Review by Booklist Review
Holiday follows her popular Christmas books--A Princess for Christmas (2020) and Duke, Actually (2021)--set in the tiny, fictitious German-speaking alpine country of Eldovia with the story of the cupid behind those tales. Strait-laced and circumspect, Matteo Benz is the secret Santa in his village, supporting people facing hardships with Christmas baskets. Old-world charm and kindness define who he is. He is also the royal equerry known for being responsible for every important decision in Eldovia. Rising up from poverty by dint of dogged hard work and brilliance, New Yorker Cara Delaney is now aiming for partnership at her management-consulting firm. Confident and experienced, she is excellent in ferreting out corporate problems. Eldovia's main export company is hemorrhaging money and bringing the country's GDP down, so the king hires Cara over Matteo's objections. The ensuing story tells of a clash of cultures between self-contained, traditional Europeanness and gregarious, ever-changing Americanness. It is refreshing to see two successful people admiring each other's competence in Holiday's slowly evolving, gentle romance.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Romance heats up between a career-focused American woman and a European king's right-hand man in Holiday's delightful third Christmas in Eldovia rom-com (after Duke, Actually). Management consultant Cara Delaney lives in the Bronx with her parents, providing them with financial support while climbing the corporate ladder at her firm. She's not thrilled when she's forced to abandon her family to replace an injured subordinate in the fictional land of Eldovia over the holidays and to assess the performance of a luxury watch company partially owned by the royal family. Once there, Cara butts heads with Matteo Benz, the very proper equerry to the king. Matteo is suspicious of Cara's goal to modernize the company, worrying that her money-minded decision-making will negatively impact the employees. As they're forced to spend time together, however, Matteo senses the vulnerability behind Cara's determined exterior, and she learns the value of his fierce loyalty to king and country. They open themselves up to the possibility of a relationship--but can they make it work while living in separate countries and mutually married to their jobs? Witty banter and sizzling love scenes played out against the backdrop of a dazzling winter wonderland make Holiday's latest sparkle. Series fans are sure to be charmed. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Christmas is usually a quiet family affair for New York management consultant Cara Delaney, but this year she's being summoned to the tiny European nation of Eldovia. The country's luxury watch company, Morneau, is in trouble, and Cara has been hired to figure out what's gone wrong. Her personal escort on the trip is Matteo Benz, the king's stuffy, straightlaced equerry, who already dislikes that Cara is there to upend Morneau's traditional business model. Barbs are traded between them at first, but when shady operations are uncovered at the company, the two become unlikely allies. Cara, a self-professed workaholic, begins to relax as they take part in Eldovia's traditional winter activities (snowshoeing, skiing, bathing in the natural hot springs) while playing detective. Matteo, who is a selfless do-gooder, also begins to thaw when he's around Cara, who helps him accept that change can be good. VERDICT Fans of Holiday's "A Princess for Christmas" series will enjoy being whisked back to Eldovia in this latest. The book stands on its own, with appearances by characters from earlier installments.--Kathryn Howe
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