There’s nothing like curling up with a good Christmas book and a warm drink to get you in the festive spirit! These 21 new Christmas books for 2024 are perfect for your holiday season reading list and they also make great gifts if you would like to spread the holiday cheer!
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1. The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler
Setting: Idaho
Sienna Naples’s family has taken care of their wild Idaho land for generations and Sienna can’t imagine any other life. But at Christmastime, with her parents gone and her painful marriage finally over, it’s full of memories…and incredibly lonely. Until a tall, handsome stranger and a little girl walk into her life and suddenly the holidays are alive again.
When single father Guy Maple shows up as the result of an ad meant to be a joke, the handsome Montana construction worker isn’t joking. Money is tight this Christmas, and Guy’s four-year-old daughter Emma has stage-five chronic kidney disease. She needs a kidney transplant, but if Guy can’t prove that he can afford Emma’s anti-rejection medications, his daughter isn’t going to stay on the transplant list. Guy’s willing to do anything, including marrying a stranger, to keep her safe.
It’s an impulsive marriage of convenience, and Sienna knows this isn’t real, no matter how much she adores Emma, how well Guy fits in to the ranching life―or how much light and laughter is coming into their lives as a result. But the more time she spends with her new family, the more she fears losing the fragile, feisty little girl and the kind, devoted, hard-working, incredibly attractive man who is her husband―but is it only in name?
2. Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
Setting: England
Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn’t for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan’s winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand.
But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town’s old Winter Theater. To get the students off the hook, the theater’s elderly owner requests that Harriet direct the washed-out stage’s final Christmas performance. And Harriet will do anything to help the kids . . . even work with the owner’s lawyer who, as it turns out, is her less than impressed one-night stand.
Directing the play with him won’t exactly change her life. But it might just reignite the Christmas spirit and remind her what makes life merry and bright again.
3. All I Want for Christmas by Karen Swan
Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
When Darcy Cotterell discovers her boyfriend is cheating, she falls out of love with love. With Christmas coming she’s also too busy pursuing her PhD studies in Copenhagen to be distracted by a broken heart, despite her friends’ efforts to set her up with the ‘perfect’ blind date in the city.
Then an unknown portrait by Denmark’s greatest painter is discovered beneath another masterpiece and Darcy is charged with discovering the identity of the woman in the painting. With no name or any supporting evidence to work with, she must utilise all her research skills to find a ghost. Working closely with the most powerful figures in the art scene, she encounters Max Lorensen – her blind date! The attraction is instant but knowing they must work together, they agree to keep things between them professional. But the chemistry between them is hard to ignore until one of Darcy’s discoveries threatens to set her and Max on opposite sides for ever . . .
4. The December Market by RaeAnne Thayne
Setting: Small mountain town in Idaho
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Amanda Taylor isn’t a fan of Christmas, but as the owner of a local soap shop, ignoring the holiday season isn’t an option. To forget the pain of Christmases past, Amanda focuses on making the season bright for her customers at the Shelter Springs Holiday Giving Market. But when her beloved grandmother, Birdie, starts dating the dashing new resident of the Shelter Inn retirement community, Amanda smells trouble. Fortunately, Rafe Arredondo, the grandson of Birdie’s charming suitor, is equally dubious of the match. Unfortunately, he’s just as fiery as his grandfather—and Amanda has zero interest in getting burned.
As a single father, paramedic and assistant fire chief, Rafe has more than enough on his plate. Sure, he and Amanda share a common goal in keeping their grandparents apart. Still, that doesn’t mean he should allow himself to feel as drawn to her as he does. Even if she is great with his young son. Even if she does help the burden of his own painful past feel a little lighter… But when their paths keep crossing at the holiday market, it starts to feel like fate, prompting them both to wonder if taking a chance on love might gift them everything they’ve been wishing for.
5. A Winter Wish by Emily Stone
Setting: England, Spain
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
When Lexie learns of her father’s death, she doesn’t know how to feel; they’ve barely spoken in the last ten years. And she’s even more confused when she discovers he’s left her half of his holiday travel company, a successful niche business specializing in trips that explore the holiday traditions of cultures all over the world.
Meanwhile, the other half of the company has been left to her father’s handsome but bad-tempered young executive, Theo. And the will stipulates that the two of them must find a way to run the company together for a year before they decide its fate.
Lexie intends to leave once the year is over, even though, as a wanderer herself, she finds the company’s mission more compelling than she first thought. And a work trip to sizzling Spain reveals a chemistry between Lexie and Theo that is impossible to deny.
There may have been some snap judgments made about each other. But mixing business and pleasure isn’t always a good idea.
6. The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan
Setting: London and the Cotswolds, England
Imogen is a high-achieving event manager in London whose colleagues don’t know that her happy childhood stories, her dog and her boyfriend are all made up and that the only way she gets through the lonely Christmas season is by working 24/7. But when burnout leads to a mistake, Imogen’s boss forces her to take a month-long vacation and she has no idea how she’ll get through the holidays without work to keep her busy.
