Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Hi there and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re having a great day. Today I’m highlighting 10 great books if you love holiday romances. For those of you that don’t know me, I’m a sucker for a swoon-worthy romance. Add a little holiday charm, and I love it even more. There’s nothing more magical than the holiday season!
Here are ten holiday romance novels and two novellas that I would recommend:
1. The Christmas Village by Annie Rains
Series: Somerset Lake #2
Page Length: 339
Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2021
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: Lucy Hannigan has inherited her mother’s bulldog, Bella, and her childhood home, the only pink house on Gingerbread Lane. With the holidays coming up, the pressure is on to decorate the house for the annual lights competition and maintain her parent’s winning streak. But Lucy already has her hands full as a midwife and a new landlord-to her ex-fiancé.
When Miles Bruno is suddenly asked to move out of his rental home, he’s grateful to Lucy for taking him on as a tenant. But their broken-off engagement doesn’t make it easy to live next door. Sparks still fly between them, and he’d give anything to get back in Lucy’s good graces. But to do that will take much more than just tree trimming and house decorating and contest winning. Will one wildly grand romantic gesture on Christmas Eve finally soften her heart?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
2. Mistletoe Cottage by Debbie Mason
Series: Harmony Harbor #1
Publication Date: Oct. 25, 2016
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: ‘Tis the season for love . . .
Sophie DiRossi loved growing up in Harmony Harbor. But after fleeing in disgrace many years ago, it is the last place she wants to be. Left homeless by a fire, she’s forced to go back to the small coastal town that harbors a million secrets, including her own. Sophie sees this secret reflected every day in her daughter’s blue eyes-and she must keep it hidden from the only man she has ever loved.
Sophie’s return is a shock for everyone . . . especially Liam Gallagher. The firefighter had some serious feelings for Sophie-and seeing her again sparks a desire so fierce it takes his breath away. Now Liam will do whatever it takes to show Sophie that they deserve a second chance at love, even if everything they’ve concealed threatens to keep them apart. In this special town at this special time of the year, Sophie and Liam can only hope for a little holiday magic…
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
3. Twelfth Knight’s Bride by E. Elizabeth Watson
Title: Twelfth Knight’s Bride
Author: E. Elizabeth Watson
Page Length: 150
Publication Date: Nov. 16. 2020
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Synopsis: Lady Aileana Grant just wants to help her starving clan at Christmastide. So she pilfers some vegetables from the bastard Laird James MacDonald–the Devil, they call him. When the Devil shows up and demands marriage as recompense for the thievery, Aileana can’t believe it when her brother agrees. Even if she’s able to negotiate a severance on Twelfth Night, that’s still two weeks to put up with the laird in enemy territory. She’s counting down the days, even if James isn’t quite the disgusting cretin she’d imagined.
James needs to marry an enemy bride in order to inherit his fortune. Cursed restrictions. He’d been unable to look away from Aileana’s untamed beauty ever since she squared off with him. He might as well handfast with the infernal lass. He’d get his money and perhaps some peace among the clans. He has a fortnight to win the heart of the lady with the voice of an angel despite her sharp tongue.
Twelfth Night is merry and bright as Aileana and James realize a true connection between them. But when Aileana discovers the reason the Devil forced her into marriage, how can she ever believe he truly wants her?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
4. A Cowboy Christmas Legend by Linda Broday
Series: Lone Star Legends #2
Page Length: 336
Publication Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Synopsis: This stunning, emotional, and redemptive historical Western romance by bestselling author Linda Broday will leave you cozy and warm this Christmas season, with:
• A cowboy learning how to start over
• A fiery young woman with the heart to save him
• A past neither can escape, and
• A future worthy of any Christmas miracle.
Devastated by the loss of his young wife—and the life he’d always thought would be his—Sam Legend II has done everything he can to make a fresh start. As a bladesmith, all he needs is a bed, a hot fire, and enough distance from his famous family to finally indulge in a little peace and quiet. So what if it’s almost Christmas? This year, he’s happy just keeping to himself.
But then fiery Cheyenne Ronan comes blasting into his home, and any notion of peace goes flying out the door.
