Jenny Holiday

USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday follows A Princess for Christmas with another delightful contemporary Christmas romance between a playboy baron and a woman who has said goodbye to love. Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, is trapped. Under pressure from his domineering father, he must marry a suitable bride before he inherits a title that feels like a prison sentence. In New York to meet a prospective wife, he ditches his responsibilities and appears on Dani Martinez's doorstep. He's been intrigued by the no-nonsense professor since he met her at the Eldovian royal wedding and is determined to befriend her. Newly single Dani is done with love--she even has a list entitled "Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man"--which is why she hits it off with notorious rake Max. He's trying to escape relationships, and she's resolved to avoid them at all costs. All they want from each other is friendship and a distraction from their messy lives. As their bond begins to deepen, so does their attraction, until they end up in bed together. Falling in love was never part of the plan--Max's family doesn't see Dani as a perfect match, even as his heart tells him she's the one, and Dani isn't sure she can make it in Max's world. Can they find the courage to live they life they desire, even if it means risking everything?

A Novel

Duke, Actually

something i’ve realized about these little christmas romance books is the complete lack of diversity so i was happy to see one with a mexican FMC. this was cute, like i honestly actually liked it. when they would talk on the phone, i was strongly reminded of the scenes in when harry met sally where they would sit on the phone and talk about the movies on tv. i didn’t realize this was a series and was slightly confused in the beginning. but if you’re looking for an easy christmas romance books with heavy mentions of patrick swayze, this will hit the spot.

big ab

USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday follows A Princess for Christmas with another delightful contemporary Christmas romance between a playboy baron and a woman who has said goodbye to love. Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, is trapped. Under pressure from his domineering father, he must marry a suitable bride before he inherits a title that feels like a prison sentence. In New York to meet a prospective wife, he ditches his responsibilities and appears on Dani Martinez’s doorstep. He’s been intrigued by the no-nonsense professor since he met her at the Eldovian royal wedding and is determined to befriend her. Newly single Dani is done with love—she even has a list entitled “Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man”—which is why she hits it off with notorious rake Max. He’s trying to escape relationships, and she’s resolved to avoid them at all costs. All they want from each other is friendship and a distraction from their messy lives. As their bond begins to deepen, so does their attraction, until they end up in bed together. Falling in love was never part of the plan—Max’s family doesn’t see Dani as a perfect match, even as his heart tells him she’s the one, and Dani isn’t sure she can make it in Max’s world. Can they find the courage to live they life they desire, even if it means risking everything?

This was such a cute book and definitely a good way to get into the holiday spirit. Will you give you royal vibes without getting too involved in it. Loved the main character and the banter between her and Max was really endearing. 

It’s a slow burn, but not in a dragged out way. Spicy scenes were good, but not as plenty as I’d like. 

This was such a cute book and definitely a good way to get into the holiday spirit. Will you give you royal vibes without getting too involved in it. Loved the main character and the banter between her and Max was really endearing. 

🌶️ 🌶️/5

It’s a slow burn, but not in a dragged out way. Spicy scenes were good, but not as plenty as I’d like. 

Okay this was SUCH a pleasant surprise! I absolutely loved Dani! She’s smart, independent and driven and I instantly wanted her to have everything in life. She may be “post men” but that doesn’t mean Jack when her relationship with Max slowly (and I mean slooooooowly) evolves into something more. It felt so natural and realistic given the circumstances. The banter was on point and felt personalized to the characters, which made me love their relationship even more. I absolutely loved it. 

I can’t wait to read the last book in the series! 

Kathryn

”At Christmas you tell the truth.”

Okay this was SUCH a pleasant surprise! I absolutely loved Dani! She’s smart, independent and driven and I instantly wanted her to have everything in life. She may be “post men” but that doesn’t mean Jack when her relationship with Max slowly (and I mean slooooooowly) evolves into something more. It felt so natural and realistic given the circumstances. The banter was on point and felt personalized to the characters, which made me love their relationship even more. I absolutely loved it. 

I can’t wait to read the last book in the series! 

4.25/5 ⭐️

grayson wroe

actual rating: 3.75 ⭐️! really cute and i liked all of the characters (which doesn’t happen often). i think i would’ve enjoyed it more if i read the first book in the series bc it was a little hard to follow the story at the start when i knew that the characters have an established history already. but! i liked it and it was very cute and a great friends to lovers story!

marie

Nikki

sorry i kept imagining rege-jean page as max instead of a white man

Maggie K

17+
3.5 STARS 
1 SPICE 

This book was an ARC I received through NetGalley

So when I first started reading this book, I was very confused. The relationship between the characters was established that they knew each other. Which makes sense when you find out this is the second book in the series. I would recommend that those who want to read this book, the first one "A Princess for Christmas" This book isn't marketed as the second book in the series on Goodreads If it was and I had read the first book. I feel as though the relationship would have been more impactful. 

