I was in the mood for a fun, sexy holiday romance between two charismatic leads & this book did not disappoint! To quote the hero Max, it was a "goddamn delight!"

Max von Hansburg, Baron of Lauden, travels all the way from his home near Eldovia (a fake kingdom from Holiday's previous book in this series, A Princess for Christmas) to meet up with his best friend Marie's fiancée’s best friend, Dani Martinez. Dani, an English professor in NYC, has been dumped by her husband for a much younger women who used to be his student and wants to show up at the university holiday party with a hot, debonair almost-Duke on her arm. This party leads to a friendship between Dani and Max, that eventually takes them to Eldovia for the Christmas wedding of their respective best friends.

To say Dani and Max have fun banter is an understatement. What's even better, behind the jokes "real" issues are addressed. Max's public persona as the "Depraved Duke" or "man-whore" (why, indeed, Dani, do we have to qualify that word with "man" when referencing an actual man's sexual activities?). Dani's repressing of her dreams for her domineering almost-ex. Max's tense family life and his parents' insistence on an arranged marriage. There are plenty of fun holiday nods (The Nutcracker in NYC! Snow angel making in Central Park!), including homages to my favorite movie of all time, Love, Actually. I expected to enjoy this because of the title, but I was pleasantly surprised by the real vulnerabilities expressed by the main characters and how they worked with the support of each other to find their HEA together & as individuals.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @Avonbooks for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!