Cheyenne’s like no one Sam has ever met—and from the moment he first catches her eye, his quiet life is anything but. Now he’s hunting wanted men with the Texas Rangers, decking every hall, and sharing passionate embraces with the woman who’s set his world alight. For the first time in what feels like forever, Sam’s facing Christmas feeling like his life is full of meaning again—and that with Cheyenne by his side, love can be the stuff of Legend.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
5. Every Day in December by Kitty Wilson
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: Aug. 20, 2021
Publisher: One More Chapter
Synopsis: Two people. One month to fall in love.
Belle Wilde loves December. Yes, she’s just lost her job and Christmas is not a good time to find yourself ‘financially challenged’. And yes, her parents are still going on about the fact that she really should have it all together by now. But Belle believes that in December, magic can happen.
Rory Walters hates December. Whilst it looks like his life is together, he’s still reeling from a winter’s night five years ago when his life changed forever. Now back at home, he’s certain that this will be yet another Christmas to endure rather than enjoy.
But as midnight on December 31st draws closer, Belle and Rory’s time together is coming to an end. With a little help from a Christmas miracle could Belle find the one thing she really wants underneath the mistletoe?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
6. No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoun
Title: No Ordinary Christmas
Author: Belle Calhoun
Series: Mistletoe, Maine #1
Page Length: 318
Publication Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: The quaint New England town of Mistletoe is thrilled to welcome back one of their own, Dante West. Now a famous Hollywood action star, Dante is filming a movie in town to help the local economy, as well as make amends with the people he hurt when he abruptly left Mistletoe all those years ago.
Librarian Lucy Marshall isn’t thrilled to see Dante. He was once her best friend and first love until he left her behind without a word of goodbye. When Dante makes her an offer she can’t refuse — use of the library as a filming venue in exchange for a lucrative donation, Lucy finds herself spending a lot of time in Dante’s company. With the magic of Christmas in the air, Dante and Lucy begin to forge a new bond. But can two people leading such different lives find lasting love the second time around?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
7. Christmas at Silver Falls by Jenny Hale
Title: Christmas at Silver Falls
Author: Jenny Hale
Page Length: 263
Publication Date: Oct. 15, 2019
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: White Oaks Inn has always been at the heart of Christmas celebrations for Scarlett Bailey and her family. Her adored gran has owned the rambling, old-fashioned hotel, filled with the scent of cinnamon and chocolate, since Scarlett was a little girl. But now her gran’s home is under threat. And it looks like it could be the Baileys’ last Christmas together there…
Over the holiday season, amidst much-loved festive traditions of baking cookies and decorating the tree, Scarlett throws herself into saving the hotel. When she hears that Charlie Bryant, a handsome, successful property developer, is spending December in Silver Falls, Scarlett is hopeful he might be the answer to their problems.
When they meet, sparks fly between impulsive Scarlett and business-like Charlie – as they both have very different ideas for the future of White Oaks. Scarlett is determined to show him how much White Oaks Inn means to her family and the guests who return there every year and, as they spend more time together, she begins to realize there is more to Charlie than his serious appearance…
But Charlie is struggling with a secret from his own past. Will he be able to face it, or will it stop him from truly opening up and getting close to anyone? And can Scarlett share the true meaning of Christmas with him and save her gran’s beloved hotel along the way?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
8. The Mistletoe Trap by Cindi Madsen
Series: Heart in the Game (Book 2)
Page Length: 400
Publisher: Entangled
Publication Date: Nov. 16, 2020
Synopsis: From the moment Julie sees her best friend, Gavin, in the airport, it’s like no time at all has gone by instead of months and months. No matter how long they’ve been apart, their relationship has always been steady, comfortable, and decidedly just friends. Even though their meddling parents have hung what seems like unlimited amounts of mistletoe everywhere she goes this holiday season, Julie knows some things will never change.
Gavin is well-aware his family’s wanted him and Julie to get together since forever, even though he’s been friend-zoned since they could talk—and he’s been happy to play that role. After all, as the new starting quarterback for the San Antonio Mustangs, he’s got enough on his plate without adding romance to the mix.