When Imogen’s favourite client Dorothy who is the head of a family-owned vineyard in the countryside hears about the enforced holiday, she offers Imogen use of the guest cottage on her property in the Cotswolds. Dorothy wants to help Imogen and also sees it as an opportunity to atone for the past but her daughter, Sara, is convinced that inviting Imogen is a big mistake.
Told from the alternating points of view of Imogen, Dorothy and Sara, The Holiday Cottage is a heartwarming holiday story about family, friendship and self-discovery with a bit of romance as well. The Cotswolds are a lovely setting for a Christmas book and the descriptions of cobblestone streets lined with shops and cafes, stone buildings with thatched roofs, and bustling Christmas markets with a dusting of snow made me want to visit during the holiday season. This is the 4th Sarah Morgan Christmas novel that I have read and the charming feel-good stories have all been among my favourite holiday season reads each year!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
7. The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy
Setting: United States
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
All Callie wants for Christmas is to hibernate. She’s still reeling from being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and under no circumstances will she go home for the holidays considering her ex will be right next door with his new, perfect partner. Callie is officially in grinch mode, but her meddling sister, Anita, won’t let her give up on life, love, and Christmas quite so easily.
Anita stages a Christmas intervention for Callie with a homemade Advent calendar challenge—cheerful tasks to push Callie out of her comfort zone and into the holiday spirit, inspired by a childhood tradition. Callie reluctantly plays along, but when she comes face-to-face with a charming baker who just might be the spoonful of sugar she needs, her strict rules on love and the holidays are tested. As they strike a deal to do the activities together, could the twenty four little doors on Callie’s Advent calendar not only open up one, but two closed-off hearts?
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
8. The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
Setting: A North American city
Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet.
But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?
A heartwarming, magical story about the true spirit of the season, The Mistletoe Mystery reminds us that love is the greatest mystery of all.
9. Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Setting: A small town in Ireland
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love – and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.
But in the Advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.
Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams’ beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
10. Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark
Setting: United States
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
The holidays are fast approaching, and the Belvedere siblings are a mess. Liz, a Hollywood showrunner and responsible eldest, has no idea how to follow up her hit show’s first season, or how to deal with her giant crush on its star, Violet Grace. Birdie turned her chronic middle-child syndrome into a career as a stand-up comic, but since she spends more time wooing women than working on new material, she’s facing one-hit-wonder status, especially once she gets axed by her manager. And Rafi, sensitive romantic and the baby golden boy, proposes to his co-worker girlfriend in front of their entire company, only to be turned down by the woman he thought was the love of his life.
Born to three different fathers, the three adult children share one mother: famed actress and singer Babs Belvedere. Seeking direction and holiday cheer, all three siblings head up to their mother’s house in the country, determined to swear off love and focus on themselves and their work. But the spirit of the season seems to have different plans for them, and their best intentions are quickly derailed in the most delightful and festive of ways.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
11. Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
Setting: Vermont, New York City
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
A cute holiday romance centred around Hanukkah celebrations that takes place mostly in New York City during the holiday season.
Abby Cohen is the stressed-out owner of a cafe in a small town in Vermont and Seth is a frequent patron who comes in for a pumpkin spice latte every morning annoying her with his sunny attitude. When the head of the local business association comes up with the idea of holding a post-holidays Hanukkah festival to attract visitors, she ropes Abby into organizing since she’s the only Jewish business owner in town.
Abby reluctantly takes on the responsiblity and her online search for support reveals that there is at least one other Jewish person in town – Seth. The two meet for drinks and Seth agrees to help Abby source vendors and suppliers but on the condition she’ll go to New York City with him to stay with his parents for the 8 days of Hanukkah and pretend to be his girlfriend.
It’s a nice change to read a seasonal romance that’s focused on one of the other holidays that are celebrated at the same time of year and I enjoyed learning more about the Jewish holidays in a lighthearted way. Love You a Latke is a fun read using some of the best romance tropes (grumpy/sunshine, fake dating) plus it takes place in New York City which is at its absolute best during the holiday season!
Abby and Seth get to know each other while meeting up with his friends roaming the city enjoying holiday activities (both Hanukkah and Christmas) and festive food and drinks. A sweet (light on spice) romance between Abby and Seth but also Abby finding her way back to the Jewish community that she hadn’t realized she was missing – a great read for the holiday season!
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
12. One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery
Setting: A mountain cabin in the Pacific Northwest
Julie Parker’s adult kids, Nick and Dana, have their own plans for the holidays and she is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas at home in Seattle with Heath, the much younger man that she’s secretly dating. But when the kids announce that they want to spend Christmas together at the family cabin in memory of their father (Julie’s ex-husband) who died earlier in the year, Julie doesn’t hesitate to change plans even though she’s nervous about her kids meeting Heath. As Julie arrives at the cabin to prepare for a 10 day holiday, the guest list continues to expand as she can’t bear to say no to anyone faced with the prospect of spending Christmas alone.
