I’m still finishing up my Christmas reads this year so bare with me! I finished two Christmas reads- a Princess for Christmas and the sequel, Duke, Actually.

A Princess for Christmas is the one I liked better of the two. Leo is a regular guy driving a cab and taking care of his little sister when they pick up a ride for a real life princess- Princess Marie of Eldovia. She’s in NY for business and hires Leo to be her chauffeur for the week. They hit it off abs Marie invites Leo and his sister Gabby to Eldovia for Christmas. Romance ensues and it’s just a heartwarming tale.

Duke, Actually is the sequel and follows Dani, Leo’s best friend and former cousin-in-law. She meets Maximillian Von Hansburg while in Eldovia and they hit it off, despite Dani swearing off men and Max is known for his playboy ways. I felt this one was very similar, but the roles reversed from a princess for Christmas.

I did enjoy both of these, but I’m not sure Dani was given justice. She was so bright and sassy, I think it was wasted on Max.

Thank you so much to @avonbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy of Duke, Actually.

This was the perfect holiday romance! I loved the Hallmark-esq feel to the story, without it feeling sickly sweet. You do not need to have read the first book in the series to read this one, although it will help you to understand a few storylines that are mentioned.

This is a Hallmark holiday movie that bangs in book form and I mean that in the highest form of compliment I can muster.

Watching Max and Dani fall in love felt like the best possible way to spend my Christmas season and I am so excited to see what else Jenny Holiday does with this series.

My last Christmas book of the year!

Netflix should option this book. I would typically say Hallmark, but it was a little too spicy for their liking 🤩

I alternated listening and reading this one, and Max and Dani were the only thing getting me through shoveling snow. Their witty banter and friendship made me smile often. The relationship build up between them was perfectly done. It felt believable and natural.

If you are still in a Christmas mood, I recommend this one! Or just throw it on your list for 2022!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @avonbooks and @harpervoyagerus for the arc! ❤️

Well, this was perfect! A slow burn friends to lovers romance with great humor was just what I needed. I also loved the Dirty Dancing and Love Actually bits.

Loved reading this series and loved this friends to lovers take. I told everyone to pick this up, such a fun story and loved seeing both characters POV, and watching the relationship grow, and the secret pining :) also felt nice to be back in the holiday feels in NYC, and the little pup and them sharing the apt home (wish could’ve had a bit more of that in the snow pre wedding) now I can’t wait to continue the series with the 3rd storyline !

Jenny Holiday is becoming a favorite contemporary romance author for me, and this sequel was no exception. Friends to lovers + slow burn + a former f-boy duke-in-waiting and a soon-to-be divorcee find love. It’s definitely a love story that simmers for a while, but full of the feel-good mood that defined A Princess for Christmas. Calling this series “Hallmark but steamier” feels like exactly the right comp. The only subplot that seemed somewhat out-of-place was how the conflict of Max’s longtime abusive father was resolved (basically having him kick the bucket after learning one of his sons wanted to date a non-royal and the other was gay), but apart from that I really enjoyed this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book! Max and Dani are absolutely adorable together! I was not expecting that I would enjoy this book so much because friends-to-lovers isn't really my jam, but Jenny Holiday really surprised me!

Since Dani is newly single, I loved that her relationship with Max was developed first. I read this book without reading A Princess for Christmas and I had no problems following the story. However, it would have helped if I read it first so that I can get Max's backstory. Max and Dani also met at the royal wedding, so it would have been nice to have read that part first.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I have to be honest. This book did not hold a candle to A Princess for Christmas. It was still really cute, but it’s very different that the first book in the series.

It was an incredibly slow burn friends to lovers story that takes place over the course of the year so it’s not very Christmasy.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was sooo cute! I really loved these characters and their story. I hadn't known it was a sequel when I read it but I've since bought the first book and can't wait to read it.

Although it was part of a series, I was able to get the full story. It was funny and sweet. I found myself cheering for the characters. A great book to add to your holiday reading list.

This one was cute! I thought it was a little slow, but I enjoyed it. I wasn’t a huge fan of Dani, but I loved Max. Overall, it was a cute holiday romcom. If you are looking for a good Christmas book to read, this one is for you!

