A review by sandiet
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

4.0

I went into this thinking it would be a fluffy 2-3 * read for the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to find it showcased important topics like job security, self-care, true happiness, family relations and most importantly finding love in your later years. I really appreciated that the couple in this novel were Black and over the age of 50 (we need more stories like this). Ms. Guillory touched on a subject a lot of women I'm sure ask themselves, I know I personally have thought about it. Vivian, the main character in the book wants to spend some time (have sex) with Malcolm and in her words "...it had been drilled into her head that nice girls didn't talk about sex, didn't want sex, didn't even like sex. As much as she'd rejected those ideas once she'd gotten older, and had tried very hard not to pass those messages along to her daughter, it was hard to fight something she'd internalized so many years ago”
You see Vivian's only in England for a week, convinced by her daughter to join her on a last minute trip. A vacation fling most likely goes against everything she's been raised to do! I could see myself struggling with that decision too.
This is a good bookclub read and while the discussion questions at the end of the book are a bit soft, they're a good starting point. All in all an entertaining read.