As the sun sets earlier over the horizon and temperatures continue to drop, the best thing to look forward to is the upcoming holiday season. Now, I know there is debate about whether holiday celebrations should start on Nov. 1 or after Thanksgiving — I personally fight for the latter — but that doesn’t mean you can’t start preparing for when you’re in the festive mood.
So, with that said, here are five holiday romance novels that give off the same cheesy, nostalgic vibe of a Hallmark movie.
“Window Shopping” — Tessa Bailey
Have you ever wanted to read published fanfiction about America’s favorite soccer coach, Ted Lasso? No? Well, maybe we should change that.
“Window Shopping” is the classic grumpy-sunshine story that follows Stella, a girl working to create the perfect holiday window display for Vivant, a high-end department store. While there, her dark persona starts to slowly melt away as she becomes friends with Aiden, the store’s owner. Will they be able to fight temptation, or will the holiday spirit get the best of them?
“The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year” — Ally Carter
Now, why just stop at romance? “The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year” combines mystery and romance to give us a “Clue” inspired mystery.
Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are both mystery authors — and they hate each other. They think that they can skate by this holiday season without seeing each other, until they both receive a mysterious letter from a “fan,” inviting them to a Christmas party at an isolated estate.
Upon arrival, they realize that the “fan” is actually Eleanor Ashley, the holiday romance version of Agatha Christie. She invites them to stay as snow continues to rise around the house. All seems well, until Eleanor suddenly goes missing, and it is up to Maggie and Ethan to find out what happened to her — and they can’t do it alone.
“Kiss Her Once for Me” — Alison Cochrun
In this charming sapphic romance, Ellie Oliver moves to Portland to pursue her dream of becoming an animator. On one snowy night, Ellie meets a woman at a bookstore, Jack, whom she ends up falling in love with over the course of one night.
However, things are not what they seem when she suddenly loses her job, and Jack is nowhere to be found. In desperation, Ellie works at a local coffee shop to make ends meet. One night, the shop’s landlord, Andrew, proposes a marriage of convenience so he can obtain his inheritance, and Ellie doesn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck.
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All seems well until a visit to Andrew’s family cabin leads to a run-in with his sister, Jack. Ellie must decide whether to follow her brain or her heart.
“This Is Not a Holiday Romance” — Camilla Isley
What’s better than a brother’s best friend, enemies-to-lovers romance? One set during the winter holidays, of course!
Nina Thompson famously hates her brother’s best friend, Tristan. All she wants is to avoid him at all costs. However, it’s kind of difficult to do that when he crashes the family’s Christmas party, and snow begins to fall into large mounds.
They’re snowed in, perfect. Confining two people who hate each other into a small house definitely won’t make them fall in love. Right?
“The Christmas You Found Me” — Sarah Morgenthaler
Set in a small town in Idaho, Sienna Naples cares for the ranch that has been in her family for generations. However, after her parents’ passing and a long, painful divorce, Sienna is all alone for the winter season.
She craves a connection, and that’s when a tall, handsome stranger and his 4-year-old daughter walk into her life. In a fit of desperation, Guy Maple will do anything to get money to save his daughter, who has stage-five kidney disease. Guy and Sienna come up with a plan: The two will get married. It’s the best of both worlds! Guy can finally afford to help his daughter, and Sienna will get help taking care of the ranch. What could possibly go wrong?
Whether you’re already in the holiday spirit or not, these books will bring warmth to these cold autumnal days.
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