Christmas Romance Book Recommendations

     Last year I dedicated my December reading plans to Christmas books. Each of the books I read had swoon-worthy romances and picturesque winter settings. I can’t recall ever feeling more in the Christmas spirit than I did after spending a month in seasonal literature. (Perhaps “literature” is far too generous a term for a couple of these books…) Today I’m going to recommend a few highlights from last year’s reading list in hopes that you may find the perfect festive book to get ready for Christmas.

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Kiss Her Once For Me by Allison Cochrun

     For the past year, Ellie Oliver has been slinging drinks at a local coffeeshop hardly making ends meet. Her boss, Andrew, approaches Ellie with a hair-brained marriage of convenience proposal that will solve both of their fiscal struggles by giving him access to his sizable inheritance. This plan is all well and good until Andrew introduces Ellie to his sister, Jack–the boisterous, warm, and larger than life woman Ellie fell in love with last Christmas Eve. Now Ellie must confront her tortured feelings about Jack and their year-old heartbreak, or keep up the illusion of a happy relationship with Andrew. 

     Why was this the first sapphic romcom I’ve ever read? It was so incredibly warm and cozy. I don’t typically enjoy second chance romances as a rule. It is hard for me to care about a relationship when many of the feelings and first connections all happened off-page. Cochrun utilized a dual timeline seamlessly to let us fall in love with Ellie and Jack as they were falling for each other. The contrast between the “then” and “now” sections really amped up the sense of yearning and drama in this book. The stakes were so high, I was gripping my poor reading pillow in anxiety. The tension was realistic (for a romcom), our MCs refused to play into the miscommunication tropes that often sour romcoms for me. Somehow Cochrun sold the single day romance to me, and I was so invested in seeing these women romantically reunited. sighhh

Update to 2025 Christmas reading plans: Find another sapphic holiday romance. 

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

     Charlie Goodwin hosts a dazzling holiday baking contest on national tv in stunning gowns and sequin smiles. Her equally dazzling and frustratingly difficult co-host just so happens to be her arch-nemesis and the current competition for her dream role--a solo baking show. A solid knock to the head gives Charlie a major concussion that leaves her without an ability to taste anything. To save her chances, she calls up her twin, Cass, to swap places for the holidays. Cass lives back home in a small mountain town learning to take over the family bakery. She has her own struggles with her now-ex fiancé sniffing around and tugging at her heart strings. She agrees to swap places with Charlie on the condition that she sends her pesky ex on his merry little way. Neither twin realizes that they just might have the opportunity for true love while stepping into the wrong shoes. 

     The twins-swapping-places trope will never not be cozy and nostalgic. Is it overdone? Depends who you ask. Personally, I am not yet over it. You do, of course, have to be ready to suspend some disbelief. I typically don’t like celebrity stories, but thankfully the baking show scenes did not take over the story by any means. As a matter of fact, the baking aspect of this book was delightful. I don’t think I’ve ever itched to make bread and cookies more in my entire life. I developed a lemon bar recipe in my own kitchen because of the lavender ones in this book. The love interests also happen to be...ahem...delectable. The stakes felt a bit lower in this one, but Knox still whipped up a cozy and compulsive read. 

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter 

     Maggie Chase can’t stand Ethan Wyatt. Actually, she hates his guts. His macho-man high action thrillers just muddy the publishing waters for her cozy mysteries, and frankly, he’s got the most obnoxious ego. When they both receive mysterious invitations to a reclusive English manor by a major fan, they are forced to swallow their differences and go. The cryptic fan turns out to be the queen of the mystery genre and Maggie's role model, none other than Eleanor Ashley (read: fictional Agatha Christie). The next morning, Eleanor has disappeared without a trace in what appears to be a true locked room mystery. Maggie and Ethan must put aside their differences (and maybe become something more than rivals?) to solve the case. 

     I can not believe how much I adored this book. I don’t have a particularly long history with cozy mysteries, and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a romance fitting into the dynamic. Eep, turns out I love it! Ethan Wyatt has a very Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert dichotomy that had me swooning in my seat. I love a swashbuckling man with a gooey center. Maggie was brilliant and vivacious. They made such a great duo! The romantic arc did not take away from the compelling mystery either. I genuinely could not figure out how Eleanor disappeared until all of the pieces were fit into place at the end of the novel. This book could have easily fallen short as an over-ambitious novel, but it truly nailed both the mystery and romance arcs. 

Tangled in Tinsel by Trilini Pucci 

     Samantha is tasked with decorating the cabin for Christmas by her four incredibly attractive and filthy rich bosses. Naturally they all get snowed in together and what ensues is this hot forced-proximity reverse harem novel. We have definitely stepped off the cute dream-lit romcom path. This book is Christmas themed erotica. I cannot say it more bluntly for you. I loved it. If this premise is your cup of tea, you just might love it too.