all the books you need this christmas season
want a list of all the Christmas books you need to make you swoon + smile all season long? keep reading!
i am so excited about some of the amazing titles being realeased this year! most of these are auto-buy authors for me but some of them are new (to me) authors that i’ve connected with on instagram and that hooked me with teasers and/or trailers of their beautiful books! don’t underestimate the power of social media! what is the statistic? a consumer needs to see something seven times before realizing they have to have it?
i’ve had the pleasure of reading ARC’s of a few of these and will be posting reviews of several of them as we lead up to the most wonderful time of the year! i am literally counting down the days until i can order physical copies of those and can’t wait to download the rest of these titles to my kindle! i definitely don't buy physical copies of every ebook i read, (though i wish i had enough shelf space to do that, because who doesn’t prefer a real book in their hands?) but i definitely always get the ones i truly loved and know i’ll want to read again in the future.
the last book in this list is an anthology, which seem to really be gaining traction with readers lately. i’ve read several in the past year or so—Fall in Love; Christmas, Actually; Something Blue; and i recently pre-ordered Royal. the idea of short little stories is great because they’re perfect for people that don’t have a ton of time to read. for me, i found that i read them most at doctor’s appointments, in car line, and basically any moment i was on the go and found myself with a little extra time. if you see an anthology, grab it because many of them are limited editions so that authors can regain their rights and pursue other options with their stories!
also, before we get to the list, can we take a moment to appreciate how stunning all of these covers are? 😍
okay, ready? here’s your list of upcoming christmas books—hurry up and go pre-order them!
Note: books marked with (KU) are available free on Kindle Unlimited!
Together With You by Leah Dobrinska (September 6)
Laney McGregor’s previous holiday season ended in disaster. Add to that her recent Election Day loss, and her spirits are decidedly un-bright. She’s determined to spend a quiet Christmas at home in Mapleton, helping out on her family's tree farm when needed but mostly keeping to herself. That is, until a job opportunity sweeter than sugar plums gets dangled in front of her…if only she’ll participate in a sequence of Christmas clichés.
Ford Marshall has made his list and checked it twice, and he’s sure of one thing. He’s been half in love with Laney since he knew being in love was a thing to be, but he’s always acted like a fool where she’s concerned. Now, though, when Laney finds herself running McGregor Tree Farm solo, Ford gladly steps up to be her right hand elf.
As the pair participates in the Merry Mapleton festivities, an unexpected holiday romance is born. But when personal insecurities and professional developments are brought to light, Ford and Laney’s new relationship is put to the test. Can they learn from past mistakes, let their guards down, and come together to make theirs a Christmas love story that’ll last the whole year long…and beyond?
My Knight Before Christmas by Amanda P. Jones (October 1)
I’d never felt a connection like ours before.
After sharing a spine-tingling first kiss with Liam Knight, I was certain he wanted to be my boyfriend. But instead of moonlit strolls on the beach, he ghosted me. Three months later, with a sugar hangover and pants that are now too tight, Liam’s back, ready to pick up where we left off. But I don’t trust him enough to let him back in.
When my boss leaves me in charge of her bakery while she competes in a baking show, I’m literally running around like a road-runner hopped up on caffeine. Until My Knight comes to my rescue.
Is forgiving him and getting our second-chance worth the risk?
The Christmas Letters by Jenny Hale (October 11)
Elizabeth Holloway's sparkling world comes crashing down around her when her boyfriend of seven years drops the bomb that he’s leaving her—at Christmas. In an attempt to piece her life back together, she suddenly finds herself seven hundred miles from her New York City home, trudging through the snow, back at her childhood farm in the Great Smoky Mountains.
And she isn’t expecting to meet visitor Paul Dawson with his dazzlingly blue eyes and warm smile, chipping away at her resolve to focus on figuring out who she is and what she really wants in life.
Just when she starts to think things are moving in the right direction, a stack of letters from Elizabeth’s grandmother will change everything she thought she knew about her family and cause a divide between her and Paul that she never saw coming.
Under the glitter of Christmas trees and bundles of mistletoe, Elizabeth uncovers more than she’d ever imagined. Will the Christmas letters strip her of everything she holds dear? Or will they be the biggest gift of the season?
Christmas Town Bake-Off AND Christmas at the Sleigh Cafe by Melinda Curtis (October 11 and 25)
Christmas Town Bake-Off:
This year, you’re invited to the Christmas Town Bake-Off!