But between playing elves in the holiday bazaar to nights spent one-on-one watching rom-coms or soaking in their town’s hot springs, suddenly the “reverse parent trap” they’ve fallen into is actually starting to work. But this could be one scheme where letting themselves get trapped might be way too dangerous.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
9. The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
Title: The Santa Suit
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Page Length: 224
Publication Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.
At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?
Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
10. Santa’s Sweetheart by Janet Dailey
Title: Santa’s Sweetheart
Author: Janet Dailey
Series: The Christmas Tree Ranch #4
Publication Date: Sept. 29, 2021
Publisher: Kensington Books
Synopsis: “Love is the only cure for the holiday blues … Sheriff Sam Delaney is shouldering a lot as the lone lawman in the small Texas town of Branding Iron–and the widowed single father of six-year-old Maggie. Especially since Maggie’s determined that what her daddy needs this holiday season is a girlfriend. Suddenly Sam is hustled off to a meeting with Maggie’s schoolteacher–and surprised to discover the demure Grace Chapman is unexpectedly alluring. Then he’s roped into playing Santa at the annual Christmas ball, with the pretty Miss Grace by his side. It’s enough to make Sam even grumpier than usual–if not for the feelings sweet Grace stirs up inside”
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Prefer shorter reads? Check out these two holiday novellas!
Forever Winter by Amber Daulton
Page Length: 112
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Synopsis: Just imagine the perfect wedding… and then everything that could go wrong.
Viscount Camden Beckinworth had lived the life of a devil-may-care rake until his parents’ untimely death. He cast aside his personal life, returned home to save the crumbling family business and decided to re-enter Society five years later. By then, the pesky little sister of his two best childhood friends had grown into a lovely woman.
After two disastrous London seasons, Susanna Lorican accepted a marriage proposal from a neighborhood friend and, while she had adored him since childhood, she never expected the man of her dreams to reciprocate her feelings. She planned the perfect Christmas Eve wedding but she didn’t expect a snowstorm to barrel through the English countryside on the morning of.
Does social peril and uncontrollable weather keep the lovebirds from the altar or do they find their happily ever after in the midst of a disastrous wedding day?
Tinsel and Tea Cakes by Jill Piscitello
Series: Christmas Cookies
Page Length: 91
Publication Date: Dec. 14, 2021
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Synopsis: Hair stylist Scarlett Kerrigan lost her job and her apartment. To alleviate a touch of self-pity, she succumbs to her stepmom’s pressure to attend a wedding in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Unfortunately, she runs into the vacation fling who promised the moon but disappeared without an explanation. Months have passed, but she is not ready to forgive and forget.
After a chaotic year, executive Wes Harley settles into his family’s event venue, The Timeless Manor. His carefully structured world is shaken to its core when Scarlett arrives for the Victorian Christmas wedding weekend. The feelings he never quite erased flood to the surface.
When secrets are revealed, will a magical chateau and a sprinkle of tinsel be enough to charm Scarlett?
Have you read any of these holiday romances? What are some of your favorite holiday reads? Comment below!
I also liked #8. Nice choices.
Thank you! 🙂
Every year I want to read some holiday romances, but then for some reason I never get to them. The Mistletoe Trap sounds cute though!
It’s super cute – best friends to lovers romance!
Thank you for including Tinsel and Tea Cakes on this list featuring some of my favorite authors #7, 8, &9 were already on my TBR list. I loved Forever Winter. Excited to check out the others!
You’re so welcome! I didn’t want to leave out my favorite holiday novellas! 🙂
I hope you enjoy these!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for the recommendations! We need to read more holiday romance.
You’re so welcome! I hope you found some good ones!
The covers a great! I haven’t read any of these but I enjoy a good holiday story.
Aren’t they great? Totally gets me in the holiday spirit!
I need to read a christmas romance this year!
I don’t usually read a ton, but I can’t get enough of them this year! lol
Looks like an exceptional list of Christmas time books. I’m impressed!
Thanks so much!
These all look so good, Julie. You would think that with all the Christmas stories and romances I read this year I would have read many of these, but I only read 2 of them. I will be putting them on my list of my Christmas in July readathon,
Nice! I haven’t participated in that readathon. I’ll have to check it out.