Every other month (or so), our Book Club picks a different trope or theme and we all bring a book that meets the criteria. It’s a fun way to build up our TBR piles and we thought you might enjoy their recommendations too!

Our annual Holiday Edition of the BYOB book club is one we all look forward to. Here are the books we discussed this month:

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Series Name: Under the Mistletoe Collection, #2

A single mother working in a thrift store. A gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit. When opposites attract, they find themselves making alterations in more ways than one in this smoking-hot short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
Series Name:
Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1

For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightfully sexy short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
Series Name:
Under the Mistletoe Collection, #3

Secret crushes, spicy Christmas treats, heinous holiday traffic, and a fateful snowstorm bring good friends together in a funny, sexy short story by bestselling author Olivia Dade.

Nina and William are underpaid adjunct professors at the same university, where winter break is no break at all: ’tis the season to make extra money. When their holiday side hustle has them stranded by a blinding blizzard in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing to do but cuddle up for warmth and play a hot and bothered game of Never Have I Ever to pass the time. But in the game of love, secrets never stay secret for long…

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Series Name:
Under the Mistletoe Collection, #4

This Christmas, a hot fireman makes a holiday rescue and sparks fly in this sizzling holiday short story by bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.

When Everleigh Dangerfield’s baking disaster necessitates a call to 911, firefighter Griffin Brantley douses the flames in the kitchen, but the ones he stokes in Everleigh are an entirely different story. Unfortunately, Everleigh’s only visiting and doesn’t do casual hookups, no matter how smoldering the temptation. But Everleigh’s holiday mishaps have just begun. And Griffin is seemingly always on call. If Everleigh is game for a change of plans, he can give her the merriest Christmas of her life.

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Series Name:
Under the Mistletoe Collection, #5

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially for a comic book illustrator whose late-night naughty fantasies become real in a festive and spicy short story by bestselling author Alexis Daria.

All Evie Cruz wants for Christmas is a nap. And maybe some ornaments for her naked Christmas tree. And while she’s making a list, she wouldn’t mind unwrapping her sexy upstairs neighbor like a present. Luckily, the building’s Santa-themed party and a surprise sprig of mistletoe give her just the opening she needs to make all her wishes come true.

Substitute Santas by Zoe Chant 

The holidays are full of surprises, and polar bear shifter Wade just got hit with a doozy: he needs to take over as the mall’s Santa.

Wade is used to the peace and quiet of his woodworking shop, not the non-stop chaos of the Christmas Village. (How many times can one guy listen to the same Christmas carol?) At least it’s only for a few days … but the second he meets harried elf Mira, his fated mate, he knows he wants this part to last a lifetime.

Mira needs her holiday bonus to help her aging parents, so she’ll put up with anything—even spending weeks in a costume that makes her stick out like a sore thumb. Even the personal enmity of the Christmas Village’s finicky, overbearing manager. Even—shudder—all-day carol-oke.

The one bright spot in her day is Wade, who is sweet, funny, and devastatingly handsome. Mira can’t help being swept off her feet.

But between all her worries and all her boss’s ill-conceived publicity stunts, can she and Wade actually make it to a merry Christmas?

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer 

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.

But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.

Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

A Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh 

A love that cannot be bought or sold proves to be the greatest gift of all, in this heartwarming classic that demonstrates once again why New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh is among the most celebrated authors of historical romance.

Weddings are supposed to be joyous occasions—especially when a couple seems as well matched as Randolph Pierce, Earl of Falloden, and his bride-to-be, Eleanor Transome. Ellie brings to the marriage a vast dowry, while Falloden, though distant, is handsome, tremendously desirable, and possessed of a title most young ladies can only dream of sharing.

Yet Ellie is not most young ladies. She knows that she must honor her dear father’s dying wish for her to wed the proud earl, but she dreads a lifetime in a union without love—and how can Falloden claim to love her when he married her only for her fortune? As Christmas descends upon the Falloden manor, the warmth of the season may yet melt away the trappings of duty and wealth, leaving behind only a man and a woman destined for each other’s arms.

‘Twas the Night After Christmas by Sabrina Jeffries
Series Name:
Hellions of Halstead Hall, #6

Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont, has never forgiven his parents for inexplicably abandoning him to distant relatives as a child. Nevertheless, when he receives word that the stranger he calls “Mother” is gravely ill, the unabashed rogue makes a rare return to Montcliff, his country estate.