Holly House, one of Christmas Town’s oldest homes and landmarks, needs a significant face-lift and upgrades before becoming the town’s new museum and historical preservation site. It’ll take a lot of holiday magic and special ingredients to pull off Christmas Town’s first holiday baking fundraiser competition, but residents are up to the challenge, even if it means being the target of some holiday matchmaking by the Knotty Elves.
This year's event features seven new romances mixed in with the flour, sugar, and fun of bake-off competitions. From baking prelims to the crowning of a champion baker, this collection of connected, sweet romances from Harlequin Heartwarming authors will warm your heart.
On your mark, get set, bake...Christmas Town style!
Christmas at the Sleigh Cafe:
Dancer Allie Jameson is home this Christmas…
Not just for the holidays but to regroup and relaunch her career after the Broadway show she was in was canceled. Maybe she’ll go back to New York. Maybe she’ll try dancing on the West Coast. But one thing was certain. She isn’t staying in Christmas Mountain after the new year.
While Allie ponders her options, she takes a job waitressing at the Sleigh Café.
Allie knows things in Christmas Mountain never change…except they are changing. At the Sleigh Café, someone’s leaving uplifting Christmas notes for patrons and staff, including Allie. And for the first time ever, Allie can’t look at her best friend from high school – Nick Stocking – without thinking about mistletoe kisses. It’s all so confusing. Except it’s not. Because no matter what’s changed, Allie will leave town on January first…or will she?
The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber (October 18) Also, be sure to check out her Holly Jolly Christmas Coloring Book for Adults!
Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends, but their lives couldn’t be more different. Peter, the local pastor who is dedicated to his community, spending time visiting the flock, attending meetings, and, with the holiday season approaching, preparing for the Christmas service and live nativity. As a bartender, Hank serves a much different customer base at his family-owned tavern, including a handful of lonely regulars and the local biker gang.
When Peter scoffs that Hank has it easy compared to him, the two decide to switch jobs until Christmas Eve. To their surprise, the responsibilities of a bartender and a pastor are similar, but taking on the other’s work is more difficult than either Peter or Hank expected. As the two begin to see each other in a new light—and each discovers a new love to cherish—their lives are forever changed.
Merry Ex-Mas by Courtney Walsh (October 25)
I haven’t been home for Christmas in eight years.
But that’s about to change. This year, I’m traveling to my small hometown to convince my producer to make me the permanent host of Good Day Denver.
The plan: Charm viewers by sharing my favorite family Christmas traditions, and in turn, get the likes, clicks and shares to land the job.
Not the plan: Running into my ex-boyfriend.
In my house.
For Christmas.
But here he is, a guest of my mother, who apparently had more trouble letting go of Max Weber than I did.
Unfortunately, he is as handsome and charming and talented and annoying and frustrating and flirty as ever.
Even more unfortunately, he seems to have a plan of his own—to convince me to give him a second chance.
Which is not happening.
There’s just one problem—my viewers love him. More than that, they love us. Me and Max. My ex.
The boy who broke my heart.
The boy I now have to fake flirt with to win over the hearts of my viewers.
But it’s not their hearts I’m worried about. . . it’s mine.
Once Upon a Royal Christmas by Teri Wilson (November 1)
“I’m Prince Nikolas of San Glacera. Oh, you’ve never heard of us? Well, you’re not the only one. Our country relies on winter tourism, but we’re attracting fewer and fewer visitors. I admit it’s a problem. I just don’t think the solution is an American who likes to play dress-up.
You see, while I was away on a trip, my younger sister convinced the palace to hold a contest. The winner gets to star in our annual Ice Village festivities and accompany our royal family to holiday events.
And who did they choose? Gracie Clark, who runs a children’s party business and performs as—I kid you not—‘Princess Snowflake.’
Of course, I do respect the fact that she volunteers at children’s hospitals. I suppose to some, she might have a certain charm... But the whole cheap spectacle is beneath our dignity.
I’m not going to shirk my duty to my kingdom. I’ll go to every event with her. At least, once Christmas is over, she’ll be gone…”
Mishaps & Mistletoe by Lindsey Jesionowski (November 3) (KU)
Josie Ward doesn’t want a lot for Christmas—just for the entire holiday season to be over and done with as quickly as humanly possible. That’s not too much to ask, right?
But who can blame her? The holidays have been extra light on the holly and without much jolly since her sister passed, and no amount of belief in anything will bring her back. Christmas wish lists are for children, anyway. Not single women in their mid-thirties.
She isn’t the Queen of Christmas, anymore. Definitely not the Princess of Positivity. This Jojo has lost her mojo, according to her friend Johnny. But, it’s not like she’s actively looking for it.
