Welcome to the book blitz for A ROYAL CHRISTMAS QUANDARY, a standalone young adult historical holiday romance, by Samantha Hastings. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
A ROYAL CHRISTMAS QUANDARY by Samantha Hastings
About the Book
Title: A ROYAL CHRISTMAS QUANDARY
Author: Samantha Hastings
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Historical Holiday Romance
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
Synopsis
Readers looking for a light, fun read full of holiday mischief will be delighted by Samantha Hastings’ A Royal Christmas Quandary, perfect for fans of A Christmas Prince.
When you spend Christmas in a castle, anything is possible.
1860. Lady Alexandrina Gailey is looking forward to a cozy holiday at Windsor Castle with her best friend, Princess Alice, and her long-time crush, Lord George Worthington. But Drina’s plans are all but dashed when Alice’s parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, declare that Alice must choose one of two royal princes to become engaged to before Christmas.
There’s just one problem: George, a junior member of the Foreign Office, has accidentally misplaced one of the princes.
Together, Drina and George scour the town of Windsor for the missing prince, desperately hoping to deliver him to the royal dinner party with the queen none the wiser. They might just need a royal Christmas miracle to pull it off.
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Exclusive Excerpt #3
Princess Alice was nearly a head shorter, so Drina hugged her friend’s shoulders and Alice hugged her waist. Drina released her friend and stepped back. Alice’s hair was brown and her blue eyes were the most prominent feature in her face—they were arresting in their earnestness. Her sharp features, paired with her air of intelligence, never ceased to attract attention. And her quiet dignity and poise were the envy of many a young lady.
“Did you get lost on the way to the room that you’ve stayed in over a dozen times?” Alice asked.
Drina shrugged her shoulders. “Not exactly.”
Alice folded her arms across her large chest and sighed. “Not again.”
“What?”
The princess only said one word, but she said it with contempt: “George.”
Drina felt the heat rising to her face as she stammered, “H-h-he needed my help.”
“With what?” Alice asked. Her large, slightly protruding Hanoverian eyes didn’t miss anything.
“His father put him in charge of my cousin, Prince Friedrich, and he couldn’t understand what he was saying.”
“I thought your cousin spoke English very well.”
“He does,” she said, starting to giggle. “George was playing errand boy for his valet.”
If royal princesses could snort, Alice certainly did, before laughing so hard that she cried. Drina laughed, too, and dabbed at her own tears with a handkerchief. It was several moments before they both could control their giggles.
Alice finally stopped laughing, holding a stitch in her side. “Then where is Prince Friedrich?”
Drina’s smile faded. Prince Friedrich had been invited to Windsor Castle as a possible suitor to Princess Alice, along with Prince Louis of Hesse. Drina contemplated making an excuse for her errant cousin, but she didn’t wish to deceive her dearest friend.
“He’s not here,” she said at last. “His valet said he went to the village to drink English beer.”
“Not a very promising start,” Alice huffed in annoyance. “I don’t want a drunkard for a husband.”
“What about Prince Louis?” Drina asked with a fake smile. “This is his second visit, isn’t it? I remember he came with his brother to see the Ascot races in June, and I thought him excessively handsome then.”
“He is very handsome,” Alice admitted with a sigh. “But I don’t feel like I know him at all. I feel true companionship is an impossibility for us—our interests are so different. I don’t think our thoughts will ever meet.”
“Oh,” Drina said, not knowing what else to say. Few people in the world were as clever as Alice; she was a polymath and gifted with languages. “Our thoughts don’t always align and yet we’re the best of friends. Do you remember the first time we met? You’d escaped from your governess and we played hide-and-seek in the chapel.”
She laughed at the memory and Alice even managed a small smile.
“That particular bit of mischief was your idea,” Alice pointed out.
Drina giggled again. “And then you told your mother that we’d only gone into the chapel to sit among the common people so that you could understand their point of view.”
Reluctantly, Alice laughed, too. “I spared us both a strict punishment with that mistruth.”
“It was a bald-faced lie and you know it!” Drina said, and gave her friend a playful shove on the arm. “Maybe you should play hide-and-seek with Prince Louis.”
Her friend blushed rosily. “You know that none of the royal children are allowed to be alone.”
“Your father’s rule, or Baron Stockmar’s?”
“Baron Stockmar thinks Prince Louis shows a decided partiality for me,” Alice said in a flat voice. “Or at least in my family and fortune.”
“Perhaps you just need to get to know him better,” Drina said hopefully.
“Perhaps.” Alice turned away from her as she added, “My parents want me to pick a royal prince by Christmas.”
“But that is only a week away!”
“I know,” Alice said, still not looking at her. “But I’ve received royal suitors the entire year. And my sister was engaged at fourteen and married at seventeen. I suppose I should be happy that I only have to be engaged by seventeen.”
Drina wanted to say something comforting, but she didn’t know what. Instead she put her hands on her friend’s shoulders and gave her a backward embrace, hoping that her friend could feel her love and support through it. They stood there silently for a time before Alice turned and pointed to the crimson dress laid out on the bed. “My mother would never let me wear such a revealing dress,” she said in a teasing voice.
“My mother selected it,” Drina said with a wink. “I’m supposed to catch a husband in it.”
“Oh dear, I don’t think there’s enough material here for two people,” Alice said, and they both laughed.
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Author Samantha Hastings
About the Author
Samantha Hastings has degrees from Brigham Young University, the University of Reading (Berkshire, England), and the University of North Texas. She met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, eating popcorn, and chasing her kids. She is the author of THE LAST WORD, THE INVENTION OF SOPHIE CARTER, and A ROYAL CHRISTMAS QUANDARY.
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Where to find Samantha Hastings
Goodreads | Website | Facebook | Twitter
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Giveaway
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