Book Review - A Ruff Royal Christmas by Karen Schaler

 The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: A Ruff Royal Christmas

Author: Karen Schaler

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Self Published

Publication Date: 30th September 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

Princess Ava’s perfectly planned Christmas Eve charity event erupts into chaos when she loses Stormy, the Queen’s mischievous new border collie. With Christmas fast approaching, Ava must team up with Justin, a laid-back American dog trainer who’s used to wrangling strays, not royal runaways.

Sparks fly as Justin's rule-breaking free spirit clashes with Ava's determination to follow royal protocol. But when their search for Stormy takes them through glittering Christmas markets, festive holiday activities, and snowy winter wonderlands, an undeniable chemistry builds between them.

The more time they spend together, the harder it is to fight their growing attraction. But Ava’s already promised to a duke. Will she stay on the safe, traditional path…or risk it all and follow her heart?

This feel-good royal holiday romance is a Christmas romantic comedy packed with humor, heart, and holiday spirit, and a royal secret that flips the script. Because the best love stories can't be planned, and they never follow the rules.

I devoured this book and read it in a few short hours.  I was hooked from the start, and as it progressed, it was basically unputdownable for me. 

It's a mix of small Eastern European royal family (with a Princess Diaries type of vibe for the country), with a rather chaotic border collie, a Queen who is a bit of a rebel and her daughter Princess Ava who is a stickler for rules and duty.   

When Ava manages to lose her mum's new dog Stormy when she is meant to be handing him over to dog trainer extraordinaire Justin. 

What follows is a race against time with Ava and Justin searching the kingdom for Stormy, with multiple sightings of him, various situations that lead to them really getting to know each other.  And for Ava she has to work out what to do for the best as she is meant to be getting engaged to Duke Henry. 

I absolutely adored getting to know Ava and Justin, in addition to the Queen. I loved the hidden parts of Ava's personality that the public knew nothing about.  I enjoyed seeing Justin overcome his fears in the pursuit of Stormy.  And I loved Justin's passion for dog training, and for matching the right dog with the right home. 

This is the first book that I have read by Karen Schaler and I am now delighted to have discovered her, as based on this, she is my sort of author. I definitely will need to keep an eye out for her future releases as I loved this one so so much.  I could see the story play out so clearly, and it would make for a fabulous Hallmark Christmas movie too. 

So so enjoyable and it totally chased my splitting headache away too while I was absorbed by this story.  Just a sheer delight to read. 

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.