Now, once I got into the story. I think that it has some very strong elements. The development of the characters' friendship over the year was great and the tension built was great. I think that it is a cute contemporary romance that will definitely be fun to read in the wintertime.

This book focuses more on the romance and development of the friendship of the characters. I think that for those who are looking for the more spicy contemp romances. This isn't the book for you. This has a couple of scenes but not too much detail. If that is what you are looking for, then this will be the perfect book for you.

Caitlyn Hagen

This book was a great way to start the season. 

I liked Dani. She was a lot of fun, I liked how she grew from her divorce into the new relationship and decotion to Max Minimus, but Max Maximus is really the star of this book for me. He was a good friend, he understood boundaries, he didn't do anything too stupid.

Also a European prince that isn't "British" was cool. He was more German which was fun. 

I really enjoyed this one and will grab the first book in the series and the next one.

Aundreya Rich

Things to make Aundreya fall in love with a book:
-christmas theme
-New York City
-made up kingdom that reminds me of Princess Diaries
-arrogant playboy Duke
-a slow burn friends to lovers romance
-scene that make me smile so big my face hurts.


If you love those things too this one is for you.

Duke, Actually for me is a must read this holiday season... I promise you won't regret it.


Rating:
story-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
characters-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
steam- ever made a frozen pizza? You know when it says 15-18 minutes and the entire time its still cold and looks frozen and then the last minutes all of the sudden it's crispy and burnt? That's my analogy for this book. Enjoy the last 10 pages 😂

Song- Swings by carwash

Tatiana Alvarez 

I so enjoyed this book! It was a great follow up to A Princess for Christmas. Two of my favorite characters from book one are main characters in this book. Daniella and Max are the stars in Duke, Actually and between them, an unlikely friendship begin to form.

Daniella is still waiting on her divorce to finalize and Max is doing all he can to avoid taking on the responsibility of being a Duke, something he never wanted. They seek solace in each other. Soon their friendship turns into more, but friends with benefits doesn't seem fitting. Both are harboring deeper feelings but too afraid to admit it.

Such a cute, feel good book with spice! Absolutely loved reading it.

Alli

Such a cute romance story! Max and Dani build the sweetest friendship which, as the reader we can see immediately, is so much more than that. I loved seeing their friendship grow throughout the book, and the "tension" between the two of them -omg-. I was loving the whole ride of this book up to the end. The ending felt a little rushed to me. I felt like it became a bit anticlimactic due to some weird moments between the main characters. Like, they grew together so much just to be derailed by some miscommunication. 

Other than the ending being a bit of a letdown, my only other negative consideration was the pacing overall. A very large time lapse happens over the course of the whole novel, but it feels weird. To me it felt like no time had passed because there were no indications of time progressing. Outside of that, these two characters were a delight to follow, and this was such a sweet romantic comedy with plenty of great banter!

Amy Grieve

Imagine a much better hallmark-esque romcom about a really nice Duke and an English professor who does not want to get her heart broken again, then add in some friends to lovers with a cute little yorkshire terrier. I mean if you’re looking for something to make you feel warm this time of year I would point you in the direction of this book.

Simone Rhodes

Where can I meet an almost Duke from a made up European country to sweep me off my feet? 

After meeting the characters in the first book of the series I was much more excited to read their love story since they seem to have more personality. I want to note that although I rated both books the same I enjoyed this one inherently more. 

Max Maximus and Max Minimus were my fave characters in this book with Maximus leading my heart. I enjoyed how his character developed throughout the story. He is so witty, cute and such a hopeless romantic if I’m being honest which is the opposite of the playboy persona he supposedly showcases in public. Ironically, I never got any proof of that and his interaction with people and inside thoughts never gave me that idea either so this was hard to believe. 

This is a slow burn friends to lovers romance and as with the prior book I recommend the audiobook format because the book drags and is boring without it. However, hearing an accent for the Duke was actually nice and brought out his personality more to my imagination. Dani was a bit annoying for my liking but overall she didn’t diminish my enjoyment. This book has some familial tensions and I literally cackled at the resolution because it was abrupt and unexpected. The romance in the third act leans into the miscommunication trope but not exactly for the lack of trying and failing to communicate from one of the characters perspective. Overall a fun read with audio.

Laura Webster

This was another cute Christmas read! I enjoyed the relationship of Max and Dani, and I loved following their story! It was just a quick easy Christmas read!

Duke, Actually A Novel

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