Duke, actually A novel

Nothing says you are completely over your soon-to-be ex-husband quite like showing up at a social gathering with a nice piece of man-candy on your arm. At least, that is what Dani Martinez thought she was doing when she asks Maximillian von Hansburg to accompany her to her faculty holiday party. However, Dani's post-party plan to ditch Max and carry on with her sabbatical hits an unexpected snag when she discovers just how much she enjoys spending time with Max. RITA-nominated Holiday follows A Princess for Christmas (2020) with another splendidly entertaining romance that offers just the right dash of holiday cheer and delectably droll wit.

Holiday's follow-up to A Princess for Christmas hits all the right notes as the heir to a dukedom discovers love during the holidays. Max von Hansburg, Baron of Lauden, is the man of honor for the upcoming Christmas wedding of his ex-fiancé and good friend, Princess Marie of Eldovia, to New Yorker Leo Ricci. It's through that couple that he first met literature professor Dani Martinez, Leo's best friend, to whom Max reaches out upon traveling to New York to meet another woman his parents want him to marry. His and Dani's friendship blossoms during December in New York as he accompanies her to a university holiday party attended by her soon-to-be ex-husband and his girlfriend, helping her save face. Dani is drawn to Max, whose kindness and refreshing candor belies his public playboy image, and as the wedding approaches, she travels to Eldovia and spends time at his home where their relationship begins shifting away from being simply platonic. But Max's parents are set on his arranged marriage and Dani has resolved to never again let a man control her life. Holiday cleverly draws parallels to Love, Actually throughout this witty, emotionally charged holiday tale. Readers will delight in the strong heroine seeking love on her own terms. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Oct.)

An unlikely friendship between a European aristocrat and an American turns into love. English professor Dani Martinez hasn't had the best year. She caught her husband in bed with one of his former students, and although the mediation process is complete, her husband is refusing to sign the divorce papers. Normally, she'd confide all these problems to her best friend, Leo, but he moved halfway around the world after falling in love with a princess from Eldovia. Dani will be the best woman at Leo's royal wedding, which places her in the orbit of man of honor Maximillian von Hansburg, an Eldovian baron who will one day inherit a dukedom. One morning she gets an out-of-the-blue text from Max, who's in New York and suggests they meet to compare notes on the upcoming wedding. Max enjoys being with Dani, one of the only people who treats him like a normal person instead of a shallow playboy. When she impulsively asks him to be her plus one at a dreaded faculty Christmas party where she'll have to see her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Max agrees and a friendship is born. Holiday's knack for writing witty banter is on full display here, with Dani and Max's escalating text messages and phone conversations showing a deepening friendship between them. Dani helps Max learn to find a purpose for himself, and he encourages her to take control of her own life. This slow-burn romance will appeal to readers who enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope. The novel carefully builds trust and a deepening emotional attachment between Dani and Max, but the development and arc of their romantic relationship is rushed. A well-drawn portrait of friendship leaves little time for romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.