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Book reviews from the week on December 26th

 


This was a lighter reading week for me.  Between work, the holidays, and getting my Best of 2020 list together, I only read two books.  Fortunately, they were both 5 star reads.



A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday
#Holidayromance #SingleDadRomance #RoyalRomance 

5 STARS

This holiday romance is written in third person from a dual POV. It is Hallmark romance ++. I loved that Leo and Marie have both had loss in their lives that allows them to relate to each other despite being literally worlds apart. I love that Leo and Marie are both doing everything they can to meet the expectations the world has set for them. I love the friendship they form almost immediately. Their attraction to each other is off the charts, eventually leading to steamy scenes when they come together. I love that Leo sees Marie as a person and not a princess, and that it meets a need she never realized she had. I love that Marie sees Leo beyond the working man front he puts up for the good and honorable man that he is. The relationship each of them have with Gabby, Leo's sister, is something truly special. The secondary characters: the palace staff and their friends, sucked me into the world completely. Their black moment is not too bad, though going in I was terrified it was going to break my heart. It did not. They both just had to realize that their love was worth fighting for. The big romantic moment was ALL THAT and I loved it. Their HEA is sweet and I really enjoyed this book.



Happily Letter After by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

#SingleDadRomance #HiddenIdentity 

5 STARS

This book was incredibly good. I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. It is a single dad romance mixed with a lot of fate and it is written in the first person from dual POV.

Sadie is a wonderful character. She is mature, generous, and wise. Some of her decisions are astoundingly well thought out and I certainly wish I would have had some of the answers she gave Birdie when my kids were small. Sebastian is an awesome hero. He has a good heart and an amazing love for his daughter. When he does something wrong, he is eaten up by guilt which I believe demonstrates his good character. There are a lot of things that happen, seemingly randomly, in the story of these two coming together. I laughed out loud more than once, but I was also enthralled by the heart of the story.

My favorite movie is Sleepless in Seattle. I felt like there were certain elements of the book that echoed the movie in a good way. The way that Birdie writes a letter (to Santa), the way that Sadie gets so attached to Birdie through the letters, the earnestness of a single dad surviving after losing his wife are elements that are shared. This book takes it farther than the movie and I loved that. Birdie is adorable and Marmaduke adds some decisively humorous moments to the story. I adored Sadie's relationship with Birdie and was especially happy tp get a look into the future in the epilogue that showed that they remain close. The HEA is sweet and perfect. I highly recommend this one.
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