Season's Readings: 13 Christmas Romance Books for Your Holiday Wishlist

Sage Kay

Writer, reader, outfit repeater.

While Christmas is a popular holiday all on its own, its marriage to the Romance genre has led to thousands of stories across every medium of storytelling. Just take the many plot-identical Hallmark movies, for example. But for those looking to curl up and read by the fireplace, Hallmark movies won’t cut it. Here are a baker’s dozen of Christmas romance reading recommendations.
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1. Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle This pick is for lovers of the "black cat x golden retriever" pairing. In Just Like Magic, social media influencer Bettie is struggling to uphold the image of her lavish and carefree lifestyle after losing all her followers and money. While her family believes her to be vacationing in Hawaii, she is actually barely scraping by in Colorado. As she pre-games the family dinner, she drunkenly plays a Christmas record backwards, which summons Holl E. Day, an all-too charming and joyful Christmas spirit. From here, classic fake-dating shenanigans ensue, and Bettie finds herself falling for Hall’s annoying cheeriness even amongst her overbearing family.
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2. Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun Another fake-dating plot (call me biased), Kiss Her Once For Me follows Ellie, newly jobless and heartbroken from a love-at-first-sight meet cute mishap. When the landlord of her new job’s building suggests a fake marriage between them with a promise of financial compensation, Ellie doesn’t hesitate. That is, until she meets his family at Christmas and Jack, the woman who broke her heart in just one day, is her "fiance’s" sister. Seems like there’s a simple solution. Just leave, right? But when Jack claims their failed meet cute was a misunderstanding, Ellie has to choose between the possibility of their love being made right and the money she so desperately needs.
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3. In the Event of Love by Courtney KaeAfter Morgan’s career as an event planner is basically ended by a slew of nasty tabloids, she has nowhere to go but home for the holidays. Her stay starts off strong with her sprawled in the mud and her ex-childhood best friend/almost lover, Rachel, swooping in to save her. Unfortunately, Rachel is now really buff and hot from running a tree farm, and her business is failing. The only person who might be able to save it? You guessed it. Morgan hopes to reinstate herself as a successful event planner and stop a greedy corporation from monopolizing their neighborhood by putting on the best fundraiser possible for Rachel’s business. I’d say I cared even a little bit about Morgan saving her career, but we’re both only looking at Rachel’s muscles right now.
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4. The Holiday Trap by Roan ParrishAfter her family showcases once again that they’ll never accept her sexuality by setting her up to be bid on by men in a dating auction, Greta needs to get out of town for the holidays. Luckily, Truman is also in need of time away from his life after finding that his boyfriend of a year has a secret husband—yikes. So, they swap houses for the holidays. In completely new environments, the two thrive and even find potential romantic interests. But even being in completely different states, their pasts demand to be dealt with.
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5. The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox Basically Parent Trap but make it Christmas. Sold yet? When reality baking show star Charlie loses her sense of taste and smell after an accident, she hatches the perfect plan: switch places with her twin sister, Cass, who can do the show for her. Cass, desperate to escape her demanding job and delusional ex who thinks they still have a chance, agrees. But switching lives isn’t so easy, especially when both of them are falling for men who think they’re a completely different person. We’ve all been there.
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6. The One Night Stand Before Christmas by Jana Aston This novella is perfect for a quick fire-lit read, especially if you’ve ever dreamed of having a one-night stand with good old Saint Nick. Okay, maybe it’s not actually him, but when Noel hooks up with a man dressed in a Santa suit, she still gets to live out that fantasy. She didn’t quite envision him leaving his Santa suit behind, though. What follows is an erotic tale of mistaken identities between an unlikely pairing.
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7. All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox When two contestants on a reality singing show are paired up for a duet, the world is blown away by their chemistry. In classic reality show producer behavior, Sadie and Max are forced to continue this "relationship" across social media or their dreams of winning this competition will turn to coal. Seems easy enough. Oh, I forgot to mention they can’t stand each other. This one's for the $ enemies-to-lovers$  fans, how are y’all doing?
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8. Always in December by Emily StoneEvery year, orphan Josie sends a letter to her parents that died on Christmas night when she was a child. This year, her delivery is interrupted by Max. Bonded by their shared avoidance of Christmas, the two spend the holiday together, and Josie sees a future with him…until he disappears without explanation. Fate doesn’t allow this ghosting, however, as Josie and Max find themselves crossing paths time and time again for an entire year. With Christmas winding back around, Josie must decide if she can trust him again, especially after the reason for his disappearance is revealed.
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9. The Christmas Café by Eliza EvansFor lovers of Hallmark, I give you "Hallmark" the book. Complete with a quirky main character, a love triangle, and a dog named Crumpet, The Christmas Café tells the story of Sylvie, as she desperately attempts to stop her shop from being sold by convincing the crew of an upcoming holiday movie to use her cafe as their set. When they agree, things appear to be looking up, especially after she meets the charming lead actor of the film. But when her childhood crush returns home for the holiday, she finds herself falling into the feelings she had as a kid. With so much on her plate, you’d think she has no time for passing Christmas crushes, but we all know her failing cafe isn’t going to stand in the way of her agonizing over the choice between these two Christmas beaus.
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10. In a Holidaze by Christina LaurenMaelyn could not be more dissatisfied with her life. She lives with her parents, works a dead-end job, and is newly single. Worse, this is the last Christmas she’ll be able to spend at their family’s cabin in Utah, her favorite place in the world. After Christmas, she cries out for something to show her what will make her happy as she drives away from the cabin. After a car accident, she finds herself not in a hospital, but on an airplane to Utah where her day began. With her day restarting over and over again, will she finally be able to find what makes her happy? I hope so, considering she has an eternity to do it.
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11. Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather WebbSet during World War I, this story is told entirely through letters between Thomas, a boy sent to the front lines, and Evie, the lover he left behind. As Thomas chronicles the horrors of war, Evie keeps him company while they both dream of the war's swift end—just in time for a Christmas spent at romantic cafes in Paris. As the war rages on, they’re not sure they’ll ever get their Christmas in Paris, but the death of their dream would mean the death of Thomas. Though ripe with yearning and a love that just might outlive a war, don’t expect a cheery holiday ending from this one.
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12. The Inside Edge by Ashlyn Kane Ex-hockey player and host of his very own sports show, Nate, is worried about re-entering the dating world after his divorce. Not to mention, his show is on the brink of being canceled. Regardless, all he’s looking for is a rebound to get over his ex—enter Aubrey, new co-host of Nate’s show and rich playboy who’s so hot that Nate forgets all about his divorce. Worse comes to worst when Aubrey actually falls for Nate, who isn’t by any means looking for a new relationship. Sounds to me like life’s throwing you a softball here, Nate.
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13. Amor Actually: A Holiday Romance Anthology by Adriana Herrera, Alexis Daria, and moreWith nine stories in this anthology, you’re sure to find the Christmas romance of your dreams in this collection written by a host of bestselling Latina authors. From stories about second chances to missed connections to queer love, Amor Actually provides everything you need this holiday reading season.

On the first day of Christmas, your favorite blogger gave to you: 13 Christmas romance recommendations. Happy reading!