Reading-Nov 27, 2024

Books to Read This Holiday Season

When the holidays roll around, I always love to dive into a holiday rom-com or two to get me in the festive spirit, so I’m sharing all of my favorites with you below!

By Teresa Caruso

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When the holidays roll around, I always love to dive into a holiday rom-com or two to get me in the festive spirit, so I’m sharing all of my favorites with you below! If you’re a fan of romantic holiday movies you’ll love these books that are quick, festive, and easy reads. Grab a cup of cocoa or cider, curl up on the couch, and enjoy!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Gives all of the same vibes as the movie Knives Out with a holiday rom-com twist!

Maggie and Ethan both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, who turns out to be the most powerful author in the world, Eleanor Ashley. When Eleanor vanishes from a locked room, the two come together to discover what happened to her… and get closer in the process.

A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

The author who gave us a Merry Little Meet Cute (on my holiday book list last year) brings us a new spicy holiday rom-com!

Sunny Palmer returns to the source of her inspiration in Christmas Notch, Vermont to write a new screenplay and immerses herself in the local Christmas miracle on which her past fever dream of a movie pitch was based. She meets former boy band heartthrob Issac Kelly when their best friends’ wedding leads to them waking up together in a freezing motel room. But when the two discover they’re both creatively blocked, they make a handshake deal: Isaac will help Sunny hunt down the truth behind the local lore, and Sunny will find Isaac a new muse.

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance by Ashley Herring.

It’s been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts…right?

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

A holiday enemies-to-lovers romance set in the charming Christmas town of Kringletown.

As his fellow citizens decorate their quaint town, brimming with carols and glad tidings, Cole wants nothing more than to hibernate the winter away. But his dreary plans are thwarted when his Christmas nemesis, Storee Taylor, moves in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Immediately, the new neighbor turns his life into a real nightmare before Christmas, especially when she decides to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest in honor of Cindy. And better yet, Storee is determined to win. With help from his friend Max, Cole decides to enter the competition as well, to beat Storee at her own game by pretending that this hometown grump’s heart has grown three sizes this season and he’s fallen for the girl next door. And unfortunately for Storee, she has to follow his lead to have a chance at the Christmas Kringle title. Eventually, Cole and Storee’s relationship becomes very real.

All I Want is You by Falon Ballard

Exes. Professional rivals. Just one bed. Enough said.

All Jessica has ever wanted is her own happily ever after. But until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick—also a romance writer and now her biggest rival—who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. When their professional obligations bring them to a remote inn a few days before Christmas, they’re a little more than peeved, especially when they get trapped sharing a room in a snowstorm. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? Realizing the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction.

Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

A charming Christmas romance with a production of the local Christmas play? Yes, please!

Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn’t for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan’s winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand. But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town’s old Winter Theater. To get the students off the hook, the theater’s elderly owner requests that Harriet direct the washed-out stage’s final Christmas performance. And Harriet will do anything to help the kids . . . even work with the owner’s lawyer who, as it turns out, is her less than impressed one-night stand.

The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose

A holiday novella of The Maid with a new mystery to solve!

Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet. But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?

The Christmas Crush by Noelle Douglas

A small-town baker and a career woman working for a cookie conglomerate get mixed up in this Christmas rom-com.

Marketing executive Elena Voss’s newest assignment for Sparkle Cookie, a large cookie conglomerate, was meant to be a much-needed break from her toxic boss and the stressful city. She never expected to get into a public—and embarrassing—argument with a sexy baker in New Hope, Pennsylvania named Lawrence. But the townsfolk aren’t exactly thrilled about a corporate chain bakery coming in to ruin their small-town feel. Elena and Lawrence immediately butt heads at a town hall meeting. When a cookie competition makes them join forces, sparks fly, and they find first impressions are often wrong.

Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin

A rundown Paris hotel transforms into a bookish boutique retreat in this festive holiday romance.

Anais receives a rundown Paris hotel in her divorce settlement and decides to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas. She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment. Nor is she expecting to find a mysterious room – which holds the key to a one-hundred-year-old secret – about a woman who chose love against the odds. One thing’s for sure, as the fairy lights twinkle all over the city of lights and the first snowflakes start to fall, this will be a Christmas in Paris to remember.

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

A joyful story of a mother who couldn’t love her kids more but hopes that, just this once, they please don’t come home for Christmas.

Julie Parker’s kids are her greatest gift. Still, she’s not exactly heartbroken when they ask to skip a big Christmas. Her son, Nick, is taking a belated honeymoon with his bride, Blair, while her daughter, Dana, will purge every reminder of the guy who dumped her. Again. Julie feels practically giddy for one-on-one holiday time with Heath, the (much) younger man she’s secretly dating. But her plans go from cozy to chaotic when Nick and Dana plead for Christmas at the family cabin in memory of their late father, Julie’s ex. She can’t refuse, even though she dreads their reactions to her new man when they realize she’s been hiding him for months.