This slow-burn romance was a pleasant surprise. Duke, Actually is a follow-up book to A Princess for Christmas, where a royal marriage is derailed when the princess meets a commoner who steals her heart.

This book follows the Duke that the Princess didn't marry, as he falls in love with the best friend of the groom, Dani Martinez. Max, the Duke, and a notorious rake, is the best man in the wedding and Dani is the Maid of Honor, and as they get to know each other and become close friends, they discover that there is more there for both of them. Dani is in the process of getting a divorce when they meet and isn't looking for love. In this book, we follow their communication and banter over the course of a year, and watching the depth of their feelings develop was truly lovely. It's a slow burn, for sure, but the writing is real and wonderful. I'd highly recommend this book if you're looking for a gradual fall in love, that will have you yelling "kiss him!" at the book!

“Duke, Actually” was a pretty cute book that takes place around the holidays without that being a really big focus. This is a royal-centered romance that has very slight hints of a Harry and Meghan storyline. It was a quick and enjoyable read, but it seems like the connection between the two main characters was rushed, especially given their distant starting relationship. As a result, I found their developed chemistry to come out of nowhere. Nonetheless, this is a solid, likeable read. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this review copy.

I loved Christmas Princess last year and I was looking forward to this story (little hints were dropped in book 1). Jenny Holiday does a great job at creating interesting characters, dialogue and swoony book boyfriends. I am such a fan of hers and this didn't disappoint. I enjoyed all the nods to Love, Actually. Really cute and these two books need to be on your holiday TBR!

😍 loved || 💋some steam
🤟 royal romance, friends to lovers,
📚Princess Diaries for adults

Jenny Holiday returns to New York (and Eldovia) for her newest novel, Duke, Actually. With A Princess for Christmas leaving readers waiting for a royal wedding, Duke, Actually sees trying-to-be-divorced-if-her-ex-would-only-sign-the-papers Dani palling around with (recently dumped) Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla. Dani has zero time for Max’s flirty shenanigans and Max has nothing but time while he tries to figure out what to do with his life. Bonding over history, their New Year’s resolutions (her: get a divorce, him: get a job), and a lot of banter, these two are determined not to look for love. Holiday’s follow up to A Princess for Christmas is Hallmark Channel perfect, with a cute dog, witty writing, and a sweet romance. The romance is more sweet than steamy and Max and Dani both bring some real world to the table with their respective family baggage, making this a solid romcom purchase for any library looking to add to their holiday collection. Fans of Sally Thorne and Jen DeLuca should enjoy.

Story
I really have loved every single Jenny Holiday book I’ve read, so I expected this one to be no exception! The previous book in this companion series, A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS, was adorable. This story follows Maria’s “ex-fiance” Max and Leo’s best friend from NYC, Dani. They’re the best man and maid of honor in Maria and Leo’s Christmas wedding the following year (when the story starts) and the rest of the plot is over the course of a year. It begins one Christmas when Max spends time with Dani in New York – the two develop a mostly-virtual friendship until the following November when they had to Eldovia for the wedding.

The two of them had a lot of chemistry. The main trope was that they were just ~best friends~ after a while and of course they didn’t have feelings for each other! *sarcasm* They each let their guards down and confided in each other like they never had with anyone else. I really enjoyed the slow development of their relationship and enjoyed that it took place over a year. Dani was dealing with a divorce and Max was dealing with his familial expectations and horrible parents.

Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels
As I mentioned, the story starts during the holiday season in NYC, which is one of the best cities for Christmas (to read about). It blazes through the months after, through the summer, and picks up in earnest in November when they had to Eldovia for the wedding. This led to TWO sections of the book with holiday feels. Eldovia is a gorgeous snowy country and they also went to Austria after the wedding. Lots of good holiday settings in theory. I didn’t find it to be overly holiday-ish though. It’s one I would have preferred to read in the day or so after Christmas, when I’m still in the holiday spirit but don’t need a ton of direct Christmas references.

