I have been fortunate to visit New York City several times during the holiday season and it is one of my favourite Christmas travel destinations! The city is magical during the holidays – from the iconic Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza to the window displays on 5th Avenue to the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall – there’s no place like the Big Apple at Christmas!
Whether you have been to NYC for the holidays or not, you can travel there with these 21 Christmas books (plus three Hannukah) set in New York City. My selections are primarily romance genre but there is also a mystery, a classic tale and a wacky contemporary fiction novel to choose from. I have read half of them already and the others are on my Christmas TBR list – which is very long indeed!
Happy holidays and enjoy your Christmas escape to the city that never sleeps!!
You Might Also Enjoy Reading
21 of the Best New Christmas Books to Read This Holiday Season
11 Festive Things To Do in New York City During the Holiday Season
25+ Bookish Gifts for the Reader on Your Holiday List
10 Magical Christmas Destinations for Your Travel Bucket List
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase then we receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
1. The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
Hannah and Finn have spent every Christmas together since their sophomore year at Boston College since neither have family to spend the holiday with – Hannah because she was orphaned as a teenager and Finn because his family disowned him when he came out to them. When they move to New York City post-college, their celebration expands with the addition of Priya and Theo to their December 25th celebration.
The story is told from both Hannah and Finn’s point-of-view in present day and over the previous Christmases. In the present timeline, Finn has announced that he is moving to LA for a job and this might be their last Christmas together. Hannah is terrified at the thought of losing Finn and her found family so is determined to make this a Christmas that Finn will never forget.
This a fun holiday read that takes place almost entirely on Christmas days over a decade. I enjoyed that it was a bit original in focusing mostly on a group of friends and platonic love instead of a couple’s holiday romance (although there is a bit of romance too). A heartwarming story of chosen family and embracing the changes that occur in adult friendships over time and also a bit of a love letter to New York City during the holidays which was perfect!
2. Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan after he accepted a job overseas. Almost a decade later, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home and Freddie has moved back to New York City to pursue a job opportunity. Freddie has spent years trying to forget Anne so he is shocked to discover that she is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse. Suddenly Anne and Freddie’s lives are more intertwined than ever before and, when old feelings start to resurface, they must decide whether it’s worth the risk to fall in love again.
A second chance romance retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in New York City during the holidays – this ticks all of the boxes for me! I have this on hold at my public library and am (im)patiently waiting to be notified that it’s ready for pick-up!
3. Blame It on the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod
A sweet, funny YA rom-com about two girls who swap places for the holidays – aptly described as a teenage version of the movie The Holiday – written in a very chatty style (complete with emojis) and alternating between the two as narrator.
Elle is a social media influencer living in New Jersey who thinks a trip to the UK for the holidays might give her Instagram account the boost she needs to win a competition and Holly is a Christmas fanatic living in a small English village who decides that she needs to spend the perfect Christmas in America when her holiday plans at home start to unravel. The two swap places and spend the week before Christmas checking off their lists of festive things to do, finding romance and realizing that the magic of Christmas is really spending it with loved ones.
I love Christmas travel so thoroughly enjoyed that the girls each spent a day sightseeing in two cities that have the most magical vibes during the holiday season – Elle in London and Holly in New York City. There’s also an important message throughout the book about cyber-bullying and the Instagram vs. Reality side of social media that I think will resonate with readers of any age. And as a bit of a Christmas fanatic myself, I can definitly get on board with Holly’s rules for the holidays: 1) never say no to a festive hot drink and 2) never wimp out on the high notes in Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You“.!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing a digital ARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
4. Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
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.
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! A sweet (light on spice) romance 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 providing a digital ARC of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
5. Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan
Hopeless romantic Eva Jordan leaps at the chance to house-sit a spectacular penthouse on Fifth Avenue in snow-kissed Manhattan over the holidays. What she didn’t expect was to find the penthouse still occupied by its gorgeous and mysterious owner. Bestselling crime writer Lucas Blade has isolated himself in his penthouse as his book deadline and the anniversary of his wife’s death approach and doesn’t appreciate being distracted by his beautiful new housekeeper. But when a blizzard leaves Eva snowbound in his apartment, Lucas might finally open up to finding love again.
I just love Sarah Morgan’s holiday romances – they’re always set in the best destinations – some that I have already visited and some that are on my holiday travel bucket list!
6. Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
Shortly after Thanksgiving, Kerry Tolliver travels with her brother, Murphy, and his dog, Queenie, from North Carolina to New York City where they live in an old camper van in Greenwich Village while selling their family’s Christmas trees during the holiday season. As the weeks go by, Kerry becomes close to many of the neighbourhood residents particularly a gruff elderly artist and a single father with an adorable son and starts to feel a sense of belonging that she hasn’t felt in a long time.
