Is there anything better than curling up with a warm drink and a festive book to get you in the holiday spirit? Not as far as I know which is why I look forward to making a list of the best new holiday season books each year!
You’ll want to add these 21 new Christmas books for 2025 to your holiday reading list – plus they also make great gifts so you might want to add them to your shopping lists as well and spread the holiday cheer!
Note: I read across a lot of genres and I only choose books that I have already read or plan to read over the coming weeks for my book lists. If I haven’t yet read the book when I publish the book list then I include the blurb provided by the publisher and update the article with my own thoughts after I read it. I also make a conscious effort to try and include diversity in the books I choose to read. Some of the buzziest books of the season are on my lists but I hope I also introduce you to some titles that you might not have heard of otherwise.
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1. I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
Setting: Small town in the Scottish Highlands
After a painful break-up and the loss of her job and apartment, 32 year-old Fredericka Hallow-Hart (known as Fred) has no choice but to move back to her small Scottish hometown of Pine Bluff to live with her mother and her two eccentric great aunts. While trying to figure out what’s next, Fred throws herself into work at the family’s Christmas cracker business, reconnects with her childhood best friend Ryan who is suddenly making her heart flutter and unexpectedly finds a spark with Warren, a charismatic journalist in town to write an article about the Pine Bluff Christmas Market.
This is a cozy read for the holiday season set in a charming small town in the Scottish Highlands and featuring a delightful cast of characters. A closed door holiday romance for both mother and daughter (friends to lovers with a bit of a love triangle for Fred and friends to lovers/second chance for her mum). A heartwarming story of family, community and identity with the romance almost secondary to Fred figuring out who she is and what she wants for the future. Jenny Bayliss remains one of my favourite Christmas romance authors – she writes characters who are a bit older/more grown-up which is a nice change from what is typical in the romance genre!
2. Christmas at the Ranch by Julia McKay
Setting: Algonquin Highlands, Ontario, Canada
When her father is arrested for financial fraud, journalist Emory Oakes doesn’t know what to do so she jumps in her car and flees Toronto driving north until she finds herself in Evergreen, the picturesque small town in the Algonquin Highlands where she spent her happiest Christmas ten years earlier. During that holiday, 18 year-old Emory met and fell in love with local Tate Wilder whose family owned an idyllic horse ranch but their relationship ended abruptly and Emory has never really moved on.
In the present day holiday season, heavy snow and car trouble force Emory to stick around Evergreen for a few days and she has no choice but to confront her regrets and her feelings for Tate that have been rekindled by seeing him again.
Set mostly in the present day but with Emory’s diary entries from ten years earlier, Christmas at the Ranch is a cute second-chance romance set in a small Canadian town. It’s a quick, light holiday read – loved the Canadian holiday setting although it wasn’t as Christmas-y as I expected. A great holiday romance choice if you’re looking for a book that’s very much Hallmark movie-style with minimal spice!
3. The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan
Setting: Scottish Highlands
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.
But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.
Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.
4. A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan
Setting: England
Jenny Balfour is preparing for the arrival of her three adult children, Jamie and twins Rosie and Becky, who are coming home to Northumberland for the Christmas holidays. She’s also worrying about her husband, Martin, a recently retired doctor who isn’t adjusting well to life at home.
Earlier in the year, Rosie married Declan after a whirlwind romance but they’re now going through a rocky patch and have agreed to hide their problems from her family. Becky’s flight home is cancelled due to a snowstorm and she has no option but to accept a ride from her brother Jamie’s best friend, Will. Becky is dreading Christmas and Will is the only one who knows why. And Jamie is bringing home his new girlfriend, Hayley, for the first time and they have a big announcement planned.
Narrated from perspective of Becky, Rosie, Hayley and Jenny, this is the story of a close-knit family where everyone has secrets that could ruin the holidays. A blend of family drama and romance that is cozy, heartwarming, and funny with all of the delightful chaos of Christmas. I loved the Balfours and wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them – another enjoyable and oh-so-charming Christmas book from Sarah Morgan!
