to marry. They become long distance friends before moving their relationship to something more.

I really liked both Max and Dani. I like that Dani set boundaries for herself and stuck to them. I enjoyed that Max respected her enough to along with her boundaries. They had really fun banter and it’s one of the few book that I have actually enjoyed the main couple’s time apart as much as their time together. I also really enjoyed the cast of side characters, especially Max’s brother Sebastian.

I was a little nervous going in that this was strictly going to be a Christmas book but was pleased to find that it took place over the course of a year. This helped the book not fall into the insta-love category. It also cut down on the Christmas cheese which I really appreciated. I’m going to have to go back and read the first book in the series so I can see where this all started.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

I have no words for how incredibly delightful this book is. It's the ultimate friends-to-lovers sweetness wrapped up in the story of two people finding themselves and figuring out how they want to live life.
I liked Dani from the start. She's smart, she knows what she wants, and she's not letting the bad things that have happened recently (such as her husband leaving her for a former student) get her down. Max is wry and fun and perfectly willing to let his (mostly false) reputation precede him. They make an adorable pair and I spent most of the book waiting for them to realize how perfect they are for each other. And they're only the main characters in a story that gives side characters the chance to develop into fully-fleshed individuals that contribute to the story.
This is technically the second book in a series because it has tons of mentions of the situation that brought another couple together and how Dani and Max met, but this volume is totally readable by itself.
Overall, a delight of a rom-com just waiting to make you swoon with happy romance endorphins.

Many happy thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the delightful read!