Unfortunately, I didn’t engage with the characters and found the plotline too simple. I don’t post negative reviews, so have declined comment.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

This historical festive romance features political espionage and intrigue. the description makes it sound a great read but in reality the story drags, Holly’s family are unlikeable and Marek is too aloof and cold to appeal to the reader.

Review originally published at Romancing Romances.

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

2.5*

First of all, I have to admit it took me quite a bit of time to read this book (and if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a few stories about me being bored with the current book). However, I kept reading, and around the 75%, 80% mark, the book did improve.

I usually really enjoy Julia London’s writing and stories, but this series has been amiss with me (I’ve started the first one I don’t know how long ago, but since it wasn’t an ARC, I’ve put it aside to read at a different time).

I didn’t really like the heroine, Mrs Hollis Honeycutt, and I didn’t like that the author kept perpetuating this “oh corsets are bad, they squeeze you up, bla blab la” situation. If you’re interesting in knowing more about the subject, and why it’s wrong to keep saying this, check out Abby Cox, Bernadette Banner, and others on YouTube. It really annoyed me that even though we were given a curvy heroine, she was always complaining about the tight dresses, not wanting to wear a corset, and her family just kept harassing her about her extra weight. It just seemed unnecessary, and too much, too many times.

I wasn’t a fan of the heroine’s family, either. It just didn’t feel right how they treat Hollis, and how she sometimes behaved.

I actually liked Marek, even though it was hard to know him – but that was part of his charm. I felt the whole white hair/deaf situation (me trying not to spoil things!) was left unfinished, and in truth the title made me think something different would have happened.

I liked the main plot point, but boy did it drag on! It took a looong time for something to happen, which is one of the reasons why this book was just too boring for me.

At the end, it picked up the pace a bit, but that didn’t make up for everything before.

There really isn’t much more to say about the book, it wasn’t bad, it just was… boring.

3☆ Intrigue, Mystery and a Sprinkle of Christmas Charm.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. After reading the book I discovered that it was part of a series and I believe there lies the problem with me fulling enjoying A Princess By Christmas. This book is definitely not a standalone.

For me I felt like I was dropped into a story that was already part of the way through and the characters were already well acquainted but just not to me.
Which Is fine as thats the beauty of books is discovering characters. But I just felt it took me a fair while to work out who was who and being a royal based political book there was a fair amount to catch up with.

I did enjoy the journalism articles but again I wasn't aware that Hollis was the one writing the articles or how she became to write them. It's just a few finer details I wish I had known. It may seem minor but not having the full pieces of a puzzle makes it incomplete and a lil frustrating.

Overall this was an ok read, but would of been far more enjoyable had I read the previous books. This book will definitely appeal to Historical Romance and Mystery lovers.
There is a dash of Christmas charm, endearing characters, plenty of intrigue, political secrets and mystery with a sprinkle of romance.

The widowed Hollis Honeysett runs a gazette that covers all the London gossip and includes charming and practical advice for the ladies! When she almost literally bumps into Marek Brendan at reception thrown by Queen Victoria, she is intrigued by this quiet man who seems so out of place at the Palace.

Readers are in for a treat as Hollis begins to uncover who Marek really is and follows her suspicions about a coup in the Kingdom of Wesloria.

Although I haven't read the two earlier books in this series, it was hard not to fall in love with all the characters. Hollis was especially endearing - a brave woman who doesn't really fit into the Victorian mold and with a large heart, yet very vulnerable. She's trying her best to keep things as they are, including her husband's work and memories, but life is moving on and she finds herself all at sea. Her loyalty and willingness to go beyond for those she loves, makes her a true heroine. Marek too is a wonderful character with his loyalty and the choices he makes.

While the book has loads of humour, especially in the Gazette, the characters and the story with its mystery and sweet romance make it a lovely read.

The third book in the 'A Royal Wedding' series features Hollis, a widow who is feeling left behind in the romance stakes when her sister Eliza,(The Princess Plan) and her best friend Caroline (Royal Kiss and Tell) find true love.

Hollis is an engaging character conflicted with moving on and keeping her husband's memory alive. She's independent, opinionated and a little outrageous for the staid Victorian society and a fabulous character because of these things. Marek's secret will rock the foundations of Wesloria. He fights his attraction to Hollis fearing she will betray him. Their slow-burn romance is conflicted from the start.

This story is complete and reads like a standalone. However, if you want to know more about Eliza and Caroline and understand the royal world of Alucia and Wesloria read the other books in the series too.

This story has political intrigue at its heart, and its the investigation of a suspected coup in Westloria that divides and then unites the unlikely couple. The dialogue between Hollis and Marek is witty and informative. Hollis' introspective thoughts are well written and give important insights into her motivations and personality. The romance is gentle but insistent. There's a festive twist to this story which gives a perfect picture of Victorian Christmas.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon in return for an honest review.

