The confrontations they do have are dealt with quickly and without escalation. The story lets two Black people engage in silly historical romantic tropes and simultaneously acknowledge why their Blackness means they would have never been able to engage in such practices in the past while also refusing to have that be a reason to limit the choices they are making in the present. What Royal Holiday gave me was an opportunity to not have to bend over backwards. It was a fun surprise to see hints of this double consciousness. But, they also refuse to bound by that history. Both characters acknowledge that they are in a space that makes them more aware of their Blackness and, in particular, the former British empire’s own historical relationship to race and oppression. My joy was so palpable that I had coworkers asking me during my lunch break what I was reading because I don’t usually spend my lunch so lovingly enraptured by my cell phone. The Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory had me smiling from page one and kept me delighted all the way through.
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