Title: A Princess for Christmas
Author: Jenny Holiday
Series: Christmas in Eldovia #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2020

I have to start this review with the point that I swear to god I’ve seen this movie on Netflix. But, as I don’t have Netflix anymore, I’m not entirely certain. But, I swear it feels like I’ve seen this before. The fact that it is Jenny Holiday’s version of a Hallmark Christmas movie might be why it seems so familiar though… but I digress. This was a fun and entertaining Christmas read that had me smiling and just generally enjoying the feeling of the season. A great way to get myself mentally prepared for the insanity that hits around December 25th.

Although this was a wonderfully cute and funny story, it did take me a little while to get into it. Leo and Marie are a nice couple, but I didn’t immediately fall in love with either of them, so it was hard to start barracking for the couple. Eventually though, I started to actually want to know that they were going to find their happily ever after. Particularly since this was a romance that was built primarily on friendship, rather than the insta-love tale that sometimes fills my shelves. I love how Leo and Marie slowly get to know each other and just enjoy each other’s’ company for the first half of the book. In my opinion, there is nothing better than a romance that is built upon a friendship first.

If you read the author’s commentary on why she wrote this book, she points out that this was supposed to be her version of a Hallmark Christmas movie. There are so many sassy little references to this throughout the book that leave you smiling and laughing. I love how Holiday is able to poke fun at the genre even as she is writing within it. Yet, there is also something wonderful about the idea of the picturesque country and town of Eldovia where hot chocolate competitions are considered completely normal and there is snow everywhere. Definitely a book I will reread next year in the lead up to Christmas.

Leo and Marie are a somewhat cute couple, one that I did enjoy getting to know. But, I must admit, that there are moments when Gabby steals the show a little. She’s such a happy chatterbox and sweetheart. I hope that she at least makes a bit of an appearance in the next two books in this fun Christmas trilogy.

<- More Jenny Holiday

Duke, Actually ->

Image source: HarperCollins Australia