Reading Recommendations: Holiday Romance

A new month means another batch of reading recommendations! This month’s theme is Holiday Romance! It’s that festive time of the year which means I love to read all things holiday-themed. Here are some holiday romances I’ve enjoyed and recommend to you.

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Vermont nights might get a little cold, but Sasha Merry has her work to keep her warm. Running the family farm has always been her dream, and this year it’s her time to shine. Sasha won’t let anything stand in the way of her plans. So when her most valuable employee gets hurt right before Christmas, she will do whatever it takes to prove to her father that she is up to the job, even if it means accepting help from the man who broke her heart.

Rodney Chestnut is finally back home in Charlotte, Vermont after years of living the adventurous life he has always dreamed of. Rodney lives his life without regrets, but being back in town, he’s face-to-face with his only one—Sasha Merry. There was a time when he owned Sasha’s heart, and then he broke it. After years of putting his ambitions first, seeing Sasha again reminds him that he’s neglected his heart.

Swept up in a blizzard of their old memories, the old flames start roaring immediately. The passions between them have always blazed hot, but the question is, will they be brave enough to take a chance on love or will their dreams lead them on separate paths all over again?

This novel is a romance novel that is perfect for those seeking a feel-good holiday romance read. This novel was a short and fast-paced read with a solid festive-themed plot that readers will enjoy. From the cookie-baking contests to surveying the beautiful snowy landscape on the farm, and the quiet tender moments between family and friends. This story was such a joy to read and it put me in a holly jolly mood. I liked the progression of Sasha and Rodney’s romance and how they taking the time to also heal wounds from the past by clearing up misunderstandings. The romance is sweet, with many steamy moments as a whole.

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On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear.

The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. 

Noelle feels conflict not only with life but with love. She feels immensely attracted to sam because he seems to see her for who she is, but she also feels comfortable with Ed because they have so much history. But comfort is the thing that led her to her current life. There is a greater discussion of mental health in the novel as well. Though this is marketed as a romance novel, it reads equally like a contemporary fiction novel. The story of Noelle is about living life to the fullest, grieving, and dealing with regret. I appreciated how she navigates through obstacles and grows over the course of the story. This novel reminds us to cherish those we love, take chances, and believe in ourselves. 

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Six months ago, wolf shifter John lost his fated mate and the love of his life.
Faced with the prospect of spending the holidays alone, he thought booking a cabin in a remote, shifter-friendly resort in the mountains was the answer to his problems.

Six months ago, Liz, a very human and single mom to a ten-year-old wolf shifter cub, Bradley lost her fated mate and the love of her life. Faced with the prospect of spending her first holidays without her husband and Bradley’s father, she thought booking a cabin in a remote, shifter-friendly resort in the mountains was the answer to her problems.

That is until they discover that they’re booked in the same cabin & fighting an attraction that feels a lot like fate.

I’m a big fan of Eden’s novels so I was excited to get my hands on this novella. It’s a steamy romance between Liz and John who are both trying to start anew again. They have been grieving over the loss of their significant other, but are ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives. Though the novel is fast-paced in nature their relationship felt very genuine to me. This novella has some forced proximity tropes and a cabin lodge setting that adds to the story’s overall Christmas/Wintry feeling. It’s a formulaic romance but it provides the comfort of a holiday romance with a lot of spice.

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Lila Santos is ready for her last winter break of high school. The snow in her small town of Holly, New York, is plentiful, the mood is as cozy as a fuzzy Christmas sweater, and she’s earning extra cash working at the local inn—AKA the setting of the greatest film of all time, Holiday by the Lake—while moonlighting as an anonymous book blogger.

But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss’s frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Rivera, becomes her coworker. Lila is type A; Teddy is type “Anything but Lila’s Way,” and the two of them can’t stop butting heads over tangled icicle lights and messy gift shop merch. But when they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they realize they’ve both been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets—and an unexpected snowstorm—bring these rivals together?

A sweet and wholesome holiday romance read. The main character, Lila is a book blogger like me so I could instantly connect to her. I thought it was a unique aspect to have her blog posts in between the narrative. It helps the reader connect to her festive and bookish spirit. The setting of Holly in this novel seems like a cozy community and seeing how they embrace Christmas pulls you into the narrative. The romance was very sweet and cute. I enjoyed the opposites attract romance aspect which made the story leads have fun banter dialogue. On top of romance, the novel has a coming-of-age theme as Lila and Teddy (the male lead) try to navigate through personal obstacles.

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Drew Davis’s goal is to buy the semipro football team where he is general manager. But the owner’s granddaughter, Tasha Bloom, unexpectedly inherits it first. Still, Drew’s not brokenhearted, since their mutual passion for football runs second only to their attraction to each other. But can the team and their budding romance make it to the New Year’s Day championship?

Since Jenkins is a local Michigan author I loved the tie into the familiar setting and finding all of my favorite spots within the story. This novella is a friends-to-lovers story of a former crush brought together unconventionally and picking up where they left off years ago. I’m not the biggest fan of sports-themed romances personally but this story had an equal blend of sports and Christmas as the main character, Tasha becomes the new owner of a local football team. Both leads are confident and have take-charge attitudes that draw them to each other. This Christmas Rivalry is full of sweet tenderness, spicy scenes, and lots of laugh-out-loud moments.

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Rocío is one tired boricua. She’s tired of her tiny apartment, her lack of a social life, and her boring job. But when the ghosts of her tías start showing up to try to get her to change, will Rocío be brave enough to make the one change she really wants?

A Christmas Parranda is a nice retelling of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This queer romance follows Rocio as she reflects on her life and past relationships with her Tias and Abuela (her spirit guides). Like the original story, the novella is based on, it’s a tale of opening up and not letting opportunities pass us by. Rocio wonders where she went wrong and her friend Elinet just may be the answer she’s been looking for all along. Though short, this novel is very fulfilling and entertaining. I loved the humorous bits with Rocio and her “Christmas ghosts” which made me laugh.

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That concludes my reading recommendations for holiday romance reads! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!