A fun, light holiday book! So This Is Christmas by Jenny Holiday was just as I thought - a cute Christmas treat. Hallmark vibes with a little spice mixed in, perfect for the holiday season. I loved the enemies to lovers vibe and the easy flow of the story. 4/5!

I liked this book, but I did not love it as much as the other two in this series. This can be read as a stand-alone. I didn’t feel like the book had too much Christmas vibes, even though it takes place around Christmas. I felt it more so could be read during the winter, and be fine. This is a slow burn romance, but I felt like it was TOO slow, and I didn’t love the characters. I think it’s worth checking out if you enjoyed this series, I just didn’t love it.

I loved So this is Christmas by Jenny Holiday. I have adored this entire series. If you love Hallmark movies, but want a little more spice these are the books for you. I enjoyed the push and pulla between Matteo and Cara. And of course I loved being back in Eldovia.

Matteo Benz has spent his life serving at the pleasure of the Eldovian crown. His work is his life and his life, well...he doesn’t have much of one. When he is tasked to aid a management consultant who has been flown in to help straighten out the king’s affairs, he is instantly disturbed by her brash American manner—as well by an inconvenient attraction to the brainy beauty.

Cara Delaney is in Eldovia to help clean up the king’s financial affairs, but soon finds herself at odds with the very proper Mr. Benz. As intrigued by his good looks as she is annoyed by his dedication to tradition for its own sake, she slowly begins to see the real man behind the royal throne.

As they work together to return Eldovia to its former glory during the country’s magical Christmas season, Matteo discovers he is falling hopelessly in love with the unconventional American. But a man who has devoted his life to tradition doesn’t change easily. Can he become the man Cara needs, or will their love be another sacrifice to the crown?

The was a fun Christmas read. The characters were likeable but not loveable. Cara is so uptight to start and so is Matteo, but they eventually have their sparks and have some fun times. I did enjoy the story though!

Thank you to my partners at @avonbooks and @harperaudio for the #gifted copies.

Two grumps. Not enough sunshine.

Duke Actually was my favorite holiday read last year. It was full of magic and atmosphere and sparks. So I went into this one with high expectations.

And there were parts of this novel that charmed me. Once I got past our main characters’ rough exteriors, I was reminded of the magic Eldovia holds, even on the gruffest.

Yet the allure wasn’t as strong as in Duke Actually. I liked this one. But I had hoped to fall head over heals for another Eldovian couple. And that wasn’t to be.

Even though... I'll still be eager for Holiday's next read.

After reading and loving the previous book in this series - Duke Actually - I was eager to read So This Is Christmas. Unfortunately after reading about 20%, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and have decided to put it down for now.

I'll start by saying This book is the third in a series, but it is easily a stand alone as I didn’t read the first two.
Now let's get to it, this book had a lot of potential to be a really great book, but for me it just fell really flat. I liked it enough to finish(barely) but it definitely missed the mark.
Cara's character felt way too boring and robotic. There wasn't much development, but plenty of butt-kissing.
And Matteo started so strong as a grumpy type, but lost it.
Overall I wouldn't read again.

So This Is Christmas by Jenny Holiday is the third book in the contemporary romance Christmas in Eldovia series. As with a lot of romance series the Christmas in Eldovia series changes the main characters in each book so they can all be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. The story is also told by changing the point of view between the characters to give both sides.

Matteo Benz has always been proud to serve the Eldovian crown but gets a bit concerned when a management consultant is hired to come in from America. Cara Delaney takes her job helping the king seriously and can’t help but be bothered by Matteo as their opinions keep clashing but soon the pair find they have one thing in common, their attraction.

I can definitely say first hand that the Eldovia series does read well as standalone novels as i missed reading the second book of the series myself but easily picked up this third. The setting of the country of Eldovia is certainly a unique one that I enjoy and diving into the different characters of the monarchy. The main characters in this third book were enjoyable and I couldn’t help but get caught up in their story and the author will continue to be one I always enjoy returning to.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I wanted to love this so much, the synopsis sounded fantastic with forced proximity and opposites attract, however, I felt I was just getting through to get through. This could easily be a situation of right book, wrong time so I will give it a second chance in the future but for now it was OK.

I’ve always enjoyed Jenny Holidays’ books set in this little fictional royal town. This one took me a little more by surprise, I wasn’t sure on if there was a third story to tell when I found out about this one. The other two made sense on the couples/progression.

Our previous friends really aren’t in this one very much. I always love a glimpse at old characters through new characters eyes and as a loyal reader I think it’s just appreciated a lot!

I wasn’t fully convinced on this couple. They definitely had some chemistry, but they had some miscommunications along the way which made it a little harder to believe in their romance. I loved that they were so family focused and wanted to take care of their loved ones. Away from the palace/jobs were my favorite moments with them.

Overall it was nice to be back in this world, but it didn’t quite have the full magic as book 1 and 2 did for me.

