Member Reviews
Another festive, compelling and heartwarming Christmas story by this author.
It's as gripping and sweet as the others, a well developed plot, festive atmosphere and a relatable characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Royalty, winter's tales. Romance galore. A tug of the heartstrings. Perfect for reading by the fire. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.
I literally couldn't put this book down! I loved EVERYTHING about it. Simply magical. Simply perfect! Simply... Why did it have to end ?
This is an adorable story that delivers an enjoyable, well developed dose of Christmas cheer. The protagonist is a plucky, confident, driven TV news reporter who thinks she knows what she wants. She's not the type to want to be saved by a prince, and she's a reluctant player or writer in a fairy tale. Her journey opens her heart to the true value of the holiday season, and the beautiful surprises that are in store when you trust yourself, fate, and the magic of the season.
As a huge Hallmark Christmas movie fan, I was excited to get this book. It did not disappoint. It was sweet & refreshing & I hope to see it on my tv very soon. I enjoy the concept of a fantasy land with these wonderful Christmas traditions. Highly recommend reading this book to get into the holiday spirit & fall in love along the way.
Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review
I just loved this book! Such a sweet, well written book that showed the importance of family, traditions, and love in the holiday season. This book is truly fabulous way to get into the holiday spirit.
What a delightful story to get you in the Christmas spirit! After losing her job , the offer to document Christmas traditions for a family intrigued her. Since her family hasn't celebrated together in years, she agrees to travel over the holiday.
What she finds and where she visits gives her a renewed sense of love and family. The traditions she learns about remind her that there are more important things than a job.
This story is uplifting, funny and one you don't want to miss!
I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.
Oh my goodness, Karen Schaler has done it again! This storyline is just lovely. From the reporter, Kaylie Karlyle, who is married to her job and suddenly without work, to the Christmas town in the mountains (I seriously want to go there, NOW! Tolvania here I come!), and of course the down-to-earth royal family...LOVED the whole story!
My favorite parts: the queen- she was FABULOUS and so thoughtful and generous, plus the princess- such a sweet girl! <3
Highly recommend this one for your Cozy Christmas reads! I really think this one needs to be a Hallmark movie- I would totally watch it for the setting and the gorgeous castle + Christmas decorations, and of course the clean, feel-good romance!
Thank you to @traveltherapy for my #gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!
A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale is another charming book by Karen Schaler. Schaler, who is already known for her Hallmark perfect holiday stories, once again knows what she is doing when it comes to getting her readers into the holiday spirit. I loved starting my Christmas themed reading with this novel. I also found a nice amount of romance in the story without making it too saccharine or not believable.
Thank you to NetGalley and HawkTale Publishing for a copy of this novel .
Cute read if you are looking for a Christmassy read akin to Netflix's "A Christmas Prince". The afterword explains that the author is looking to provide feel-good reads and has written scripts for Netflix and Hallmark movies in the past. This book reads like those. Kaylie is a driven NYC reporter who gets sent to a small European country in order to write a Christmas fairy tale for the 10-year-old princess. She has a meet cute with the princess' father who dislikes her career. Lots of Christmas cheer prevails!
The royal setting was fun but I found the characters to be a little one dimensional.
Thanks to NetGalley and HawkTale Publishing for the ARC in return for my honest review!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
I have seen the 'Christmas Prince' movies, but have not read any other books by this author. The descriptions of the area, scenery and decorations are as expected in a Christmas novel, but there is a lot of repetition, such as 'twinkling lights' and a lack of realism, e.g. Tolvania is a 'small sovereign state' but it consists of a village (not a town) so where do all the people come from for the events? The storyline centres around traditions with a focus on sharing, family and love, but it has nothing unexpected. The language used is colloquial so the book cannot be described as well-written, for example, the word 'like' rather than 'as' features frequently.
I'm sure many readers will enjoy this clean, pleasant read so I have given it 3 stars, but I did not think it was outstanding, and it is far from a seasonal favourite for me.
I was drawn to the books front cover very inviting, i enjoyed this book great story with likable characters.
I love this story and the author did not disappoint! I have read one of her other books and seen the Netflix movies and this one follows suit with its cuteness.
I'm not usually a fan of fairy tale books but this was different. Kaylie has lost her job as an investigative journalist. When another job turns up she jumps at it only to discover she needs to write a fairy tale for a princess. Looking forward to reading more of Karen's books
A Royal Christmas Fairytale is a feel good Christmas novel with a big city girl finding herself spending time in a small town. It is sweet and predictable like most Hallmark Christmas movies. The supporting characters were enjoyable including the Queen and Thomas. If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, you’ll love A Royal Christmas Fairytale!
Karen Schaler delivers another heartwarming holiday read with A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale.