5. Snow Kissed by Raeanne Thayne
Setting: Small mountain town in Idaho
Holly is a single mom and owner of a flower shop in Shelter Springs, Idaho where she lives with her five year-old special needs daughter, Lydia. Holly has always loved everything about Christmas but she’s dreading it this year. Her former sister-in-law is getting married during the holiday season and has asked Lydia to be a flower girl which means Holly will have to attend the family wedding where she is certain everyone will feel sorry for her as her ex-husband celebrates along with his new wife and baby.
In an attempt to save face, Holly tells a little white lie about having a new boyfriend and now she needs a date for the wedding. With a little push from her sister, Audrey agrees that the solution is Ryan – a navy helicopter pilot recently arrived in town to care for his teenage niece, Audrey, while his sister is in rehab. Holly and Ryan make a deal – he will be Holly’s plus one for the wedding she would rather not attend and in exchange she’ll help him give Audrey a true Christmas to remember while her mother is away.
This is a super sweet Hallmark-ish romance set in a small mountain town in Idaho. It’s the third in the Shelter Springs series but reads fine as a standalone. There’s a fake dating leads to real feelings romance trope but it’s also a heartwarming story of the importance of family and it takes place in a wonderfully festive, snow-covered small town filled with Christmas spirit – perfect for anyone looking for a wholesome holiday read!
6. Yours for the Season by Emily Stone
Setting: Scotland Highlands
Two weeks before Christmas, Melanie’s ex-boyfriend, Finn, shows up on her doorstep asking her to spend Christmas week in the Scottish Highlands with his family pretending to be a couple. Six months earlier, Finn had broken up with Melanie in front of everyone at his sister’s engagement party and she isn’t over the humiliation yet. With no other plans for the holidays though, she reluctantly agrees to Finn’s proposal on the condition that she can break up with him publicly on Boxing Day. It’s only a week but, as Mel pretends to be in love with Finn, she starts to lose track of which feelings are fake and which are for real.
Fake dating, forced proximity, miscommunication and second chance romance – this one has it all plus it’s set in the wintery Scottish Highlands during Christmas week! The story is told over two timelines with the present timeline moving forward each day of Christmas week and the past timeline progressing from Finn and Mel’s first meeting until the break-up.
Emily Stone is known for holiday romances featuring characters dealing with heavy issues and that’s true of this novel as well but it’s not as devastating as some of the others. A likeable couple, a great cast of supporting characters, and a complicated family Christmas – another enjoyable holiday read!
7. You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan
Setting: Washington State
Seattle-based photographer Maisie Smart is looking forward to spending the holidays with her family at Tickle Tree Farm in a small town in Washington (even though her mother sometimes makes her feel like she’s not good enough in their family of high achievers). Shortly after she arrives on the farm, however, she runs into the one man she doesn’t want to see. Six months earlier Maisie had a one-night stand with professional hockey player Nick King and he ghosted her afterward. It turns out that Nick, out with an injury and suffering from anxiety, is also spending the holidays at the Christmas tree farm owned by his sister.
This addresses mental health challenges within the context of a second chance romance but apart from that it is a very light and easy read. The Christmas vibes in the first 2/3 of the book are excellent but then Christmas is over and Maisie returns to Seattle. I was a bit surprised that such a substantial chunk of a Christmas romance took place post-Christmas so bear that in mind if it would bother you as well. Overall, an enjoyable holiday romance read!
8. The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer
Setting: New York City
Television producer Evelyn Schwartz has no plans for the eight days of Hanukkah other than working on the biggest show of her career – a live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. When an accident lands her in the studio’s medical bay, however, she is shocked to discover that her ex-husband, David Adler (who left workaholic Evelyn and their life in Manhattan behind to live on a farm in rural Pennsylvania two years earlier), is filling in for the usual studio doctor.
