Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.
Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.
Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day. . .or are they?
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Release Date: Oct 1, 2019
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
Vivian Forest is coerced into going to England with her daughter, Maddie, for the holidays. Maddie will be working but this will be a time for Vivian to relax. She just got wind that she will be taking a new Director’s position when she returns.
As soon as they arrive, Vivian meets Malcolm, the personal secretary to the Queen. They unexpectedly hit it off and a romance starts to blossom. Vivian knows the time is limited but when sparks fly, you can’t ignore it.
What really did work for me is that the main characters are older in age. Sometimes, I do get tired of reading about characters in their 20s and 30s. It is nice to believe that older people fall in love too.
What I didn’t really like was some of the awkwardness of the writing. Vivian and Malcolm are constantly laughing when there is no joke. I think the author was trying to use that as a way to help with the dialogue. Instead making the conversation flow realistically, it made it weird.
Of course, when Vivian returns home, she and Malcolm maintains some sort of relationship via email. They both miss each other but their lives are heading in different directions. I did enjoy Vivian’s relationship with her daughter. Maddie gave her mother support and encouragement as Vivian tried to figure out what she wanted next in life.
The story in itself is sort of forgettable. I read this a few weeks back and I had a hard time really remembering what happened. This is not the best in the series and I think the holiday magic fell slightly short for this.
~ Samantha
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