For an American reader, the foreign country feels magical during the holiday season, and through Vivian we get to revel in the charms without suffering the chilly weather. openhearted joy in these new experiences invites the reader to appreciate the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of England with the delight of a newcomer. Each helps the other with an important decision, providing a key emotional insight when it’s most needed. Theirs is not so much a thrilling romance as a picture of effective communication and mutual understanding. The confrontations they do have are dealt with quickly and without escalation. The story lets two Black people engage in silly historical romantic tropes and simultaneously acknowledge why their Blackness means they would have never been able to engage in such practices in the past while also refusing to have that be a reason to limit the choices they are making in the present. What Royal Holiday gave me was an opportunity to not have to bend over backwards. It was a fun surprise to see hints of this double consciousness.

But, they also refuse to bound by that history. Both characters acknowledge that they are in a space that makes them more aware of their Blackness and, in particular, the former British empire’s own historical relationship to race and oppression. My joy was so palpable that I had coworkers asking me during my lunch break what I was reading because I don’t usually spend my lunch so lovingly enraptured by my cell phone. The Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory had me smiling from page one and kept me delighted all the way through.

The royal holiday jasmine guillory