Maybe it’s caused by her chronic migraines or hallucinations resulting from her head injury, but on the first night of Hanukkah and each of the following nights, Evelyn is visited by a ghost/heartbreak forcing her to confront important events from her past and do some soul-searching about her relationship with David and how it ended. There’s no denying the still-smoldering chemistry between Evelyn and David but it may take a Hanukkah miracle for them to overcome their past and find their way to a future together.
A Christmas Carol with a Jewish spin, this is an emotional second chance romance set in New York City over eight days of the holiday season. It’s funny at times but I wouldn’t call it a rom-com as there’s a serious and heartbreaking story line relating to the dissolution of Evelyn and David’s marriage. I couldn’t stand the cringey British actor playing Scrooge, but other than that The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah was an enjoyable seasonal read combining Jewish representation, romance and a heartfelt exploration of grief. The Author’s Note which explains her personal reasons for wanting to tell this story is worth reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing a digital ARC of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
9. Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Setting: New York City
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free.
Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse.
Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbors, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again.
10. The Dogs of Venice by Steven Rowling
Setting: Venice, Italy
After the breakdown of his marriage, Paul travels alone to Venice on the Christmas trip that he and his husband had planned together. As he struggles with the adjustment to being alone, he becomes obsessed with a scruffy but self-assured stray dog he sees trotting along the canal which causes him to think about his life and how he wants to live going forward.
This is a very short novella (62 pages in my library bound copy) that took me only an hour to read. It’s a heartwarming little story set in a beautiful destination about a man dealing with the emotional end of a relationship who gets out of his comfort zone and finds a new way of looking at life with the help of a stray dog. Well-written and charming – the downside is that there isn’t much room for character development in such a short book.
11. Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin
Setting: Train across Europe
When Aubrey, a travel consultant and former digital nomad, is left at the altar a few days before Christmas, the only thing she can think about is the honeymoon she had planned. It’s too late for her to cancel the luxury train journey aboard the Winter Wonderland Express leaving from Calais, France and stopping for Christmas markets in several European cities on route to Lapland, Finland so she decides to go on the romantic trip alone. When boarding the train, Aubrey accidentally implies that her new husband has tragically died and she soon finds herself part of a group of singletons which includes a handsome travel writer named Jasper.
As far as I know, the trip that Aubrey takes is completely fictional but I want to take it so badly! With stops in Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Stockholm to browse Christmas markets and enjoy seasonal activities as the train makes its way to the final destination of Lapland where they stay in igloos, dogsled, and hopefully see the Northern Lights – this is a dream European vacation for my Christmas-loving self!!
Needless to say, I loved the setting but Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express is also a fun Christmas romance. A quick holiday read with a cute storyline and quirky characters – exactly what I have come to expect from Rebecca Raisin!
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
12. Holiday Ever After by Hannah Grace
Setting: Fictional small town
Clara Davenport has been steadily climbing the ladder at her family’s toy company until they are accused of stealing a doll design from a small town toy maker. Clara is sent to Fraser Falls to solve the company’s PR nightmare and her hoped-for promotion is dependent on a satisfactory resolution.
Jack Kelly never wants to hear about the Davenport toy company again since a representative promised to sign him up for their small business program and then stole his design. So when Clara shows up in Fraser Falls, Jack is determined not to be fooled again but he can’t help but warm up to Clara as she does everything she can to win over the community.
This is a charming Hallmark-esque holiday romance (but with spice) featuring a career woman from the big city falling in love while visiting a small town during the holiday season. An enjoyable Christmas romance that includes a cute dog!
13. A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Setting: Washington State
Following the recent passing of the beloved grandmother that raised them, Avery and Reed Bond are planning to spend Christmas together at his home. Their holiday plans take an unexpected turn, however, when the Bremerton-Seattle ferry that Avery is travelling on breaks down in Puget Sound.
