Title: A Princess for Christmas (A Princess for Christmas #1)

Author: Jenny Holiday

Publisher: Avon 2020

Genre: Romance

Pages: 396

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Leo Ricci's already handling all he can, between taking care of his little sister Gabby, driving a cab, and being the super of his apartment building in the Bronx. But when Gabby spots a "princess" in a gown outside of the UN trying to hail a cab, she begs her brother to stop and help. Before he knows it, he's got a real-life damsel in distress in the backseat of his car. 

Princess Marie of Eldovia shouldn't be hailing a cab, or even be out and about. But after her mother’s death, her father has plunged into a devastating depression and the fate of her small Alpine country has fallen on Marie’s shoulders. She’s taken aback by the gruff but devastatingly handsome driver who shows her more kindness than she’s seen in a long time.  

When Marie asks Leo to be her driver for the rest of her trip, he agrees, thinking he’ll squire a rich miss around for a while and make more money than he has in months. He doesn’t expect to like and start longing for the unpredictable Marie. And when he and Gabby end up in Eldovia for Christmas, he discovers the princess who is all wrong for him is also the woman who is his perfect match.

Perfectly decent little Christmas story, but not my favorite. This one is definitely a Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movie in book form, but with some slightly explicit scenes. Really those scenes annoyed me the most. I was fully onboard with a princess of a made-up country falling for a Bronx guy scenario complete with chaste kisses in the snow and maybe a slightly heated embrace. With this story, we get some random sexual encounters that feel very high school in their tone and description. I wasn’t a fan of the dirty talk aspect as it felt very immature in this case. (If done well, I don’t mind dirty talk at all. See my enjoyment of many eroitca stories.) Something about Leo and Marie’s relationship felt slightly off to me. But I am intrigued by Max and want to read his and Dani’s story.

Next up on the TBR pile: