You can keep your partridge in a pear tree, we want romance! Lucky for all of us the holiday romance has been one of the hottest book trends of 2023. There is an absolute avalanche of new titles to choose from, so we thought it would be fun to make our own little advent calendar with 12 of our favourites. Although now that I think about it, maybe some Lords-a-leaping wouldn’t be so bad either. *winks
The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans
In Mistletoe Gardens a legend anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love… When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be? Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help – and fast! Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too. Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan. Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie’s chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?
The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy
One rivalry. Eight days until Christmas. Let the holiday games begin.
When LA-based real estate developer Bella Ross arrives in the sleepy, mountain town of Maple Falls, she has one mission: to acquire the local failing Christmas shop, Always Noelle, securing the promotion of her dreams. Nothing can get in her way. Except the shop owner’s stubborn grandson, Jesse Harrison.
Both refuse to budge, until an unlikely wager is struck: Bella and Jesse will compete in the Maple Falls Holiday Games, an annual tradition of eccentric feats of strength and skills. Winner decides the selling price. They’ll give each other a run for their money, but as the competition heats up, Bella and Jesse’s icy feelings toward each other begin to thaw. It’ll take a Christmas miracle for them to admit there’s a spark, but what if it’s just another game?
Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey
Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of 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.
And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). 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 a plan–all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: 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…
Along Came Holly by Codi Hall
Holly Winters is not about to let her grumpy neighbor Declan steal her holiday joy…even if he does look rather handsome under the mistletoe. Holly Winters owns the jolliest holiday shop on Main Street and this season is shaping up to be the best yet. The only pit in her figgy pudding? Declan Gallagher, the owner of the hardware store next door. He’s the scroogiest man in all of Mistletoe, Idaho. Then Holly’s revenge prank escalates into an all-out war with her Grinchy neighbor, and the situation turns sticky when she realizes she needs his help. Declan can’t believe the nerve of his oh-so-cheerful neighbor hiring him to set up her holiday lights display, but the money is too good to pass up. Despite his utter loathing of excessive decorations, he throws himself into getting the job done, only to encounter sabotage at every turn. To his astonishment, Declan finds himself championing the very woman who used to get under his skin. Then one rooftop kiss has him thinking maybe the season’s traditions aren’t as heinous as he believed. Declan’s heart has grown three sizes since Holly came along, but how can he admit he’s falling for the one woman he shouldn’t want?
Winter Wishes at Roseford Reloved by Fay Keenan
When the ceiling of preloved clothing shop Roseford Reloved falls in at the height of Christmas season, owner Polly Parrott is in despair. She can see her fortunes draining away as quickly as the water is pouring through her roof. What makes it worse is that standing right underneath the deluge is Will Sutherland, sporting hero and new owner of Parson’s Grange, the new modern mansion in Roseford. Polly and Will’s first meeting is about as far from a success as it can be, but over a festive season of Christmas markets, a Yuletide Ball and inconvenient snowfalls, can they forge a friendship or even more, despite their unpromising beginning? Or will the complications in both of their lives end their romance before it even begins?
It Happened One Christmas by Chantal Guertin
Will magic happen under the mistletoe?
All year long, Zoey Andrews lives and breathes Christmas–not just because she loves everything about the festive season, but because, as the director of countless Christmas movies, she’s perpetually (and happily) surrounded by 24/7 holiday cheer. And this year Christmas has come early: After years of making other people’s movies, Zoey finally has the chance to make her own. There’s just one thing standing in her way of that: Benoît Deschamps, the sexy, bearded, grouchy and utterly frustrating, plaid shacket-wearing tree-farm-owner-slash-mayor who refuses to grant Zoey the permit to film in Chelsea, the cozy and snowy Quebec hamlet at the center of her screenplay.
With just four days left before Christmas, Zoey must change Ben’s mind, but not before an unscripted ice storm leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nothing–no food, no phone, no electricity–except . . . each other.
Will Ben’s chilly resolve shatter Zoey’s Christmas movie wish? Or will Zoey be able to melt through his stubbornness–and maybe even his heart?
The Highland Lodge Getaway by Julie Shackman
Lottie Grant loves the festive season so much that she works at the incredibly successful Christmas shop, Christmas Crackers, in her pretty Scottish home town of Craig Brae. But when the shop is sold, her world is turned upside down, leaving her wondering what she will do next.
Just as she’s about to give up hope on finding a new dream job, an offer comes that she can’t refuse, managing a set of luxury wooden cabins… and opening just in time for Christmas!
As she gets to work decorating the cabins, and hanging lights on the fir trees, Lottie can’t believe her luck. That is until the arrival of Blake Dempster, a moody but handsome hiking expert, who threatens to bring down her festive joy. But never one to shy away from a challenge, Lottie is determined to change Blake’s mind about all things festive.
And as the snow falls and the fairy lights sparkle, will work-obsessed Lottie and frozen-hearted Blake make their Christmas wishes come true?
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—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, Saif, wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops.
An emergency landing finds Anna, Saif, Maryam, and her sister’s entire bridal party snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town, where fate has Anna’s actor-crush filming a holiday romance. 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.
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
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 to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life… and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.
Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite—the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.
While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone. With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she’s never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything—the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.
The Perfect Christmas Village by Bella Osborne
When Christmas-hating Sam moves to Holly Cross, he thinks he’s found the perfect home, until he discovers that, each year, Holly Cross transforms into the most Christmassy village in the whole country…
Blythe is just one sale away from being Real Estate Agent of the Month, so she twists the truth to sell a home to city boy Sam, who is looking for the perfect house in the perfect location. Little does he know he’s just bought a cottage in the middle of the most Christmassy village in the country. And if there’s one thing Sam loathes, it’s Christmas.
Sam’s arrival puts Holly Cross’s chance to win the title of Britain’s Most Perfect Christmas Village now in jeopardy, and the villagers are soon up in arms. Meanwhile, Sam is in his own personal hell surrounded by fairy lights and everyone is looking to Blythe to fix things.
But as the festive season looms, maybe there’s more than just Christmas in Holly Cross for Sam to fall in love with…
The Christmas Promise by Lindsay Gibson
Art buyer Charlotte Moore is given the chance of a lifetime to be head buyer for the esteemed Wallace Gallery’s Christmas charity gala. But when she arrives at auction, after the most prominent pieces are all bought up, in a panic, she bids on the final painting—an unsigned sunset landscape she’s nearly sure her boss will despise.
To save her job, she finds herself in the beautifully festive New England coastal town of Seabreeze, the setting of the painting. When a nor’easter blows through, she’s stuck at the adorable Cove Hill Inn, all decorated for the holiday and brimming with Christmas magic. While it’s not an awful place to be snowed in, her ability to work is at a standstill, with the gala looming closer.
And she isn’t expecting to meet the innkeeper’s soon, ruggedly handsome Aiden Bennett, a distraction she definitely doesn’t need. Even the inn’s cherry scones and the town’s Christmas fair are no match for Aiden’s charm.
However, when she uncovers a family secret that could impact everyone, including herself and Aiden, it might shake up more than just the holiday. Under the shimmer of the town twinkle lights and the snow-covered Christmas trees, will Charlotte find the answers she’s looking for? Or has she unearthed something else entirely?
Christmas at the Cat Cafe by Jessica Redland
It had always been Tabby’s dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon. But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she’s been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves. Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle. Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby’s broken heart as well as her business?
