Rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Premiere Date: October 18, 2025
Description: Overwhelmed by royal duties during the Christmas season, Princess Victoria of Zelarnia (Fiona Gubelmann) escapes to Peaceful Pines Ranch in Montana—the site of cherished childhood memories with her late father. There she meets Huntley Blaylock (Warren Christie), a rugged ranch guide who’s figuring out if he wants to take over the family business as his parents approach retirement. Not realizing she’s royalty, Huntley puts Victoria through the wringer of small-town ranch life while she helps him plan the Holly-Day Dance. But as Christmas nears, secrets surface, feelings deepen, and both must decide if love can bridge the gap between palace and pasture.
Chemistry: Surprisingly solid! Christie’s easy charm and broody nature gave the romance a nice slow burn. Gubelmann played the wide-eyed princess convincingly—even if it occasionally tipped into caricature territory. Still, their connection worked.
Plot: The setup isn’t exactly groundbreaking—royal-on-holiday stories are a tough sell when “getting in touch with oneself” looks like a five-star Montana retreat—but it delivered what it promised. No twists, no turns, but comfortably predictable in a way that’ll make you smile and sigh at the same time.
Design: Pretty good—definitely above average here. The snow looked real (and if it wasn’t, bravo to the effects team). To be fair, I was watching this on a phone during a power outage, but even through that lens, everything looked festive and well-framed.
Overall: Gubelmann’s accent occasionally wandered, and Christie’s character came in hot with the flirting for someone who’d just met a guest 24 hours ago. Still, once the sparks started flying, it all settled nicely. Bonus points for skipping the tired “she lied about being a princess” meltdown—Victoria came clean early, sparing us the usual royal guilt montage.
Best Enjoyed With: A mug of hot cocoa, flannel pajamas, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing the cowboy fell for the princess before he found out about the crown.
Holiday Movie Wrap 