Mary Kay Andrews consistently delivers her trademark feel-good Christmas book filled with the magic of the season – a sweet romance, a heartwarming story of family, friends and community, a message about being brave enough to follow dreams and take chances, and a festive New York City neighbourhood.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
7. A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Iris is a young chef who moved from London to New York City to restart her life after losing her mother and ending an emotionally abusive relationship. While attending a fall street festival in Little Italy, she spots a gelateria with a door that she recognizes from a picture in her mum’s photo album. Iris returns to the gelateria later and meets the handsome Gio Belotti who confides that the shop is in danger of closing because his uncle is recuperating from a stroke and can’t remember the family’s famous recipe for vanilla gelato.
When she samples the gelato, Iris realizes that Gio’s family’s gelato and her mum’s gelato are one and the same. She’s not sure how her mother came to have this recipe but Iris resolves to try and help Gio and his family without giving away the fact that she has the secret recipe his uncle wasn’t supposed to divulge to anyone.
This one is only partially set at Christmas as Iris arrives in New York in the fall but the last part of the book takes place during the holiday season so I decided to include it anyway.
A Winter in New York is a cozy romance between two people who have experienced grief and heartbreak learning to trust their hearts and love again. Secrets and miscommunication threaten the budding relationship between Iris and Gio which is frustrating but overall it’s a sweet romance as well as a story about family loyalty, loss, grief and healing. I haven’t spent much time in Little Italy but now I want to head there on my next visit to New York!
8. The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson & Tad Safran
Every year at Christmastime, Will and Ella Sullivan, and their father, Henry, agree that Christmas is a holiday for other people. At their brownstone in Harlem, stockings go unstuffed, tinsel unstrewn, gifts unbought, mistletoe unhung, chestnuts unroasted, carols unplayed, cookies uncooked, a tree un-visible, and guests uninvited.
But something is different this year – guests start arriving anyway. In pairs and sixes, in sevens and tens – they keep coming. And they stay. For twelve long, hard, topsy-turvy, very messy days. That’s when the Sullivans discover that those moments in life that defy hope, expectation, or even imagination, might be the best gifts of all.
Sappy and outlandish yet magical and uplifting, family-friendly Christmas story centred on the 12 Days of Christmas song – perfect for sharing with the entire family!
9. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
16-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and rise to its challenges.
What follows is a whirlwind romance as Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City. But can their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions, or will their scavenger hunt end in a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
This popular YA novel from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a sweet little whirlwind holiday romance and was adapted for a Netflix series.
10. A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes
A sweet, almost old-fashioned holiday romance that takes place in one of the most magical of holiday destinations!
Sabrina is a struggling journalist who has been put up in a suite at the The Plaza hotel between Christmas and New Year’s while she meets with Grayson, an elderly art dealer whose memoir she is ghostwriting and Ian is a British man she meets who is also staying at the hotel.
If you’re a fan of the Eloise books then you’ll enjoy the second timeline where Grayson, who worked as a butler at The Plaza during the late ’50s – early ’60s, tells Sabrina about how he got to know Kay Thompson who lived at The Plaza at the time.
A Magical New York Christmas fits the bill for anyone looking for a completely clean holiday romance.
11. Christmas Eve Love Story by Ginny Baird
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 providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
12. Christmas at Tiffany’s by Karen Swan
After a heartbreaking betrayal, a young woman leaves the Scottish countryside to search for her destiny in three of the most exciting cities in the world.
With her marriage in tatters and no career or home of her own, Cassie needs to work out where she belongs in the world and who she is. Thus begins a year-long trial as she leaves her sheltered life behind to stay with each of her best friends living in London, Paris and New York. Cassie tries on each city for size as she attempts to track down the life she was supposed to have been leading, and with it, the man who was supposed to love her all along.
Only part of this book is set during the Christmas holiday season in New York City since Cassie is on a year-long globetrotting journey but I decided to include it anyway. I haven’t read this one yet (I’m still working through her back list) but Karen Swan is one of my go-to authors especially for her holiday season books so I’m certain it will be a fabulous story even if only a part of it takes place in NYC!
13. A New York Christmas by Anne Perry
1904 – Twenty-three-year-old Jemima Pitt, daughter of the head of Britain’s Special Branch is travelling across the Atlantic along with an acquaintance, Delphinia Cardew, who is to marry the aristocratic Brent Albright in a high society New York wedding. Missing from the festivities is Delphinia’s mother, Maria, who abandoned young Delphinia years earlier. Harley, the groom’s charismatic brother, asks Jemima to help him search for Maria to avoid the scandal that would surely follow if she turned up at the wedding and she agrees to assist him.
From Hell’s Kitchen to Fifth Avenue, the Lower East Side to Central Park, Jemima trudges through strange, snowy streets, asking questions but getting few answers and never suspecting that she is walking into mortal danger, from which not even a handsome young police officer named Patrick Flannery may be able to protect her.