Overall
I’m pleased to report that this was another solid Jenny Holiday book. I could read a ton of books in this universe and hope there will be more, especially if they’re Christmassy. I really liked Max and Dani and was happy to read about them. It was a really nice story. I have no idea what prevents me from rating this a tiny bit higher but maybe it just didn’t fulllllly click for me? It could be the slight lack of Christmas feels too but that’s probably my own expectations.

This was my first Jenny Holiday, but it won’t be my last. I loved the Royal-adjacent vibes, swoony romance, and the characters are totally enjoyable from start to finish. Added her backlist to my TBR ASAP and cannot wait to dig into more. The perfect holiday rom com!

Duke, Actually is an adorable follow-up to A Princess for Christmas. I will open with my main complaints, which are that I don’t love this cover (A Princess for Christmas is so much cuter) and I feel a better title would have been “Baron, Actually” but I do understand how that would not have been as enticing. And now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, we can start on my many compliments.

Overall, I liked Duke, Actually better than A Princess for Christmas. Whereas A Princess for Christmas was cute, I think it lives up to the definition of a Hallmark movie (fairly formulaic and fluffy). This is obviously not a bad thing, but Duke, Actually spans a longer time period than most Christmas-themed stories. I felt like this allowed the romance more time to grow, and the reader a slower pace to become more emotionally invested in Dani and Max’s relationship. Also, I do believe this can be read as a standalone, as there isn’t too much of the plot that relies on knowledge of events from A Princess for Christmas.

Duke, Actually takes place over the course of a year, from Christmas to Christmas. Dani is in the process of divorcing Leo’s second cousin, Vince, and Max, who was supposed to marry Marie before she fell for Leo, is visiting New York and wants to hang out with Dani. Dani is “post men” and refuses, until she realizes she could do with a date to her faculty holiday party since it will be the first time she has seen Vince in months, after he left her for a former student. This starts their friendship, and it grows from there, with Max and Dani making New Year’s resolutions together (him to get a job, and Dani to finalize the divorce and date).

Dani and Max’s relationship growth overtime was really adorable to watch. The progression feels like enemies to friends to lovers and I was all in for each step of the way. Their text message threads are gold, and were some of my favorite parts of the book. Both Dani and Max are smart and somewhat academic, and I love how they challenge and support one another as they get to know each other better.

Max is charming and I loved his willingness to just tell Dani that he liked her. Their friendship was sweet because they were both fairly honest with each other (until the end, when neither of them wanted to admit to the other they loved each other, of course) and it was satisfying as a reader to watch that grow as they realized they had feelings for each other. Additionally, the subplots of Dani’s divorce being finalized, and her attempts to date, as well as Max coming to terms with his familial relationships and becoming closer to his brother both felt like they added to the character growth and gave each of them more depth as they came to terms with the romantic relationship that neither of them had planned on.

Duke, Actually is sweet and fun, with a great relationship arc. If you’re looking for straight-up Christmas vibes, this book may not be the one you’ll want to reach for. However, there is some Christmas content and a titled gentleman from a made-up European country, so it still has those Hallmark feels, but with better payoff than a single kiss in the last frame.

LIKES:
📝 relatable, funny, breezy writing
👥 multi-pov (Dani & Max)
👩🏽‍🏫 a Mexican-Brit lit prof (academia vibes)
🤴🏼a charming royal playboy with depth
🐶 + an adorable dog!
🗽 set in NYC!
🏔 + cozy winter cabin moments in Eldovia
🎄some Christmas vibes!
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 examines dark & light family dynamics**
👩‍❤️‍👨 friends to lovers
🔥 slow-burn (4/5 steam)
📜 historical vibes
🌱 personal growth themes
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DISCLAIMERS:
⚠️ some TW for this one** - dm me!
🎧 didn’t love the audio narrator
🏊‍♂️ wanted a bit more depth from the darker themes
🧀 a bit cheese-y but that’s the point!
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VERDICT: a charming, funny friends to lovers romance between a charming royal playboy historian (with depth) & a lit professor + royal vibes, dark family dynamics + lots of emotion! A great slightly deeper romance!