Falling Snow + Falling in Love = Holiday Romance Magic
We adore a great holiday romance book this time of year. They inspire a festive mood by thinking about hot chocolate, chance meetings by the fireplace, and a chilly-turned-steamy embrace. Enjoy romcoms from one of your favorite authors like Tessa Bailey or a holiday novella from Mary Kay Andrews.
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey delivers a sexy, hilarious holiday rom-com about the adult children of two former rock stars. They team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert.
Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time shake up her quiet life and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.
Love, Holly by Emily Stone
A young woman tries to heal a rift in her elderly pen pal’s family in time for Christmas, all while falling in love in this dazzling romance from the author of Always, in December and One Last Gift.
Sometimes it takes a stranger to bring you back to yourself.
Ever since a difficult car accident, Holly has been part of a lonely-hearts holiday letter-writing club. Each December, she writes to a stranger who is also spending Christmas alone. She receives a letter from another lonely person in return.
Usually, the letters go unanswered. That’s the point–the letters are anonymous, and the senders write whatever is in their heart. But not this year. The letter Holly receives is different. The letter is full of a grief she knows all too well, but its writer mentions a place that Holly has visited. When she realizes that she might actually be able to find the letter’s author, Holly becomes determined to reunite the writer with her estranged grandson.
Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.
When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City. She helps her gruff older brother sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.
Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley
“Combines two budding romances, a massive snowstorm, unlikely friends, meddling family members, and one magical small-town for the most festive book you’ll read this year.” –Carley Fortune, author of Every Summer After
Two strangers fly to Toronto over the holidays. Neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another. At least they’ll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam’s life wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops.
An emergency landing leaves them snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town. As Maryam finds the courage to open her heart to Saif, and Anna feels the magic of being snowbound with an unexpected new love–both women soon realize there’s no place they’d rather be for the holidays.
A Holly Jolly Ever After: A Christmas Notch Novel by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
From the authors of A Merry Little Meet Cute comes a steamy holiday rom-com cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone–about an actress and a perpetually single former boy band member reunited as costars on a steamy holiday film!
Kallum Lieberman is the funny one(TM). As the lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life. Hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.
Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself–and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?
They say opposites attract, but is this “holly jolly ever after” really ready for its close-up?
The Wishing Bridge: A Sparkling Christmas Novel by Viola Shipman
With unabashed winter charm, The Wishing Bridge sparkles with the humor and heart fans of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Nancy Thayer and Jenny Colgan love most.
Once the hottest mergers and acquisitions executive in the company, Henrietta Wegner can see the ambitious and impossibly young up-and-comers gunning for her job. When Henri’s boss makes it clear she’ll be starting the New Year unemployed unless she can close a big deal before the holidays, Henri impulsively tells him that she can convince her aging parents to sell Wegner’s–their iconic Frankenmuth, Michigan, Christmas store–to a massive, soulless corporation.
Home for the holidays has typically meant a perfunctory twenty-four-hour visit for Henri. Then back to Detroit as fast as her car will drive her. So turning up at the Wegner’s offices in early December raises some eyebrows. But as Henri fields impatient texts from her boss while reconnecting with the magic of the store and warmth of her hometown, what sounded great in the boardroom begins to lose its luster in real life. She’s running out of time to pull the trigger on what could be the greatest success of her career. Or the most awkward family holiday of her life.
You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for everyone except Starr Lewis.
As if going home for the holidays jobless and single wasn’t bad enough, she’s dragged into a holiday season full of activities leading up to her sister’s uber-romantic Christmas Eve wedding. To Starr’s ex-boyfriend. But when her brother’s best friend attends their family Thanksgiving, she starts to wonder if maybe coming home for Christmas isn’t so bad after all.
As Starr finds the perfect distraction in helping Waylon make over his late mother’s Christmas shop, the most wonderful time of the year works its magic and the spark between them grows. With the holidays fast approaching, Starr must decide what she wants out of life after the gifts are unwrapped and the ornaments are put away. To go back to New York City or to open her heart to a love that will last beyond Christmas Day?