The only mystery/suspense novel on the list, this is a short read of under 200 pages set in early 20th century New York so the atmosphere is a bit different from the other selections!
14. Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan
Part of Sarah Morgan’s From Manhattan with Love series, this highly-rated holiday romance is about a dogwalker in New York City determined to overcome her shyness.
Determined to conquer a lifetime of shyness, dog walker Harriet Knight has challenged herself to do one thing a day in December that scares her but when she meets her newest client, exuberant spaniel Madi, she adds an extra challenge to her list – dealing with Madi’s temporary dog sitter, gruff doctor Ethan Black, and their very unexpected chemistry.
Ethan thought he was used to chaos, until he met Madi, but he has come up with a simple solution – he will pay Harriet to share his New York apartment and provide twenty-four-hour care for the dog. But there’s nothing simple about how Harriet makes him feel.
15. The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret – she loves Christmas and has been hiding her career as a bestselling Christmas romance novelist from her family for the past decade. But now her diversity-conscious publisher is insisting that she write a Hanukkah romance and Rachel is desperate for inspiration. She’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy – Jacob Greenberg.
I enjoyed this sweet enemies to lovers romance centred around Hanukkah – it’s nice to find the occasional seasonal romance that involves a holiday other than Christmas! It’s also nice to have the representation of a main character dealing with chronic illness.
16. One Wish in Manhattan by Mandy Baggot
In this bestselling holiday romance from Mandy Baggot, a woman travels to New York seeking a fresh start and finds unexpected romance with a restless billionaire.
The temperature is dropping and Hayley Walker and her daughter, Angel, are travelling to the Big Apple for Christmas. Hayley has only one Christmas wish – to start over – but Angel has her own wish – to find her real dad. While trying to make her daughter’s wish come true, Hayley crosses path with restless billionaire, Oliver Drummond, and there’s something intriguing about him that has her hooked. Can Hayley dare to think her own dreams might come true and could A New York Christmas turn into a New York Forever?
A lighthearted romance that is perfect to curl up with during the Christmas holiday season!
17. One Last Gift by Melissa Hill
Movie-lover Beth dreams of a life filled with classic romcom moments but after seven years with her boyfriend, Danny, their relationship has become predictable.
But then one morning at work, Beth receives an anonymous delivery with a cryptic invite to a meeting at Tiffany’s. From there, she finds a series of other gifts and riddles directing her to some of NYC’s most iconic landmarks; a romcom-themed treasure trail perfect for a movie-lover to decipher.
Following the trail takes her on a whirlwind journey through many of Manhattan’s beloved movie settings, before taking a decidedly unexpected turn.
18. Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin
Evie Green’s Christmas dream turns into a nightmare when a viral video makes her the laughing stock of the internet. But then a 5 star hotel sees a PR opportunity and invites her to New York for a Christmas she’ll remember forever.
Enter Noah Sanderson, a disgraced soccer star seeking anonymity. Forced to fake a festive romance for the cameras, sparks fly – but not the twinkling Christmas kind!
As Fifth Avenue sparkles in all its holiday glory, can the City that Never Sleeps show these two frosted hearts that, maybe, the best love stories are the ones you never see coming.
A fake dating, grumpy/sunshine holiday romance filled with New York Christmas magic!!
19. One New York Christmas by Mandy Baggot
Lara Weeks is planning the perfect Christmas with her long-term boyfriend when he announces that he needs space so her best friend persuades her to head to the Big Apple for a festive trip. In the snow-clad streets of New York, will it be break-up or breakthrough this Christmas? And will Lara get her happy-ever-after with the man of her dreams . . . or will she stay single for the season?
20. The Eight Heartbreaks of Hannukah by Jean Meltzer
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 perhaps it’s 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. An enjoyable seasonal read combining Jewish representation, romance and a heartfelt exploration of grief.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing a digital ARC of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
21. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
This classic Christmas story follows white-bearded Kris Kringle as he’s asked to fill in for Macy’s resident Santa Claus and soon children from all over New York City believe he is the real thing. As Kris begins to inspire a feeling of true Christmas generosity and joy throughout the city, a few skeptics are angered and threaten to bring him to court. With the help of his new friends, the State of New York, and the official U.S. Postal Service, Kris proves that magic is all around us.
You have probably seen the movie but did you know that the movie’s screenwriter also wrote a novella adaptation of the story that was released at the same time as the film? Millions of copies of this story have been purchased since it was first published in 1947 delighting readers of all ages.
Additional Reading
21 Festive New Christmas Books to Get You in the Holiday Spirit (2024)
21 Festive New Christmas Books to Enjoy this Holiday Season (2023)
15 Festive New Christmas Books to Get You in the Holiday Spirit (2022)
Pin This For Later
Leave a Reply