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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California lawyer Mina Richards spent her childhood helping her mom bake at their winter-themed café in the snowy village of Gosberg, Germany. When her retired parents want to sell The Icicle Café, Mina returns to facilitate the sale. She needs this to go right—she’ll fly in, finalize the deal and fly out to rescue her once high-powered career. But faced with Scott, her childhood friend and crush who doesn’t want to sell, Mina’s plan quickly falls apart.

Rising chef Scott Dawson has turned The Icicle Café into a destination restaurant. His parents and their partners want to sell the café to a hotel chain, and Scott can’t meet their price. When Mina arrives—more beautiful and determined than ever—he sees the possibility of a new future for the business and the town he loves. He just needs to change her mind…about more than selling the café.

When Scott asks Mina to help with the café’s annual Icicle Fest, their icy relationship warms. Can these former friends find a future together in the snowy village of their past?

Do you enjoy a cozy cafe setting for a Romance novel? If so, Love At The Icicle Cafe is a great read. Hardworking attorney Mina travels back to Germany to help save her family’s cafe from closing and ends up rekindling a relationship with a childhood friend. It’s a romance on the sweeter side with a cast of loveable characters including the colorful personalities of the cafe staff and also a narrative about realizing your path in life. This novel is filled with a cute romance, rediscovering things from the past, and too many baked goods I want to devour in one sitting.

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Jilted by her fiancé, librarian Maddy Jacobson is nursing a broken heart, when her best friend gives her an early Christmas present. Intended to be a fun, psychic reading in a spooky, tea house, the gift turns out to be life changing. Maddy becomes haunted by a mischievous, Highland ghost.

Ruggedly handsome, Cullen Macfie, the Highlander, has been dead for over three centuries, and never in all those years has he been so attracted to a woman, as he is to Maddy. He falls hopelessly in love and decides to woo her.

Can there be a future for a librarian and a naughty, Highland ghost?

I love to read a hearty but fast-paced holiday novella and A Highland Ghost for Christmas is a solid read! It’s short enough that you can read it during a lunch break but has fully fleshed out concepts that were unique. Especially how the writer creates a new edition to the supernatural realm within the story. The main character Maddie and her hot Highland Ghosts get a lot of one-on-one time in this novella whether is the fun baking moments or tender conversations. It has an overarching heartwarming feel to it that encapsulates the spirit of the season.

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A decade after leaving home, culinary magazine editor Symone Farris is heading back to Kiawah Island for the holidays. She’s escaping New York and a failed engagement to reconnect with her grandmother’s storied restaurant and speakeasy, The Haint. But before she can say “Merry Christmas,” she’s fighting her mother’s campaign to sell the beloved establishment to the local real estate developer and love she left behind without notice ten years ago.

Rhue Baines loves three things, Christmas, family, and the Lowcountry sea islands he calls home. He understands the needs of his island community because he’s never left. When his ex, Symone blows back into town demanding he stop the planned redevelopment of her family’s land, he’s determined to get his way.

As Christmas approaches they both begin to remember what made them fall in love all those years ago. But when the past finally catches up with them, can their hearts survive the crash?

I love books that take me to new destinations and this book was a lot of fun because readers get to travel to the South Carolina Lowcountry of Kiawah island. It’s a place I’m unfamiliar with but Lennox’s story brought it to life! I appreciated the story of a woman trying to reconnect with her hometown that she has so much love for and holds a lot of pain from her past. Simone works through a lot of obstacles to clear the air while relishing in all the hometown sights, sounds, and food that she loves. Instead of snow, we are treated to tropical weather and balmy breezes where the romance is very spicy. I liked that even though the story is short the progression of Simone and Rhue reconnecting felt realistic. I also love the rich culture of the area infused into the book

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Grieving ER nurse Nessa Hunt is on a road trip with her sullen teen half sister, Ivy, and still reeling from her mother’s deathbed confession: Nessa’s dad wasn’t really her dad. Seeking answers, they arrive in Rose Bend to find a small town teeming with the kind of Christmas cheer Nessa usually avoids. But then she meets the innkeeper’s ruggedly sexy son, Wolfgang Dennison.

Wolf’s big, boisterous family is like a picture-perfect holiday card. Nessa has too much weighing on her to feel like she fits—even though the heat between her and Wolf is undeniable. And the merriment bringing an overdue smile to Ivy’s face is almost enough to make Nessa believe in the Christmas spirit. But with all her parental baggage, including lingering questions about her birth father, is there room in Nessa’s life for happy holidays and happily-ever-after? 

Reading Christmas In Rose Bend instantly gave me all the holiday feels from the beginning of the story. The reader will feel as if they’ve been transported into a Hallmark movie as Rose Bend is a quaint little town full of festive vibes. It is a place where the magic of Christmas shines with its numerous decorations and fun holiday-themed activities for the town to celebrate. This magic of the town is what helps the sisters slowly break down their barriers and confront their fears. It’s also a chance for them to open up about the things that are weighing them down. (Review)

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For barista and café owner Sari Tomas, Christmas means parols, family and no-holds-barred karaoke contests. This year, though, a new neighbor is throwing a wrench in all her best-laid plans. The baker next door—“some fancy boy from Manila”—might have cute buns, but when he tries to poach her customers with cheap coffee and cheaper tactics, the competition is officially on.

And Baker Boy better be ready, because Sari never loses.

Foodie extraordinaire Gabriel Capras wants to prove to his dad that his career choice doesn’t make him any less a man. The Laneways might not be Manila, but the close-knit community is the perfect spot to grow his bakery into a thriving business. He wasn’t expecting a gorgeous adversary in the barista next door, but flirting with her makes his heart race, and it’s not just the caffeine.

It’s winner takes all this Christmas. And more than one competitor might just lose their heart for the holidays. 

If you enjoy holiday tales with sweet treats, tasty baked goods, and a cute competition between a barista and a baker this story will appeal to you. What starts off as banter between two owners of a business quickly becomes a competition to outdo one another and win each other’s hearts. Hearing all the mouthwatering descriptions of treats add to the immersive feeling of the recipe (I need these recipes asap) and seeing the cozy shops of the Laneways as detailed made it an entertaining read. The romance is equal parts sweet and steamy and overall will put you in a festive baking mood.

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Can a magical Christmas melt a frozen heart?

Join Belle and James as they visit Mickey Mouse for a sparkling holiday season at Disneyland Paris.

Belle has been numb since her mother died, and she can’t face Christmas at home without her. Instead she books a surprise holiday to her “happy place” – the Magic Kingdom. But her boyfriend James has problems of his own. He doesn’t “do Disney” and what will his mother think of him missing their family Christmas to go to Disneyland with Belle?

A festive romance with a sprinkling of Pixie Dust.

This was such a cute and cozy holiday novel that really puts the reader in a Disney and holiday spirit. The story follows James and Belle who end up going to Disneyland Paris. Belle wants to go to Disney because it reminds her of the time she’s and her mom used to do all the Disney things together. Going to Disneyland Paris is a way to remember her mother. What I liked the most about this novel was the balance of it being a cozy heartwarming romance while also dealing with real issues. I really appreciated how realistic the conversation was about grief and how they handled it in their relationship. (Review)

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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!