A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
Three bickering half-sisters. One unique antiques shop. The coziest holiday season of their lives.
Wildly different half-sisters Maggie, Simone, and Star have hardly seen one another since their sprightly summers at Rowan Thorp. Their eccentric father Augustus’s home. Known for his bustling approach to the knick-knack shop he ran, Augustus was loved by all and known by none, not even his daughters.
Now, years later, the three estranged women are called upon for the reading of Augustus’s will and quickly realize he’s orchestrated a series of hoops through which they must jump to unlock their inheritance–the last thing any of them want to do. But Maggie and Star desperately need the money. And who would Simone be to resist?
Through hilarious goose chases, small-town mishaps, and one heart-warming winter solstice celebration, love is in the air, if only the three sisters can let themselves grasp it.
The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
From bookfluencer and host of the BAD ON PAPER podcast, a riotous holiday rom-com about four friends in NYC who hold onto their unconventional Christmas tradition even when their paths diverge–but the changes they fear might be exactly what they need…
Hannah and Finn have spent every Christmas together since college. Neither has anywhere else to go–Hannah’s parents died, and Finn’s disowned him when he came out. Their tradition of offbeat holiday adventures only grows more outrageous with time. When the pair starts their adult lives in New York City, they add stylish Priya and mysterious Theo to the group, solidifying a found family and sense of belonging they’ve always craved.
But now, when Finn announces a move to L.A., this Christmas may be their last. Hannah is terrified of losing the family she’s built for herself, even as her boyfriend nudges her toward commitment. Meanwhile, Finn struggles with the things he’s about to leave behind–namely, his unexpressed feelings for Theo. Does growing up mean growing apart? This Christmas the changes these friends fear may be exactly what they need. . . .
Arriving Home by Chelsea Lauren
Elijah is a best-selling romance author. Dreaming up romance was easy until his love was manipulated and abused. Now, love feels like a figment of his imagination.
Nearing a six-month writer’s block, in the thick of the holiday season, Elijah finds himself at Enchanted Juniper Resort.
Austin just landed a dream job; head chef at the most romantic place he’s ever been. He wakes up to snow-capped mountains and doesn’t have to drain his income in rent. Only downside? The guests are always couples. He loves love, but his single heart aches.
That is, until a stunningly troubled writer walks into the resort for the annual writing retreat. With the pressure of having nowhere to stay once the resort closes for Christmas, Austin proposes being Elijah’s fake boyfriend for the holiday. Elijah agrees, in hopes the charade sparks the inspiration he needs for his novel.
Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
Your most delightful holiday read: the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Christmas Bookshop, from beloved Scottish author Jenny Colgan.
Christmas comes early–far too early–to McCredie’s little Old Town bookshop in Edinburgh. It’s summer, but an American production company has decided that McCredie’s is the perfect location to film a very cheesy Christmas movie. After all, who can resist the charmingly narrow historic street with its Victorian grey stone buildings and warmly lit shop windows?
Still reeling slightly from a breakup, Carmen’s not particularly looking forward to the holidays. But just as snow begins to fall and the lights of Christmas blink on, all sorts of lovely new possibilities present themselves…for McCredie’s bookstore, and for Carmen herself.
But love doesn’t play charades. When the Christmas lights burn out, can their fairytale romance persevere, or will the ghost of their pasts shatter the magic?
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary
Two hotel receptionists–and arch-rivals–find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.
It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.
The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel–and their jobs.
As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?
Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey
Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays–complete with a fake husband and kids–in this delightful, charming rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.
Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does not run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired–she cannot be jobless again.
And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner. Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.
Laurel and Holly come up with the perfect plan. All Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But Laurel shows up at the farm to find an unwelcome guest is waiting: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages.
Want more holiday romance books?
Get the best love and romance novel recommendations, handpicked by our editors, straight to your inbox. Sign up for little infinite’s Romance Newsletter, here.