This is on the level of the first book in the series. While the story was cute and enjoyable, the romance wasn’t giving. It was a light typical holiday romance that was very hallmark-esque. It was difficult to connect with the characters, feel invested in their romance, and truly experience the romantic side of their relationship when they repeatedly reverted to a more professional tone with each other. However, there were enjoyable parts throughout the story; I did enjoy their banter, and Mr. Benz was absolutely adorable. Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for this eARC!

Jenny Holiday Christmas books are truly essential reading for the Christmas season.

The vibes of this one were no different and I absolutely loved visiting some of my favorite characters again!

This one involves two semi workaholics who are opposites but yet somehow fit together.

Christmas romance is just so sweet and this one was no exception!

Thank you so much to Avon/Harper for this advanced copy!

Calling each other Mr. & Ms. [Last Name] the whole time? An inexplicable (and unprofessional) early kiss? Sexy cuticles? This enemies-to-lovers romance had quite a bit to muddle through, but there were also some cute moments, the setting was charming, and ultimately I liked the main characters even if the romance felt forced at times. Plus I liked revisiting the characters from last year’s Duke, Actually, which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, this one didn’t do it for me quite as much. ⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up because I didn’t dread picking this up and it was a quick page turner.

I realized I should have read the other Christmas in Eldovia books (
A Princess for Christmas and Duke, Actually) before getting into the third one, but I guess that didn’t happen, we always have next Christmas. The good thing is you don’t need to now the previous stories to enjoy this one, there are just characters and stories that I’m sure will make more sense given that background, but the story in itself stands pretty well as a standalone. I just obviously now know the other 2 books are spoiled. This was a cute, if not very predictable Christmas story. Big corporate consultant goes to small town and romance ensues. However (spoiler alert) major bonus points to this one for the ending not being the stereotypical leave everything and your dreams for the one you met10 days ago. The progression of this made sense and it might have been what I liked the most. What I liked the least, I didn’t get the Matteo Love, nor their spark, I really was not rooting for them. Maybe I really should have read the other books.

Note to net galley – it would be great it a book is part of a series they let you know, like goodreads does

i was extremely excited to begin this novel after reading jenny holiday’s “duke, actually” last year. although i found “so this is christmas” to be filled with holiday spirit, i couldn’t find the batter i remember loving from the author’s previous story. having said that, i felt that the plot was tied together with the help of many loveable side characters - i enjoyed how each of them were given a time to shine as well. imogen is cara’s wing-woman just as kai is matteo’s wing-man. even though it was hinted at, i would love to see the two of them together in their own future novel!

compared to other MCs, i had a difficult time connecting to cara and matteo. both of them emphasize how they’re married to their own work and, to me, this made them very distant from each other. like fighting fire with fire, i felt like their dynamics was more on the side of grumpy X grumpy, which isn’t something i’ve seen too much of. and whenever they had a spark of a chemistry, it was either from arguing or because cara was explaining american metaphors to matteo. i also wasn’t the biggest fan of how they referred to each other using their last names for most of the plot - it was too formal!

I have this book checked out from the library, but I probably won't read it until next Christmas season because I am a mood reader and I didn't get to read most books due to being sick at Christmas time.

This book was disappointing. It had an extremely slow first half to the point I put it down for a month without remorse and might not have picked it up to finish. There was far more attention paid to why Cara was in Eldovia and the different business aspects that it felt as if the romance was in the background for the first half of the book. This is an enemies to lovers storyline but it was an exceptionally slow burn that it was hard to really care.

I did appreciate the Christmas elements of the storyline as it made the town come to life and felt like a warm hug on a winter's night. While the author tried to throw in some quirky elements, like the characters' likes of Star Wars/Trek, it eventually felt overdone and awkward, like she was trying too hard. Comparisons were made between the characters and Pride and Prejudice, and that too felt at times like you were being hit over the head with the connection. The characters had a lot of potential. They were well thought out with sympathetic life stories, but the execution of the romance fell flat.

Ultimately the story lacked the spark to hold my attention. It was a disappointing conclusion to an enjoyable series.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is the third in a series, but it is easily a stand alone as I didn’t read the first two.

I found it difficult to get into this one, but about halfway through I become more invested. I enjoyed the writing and the plot, but this one wasn’t a favorite for me.

Unfortunately not as good as the previous books in this series. I really liked that both Matteo and Cara were grumpy and didn’t like each other at first, but were forced to work with each other. Their dislike to love relationship was paced well too.

Everything else about this book/the story was enjoyable but nothing mind blowing. I probably would’ve given this 4 stars, but the last 25% of this was kind of hard to get through bc I was getting so bored. I also didn’t believe that these characters truly loved each other by the end. Finally…the steamy scenes we got were disappointing. I expect more from this author 🤷🏻‍♀️

**thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

A romance about a confident American woman and the strait-laced royal advisor who falls hopelessly in love with her. A fun twist on the grumpy/sunshine troupe where both characters are pretty grumpy. Sadly this didn't really hit the mark with me. It just felt a little boring and didn't excite me very much.