Susan Mallery is an excellent storyteller and she has delivered a fun holiday read with One Big Happy Family! There’s family drama, secrets and surprises, romance and even an adorable dog all in the festive setting of a snowy “cabin” in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. A humourous and heartfelt story of compassion, forgiveness and understanding in the context of a big, messy, “the more the merrier” Christmas with a family that I would love to spend more time with. A great choice for holiday season reading!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
13. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Jayne Allen
Setting: Chicago, Malibu
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
With Christmas around the corner, Ramona Tucker is desperate to get away. She has been lying to her family about her engagement to Malik, her (ex) fiancé. But breakups are fickle, and Ramona is convinced that she can make her pretend wedding real again—but only if she can avoid everyone discovering her secret at her mother’s over-the-top Christmas Eve party.
Two-thousand miles away in sunny Malibu, Chelsea Flint needs money to hold on to the beloved beachside cottage she shared with her late parents. The taxes are expensive, and her art isn’t paying the bills. Once an irresistible star of the Los Angeles art scene, Chelsea seems to have lost that spark that vaulted her to the top. If she doesn’t rediscover that magic—and sell a painting—soon, it will be her family’s home she’s selling instead.
The two women swap homes, just in time, thanks to some careful planning by Ramona’s best friend and a sturdy nudge from Chelsea’s gallerist godmother. Ramona’s Malibu dreams of sun and surf are interrupted as her first night brings an unwelcome stranger to her door, making her question who she can trust—the meddling neighbor Joan, or Jay, the handsome beachside fitness instructor with a secret of his own. Chelsea, desperate for Ramona to stay, hides what she knows—even if that means jeopardizing her budding connection with charming Carlos, whose dreams for his future could be the very key to unlock Chelsea from the weight of her past.
14. The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay
Setting: Hudson Valley, New York and Hawaii
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. When Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal.
But Holly’s wallowing is interrupted when her rugged Airbnb host turns out to be her high school academic rival who’s had a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s (now Hawaiian) annual solo art retreat is upended when Holly’s ex-fiancé checks into the honeymoon suite—with a new woman. Raging and bed-less, the last thing Ivy expects is for the hot hotel bartender to come to her rescue. Against all odds, this Christmas might prove the most magical yet.
15. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
Setting: England
Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.
He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)
But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.
That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.
She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?
As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.
Assuming they don’t kill each other first.
16. All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard
Setting: Remote inn in the U.S.
All Jessica has ever wanted is her own happily ever after. But until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick—also a romance writer and now her biggest rival—who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. It’s what he’s good at, after all . . .
So when their professional obligations bring them to a remote inn a few days before Christmas, they’re a little more than peeved, especially when they get trapped sharing a room in a snowstorm. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? Realizing the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying. But will Jess’s heart soar, too? Nick is the last guy on earth she should love . . . but what if he is really all she wants for Christmas?
17. The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts
Setting: Small town in the Pacific Northwest, USA
Frankie, a 50 year-old widow who owns a holiday-themed shop in a small town called Carol, can’t help meddling in the lives of family and friends even though her efforts often end in disaster! Whether it’s her younger divorced sister, her shy employee or her good friend, Mitch, who owns the local hardware store, Frankie is determined to help everyone she cares for find their happily-ever-after but is afraid to take a chance on love again herself.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma, The Merry Matchmaker is a very loose retelling set in a small town in the Pacific Northwest during the holiday season. There’s a large cast of characters to keep track of and it’s heavily reliant on dialogue but this is a sweet holiday story set in a charming town with lots of festive spirit and a happy ending for everyone. It’s also a good choice for anyone looking for a heartwarming holiday romance without spice.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
18. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
Setting: Australia
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.
THE MAGICIAN
THE ASSISTANT
THE EXECUTIVE
THE HYPNOTIST
THE IDENTICAL TWIN
THE COUNSELLOR
THE TECH
My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.
If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.
After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?
19. Christmas With the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Setting: Norfolk, England
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.
As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn’t go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously.
Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition.
As Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything.
Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver…
20. Christmas Eve Love Story by Ginny Baird
Setting: New York City
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
A wholesome Groundhog Day-style love story about a young woman repeating Christmas Eve until she finds everything that has been missing from her life.
There’s a major storm about to hit New York City on Christmas Eve and Annie, a hardworking department store window designer, had been hoping for news of a promotion before heading home to spend Christmas Day alone with her foster cat. When a couple of rambunctious boys destroy her window display, Annie receives decorating tips from the store’s Santa Claus and help from Braden the friendly security guard to set everything to rights before she leaves for the day. The next morning, however, Annie wakes to the realization that it’s Christmas Eve again and finds herself stuck in a time loop that she’s not sure how to get out of.
This is a sweet Christmas romance and a heartwarming story of friendship, love, community and the magic of the holiday season. A quick read that’s perfect for anyone looking for a clean romance!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
21. The Christmas Inn by Pamela Kelley
Setting: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.
When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family she’s been missing all along. There’s Franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the Cape. And there’s Aidan, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with his nine year-old son, Luke. What begins as a quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turns into something that means much more―a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmastime on Cape Cod.
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