I promised to return today and share my pre-Christmas reading list for this year – and, as in previous years, I found I’d downloaded far more books than I could ever hope to read before the big day, and some difficult choices were needed! So I must apologise to those authors who didn’t make my final dozen – and I have no idea if I’ll manage to get through them all, but I do promise to give it my best shot…
As always, if you’d like to see a more comprehensive list of Christmas reads, do visit Jill’s Book Cafe – the work she puts into pulling her posts together always makes me feel rather exhausted (I’m shattered after listing twelve!), and this year she’s even produced separate lists for Murder and Mystery, LGBTQ+ Romance, Christmas in Times Past, Feel Good Festive Fiction and RomComs by Trope. I’ve already spotted quite a few books I wish I could have added – and I’m sure you will too!
But here’s my personal list, the twelve I really hope I’ll be able to read and review – if you click on the title it’ll take you to the Amazon page for the kindle version…
The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans (just 99p for kindle, or free via Prime reading)
The perfect cosy and uplifting romance to curl up with this winter!
In Mistletoe Gardens a legend exists: anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love…
When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be?
Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help – and fast!
Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem: Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too.
Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan.
Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie’s chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?
New Beginnings at Christmas Tree Cottage by Georgia Hill (just 99p for kindle, or free via Kindle Unlimited)
Christmas is the perfect time to fall in love…
The little English town of Lullbury Bay is a magical place to spend Christmas, and for Honor Martin it is the high point of her year.
However, newcomer Jago, doesn’t share her merry mood. After the devastating loss of his father he’d be happy to never hear another Christmas carol again.
But to help his little sister replace bad memories with good ones, he reluctantly joins in the festivities. As he gets to know her teacher, Honor, could she be the one to restore his love of Christmas?
Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas (£2.99p for kindle)
Chloe can’t wait for Christmas… to be over! Her son Ruben is staying with his dad and Chloe is planning to ignore the holidays altogether. Her only festive touch is her son’s advent calendar, to help count down the days till he’s home again.
But a surprise call changes everything. Chloe might be the unexpected owner of some land in Canada! Surely, it’s a scam. Or could it be just the escape she needs right now? Ruben’s latest note in the advent calendar tells her to ‘say yes!’
In a flash, Chloe’s new countdown to Christmas involves a log cabin in the middle of a snowy forest, a community that’s worried for its future, a gruff lumberjack who gives her butterflies and a lot of pancakes with maple syrup…
For a happy Christmas read full of romance and festive surprises, choose Jo Thomas.
Christmas Nights at the Star and Lantern by Helen Rolfe (just 99p for kindle, or free via Prime reading)
A wonderful story of love, friendship and opening your mind and your heart to new possibilities that will enchant fans of Holly Martin and Heidi Swain.
The Copper Plough is at the heart of village life for the residents of Heritage Cove, and never more so than at Christmas, when the tree glows in the alcove and the smell of mulled wine carries out onto the street. So when new owners for the beloved pub arrive and decide to shake things up, not everyone welcomes the changes with open arms.
Local bakery owner Celeste is ready to keep an open mind. But she’s shocked to discover that one of the new landlords is Quinn, a former Navy sailor with whom she had a short but powerful romance years earlier.
Fate may have brought Quinn and Celeste back together, but life seems determined to keep them apart. Can the villagers learn to embrace the newcomers this Christmas? And will Quinn and Celeste find a way back to each other before snow falls over Heritage Cove?
Join new friends and old, as Christmas comes to Heritage Cove.
This Christmas in Paris by Sophie Claire (£2.99 for kindle)
What could be more magical than Christmas in Paris?
When Carys is offered the chance to run a little French café, she leaps at the chance to discover an exciting city where she can dream big.
Meanwhile, struggling journalist Mat is living in the City of Love – but he’s never found romance himself.
Then, a chance encounter changes everything, and it feels like the start of something wonderful. But Carys and Mat are both keeping secrets . . .
Can they open their hearts to one another – and maybe even find love, just in time for Christmas?
Four Weddings and a Christmas by Philip Ashley (just 99p for kindle, but for a limited time!)
Can the spirit of Christmas reignite an old flame?
With her thriving business Cottage Angels, Freya Bolton prepares the Lake District’s holiday homes for Christmas visitors. It’s her job to think of everything, from cinnamon-scented candles to tasteful decorations and hampers of seasonal treats.
If only her love life were such a success… After being burned by past relationships, she’s now determined to steer clear of love for good.
So when she bumps into gorgeous – and single – ex-boyfriend Travis, a no-strings festive fling seems perfect.
But when her feelings for him begin to develop, is she on track for another romantic calamity? Or could this Christmas give her the gift of true love?
This gorgeous Christmas romance from Sunday Times bestseller Phillipa Ashley will take you to the Lake District with a story of second chance love as heartwarming as a cup of mulled wine.
That Festive Feeling by Heidi Swain (just 99p for kindle)
Holly has the place to herself this Christmas. It’s not her place, though – she is house-sitting for friends who live on Nightingale Square – just there to keep the place warm and cosy and only for long enough for her to sort her life out. Newly single and finding herself unsure about next steps for her career, she plans to hunker down and make some life decisions.
To clear her mind, she sets off on early morning walks around a nearby lake and bumps into May, an older lady who is also new to the area, and her dapper Dachshund Monty. Quickly, a firm friendship blossoms. Then when Holly meets Bear, a rather large and rather attractive man, at the local pub, and his rescue dog Queenie, her stay at Nightingale Square suddenly feels even more appealing.