Hollis Honeycutt is fearful that she is being left behind–her sister and friend have both married and moved away, her father may soon be moving to the country, and Hollis is still stuck where she has always been, publishing her deceased husband’s gazette, and scandalizing society with her disregard for corsets and her insistence on joining clubs meant only for men.

Her life is soon to face a huge upheaval though when she meets the suspicious Marek Brendan, a man who holds himself apart from the rest of the crowd. Hollis’s curiosity about him will draw her out of mourning and into a love that could conquer anything–even a treasonous plot against the King.

A Princess by Christmas was, without a doubt, my favourite of the three books in the Royal Weddings series. Julia London’s writing is as beautiful and time appropriate as always but the characters in this one really sparkled–especially the widow Hollis. It was such a delight to finally get to properly know the younger sister we only got glimpses of before. She has shown herself to be a smart woman, but in this one she really comes into her own. You can really feel her encroaching loneliness and her fear that she is getting left behind. When she meets a kindred soul in Marek it is all to easy to see why the two would fall in love. This is definitely a slow burn romance, but it had some very sweet moments. I absolutely adored that they quoted Shakespeare to one another, that was utterly adorable.

I did like Marek, although perhaps not as much as Hollis. Whereas she is very open, and honest about her feelings, Marek, by nature of his past, is very closed off. Especially to begin with he makes it very difficult to know him properly, but it was very satisfying to learn more about him as he started to open up to Hollis.

The intrigue in this one was better than the other two as well. There was a genuine sense of danger in some parts, and a bit of sleuthing, although most of the fall out happened off page again. The mystery did take over parts of the story but I accepted that as part of Hollis’s insistence on finding out the truth.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the direction Julia London took with regards to Donovan. In previous novels its made to look as if Hollis and Donovan have feelings for one another–or, at least, that is what her friend and sister believe. I was a little worried we might have a love triangle forming, and was even a little discouraged when I found out about Marek being the love interest but I really did appreciate the way London handled the issue. It was very well done.

All in all, A Princess by Christmas, is a thoroughly enjoyable historical romance with just the right amount of mystery and intrigue and a sprinkle of festive spirit.

Historical romance with good,unusual characters. An enjoyable read ,not a typical hero and heroine. Twists and turns lead to a happy ending.

A Princess By Christmas is the third installment in the Royal Wedding series by Julia London. This one follows Hollis Honeysett (such a great character name 😍) she is widowed and is the gossip queen for the gazette that she runs. But, as a strong willed woman she wants to write about more serious stuff and get the news out there.

Enter Marek Brendan, he has a secret of his own that he has harboured all his life. Together he and Hollis make for a perfect team, working to discover the secrets behind the coup that surrounds the king.

What I loved about this story was how we were transported back to a time so different to now. I loved the cosy feeling there was to be had, as we delved into the lives of the characters we've grown to love through this trilogy.

A Princess At Christmas is a wonderful historical romance that ties up this trilogy beautifully.

⭐ I received a copy of the book via Netgalley. As part of a blog tour for Mills and Boon ⭐

This is the last instalment in an intriguing historical romance trilogy that makes readers dream of A Royal Wedding . . . Well, three. You see, it’s hard not to love each (Prince) book.

With political intrigue always at the centre of the scene, a slow-burn romance, and different characters ready to charm you in their own way, putting the book down proves to be challenging. Just like not feeling for Marek . . . His story is a touching one and, although he keeps his guard up at all times—better not let his secret slip, ever—a delicate matter kinda distracts him. At first, the acquaintance of Hollis Honeycutt looks like bad news, but she could actually be his stroke of luck. This fiery woman is interested in more than just gossip to write in her gazette, she has strong beliefs and quite a nose for mysteries. Indeed, she appears to be the key Marek didn’t know he was looking for. But what if he’s also a key, the one that unlocks her heart?

Wanna be a Princess by Christmas? Then grab this book, Julia London will make you feel like one.

A princess by Christmas
By Julia London
Pub date Oct 13 2020
Historical Romance
May contain Spoilers
I loved this book this is the third book in the series but can be read as stand alone. This book is a beautiful Christmas read I loved learning about the palace balls the dressers the food everything about palace life. How they dress the Christmas tree and the food they have on Christmas Day. Especially the plum pudding sound divine.
I love the writing styles the plot the twist the romance between Hollis and Marek. Hollis Honey sett works for the gazette newspaper and is a strong character she has a lovely romance with marek where the friendship blossom into a lovely romance. This is a beautiful story and marek has secrets of his own. I give this book five stars.

This was my first time reading a historical romance plus the first one I have read in this series (as this is book number 3 but can be read standalone) and I found it utterly charming!