While waiting at the ferry terminal for his sister’s arrival, Reed makes an unexpected connection with a co-worker who is also waiting for a family member to arrive. On board the ferry, Avery passes the time chatting with a handsome sailor and the other stranded passengers who are initially frustrated with the delay come together to support each other and, in doing so, witness a Christmas miracle.
Sweet, simple, and easy to read, this is a feel-good story about family, community and Christmas spirit with multiple romances woven into the narrative.
14. The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah
Setting: A Greek island
New Year’s Eve 1932 – Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and his friend, Inspector Catchpool from Scotland Yard, have been invited to spend a few days on a small Greek island with what turns out to be an odd community living together in a large house. A sense of foreboding overshadows the celebration that evening when the group play a New Year’s resolutions game and one of the written resolutions threatens “the last and first death of the year”. A few hours later, one of the residents is found murdered on the terrace and it’s up to Poirot and Catchpool to investigate the murder.
Part of a series of books authorized by Agatha Christie’s estate, this is an entertaining seasonal murder mystery although there isn’t much of a holiday atmosphere as it opens on New Year’s Eve and continues over the following days. The mystery itself was fine – I was engaged and I wasn’t able to predict the murderer. I have read a couple of others in this series, however, which I liked better as I didn’t feel that this one captured the essence of Hercule Poirot quite as well.
15. Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk
Setting: Scottish Highlands
Laura lets herself into the flat she’ll be moving into after the holidays to do some measuring and runs into Callum, her landlord, as he exits the shower – naked. A few minutes later his parents walk in and assume that she’s his mystery girlfriend. The situation escalates and Laura has no choice but to accept the invitation to spend Christmas with his family at their home in the snowy Scottish Highlands. She has no other pressing plans for the holidays so what could go wrong by helping Callum out for a few days by pretending to be his girlfriend?
This was such a fun read – I loved the location, the main characters and the secondary characters especially Laura’s best friends, Desi and Joel! A laugh-out-loud funny, drama-filled fake dating romance set in the perfect holiday destination!!
16. Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards
Setting: Northern England
Six down-on-their-luck people with connections to the world of crime writing are invited by the mysterious Midwinter Trust to play a murder mystery over Christmas in the Pennines in Northern England. There are only twelve people on the property for the holidays – six staff members from the Trust and the six invitees – a writer of mysteries, an editor, an agent, a publicist, a podcaster and an influencer.
The invited guests arrive in the midst of a heavy storm that is expected to block the road and cut off access to the Trust property for at least several days. As the game gets underway on the first evening, it soon becomes apparent that everyone might not be playing fair and there might be something more sinister afoot.
A contemporary murder mystery in the style of Golden Age mysteries, this has a clever premise with a story within a story and puzzles and clues that the reader can solve as well. A large slate of characters but each is quite distinctive so not difficult to keep them straight at all. A quick read and an enjoyable holiday season mystery!
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
17. Christmas at Hollybush Farm by Jo Thomas
Setting: Wales
A few weeks prior to Christmas, hotel executive Jemima Jones travels with her soon-to-be fiancé to the Welsh farm where she was raised so she can celebrate with her dad before the busy hospitality season. Upon arrival, it becomes clear that her dad has been keeping the struggles he is facing a secret and there’s a real possibility that he might lose the farm. Despite her boyfriend’s protestations, Jemima decides that she wants to stay to help her father out and he heads back to Cardiff without her.
Jemima starts documenting her slice of farm life on social media and as her audience grows, she shares with them the challenges that farmers and rural communities are facing in changing times. While rallying the community to come up with solutions, she also meets and forms a connection with a retired rugby player named Llew who offers one option that might help her father keep the farm.
