Holiday Reading Recommendations

Right behind summer, the holidays seem to be the time when people have the next most time to read. Your tree’s decorated, maybe you’ve got a fire going, you’ve got some time off from work. Perhaps you’re trying to squeeze in a few more books before the end of the year to meet a reading goal!

Candidly, though, holiday books aren’t always my favorite! I am not a Hallmark Christmas Movie kind of girl, and so many holiday books tend to be too cheesy for my taste. So I’ve dawdled for many years in writing this post, but a text from a friend today looking for holiday reading recommendations finally tipped me over the edge. I feel it is my duty to share a list of holiday books that aren’t cheesy and dumb!!

Rather than sorting by genre, because so much holiday reading seems to fall in the romance category, I’m just listing a bunch of books that I’ve enjoyed, along with some I haven’t read yet but have heard great things about from trusted sources.

And one more note – I feel bad that this list isn’t more inclusive to people who celebrate holidays other than Christmas. I will say that that the Christian specifics of Christmas (celebrating the birth of Jesus and all of that) don’t figure heavily into the plots of any of these books. So they should work for all kinds of readers, no matter what you celebrate. I’ve also included two recommendations of books I love that are winter-y but not really specific to Christmas, as well as a book I haven’t read that seems to have greater representation across faith traditions.

Now, let’s dive in!

Recommended by Me

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

The Christmas Orphans Club is about four best friends who spend every Christmas together. There are so many books out there about romantic love, but few that capture the love of friends as well as this one does. This is just a feel good book, and so well written, too.

Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman

I just read Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon last month and loved it (full review here). It’s a lot sweet and more than a little sad, too. I think it captures a bittersweet feeling so many of us have during the holidays. And it calls out so many beloved holiday movies so it’ll get you in the mood to have your own holiday movie marathon if you weren’t already.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

Jenny Bayliss is the reigning queen of holiday books. Her stories always feature great representation, charming settings, sweet found family vibes, a healthy dose of whimsy, and fun and funny side characters. My favorite of her books is Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. It’s about a young woman who returns to her hometown for a getaway and wedding with her old school friends and reconnects with an old crush while she’s there. My second favorite Bayliss book is Kiss Me at Christmas, perfect for theatre nerds! If you’re looking for a holiday read that gives off Katherine Center vibes, pick up one of Bayliss’s books.

The Winter Street Series by Elin Hilderbrand

What Jenny Bayliss is to holiday books, Elin Hilderbrand is to beach reads. So what’s she doing on this list, you ask? Well, she actually wrote the Winter Street series of four books that are set on Nantucket during the holidays, centering around the Quinn family and life at their Winter Street Inn! They’re all short and easy reads. You could read all four in one month. Maybe even in one weekend.

Note: The all four books in the series are available right now on Kindle Unlimited!

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is another author (or should I say, pair of authors, a pen name for writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) I typically associate with summer reading, but In a Holidaze, their first foray into holiday romance, is cute! It’s what you’d get if you moved Groundhog Day to the Christmas season. Bonus points for the snowy Utah setting. Loved this one!

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Christmas with the Queen is the perfect holiday read for fans of the Royal family and British historical fiction. It’s a sweet slow burn historical romance set against the backdrop of the Royal household in the 1950s. If you love The Crown and Downton Abbey you’ll enjoy this book. The authors also have another book that frequently makes list of holiday reading recommendations, Last Christmas in Paris. It’s also historical fiction but sounds like it might be more than a little sad so I haven’t read it yet.

Note: ‘Last Christmas in Paris‘ is available on Kindle right now for just $1.99!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Can’t decide between reading a mystery or romance this holiday season? You don’t have to choose – The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is both! It’s a closed door mystery featuring two rival mystery authors turned romantic interests working together to solve a Christmas crime.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

In the mood for a classic mystery? Pick up Hercule Poirot’s Christmas about a holiday family reunion that turns deadly. Or you can cheat and watch the TV adaption which is streaming on PBS (Season 6, Episode 1 of Agatha Christie’s Poirot). I bet it would be fun an audio, too! Who doesn’t love a British narrator?

Note: This book is available right now on Kindle Unlimited!

One Day in December by Josie Silver

One Day in December is a holiday-adjacent book, but much of the story takes place in other times of year. It tells the story of Jack and Laurie who fall in love at first sight but don’t actually meet until a year later when Laurie’s best friend Sarah introduces Jack as her boyfriend. The book follows the three of them over the course of ten years. If you loved One Day (the book, movie, or TV show), you’ll love this book. I’ve read it twice already and I’m sure I’ll come back to it again in the future.

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is a wintery book more than it’s a holiday book. Perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls, the story follows Olivia, a pastry chef who moves from Boston to a small town in Vermont to be closer to her best friend and work at the Sugar Maple Inn. And I think her love interest turns out to be a lumberjack or something? I don’t remember the specifics, only the warm and cozy feeling it gave me!

Recommended by Others

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison

I haven’t read Good Spirits yet but I have a copy and it’s next on my holiday reading list this year. It’s about a woman who is haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past …. except it’s a romance? And I hear it may be quite spicy! I’m intrigued.

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Winter Solstice is one of those books that lots of readers return to every year. It’s about five very different people who are brought together to a Scottish estate during the holidays. It sounds so good. One of these years I will read it for myself!

Holiday Romance and Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Holiday Romance and Snowed In are two romances that take place in the same universe with overlapping characters. Holiday Romance is a friends to lovers story and Snowed In features fake dating. And they’re all Irish! Sounds delightful.

Note: Both books in the series are available right now on Kindle Unlimited!

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

Finally, a book that celebrates not just Christmas but Hannukah and Ramadan, too! Three Holidays and a Wedding is about two girls who are strangers and the love interest of one of them who are all on the same flight that is forced to make an emergency landing. And where do they land but a charming small town that feels like something out of a holiday movie. I’ve seen this described as romance-adjacent.

Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

Faking Christmas is a rom-com about a social media manager whose boss somehow begins to think she’s a farm owner. Her boss, newly separated, invites himself to spend the holidays at the farm. Chaos (and romance) ensues. Sounds cute!

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I’ll plan to keep this list updated year after year as I read more holiday books … or at least I’ll try to remember to do that!