christmas book recommendations for every romance reader
Happy December, everyone! If you’re like me, you’ve been itching to start your holiday and Christmas novels, but not wanting to start them too early so you can keep reading them until the holidays! Looking for recommendations? I’ve got you covered. Below is a list of some of my favorite Christmas novels (in no particular order) – I hope you enjoy them!
You’re A Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
If you’re looking for a classic story with a twist, look no further. Matthew Prince is the ultimate Grinch: he’s young, rich, spoiled, and internet famous, and when he makes a huge mistake, his parents send him to be with his grandparents for the holidays. Also with his grandparents is Hector Martinez, who can’t stand Matthew or most of what he does and enjoys. When the charity gala loses its coordinator, Matthew steps in, hoping to go home early after being so helpful, but he just might have to learn a bit about himself along the way.
The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score
The second in a duology, this novel takes the reader to Merry, Connecticut, where a late-season hurricane has ruined the town’s plans for the annual Christmas festival. Cat King, one-half of the “HGTV” King siblings featured in Mr. Fixer Upper, refuses to let this happen. She will convince Noah Yates to let her come in and use the network to restore the town and get the festival on track, no matter how much he fights her on it.
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
Looking for cheesey, corny romance? This novel introduces us to Melody and Beat, the children of the musical duo the Steel Birds. After the duo split dramatically, Beat and Melody have been tasked with reuniting the band on live television. Now Beat and Melody have to convince their mothers to put aside their feud in order to perform one last show.
This is a Tessa Bailey classic, full of corny lines, cheesy moments, and LOTS of spice. Reader, you have been warned.
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Groundhog Day switches with Christmas Day! Mae returns to the Utah cabin she’s always spent the holidays in with her family and two other families for the last time. She doesn’t have the holiday she hopes for, and while driving away asks the universe to show her what will make her happy. And immediately is in a car accident. Instead of waking up in a hospital, however, she wakes up back on the plane to Utah, before her holidays have the chance to go wrong. Mae realizes that she needs to take matters into her own hands, and change her outcome, so she’s not stuck in the week before Christmas forever.
The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park
This young-adult novel follows Chloe and Peter, two high school students (and sworn enemies, at least according to Chloe) who have to work together to save the Riverwood Mall. The mall is going to be sold to a developer, leaving Chloe’s and Peter’s families without their livelihoods: Chloe’s family owns the food court’s Korean restaurant, while Peter’s family owns the Chinese restaurant. Can they put aside their family rivalries in order to save their restaurants?
I grew up going to my local mall’s food court once a week with my family for dinner, so this novel hit me right where the nostalgia needed it. I could visualize the Christmas decorations, the hustle and bustle of the stores as Christmas inches closer, and I could practically taste the food court food described.
A Princess for Christmas, Duke, Actually, and So This Is Christmas by Jenny Holiday
This Jenny Holiday trilogy includes the first Jenny Holiday book that I ever read, and I accidentally read it out of order (starting with Duke, Actually) and completely nowhere near Christmas (I read it at the end of August, beginning of September).
This trilogy follows the royal family and their employees in Eldovia, and the people they fall in love with. The first book showcases Princess Marie, who meets Leo Ricci as her driver in NYC. The second book stars Max von Hansburg, previously betrothed to Princess Marie, who falls for Leo’s best friend Dani Martinez. Finally, the trilogy wraps up with Matteo, a servant to the Eldovian crown, who is tasked with aiding Cara Delaney as she is hired to help organize the king’s financial affairs. Each book could be read as a standalone, but you will spoil the previous book(s) for yourself by reading out of order, so I would recommend starting with the first one (although I think the second was my favorite)!
I’m so thankful to have so many authors that I love who have written so many awesome Christmas stories, and I can’t wait to read some of the newer releases on my TBR for this year. This list is NOT exhaustive, but I hope you’ll see one you haven’t read before that you’ll be able to enjoy this Christmas season. Happy Holidays, and Happy Reading!
This article was written by @tessajane_books on Instagram. You can follow her here — https://www.instagram.com/tessajane_books/ — for more bookish content!