Publishers Weekly
08/31/2020
Opposites attract in this thoroughly charming Christmas romance from Holiday (Mermaid Inn). When architecture student Leo Ricci’s parents died, he dropped out of college to take over raising his 11-year-old sister, Gabby, supporting them both with a job as a taxi driver and as the on-site super of their Bronx apartment building. He meets Princess Marie of Eldovia when she commandeers his off-duty cab, desperate to get to an important diplomatic party. Gabby, riding shotgun, persuades Leo to take pity on the plucky princess and chauffeur her to her destination, leading Marie to hire Leo as her personal driver while she’s in town. Leo doesn’t expect to like Marie, but he soon learns that underneath her posh exterior is a sweet, vulnerable woman. The unlikely pair grow close, leading Marie to invite Leo and Gabby to spend Christmas in Eldovia. The snappy prose, charming atmosphere, and Hallmark movie–style plot combine to create a delightful romance, underpinned by strong supporting characters. This Christmas treat, with its intoxicating blend of heat and sweet, is a winner. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"A Princess for Christmas is a confection of a holiday plot with more steam than a perfect cup of hot cocoa. Given her surname, Holiday was virtually obligated to write a book like this — and she delivers with a sexy, sugary delight full of her signature delectable banter." — Entertainment Weekly
“A modern fairy tale that’s perfect for reading with a warm cup of cocoa” — USA Today Yes Shopper
"In this enchanting story infused with humor, honesty, and heat, Jenny Holiday will make you fall in love with fairy tales all over again." — Kelly Bowen
"Jenny Holiday has crafted a smart, sexy, hilarious Christmas rom-com that made me laugh, cry, and then sigh with pure contentment. A Princess for Christmas is the perfect holiday treat that readers will want to curl up with and read over and over again." — Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of Paris is Always a Good Idea
"Opposites attract in this thoroughly charming Christmas romance from Holiday. The snappy prose, charming atmosphere, and Hallmark movie–style plot combine to create a delightful romance, underpinned by strong supporting characters. This Christmas treat, with its intoxicating blend of heat and sweet, is a winner." — Publishers Weekly
"RITA-nominated Holiday deftly mixes a dash of Hallmark-style holiday movie magic with the fairy-tale charm of Roman Holiday and then deftly layers in her own brand of sensuality and wit to create the perfect Christmas romance." — Booklist
"Holiday has written a Christmas love story that fizzes with the magic of the holidays while grounding it in two families working through their own heartache and sorrow. With two more books slated to follow, this series should captivate readers who are looking for their Hallmark holiday movies to contain a little more sauce." — Library Journal
"The novel is charming and self-aware and successfully plays with the conventions of the “commoner falling in love with royalty” script. Sizzling chemistry and witty banter elevate a common Christmas romance premise into a royally entertaining fairy tale. — Kirkus Reviews
“If you can’t get enough of the royals... read A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday.” — She Reads
"A perfect combination of sweet and sexy moments makes A Princess for Christmas an unputdownable read!" — Mia Sosa, USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man
"A delight! A Princess for Christmas is warm, cozy, hopeful, and so funny! A charming opposites attract romance between a Princess and a cab driver, but what really shines here is Jenny Holiday's magical touch in creating deep, realistic characters who learn that anything is possible." — Farah Heron, author of The Chai Factor
"A Princess for Christmas is—in all the best ways—a Hallmark Christmas movie with the heat dial nudged deliciously higher. Loaded with wry humor, warmth, and just enough bittersweet emotion... I loved it." — Olivia Dade, author of Spoiler Alert
“For those obsessed with The Princess Switch: Switched Again, spend a little time with this modern day fairytale about a gritty New Yorker who falls for a princess from Eldovia. In the words of another New Yorker, Liz Lemon, ‘I want to go to there.’” — Refinery 29
Jenn McKinlay
"Jenny Holiday has crafted a smart, sexy, hilarious Christmas rom-com that made me laugh, cry, and then sigh with pure contentment. A Princess for Christmas is the perfect holiday treat that readers will want to curl up with and read over and over again."
Mia Sosa
"A perfect combination of sweet and sexy moments makes A Princess for Christmas an unputdownable read!"
Kelly Bowen
"In this enchanting story infused with humor, honesty, and heat, Jenny Holiday will make you fall in love with fairy tales all over again."