A cozy, heartwarming Christmas story set in rural Wales that is a blend of romance, family, community and prioritizing what’s important in life with a relevant message about the difficulty facing modern day farmers trying to stay afloat and the importance of knowing where our food comes from. Another enjoyable holiday read from Jo Thomas!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
18. Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
Setting: Baltimore, Maryland
Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses in January – one to illness and the other in an accident – and are facing the first holiday season without them. Their mothers belong to the same neighbourhood book club and come up with a matchmaking scheme to introduce Grace and Henry but it’s quite clear that neither are ready to date again. They do, however, realize that nobody else can understand their sadness and a friendship begins to develop as they hang out together watching holiday movies – sometimes just the two of them and sometimes joined by Grace’s two young children, Ian and Bella. As they slowly rebuild their lives, Henry and Grace grow to care more for each other and must ask themselves if they’re ready to take a second chance at love.
This has been my favourite holiday read so far this year! Set in Baltimore and told from both Grace and Henry’s point of view, this is a heartbreaking yet also heartwarming and hopeful story about the messiness of grief and second chance love. I loved that the book’s chapters were structured around the holiday movies that Grace and Henry were watching – although I’ll never be convinced that Die Hard is a Christmas movie! I laughed out loud, I sobbed and I fell completely in love with Henry, Grace, Bella, Harry Styles and even the mice – it was a perfect holiday read!
19. The Christmas Express by Isla Gordon
Setting: Train trip across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver
Six estranged friends from London are reunited when they receive an invite to attend a post-Christmas wedding on Vancouver Island. The bride-to-be, Bryn, wants the group to attend her wedding so badly that she is paying for their travel. They land in Toronto expecting to board a connecting flight to British Columbia, however, Bryn has booked them on a multi-day Christmas train trip across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver instead hoping that spending 4 days together on the cozy train will put an end to their feud before her wedding.
This is a fun holiday read told from multiple points of view – a large cast of characters but fairly easy to keep them straight. A heartwarming story of friendship, romance and reconnection – more of a wintery read than Christmasy but still perfect for the holiday season. I loved the setting on the cross-Canada train as this trip has been on my bucket list for a long time!
20. The Christmas Cure by Kristine Winters
Setting: Small town in Canada
Following a painful break-up, Toronto ER doctor Libby Munro needs both a change of scenery and time off from her hectic schedule so she escapes to her small holiday-obsessed hometown of Harmony Hills in the days leading up to Christmas. Libby is looking forward to spending time with her parents and younger sister and hopes that the town’s festive charm will get her in the holiday spirit but what she doesn’t expect is to be charmed by Liam, the owner of the town’s bakery and of a potbellied pig named Mary Piggins.
At Harmony Hills’ rumoured-to-be-magical tree lighting ceremony, Libby is knocked unconscious when she falls during a chaotic run-in with Mary Piggins and when she wakes up it’s the previous year at Christmas. As she relives last Christmas, Libby can’t deny the spark that’s growing between her and Liam and wonders if she has been handed an opportunity to change her life.
This is a cozy holiday rom-com (with Hallmark vibes and a time travel twist) about unexpected romance, confronting past choices and the magic of Christmas. Loved the Canadian setting in a small town in Ontario and the pig is adorable!
21. Christmas Wishes & Irish Kisses
Setting: Cornwall, England
After her father has a stroke, Ellie de Vere returns to the UK from New York City to help run their cozy family inn in Cornwall over the holiday season while he recovers. Ellie has a boyfriend back in the U.S. but he’s ready to take the next step and she’s not sure about their relationship so this break in the U.K. will give her the opportunity to think about what she wants.
Ellie quickly settles back into life at the inn and in the seaside village where she grew up and realizes how much she has missed the people and the place. Her former best friend, Liam, now a single father, is also in town visiting family for the holidays and is as charming as he was as a teenager. Although she hasn’t spoken to him in the twenty years since she moved to the U.S. with her mother, Ellie finds that old feelings are returning as she spends more time with Liam but can she forgive him for breaking her heart all those years ago.
This is an enjoyable second chance Christmas romance with small English village charm. A closed door totally clean romance that is a cozy feel-good read for the holiday season!
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing a digital ARC of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Additional Reading
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