Banter, great. Romance, great. Storyline, great. This is another one that needs to be immediately made into a Hallmark movie. This was so much fun and I want to read more of this author.

I finally had the chance to finish reading this story. I loved the interaction between the two main characters; Dani and Max. Daniela "Dani" Martinez is a college English literature professor recently separated/filed for divorce from her husband Vince. Max is a baron from the small European country of Eldovia; where his father is a Duke. There is a royal family of the country as well. Max and Marie; the princess, were supposed to marry to unite the 2 families. That is until Marie fell in love with Dani's best friend, Leo. Dani wasn't in a good place when she first met Max and took an instant dislike to him and his tabloid persona.

In this story, the reader sees the evolution of Dani and Max from passing acquaintances to friends. The reader is also privy to Max and Dani's emotional and personal growth over the course of a year. I really liked the author's depiction of these two characters and how they grew throughout the book; including their individual family dynamics and how they are polar opposites. In my opinion this is not some "fluff" romance; but, deals with some very real, very deep issues.

Dani and Max differ in so many ways; not just the obvious social norms. They have different backgrounds, ethnicity, schooling, family, and generally, outlooks on life....

This was a beautifully written story of love growing in it's many different forms between two people that didn't realize where life and love would take them.

Absolutely loved this book. I didn’t think I would like it as much as the first, but honestly I liked it even more! Dani is great and I loved her enemies to lovers story with Max. It was such a good read and I didn’t want it to end.

This was a slow burn. Watching Dani and Max become friends and then lovers was so good. I really enjoyed it

Just like the previous book, this one was delightful but had a touch of spice. I felt the build up to be a little too long to get to and Max to be a little too “perfect” and I couldn’t quite see him live up to his persona of “the depraved Duke”. He just became a sort of Prince Charming character whereas Leo from the first book was more authentic (even if I didn’t really like Leo).

I think readers who enjoyed the first book will like this one and both are heart-warming distraction reads ideal during the busy holiday season.

I wanted to love this book but it just fell sort of the quintessential romantic comedy for me. It seemed a little forced and I just didn't buy the relationship.

This book was perfection. So sweet, delightful, dreamy. That's it.
First of all, the cover, freaking gorgeous, Dani, and her Maxes 😍

I found lovely how their relationship slowly developed from friends to lovers, the easiness with which they connected since the beginning was beautiful. The friendship they built, the deep of each character, how they shared their fears and dreams. Max was an enchanting character and I loved how he respected Dani and all her decisions ❤ This book was delightful.
Something super fun was the Max Minumus and Max Maximus situation lol I love them

This book also has one of my favorite thing in books, HE CAN SLEEP WHEN HE IS WITH HER OR WITH MAX MINIMUS ❤❤❤❤ arhhhhhgggggg perfection.

I loved all the side characters and how they formed their own group supporting and helping each other. Also how Max could save his relationship with his brother was beautiful

This was my most anticipated read of the holiday season and it did not disappoint. It was less steamy than book one in the series, but matter not because Jenny writes some of the BEST characters.

Loved the friendship they built before it turned to romance. The exchanges through email and sent n phone calls was great.

Hallmark with heat is pretty much how this book bills itself and yes, while it DOES have some heat, let me be very clear, NOTHING happens until the 80% mark. That’s when they finally kiss (ok, technically at 79%) and that’s the first sex scene. I typically love a slow burn but I couldn’t even really call this a slow burn because for the first half of this book, Dani and Max are becoming friends and then best friends. And sure, it’s lovely but it’s also kind of…. Boring? It’s two people, each with some baggage, trying to work out their respective emotional issues and finding themselves confiding in each other, more and more. And while I do like a friends to lovers story, this one takes so long to get from point A to point B, i just sort of…lost interest at a certain point.

I will say, the “dark moment” is weird because for much of the book, Max has proven himself to be extremely astute and someone who just gets Dani on an intrinsic level and to then do what he does, is weird and kind of not in keeping with the true nature of his character. He’s, despite being known as the “Depraved Duke”, emotionally intelligent and has a depth of character that is somehow overlooked by almost everyone in his life. So, for him to do what he does seems strange.

The final scene in the airport before the epilogue is straight out of Love Actually - the author does refer to the movie multiple times, and it’s kind of cute but overall, the book is kind of just forgettably fine.

This is the second book in the 'A Princess for Christmas' series. I have not (yet) read the first book, and felt that this read well as a standalone.

This was one of my favorite romances of the year. Max and Dani start as enemies, slowly move towards friendship, and eventually this turns towards something more. So it's an enemies to friends to lovers romance with a decidedly slow burn. Max is a count from a small European country (which was in the first book). He was supposed to marry the main character of the first book, but, obviously, didn't. Dani is best friends with the man who is marrying the princess. So Max and Dani are connected by their two friends and an upcoming wedding.

Here's what I enjoyed- the humor and banter/dialogue was fantastic. The characters all felt real and I"d love to hang out with most of them. Dani and Max encourage each other as they both are working to figure out what comes next in their lives. I love when there's an aspect of personal growth like there was here. I was rooting for both Dani and Max.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange fro an honest review.

Well this book was so damn delightful! I'm always a sucker for a good royal love story, and this one delivered. I haven't read A Princess for Christmas yet, but after reading this one, I definitely want to go back and read it. I love that Dani and Max started off as friends, which made their relationship all the more satisfying when they finally admitted their feelings to each other. There's something sexy about Max's public persona as the "depraved duke" which really was just a major misunderstanding. His parents are really insufferable, and I liked the side story with his brother, Seb. I am really hoping that he gets his own story! This book was full of funny and charming moments, like the fact that Dani has a dog who is also named Max. This was the perfect book to break me out of my reading slump!