I also need to point out that Hollis Honeycutt is one of the strongest female characters I’ve read about! This is set in 1847 London where as you can imagine, for that period women were not allowed to do everything that men did, but Hollis Honeycutt simply throws these rules right out the window and I loved that about her.

I love how she takes the London Gazette she writes for and decides to write what she wants which in this case is political news, despite the number of people telling her she can’t or shouldn’t. She’s a formidable character that does not back down on what she believes in!

It is a bit of a slow read, as in there isn’t much action or fast paced chapters but the author’s descriptions on the settings and outfits were so detailed that I felt like I was right there at the palace’s ball.

This is ultimately a love story mixed with a little mystery as Hollis is trying to figure out who the traitor is behind the potential coup. This is where she meets Marek who has a secret of his own. They have a very love/hate relationship to begin with and it’s lovely to see this blossom throughout.

Overall this is a beautifully written historical romance with a little mystery too. Oh and the epilogue was just perfect!

A princess by Christmas is the third book in A Royal Wedding series. I read the other books and I’ll be honest that I had a hit or miss experience but was so looking forward to this story and wasn’t disappointed at all. You don’t need to read the others as it can be read as a stand-alone but it’s nice to know a bit more of certain characters that make appearances.
A opinionated widow that won’t allow to be left aside in finding the truth and a hero that wants to protect his inheritance are a perfect match for this story. I really enjoyed their mix characters and interactions, all the what’s to come next and why not moments as well as the side characters.
Finding themselves in complicated situations adds more to the realisation of what ifs and the love story blooms within the pages.
It’s a great read that many lovers of historical romance will enjoy.

A Princess by Christmas is the third book in the A Royal Wedding series by Julia London. You don't need to read the other books first, but if you intend to read them then you really should read them in order.

Hollis Honeycutt has been a widow for 3 years. She loved her husband and although she has grieved for him she is starting to feel lonely and a little bored with life. She sees how happy her sister and best friend are since falling in love and marrying their soulmates who happen to be Princes, and it just emphasises how alone she is. That is until she meets Marek Brendan.

Marek is in London with the delegation meeting for peace talks between Wesloria and Alucia. He is an advisor to the Minister of Trade for Wesloria. He has heard rumours of treason against his country Wesloria and is secretly investigating. For him, there is more at stake than his country, his father's life could be at stake too. Unknown to anybody, including the King, he is Marek's father. He believes Marek to be dead after he was kidnapped when he was just a child.

Marek had never seen his father close up, so when he saw him at various social events during the peace talks he tended to stare. It was that odd behaviour that brought him to Hollis' attention. She too had heard rumours against the King and in her capacity, as owner and author of a Gazette, she is investigating those rumours and her chief suspect is Marek.

When she realises that she is entirely wrong in her assumptions she decides that she will help Marek with his investigations instead of going it alone. He isn't keen, but when Hollis wants something she generally gets it. So, is the king really in danger, are the trade talks being sabotaged or have Marek and Hollis got it totally wrong?

I enjoyed the suspense and intrigue in this story, why were the peace talks going so strangely, and why was the king not insisting that the plans he wanted for the trade talks between them be the ones adhered to, does he even know what is being arranged? Surely he did. He might be sick, but he wasn't dead. While all the machinations were going Hollis and Marek spent much time with each other and they couldn't help but feel attracted to each other. Their romance was a slow-burning one, but when they did give in to their lust that flame ignited like a flame thrower. They know they can't have a future together because he lives abroad and she is needed in London to help her closest friend Donovan, who used to work for her husband. Then of course there was her Gazette to think of.

I enjoyed Marek and Hollis' story, I wish perhaps that there was a little more romance between them and a little less of the political suspenseful side to the story. Sub characters were wonderful especially Donovan who is such a sweetheart. I hope one day he will have his own story and happy ever after. I enjoyed catching up with the characters from the other books too. I suggested earlier in the review that you read the first books in the series before this one because otherwise there will be major spoilers in this book. However you read them I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I did.

This is the third book in the series, but can be read as a standalone. Set during the reign of Queen Victoria. The book follows Eliza, Caroline and Hollis.

Such a beautiful, romantic, magical Christmas story. I loved being transported to this era. I loved the characters and found a real connection with them. A nice slow burn romance with a major will they or won't they storyline. I loved it. It was perfect escapism.

I loved this entertaining, charming, and well written Christmas read. Hollis and Marek are great characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me an advanced peek at this in exchange for an honest review.

I have read other Julia London books and enjoyed them but this one I could not get into. The plot was too complicated and it took too long with too many words to get into. I did not enjoy the characters as they were rather unexciting. I hate leaving a negative review but in all honesty I could not do otherwise.