There he finds that the woman is perfectly healthy—and that he has fallen for a cunning ruse crafted by her lady’s companion, Mrs. Camilla Stuart. The lively vicar’s widow, too bright and beautiful not to arouse the scoundrel in Pierce, is determined to reconcile the Earl and Lady Devonmont. None of them can predict the secrets, both heartening and shocking, divulged between a mother and son, or between two lovers, each haunted by their pasts, that will make this Christmas night at Montcliff one to remember—and the glorious night after, one to treasure for a lifetime

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake 

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.

All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won’t talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did.

After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together—Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin—and it all feels painfully familiar. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts…right?

Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss 

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.

Directing the play with him won’t exactly change her life. But it might just reignite the Christmas spirit and remind her what makes life merry and bright again.

Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey 

Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin. Stella is standing alone outside a famous department store, when a charming man asks her opinion on the décor.

It’s a tragedy in tinsel, she says, unable to lie. Then he asks for a better idea, with a twinkle in his eye. She didn’t know he owned the place, when he put her on the spot, and now she’s working for that man, trying to ignore that he’s hot.

But as a down-on-her-luck girl with a difficult past, Stella knows how to make a good opportunity last. So she gives it her all, working without stopping. Trying to resist temptation, because she’s just window shopping.

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
Series Name: Boy Meets Boy, #2

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He’s on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents’ charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?

It’s bad enough he’s stuck in some festive winter wonderland—it’s even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who’s unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.

Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior…with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can’t resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince’s heart grow three sizes this year.

I Will by Lisa Kleypas
Series Name: Capitol Theatre, #2.5

Andrew, Lord Drake, has been cut out of his father’s will because of his dissolute manner of living. To be reinstated, Andrew decides to pretend that he has changed his wicked ways.

As part of his plan, he wants to convince his father that he is courting a respectable woman with the intention of marrying her. The problem is, he doesn’t know any decent women, except for his friend’s spinster sister, Miss Caroline Hargreaves. He blackmails the reluctant Caroline into helping him, and so the charade begins . . .

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

Living in a year around Christmas town has it’s drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It’s why I like to hibernate away in my cave–I mean house–keeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits.

And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest – which she was determined to win.

Well guess what? Over my cold-hearted body.

There was no way I was going to let her win, not after the history we’d shared.

So despite my promise to myself of never participating in the sickening Christmas season, I entered the competition as well. That’s right, I planned on beating Storee at her own game by pretending this grump’s heart grew three sizes this season.

And it was working until feelings between us started heating up.

We pretended to date.

We kissed.

And well, sparks flew from there.

Which led to one explosive night involving Christmas lights, the competition, and a ladder. Don’t let me convince you who stole Christmas, I think you need to find out for yourself . . .

How The Grump Saved Christmas by Claire Kingsley 

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

That’s a big nope. She’s not letting him get involved. Not with his heart made of coal.

Elias Stoneheart is in the business of making money, not friends. Especially when his boss is promising a long-awaited promotion. All he has to do is convince one struggling family to sell their farm.

The problem? It’s Cook Family Farm. And Isabelle Cook is his ex.

He might have history with Isabelle, but this is just business. A Christmas-loving farm girl is not going to come between him and his ambition.

And Christmas? He hates it. Christmas Village needs to go.

But as Elias spends time in the small town, holiday spirit—and Isabelle—get under his skin. And she might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Holding Out for a Holiday Hero by Cynthia Eden 

A holiday romance with a dash of romantic suspense and a former military hero who is so not feeling the festive spirit…

Bah humbug. Bounty hunter Jake Hale hates Christmas. He doesn’t do twinkling lights, festive packages, and you definitely won’t ever catch him singing Christmas carols. What he will do? Track down the worst of the scum out there. The former special ops soldier makes merry by tossing the naughty into prison cells and getting a grand pay day. Ho, ho, ho.

Then a ghost from Christmas past walks through his door.

True Blakeley is always at the top of the nice list. Beautiful, sweet, with an innocence that—yep, he might have been tempted to destroy once or twice—she’s there to hire him. There have been a string of dangerous accidents in her life, and True fears that someone is trying to kill her. Not at all the sort of case that Jake would usually take—he hunts down the criminals after they jump bail, not before they’ve even been arrested. But one look into True’s bedroom eyes, and he can’t refuse. Maybe he still is a bit too tempted by the girl who got away…and surely one nice act won’t kill him? For her, he can play the hero.

He’ll close the case and be home in time for Christmas dinner.

Except, on the first morning of his investigation, he finds a dead body. One waiting underneath True’s glittering Christmas tree. The attacks are real, and it’s clear that someone is gunning for True. But Jake is on the job now, and no one is going to hurt her. His protective instincts are in overdrive…and so is the desperate desire that he’s always felt for True. This time, he’s done fighting that desire. He’ll finally show True just how fantastic it can be when you aren’t nice. Welcome to his naughty list.