Really enjoyable holiday romance with a healthy portion of royalty. Holiday does a good job of both leaning in to the holiday & royal set-up but is also cheeky about it. This book knows what it is and I loved that. I loved how Dani and Max become friends and then more. It is everything you would expect from a Jenny Holiday book, heart, heat, and HEA. PLUS a grilled cheese sandwich.

So unfortunately, this is going to be an unpopular opinion. I read A Princess for Christmas last year and I loved it so, needless to say, I was really looking forward to Duke, Actually, but it just did not work for me. This was a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance, but I felt the romance was severely lacking. I loved Dani and Max and their separate storylines, but their romance lacked chemistry and felt nonexistent for most of the book and then when it finally started to come together it then felt forced. I do know many book-loving friends that loved it, so for some reason it was just me and possibly my mood at the time.

I still love Jenny Holiday and I definitely plan to read more of her books, including further books in the A Princess for Christmas series.

Thank you so much to Avon Books, Netgalley, Harper Audio, and Libro.fm for the gifted copies! All opinions are my own.

I’m not generally a big fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, but Jenny Holiday manages to do tropes without the usual cliched trappings.

In Duke, Actually the hero and heroine’s relationship covers a year of time where they truly are friends. It was delightful to watch the hero do sweet, thoughtful things for the heroine, while she teases and chides the hero like no one else in his life has the nerve to do. Their relationship developes and grows in a completely organic way and there was none of this “I don’t want to ruin our friendship” or “he/she will never feel the way about me that I feel about them” baloney. I love stories where the couple have significant, believable, realistic issues to work through and do so without melodrama or theatrics (mostly), instead behaving like adults.

This was the perfect book to read this week while I had a lot to do - I was thoroughly entertained when I had the book opened, but I was also able to put it down after a chapter - or two! - and get a couple things done. Duke, Actually is a delightfully humorous, yet touching story. But once again (as with the previous book in this series), a bit on the long side (not that I have any suggestions on where to shorten things).

In addition to not liking friends-to-lovers, I also usually stay away from holiday stories. However, Ms. Holiday manages to give us the perfect blend of a hopeful, lightfearted Hallmark Christmas movie (minus the schmaltz) with chemistry and steam. Add in the bonus of a bounty of effortless humor and I won’t hesitate for a second to read a Jenny Holiday holiday romance in the years to come!

*thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I am so glad I picked up Duke, Actually to read before the end of the year. It was the perfect book to read, relax and enjoy! Max may now be one of my favorite book boyfriends. I loved reading and seeing his growth throughout the story. Dani was also a fantastic main character. She was learning to be strong and independent after her husband left her for a younger woman. The dual POV gives us the opportunity to really connect with both characters.

The friendship between Dani and Max was so unique. For a big chunk of the book, there really wasn't too much sexual tension between the two. I definitely enjoyed the story more after the halfway mark when they were together in the same place. I felt like that was when I could see their friendship connection more than when they were apart and I was just reading about them connecting through texts and phone calls.

Side note, I would not call this a "holiday read." Although there are some Christmas aspects to it, this book also spans across a full year so it is not truly a holiday book. Which means, it is the perfect book to read any time of the year!

I cannot adequately express my love for Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday. Since reading this book, I have been shouting my love of it from the rooftops. And I swear, as I was describing the love between Max and Dani, I was actually blushing with happiness. That is how much I loved this book. If you love a yearning, slow burn romance filled with sweet moments like snow angels in Central Park, sunrises with McDonalds at the Beach, Dirty Dancing moves in the water, and MORE, then you need this book today. Jenny Holiday absolutely had me in the palm of her hand this entire book. And when they finally NOTICED each other, I practically combusted. And so did they. Gah, this book. Absolutely magical! Max may now be my favorite hero EVER.

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.

4 stars!

I could read about Max forever. He is one of my favorite romantic leads that I have read about recently. I loved his personality and caring and I loved how he loved Dani. I think this was such a great balance between a slow burn romance and character growth with a little touch of a fun mystery.

This book had so many great side characters from doggy Max to Sebastian and I thought it was fun to have the time between Christmases and the time traveling as I felt it gave an air of consistency and reality to the story.

I even gifted a copy to my mom because I thought it was so fun!

Would definitely recommend to others and I can’t wait to go back and read A Princess for Christmas now.

Thank you so much Avon and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful romance!

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was not amazing, but it was a cute romance read. Not the cheesy typical romance read.
Dani is facing so many changes at once, but yet, it's refreshing to her. It may be new, but it's on her terms. She is finally coming to her own after divorce (soon to divorce). And she is going to take the chance in dating, especially since she has help from her new friend, Max. He has no plan in marrying whoever his father wants. He never wanted to live in his father's shadow. He wants his own life, including his own choice of women to fall in love with. It may be Dani.
I actually like their relationship. It started off with them being friends, but they started growing closer. That's the best start to a relationship. It may be challenging for them since Max's father does not approve. But their love triumphs over everything. They just need to be willing to put in the effort.

OH MAX MAX MAX. You witty devil you.

Talk about funny, secretly a little nerdy, and a total softie on the inside?!?

This friends to lovers had my all in the holiday feels!!!