Rich and detailed Christmas romance
4 stars

This is the third - and possibly final - book in the Royal Wedding series by Julia London. The series, set in Victorian London for the most part, follows Eliza, Caroline and now Hollis, as they find their matches and discover some intrigue, alongside some royalty from the warring European nations of Wesloria and Alucia. Despite this book probably being a standalone, it is so chock full of detail in and of itself, if you don’t have the background of the relationships and political intrigue from the first two books (The Princess Plan and A Royal Kiss and Tell) then you might be a wee bit confused. But do go back and read the first two books. The Princess Plan is especially delightful and I still have a soft spot for Eliza and Bas.

Okay, onto this book…

Our heroine, Hollis, is a widow and now also the sister of a future queen. While she has some modicum of independence due to her status, she’s also very overlooked by the royal set that her sister and friend now live in. She also feels herself standing still while feeling everyone around her - family and friends - are moving on, changing and leaving. As if that wasn’t enough, Hollis is also dealing with the guilt and grief of realising that she’s finally moving on from her husband.

Hollis in the previous books seemed quite stoic and sensible. In this book, we really get to know her. She’s feisty, flighty, smart and acts on her feelings. She’s also sweet, kind and loyal. I couldn’t help but cheer her on and wish her well.

Marek, as a hero, was perfection. He was tough, strong and silent - and yet he is so desperately in need of love and belonging. I wanted to hug him so hard. He was absolutely delightful. He was so baffled by Hollis - how she treated him, how she made him feel, and how she just ‘got’ him. They were a perfect pairing. It made my heart happy.

As you can imagine, Hollis has a lot to deal with - as did Marek - and, at times, it got quite emotional. If you feel any kind of parallels with what Hollis is going through you, like me, will find it quite emotive. Hell, you’ll be bawling like a baby as you read. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - it shows how good the author is at making her characters real - but, alongside other things in the book, it’ll leave you with an emotional hangover once the book is done.

Like the first two books, there’s also the political intrigue that both Marek and Hollis get involved in, bringing them closer together. The plotting wasn’t as intricate and convoluted as in the previous novels, but it was still fun and well thought out. I enjoyed it, especially the bribery using cakes - as I myself can be bribed using baked goods.

As I mentioned, Ms London provides such rich detail of the world of her stories, that you are immediately transported to Victorian London - and better yet, Victorian London at Christmas time. There are only a smattering of Americanisms to pull you from the story - “sidewalk” being the one I remembered most vividly. I also noted that same anachronism in the previous book in this series. Pavement. It’s pavement, dammit!

So the book is as rich as plum pudding in the detail, with wonderful characters who are made for each other and a hugely satisfying love story. We also get cameos from Eliza and Bas and a cute, mini-hea for Beck which I was 100% here for. So why didn’t I give the book 5 stars?

Firstly, all through the first 2 stories I was waiting for Hollis and Donovan’s love story. This was, as you can see, not Hollis and Donovan’s love story. And I was mad. Especially when during the first chapter of this story, Hollis declared that she got butterflies when looking at Donovan but it could never be. What do you mean it could never be? This is romance - anything can be! So until things progressed and were explained, I still had that residual madness - even if I loved Marek and Hollis as a couple.

The other reason is that one of the major themes in the book is finding where you belong in the world. Hollis, especially, worries about being left behind. So the fact that, at the end of the book, the family and friends are spread all over, well, it hurt my heart. I realise that compromise and making choices is part of life - but I don’t want to read about real life. I want ridiculous, fantastical conclusions. As it was, I had happy / saddish tears towards the end of the book. Just more to add to my emotional hangover!

This book was a joy to read. It gave me SO many feels and so much vivid detail that for a while I was transported to Victorian London, and into the lives of Hollis, Marek and their family and friends. It’s sad that this might be the end of the series, but I’ve hugely enjoyed the love, romance and political intrigue that this series has given me. 4 stars from me.

Hollis Honeycutt has written her London gazette since the death of her husband – featuring fashion plates, marriage advice, and the latest gossip in and around Mayfair. But now she feels her gazette should have more meaning, cover topics of more consequence than the latest curl cream.
The opportunity presents itself when Hollis overhears rumours of a potential coup in the Kingdom of Wesloria, a coup linked to the highest level of government in London. During her investigation Hollis spies a man with no business lurking around peace talks, and determines to expose him for the traitor he most certainly must be. When Weslorian Marek Brendan was fifteen he was shocked to discover his heritage was not what he believed – he was whisked away from the Weslorian palace when he was born because there was fear that corrupt forces would try and kidnap him.
This is the third book in the series & could easily be read on its own. I think this is my favourite of the series so far. A well written entertaining read, which flowed effortlessly. I really liked both Marek & Hollis, talk about chalk & cheese! It did take me some time to completely warm to the pair, no wonder Marek was so quiet around the chattering Hollis. One of things I did love was how Marek helped Hollis heal which I found to be touching & heart warming.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read