As the community comes together for the season’s festivities, Holly must start thinking about where her life will take her next. Some big decisions need to be made, but distractions close to home make thinking about the future more tricky than ever…
Will she get that festive feeling this Christmas…?
Christmas at the Chateau by Annabel French (just 99p for kindle)
Life has gone a little bit downhill for Naomi Winters…
Ever since her ex-husband Ollie filed for a divorce last Christmas, Naomi is a self-confessed scrooge. She hates her job, has exactly zero hobbies, and on top of that she’s all alone this holiday season.
Spurred on by her best-friend Mia – who has invited her to spend Christmas at her snow-kissed Chateau in the Swiss Alps – she decides it’s time for change.
But, when she arrives, she’s shocked to see Mia’s big brother Gabriel. It’s been fifteen years since they last saw eachother, forcing her to face memories she’d rather forget.
As Naomi grapples with getting her life back on track, she throws herself into various festive activities, and she can’t seem to escape Gabriel this time…
Will he manage to thaw her icy heart, or is she on a downward slope to disappointment?
This Christmas by Emma Heatherington (£2.99 for kindle)
Two strangers. One double-booked cottage. This Christmas will be one to remember. . .
Rose used to love Christmas – until the year everything changed. She hasn’t been home to visit her family for the holidays since.
Charlie is facing his first Christmas alone. It may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, but not for him. Not this year.
In search of comfort and seclusion, Rose escapes to a cottage in rural Donegal to hunker down for the festive season by herself.
But when Charlie opens the door to Seaview Cottage, the two strangers realise that their holiday rental has been double-booked.
They both expected to spend this Christmas alone. But their lives could be changed forever if they agree to spend it together…
Meet Me In Central Park by Jo Bartlett (just 99p for kindle, or free via Prime reading)
Will their Christmas wish come true?
Libby Cooper hasn’t celebrated Christmas since the night her parents died in a terrible accident. She wants to forget that the season of goodwill even exists; but her grandmother has other ideas. It’s time for Libby to start living her life just as her parents would have wanted her to do.
First stop New York!
What better way to immerse herself in the celebrations, than working in her great aunt’s Christmas shop, just a few blocks from Central Park? Making new friends in the Big Apple is the easy bit, but leaving the past behind proves much harder than Libby imagined.
Long walks in gorgeous Central Park help, and here she meets Harry Stanwick, a Central Park Ranger. Harry seems to know instinctively when Libby wants to talk or when she just needs to sit quietly on their special bench with him by her side.
Slowly, Libby begins to feel some of the pain of her past slipping away. And as New York begins to work its magic and her friendship with Harry grows, so too do Libby’s feelings for him.
But can she ever be truly happy without the people who matter the most to her? Or can Harry convince Libby that she deserves her own Christmas miracle -and her chance of happiness – sitting with him on their bench in Central Park?
Delivering Christmas by Liz Fenwick (I always must include a novella, and I’ve been looking forward to this one – £1.99 for kindle, or free via Kindle Unlimited)
All she wants for Christmas is peace and quiet, and to be alone…
Theo Pascoe is relieved she finally has her cottage back to herself, after her beloved son, wife, and grandson move out to their new home. Christmas is fast approaching and she’s fully booked doing the work she loves, preparing Christmas decorations for the local hotel, running wreath-making workshops, and dressing clients homes for the holidays.
However her family and friend think they know best – that she is suffering from empty-nest syndrome and what she really needs is some romance back in her life. But that’s the last thing Theo wants right now!
As Christmas Day approaches Theo is looking forward to spending the day quietly at home, with just her cat for company. But she has just one last home to decorate when a sudden cold snap catches everyone by surprise and she finds herself stranded in a remote house with a client. Theo just wanted to spend Christmas alone, but it seems fate has other plans?
Murder under the Mistletoe by Liz Fielding (my one cosy mystery, and a series I’ve been looking forward to trying – just 99p for kindle, or free via Kindle Unlimited)
Meet Abby Finch. She’s the busy mum of three. An expert gardener and the star of your new favourite cozy murder mystery.
Abby Finch arrives at the old church hall armed with festive mistletoe and holly, ready to decorate. But within moments of her walking through the door, tragedy strikes…
Edward Marsh reaches to test the antique star at the top of the tree. There’s a fizz and the lights go out.
Abby hears the sickening thud of a body hitting the floor. When the lights turn back on, Edward is dead.
It soon becomes clear it was no accident.
The real victim should have been Gregory Tatton. Dapper silver fox. Popular with the ladies of the seniors’ lunch club. A known blackmailer…
Abby is desperate to find out the truth, but putting herself in danger isn’t on her Christmas wish list.
Who’s been naughty? Who’s been nice? Who’s hiding the fact they’re a murderer?
So, not necessarily in that order, but that’s my reading plan – I’ll share my reviews as I finish the books, and I’ll get through as many as I possibly can. I’ve already made a start – I’m half way through Jaimie Admans’ lovely one! Right, I’m off to put up the tree – and search for those new sparkly lights I bought, because I didn’t think I had quite enough last year…!
There are so many Christmas books! I’ve read two from your list and two are on my list for this month.
I could have included a dozen more… but even I know my limitations!
Many, many thanks for the shout out Anne, I really appreciate it. Enjoy your Christmas reads, I’ve got most of those to read too. Can we add a few weeks onto December to get through them all? xx
My pleasure Jill – and if only! xx
Thank you for including Delivering Christmasxx
My pleasure – it’s one I’m very much looking forward to! xx
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