No, this queen hung up her crown years ago.
Christmas magic? No such thing. Holiday miracles? Only in movies. Happy ever afters? Don’t even get her started.
But a blast from Josie’s past has her wondering whether she might be capable of change. He’s certainly changed. Because, yeah. Kevin definitely didn’t look like that at fourteen.
With the help of a meddlesome friend, a sprig of seaweed, and a partridge in a pear tree, can a man who knew the girl she was help the woman she’s become see there’s hope, even in the darkest places? Perhaps the one thing she didn’t ask for this Christmas will end up being the greatest gift of all.
A sweet, feel-good holiday romantic comedy, Mishaps and Mistletoe has slow-burn chemistry, mild language, and plenty of sizzle and spice without on-page explicit content.
A Wish for Winter by Viola Shipman (November 15)
Despite losing her parents in a tragic accident just before her fourteenth Christmas, Susan Norcross has had it better than most, with loving grandparents to raise her and a gang of quirky, devoted friends to support her. Now a successful bookstore owner in a tight-knit Michigan lakeside community, Susan is facing down forty—the same age as her mother when she died—and she can’t help but see everything she hasn’t achieved, including finding a love match of her own. To add to the pressure, everyone in her small town believes it’s Susan’s destiny to meet and marry a man dressed as Santa, just like her mother and grandmother before her. So it seems cosmically unfair that the man she makes an instant connection with at an annual Santa Run is lost in the crowd before she can get his name.
What follows is Susan and her friends’ hilarious and heartwarming search for the mystery Santa—covering twelve months of social media snafus, authors behaving badly and dating fails—as well as a poignant look at family, friendship and what defines a well-lived and well-loved life.
Jack & Frost Bake-Off by Amanda P. Jones (November 15)
Jack—I’m living my worst nightmare. Competing on a baking show surrounded by loud people all day. But it’s fine. I’m fine. Our family bakery is in trouble and I’d do anything to keep the memory of Mom alive since Love Bakes is the only place where I still feel her presence. Which is why I’m so determined to win the prize money. No distractions, no friendships, no having fun. It’s all about business. Until I meet bubbly Meg—someone whom I’d normally be annoyed by. Maybe life is about more than work? Meg certainly has me thinking that way. But what about Mom’s bakery?
Megan—Paying Mom back to avoid law school is the main reason I signed up for Baking Spirits Bright. I also want to expand my bakery. But when all I can think about is my number one competitor, the gorgeously grumpy people-hater, Jack, my chances of winning diminish like cake crumbs. He’s aloof and ridiculously handsome and pretends not to know who I am. The longer we compete, the more distracted I am by him. How can I win if I’m staring at him the entire time? Although, I’m not even sure I want the money anymore. I just want Jack.
Christmas with the Boy Next Door by Jess Mastorakos (November 23)
He's a Marine turned small-town cop, and she's the single mom next door. Can the magic of Christmas unite them even with all that stands in their way?After graduating from the police academy, Marine veteran Jack Rhodes returns to Snow Hill, PA to join the local police force. It's a good gig because it means he'll be close to his sister and her growing family, but taking this job has other perks, too, like living next door to his sister's best friend.Robin Jones is determined to give her daughter a happy, stress-free life. So even though she's had a crush on Jack since the day they met, he's a police officer now, making him off-limits. Her late husband worked for the same department and had died in the line of duty. There's no way she'll put her daughter—or herself—through that again. As they grow closer over hot cocoa and holiday traditions, Jack knows he needs a Christmas miracle to convince Robin to risk her heart. And when her past comes back to haunt her, he’ll do anything to show her he’s worth believing in.
Christmas Wishes and Cowboy Kisses by Christina Butrum
Ring in the holiday season with 23 heartwarming sweet contemporary romances from USA Today and Top 100 Kindle Unlimited All-Star bestselling authors! Discover second chance romance, love at first sight, small-town Christmas cheer, swoony single dads, enemies to lovers, snowed-in with the cowboy, and many more stories featuring the cowboy next door. Fall in love with the hunky heroes of this limited-edition Christmas cowboy romance collection.
The authors in this collection are:
Liz Isaacson Shanna Hatfield Lacy Williams Carolyne Aarsen Melissa McClone Kit Morgan Laura Ashwood
Natalie Dean Terri Lorah Cynthia Woolf Kathleen Ball Macie St. James Christina Butrum Terri Grace April Murdock
Hannah Jo Abbott Amelia C. Adams Josephine Blake Heather Blanton Catie Cahill Parker J. Cole RL Ashly Christine Sterling