New York City reporter Kaylie Karlyle plans for the future are turned upside down when she's unexpectedly let go at the holidays. Luckily her boss secures an exciting freelance gig covering a family's holiday traditions to get Kaylie through what's arguably the most expensive time of year. Kaylie is shocked to discover that the family she's sent to cover is none other than the royal family of Tolvania and that her freelance gig isn't exactly what her boss lead her to believe - instead of covering the family's traditions, Kaylie will be turning those traditions into a special story for the queen's granddaughter. Kaylie tries to explain she's not the right person for this particular job, especially considering she doesn't celebrate the holidays herself, but a snowstorm leaves her stranded on Tolvania. The queen uses the snowstorm to get her son Prince Alexander to warm up to the holidays by showing Kaylie their traditions while she's stranded at their castle. Will these two grinches find the holiday spirit?
While I wasn't the biggest fan of Kaylie and Prince Alexander, I did love the queen and her precocious granddaughter. I also didn't love the setup but these are matters of personal preferences and I think many other readers will have no trouble with the characters or setup.
Karen Schaler's writing makes you feel like you're reading a made for TV holiday movie! A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale is perfect for fans of Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas programming and all of Karen Schaler's previous novels.
A twist on a fairy tale? This is such a wonderful story about LOVE; not only romantic love (of which there is a little), but mostly love of family and community. I found this book to be a bit different from most of the Christmas romances that I have read in the past. I enjoyed how the royal family was so very much "down to earth" and keeping the welfare of their country at the forefront of their decisions / actions. Watching the main character, Kaylie Karlyle, evolve and grow from a single-minded investigative reporter; with little time for Christmas and anything other than work was pleasantly entertaining. The pace of the story was perfect and writing was clean and smooth. The fictional country of Tolvania was depicted as a believable quaint, tiny place with a lot of heart. The Christmas traditions at the heart of the story were amazing and quite interesting. I feel that this story is a gem and one that could be read every year to become it's own tradition.
Every winter I look forward to snuggling up in a cozy blanket, dimming the lights, and losing myself in one of the 150 new Christmas movies on the TV. Okay, maybe not quite that many...but a lot. Going into each movie, I already have a good idea of the mechanics of the plot. There will be slight variations here and there but, overall, no big surprises. And you know what? I don't care. I still watch every movie with anticipation, still feel my gut clench when one of the lead characters accidentally breaks a promise to the other, still swoon at the grand romantic gestures, still cry happy tears when all obstacles are overcome and our couple pledge their love and lives to one another. :::Sigh::: What can I say? I love a happy ending. I love the whole process of reaching said happy ending. I love a book that unrolls like a vibrant, colorful movie across my mind. And that's exactly what I got with Karen Schaler's A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale.
Schaler has created a cast, a setting, and a story worthy of Christmas Fairy Tale status. She brought a small European village to life, filled it with lively characters, introduced us to a grumpy, widowed, over-protective Prince and his precocious daughter, a loving, matchmaking Queen, a cynical New York City reporter, and a dog who darn near stole the whole show. Then she sprinkled the story with beautiful snow-packed forests, upside down Christmas trees, divine chocolates, custom-made snow globes, family traditions, and more. Were there surprises? Not really. Was it predictable? Yep. Did I care? Not in the least.
If you're looking for a sweet Christmas romance that whisks you away to a fairy-tale castle in Europe, makes you laugh, touches your heart, reminds you of the joy to be found in family and friends (and dogs), then serves up a feel-good, fairy-tale ending, give Karen Schaler's A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale a try. Best served (in my experience) with a mug of hot chocolate and a tissue (for those happy tears).
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I loved the moments between Kaylie and Princess Anna. I also loved the banter between the Prince and Kaylie - when they teased each other, when they made a mess in the kitchen, and when they are with the Princess. I loved the Princess's dog Blitzen - he was adorable. I did enjoy the moments between Princess Anna and her father. They were sweet. Of course, Christmas is hard for both of them missing their wife/mother (especially since she loved Christmas.) I loved the painting moment between Princess Anna and Kaylie - and how that worked out. I really did enjoy the Queen and how she made everything happen for her family. She wanted a modern world and a traditional one - I think she made it work really nicely.
A few things I didn't love because they were brought up too many times:
1. too many journalist/Prince moments.
2. Kaylie's belief that she wasn't the right person for the Fairy Tale job.
I felt cheated that readers didn't get to read the Fairy Tale that Kaylie wrote.
But overall, I really enjoyed this story. It read like a Hallmark movie - which made me really happy.
This is the first book I've read from Karen Schaler but I have watched the movie A Christmas Prince and I absolutely loved it.
I love anything to do with Christmas so when I saw this I just knew I needed to read it.
The book is such lovely sweet and warm story. I seriously can not wait for Christmas now. I really loved the characters and the storyline was just fab.