She Reads
If you can’t get enough of the royals... read A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday.
Entertainment Weekly
"A Princess for Christmas is a confection of a holiday plot with more steam than a perfect cup of hot cocoa. Given her surname, Holiday was virtually obligated to write a book like this — and she delivers with a sexy, sugary delight full of her signature delectable banter."
Booklist
"RITA-nominated Holiday deftly mixes a dash of Hallmark-style holiday movie magic with the fairy-tale charm of Roman Holiday and then deftly layers in her own brand of sensuality and wit to create the perfect Christmas romance."
USA Today Yes Shopper
A modern fairy tale that’s perfect for reading with a warm cup of cocoa
Booklist
"RITA-nominated Holiday deftly mixes a dash of Hallmark-style holiday movie magic with the fairy-tale charm of Roman Holiday and then deftly layers in her own brand of sensuality and wit to create the perfect Christmas romance."
Olivia Dade
"A Princess for Christmas is—in all the best ways—a Hallmark Christmas movie with the heat dial nudged deliciously higher. Loaded with wry humor, warmth, and just enough bittersweet emotion... I loved it."
Refinery 29
For those obsessed with The Princess Switch: Switched Again, spend a little time with this modern day fairytale about a gritty New Yorker who falls for a princess from Eldovia. In the words of another New Yorker, Liz Lemon, ‘I want to go to there.’
Farah Heron
"A delight! A Princess for Christmas is warm, cozy, hopeful, and so funny! A charming opposites attract romance between a Princess and a cab driver, but what really shines here is Jenny Holiday's magical touch in creating deep, realistic characters who learn that anything is possible."
Lauren Layne
Delightfully sexy and sweet, Holiday knows how to deliver the perfect combination of sexual tension and happily-ever-after.
Library Journal
10/09/2020
Princess Marie of Eldovia and New Yorker Leo Ricci are both trying to keep their lives together in the face of loss and grief. Marie is working to save the economy of her small Alpine country and to have her visions for the future be taken seriously. Leo, caring for his kid sister, Gabby, is holding down two jobs as a cab driver and a building super in the Bronx. When their paths cross, thanks to Gabby's insistence that Leo pick up the "princess" hailing a cab outside the UN, Marie asks Leo to be her chauffeur while she's in New York. As the two move about the city together, they start to relax and grow closer, and Marie, who finds the connection with Leo so different from her normal interactions, spontaneously invites Leo and Gabby back to Eldovia for Christmas. Thought the Hallmark-esque country in the middle of the Alps is a perfect setting to fall in love, the cab driver and princess don't have an easy time of getting to know each other. VERDICT Holiday ("Matchmaker Bay" series) has written a Christmas love story that fizzes with the magic of the holidays while grounding it in two families working through their own heartache and sorrow. With two more books slated to follow, this series should captivate readers who are looking for their Hallmark holiday movies to contain a little more sauce.—Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash
Kirkus Reviews
2020-07-29
A New York taxi driver picks up a European princess in desperate need of a lift.
Leo Ricci is a young man of 25 with a heavy burden: He became the guardian of his 11-year-old sister, Gabby, after their parents died in a tragic car accident. Leo holds down several jobs in order to make ends meet, including driving a friend’s cab. One day, while he's driving Gabby home from school, they see a beautiful woman in a ball gown trying to hail a cab outside the United Nations, and Gabby insists they pick her up. Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Eldovia is in New York determined to kick-start political and economic changes that will improve life in her small European country. Marie appreciates Leo’s charming combination of old-fashioned charm and gentle teasing—he’s the only person who treats her like a woman, not a princess. She hires him to be her driver for the rest of her visit, and both try to resist the powerful attraction they feel. When her trip comes to an end, she impulsively invites Leo and Gabby to Eldovia for Christmas. Holiday is clearly aiming at readers who enjoy Hallmark Christmas movies, which often feature sweet, everyday characters thrust into extraordinary love affairs with royalty. There is depth and nuance in Leo and Marie’s romance despite their vast differences in wealth and status. Marie and Leo are both determined to live with dignity and strive to achieve their individual goals. The novel is charming and self-aware and successfully plays with the conventions of the “commoner falling in love with royalty” script.
Sizzling chemistry and witty banter elevate a common Christmas romance premise into a royally entertaining fairy tale.
