A magical holiday love story set at the glamorous Plaza Hotel in New York City.
It’s Christmas week when 26-year-old Sabrina Post knocks on the door of the Vanderbilt suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, ready to accept the ghostwriting position for the memoir of Grayson Westcott—a famous art dealer.
A struggling journalist, Sabrina can’t believe her luck: a paycheck and six nights in her own suite at the Plaza. She feels like Eloise, the heroine from her favorite children’s books. To make the job even more exciting, Grayson recounts how he worked as a butler at the Plaza sixty years ago for none other than the author of the Eloise books, Kay Thompson.
What promises to be a perfect week is complicated when Sabrina meets Ian Wentworth, a handsome British visitor, at the hotel bar. When Ian assumes Sabrina is another wealthy guest at the hotel, she doesn’t correct him —a decision she doesn’t regret after learning that Ian is a member of the British aristocracy. But, things are not what they seem. The truth is: Ian is not a wealthy lord; he’s actually the personal secretary of Lord Spencer Braxton.
As the week unfolds, will Sabrina and Ian learn the truth about one another?
Title: A Magical New York Christmas
Series:
Author: Anita Hughes
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: September 28, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
My Rating: 4 stars
A Magical New York Christmas takes place in and around the glamorous Plaza Hotel with all of its rich histories during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. There is a split timeline between the modern-day romance between Sabrina and Ian as well as Grayson’s life (the man Sabrina is ghostwriting for) and his encounters in the past. The timelines melded well, I certainly knew where I was but by the story’s ending, there are lots of lovely connections to be discovered as well.
I adored the minute descriptions of all parts of the Plaza Hotel which really brought this gem of New York into the story as almost another character. I’ve never been there, but I now feel like I have been from the descriptions of the hotel and the surrounding area.
Most of what you’d want to know before picking this one up can be found in the Cover Description. While I enjoyed the romance that bloomed from the misunderstanding reality between Ian and Sabrina, I do feel (for my own enjoyment) that the lie went on, and on, a bit too long. Some people can forgive that type of “misunderstanding” when it’s cleared up rather quickly – others will be hurt beyond going back for forgiveness, in my own opinion.
Nonetheless, the sparks between this couple and the loving memories of the past made this a book that I didn’t want to put down for long. So, read it for the romance or read it for the history of a famous location – but read it, I’m certain you’ll enjoy the experience.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
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