Once Upon a Royal Christmas - Teri Wilson (Hallmark - Nov 2022)

She pretends to be a princess at children’s parties.
 
But can she melt a real prince’s frosty heart?
 
“I’m Prince Nicolas of San Glacera. Oh, you’ve never heard of us? Well, you’re not the only one. Our country relies on winter tourism, but we’re attracting fewer and fewer visitors. I admit it’s a problem. I don’t think the solution is an American who likes to dress up.
 
You see, while I was away on a trip to honor our military, the palace talked my family into holding a contest. The winner gets to play a character in our annual Ice Village festivities and accompany our royal family to holiday events.
 
And did they at least choose an accomplished actor? Hardly. Gracie Clark runs a children’s party business and performs as—I kid you not—‘Princess Snowflake.’
 
Of course, I do respect the fact that she volunteers at children’s hospitals. I suppose to some, she might have a certain charm... But the whole cheap spectacle is beneath our dignity.
 
I’m not going to shirk my duty to my kingdom. I’ll go to every event with her. At least, once Christmas is over, she’ll be gone…”
 
This was a fun, festive, and heartwarming Christmas story. Gracie runs a business where she and others dress up as princesses for children's parties and hospital visits. She is anxious to expand her business and give her employees the benefits she feels they deserve. Unfortunately, getting a bank loan has proved to be impossible. So her cousin and business partner, Clara, enters her into a contest with the royal family of San Glacera. The winner gets $30,000 and spends a week with the royal family during their Christmas festival. Gracie has no confidence that she will win and is stunned when she does.
 
Meanwhile, in San Glacera, Prince Nicolas is not happy that they will be entertaining "Princess Snowflake." He agrees that their winter tourism needs help but thinks Gracie is not the way to do it. Nick has the reputation of being a grump, thanks to an old girlfriend, and has done nothing to disabuse people of it. His initial impression is that of a humorless stick-in-the-mud, and only his sister Emilie can get past it.
 
I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Nick and Gracie develop. Neither knows who the other is when they first meet, and they hit it off. I loved seeing Nick show Gracie around the Christmas Village and how he saw things through her eyes. The blinders come off later that evening, and Nick behaves like a complete jerk. Each is furious as their preconceived ideas about each other appear to be correct. But a commitment is a commitment, and both agree to follow the program set out for them. For the first event or two, Nick and Gracie are stiff and uncomfortable together. Then Nick realizes that his people have taken her to their hearts, and he starts to see the warm-hearted woman beneath the over-the-top princess dress and tiara. Gracie soon sees that Nick's icy exterior hides a soft heart and deep love for his country and its people.
 
I enjoyed every event that Nick and Gracie did together. Each one was described so vividly that I felt as though I was there with them. Nick warmed my heart with the candy cane scene and won it entirely with their time at the animal shelter. Gracie made me laugh out loud during the snowball fight, and I loved how she helped Nick lighten up and learn to have fun. They also worked together to help the visiting princess with her puppy problem. All the time they spent together getting to know each other contributed to the feelings growing between them. But Nick is an actual prince, and Gracie is a pretend princess, and both are wary of expressing those feelings.
 
I ached for Nick because he was so caught up in his responsibilities as a prince that he'd forgotten how to live until he met Gracie. It takes a kick in the pants from his dad and his sister to make him realize what he has to lose. Gracie believes there is no way for them to be together and is ready to take her broken heart home. I loved the surprise he arranged for her and how it made her feel. The biggest event of her time in San Glacera is on Christmas Eve, and she is very nervous about it. I loved how her time with Nick gave her the confidence to overcome those nerves. I loved that scene and seeing Nick pull off the biggest surprise of all. The epilogue was the perfect wrap-up.