Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Holiday Romances

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.

This week, the topic is cozy reads, and I decided to focus on holiday romance reads that give me warm and fuzzy vibes. Let’s check them out!

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1. Christmas After All by Cece Louise

Title: Christmas After All

Author: Cece Louise

Series: Happily Ever After All #1

Publication Date: Nov. 8, 2022

Publisher: Jabberwocky Tales

Synopsis: As if ruining my life wasn’t enough, now he’s back to ruin my Christmas.

Melissa

The only thing I hate more than Christmas is Tucker James—the guy who wrote a song about me after I turned him down in high school. He became famous. I became infamous.

With Tucker back in town to play at the annual winter festival, this Christmas is shaping up to be one of the worst. Everyone in Halften loves the hometown country music star who put our town on the map. Everyone except me.

Tucker

Years ago, I wrote a not-so-flattering song about the girl I had a crush on in high school. It became my first number-one hit. And made her the laughingstock of our hometown. Now I’m back in Halften, and it’s pretty clear the only thing Melissa Ellis wants for Christmas is me out of her life. But in a town this small, it’s going to take a miracle for either of us to make it through this holiday season unscathed.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon | My Review

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2. 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 |  My Review

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3. The Gentleman of Holly Street by Lotte R. James

Title: The Gentleman of Holly Street

Author: Lotte R. James

Page Length: 288

Publication Date: Nov. 29, 2022

Publisher: Harlequin Historical

Synopsis: Will this Christmas…

Change their lives again?

When self-made gentleman Freddie Walton rescued penniless Philomena Nichols at Christmas eight years ago, he never imagined that he would build his empire with her. Yet whilst they have created a life together as friends, Freddie can’t let their special connection become more than that. Not when his dangerous past continues to haunt him… But what happens when Freddie’s feelings for Philomena also refuse to stay hidden?

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon | My Review

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4. The Christmas Village by Annie Rains

Title: The Christmas Village

Author: 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 | My Review

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5. The Highlander’s Holiday Wife by Vanessa Kelly

Title: The Highlander’s Holiday Wife

Author: Vanessa Kelly

Series: Clan Kendrick #5

Page Length: 352

Publication Date: Sept. 27, 2022

Publisher: Zebra

Synopsis: It’s Christmastime in Edinburgh, but Lady Samantha Penwith’s secret mission takes no holiday: the Highlands-born lass vows to find the assailants who murdered her beloved husband, founder of a charitable school for orphaned boys. On her latest undercover excursion, she closes in on a pair of armed attackers and interrupts another assault, then disappears into the darkness, leaving the lone victim mystified–and lucky to be alive…

Braden Kendrick may be the sensible brother, yet the dedicated doctor routinely ignores the dangers of his late-night calls to the city’s slums. But when a fleet-footed rescuer saves his life, he’s determined to uncover the stranger’s identity. And once he does, he’ll find himself facing his own past loss for the first time–and more than willing to risk his heart again, just in time to make the Clan Kendrick’s Christmas celebrations more festive than ever…

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon | My Review

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6. 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  |  My Review

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7. 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    |  My Review

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8. 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    |

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9. 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  | My Review

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10. 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  | My Review

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