9 Christmas Books to Read This Year

Every year I look forward to this post. I’ve been preparing since August and the time has finally come…to talk about Christmas books! As always, there were way more books out there that I wanted to read than time would actually allow, but I think I still have a pretty good selection of adult books to recommend.

There’s a variety of time periods, some with romance, some without. Lengths vary from novella to regular novel length, so you can choose if you want a story you can finish in an afternoon or a longer pick you can settle in with for a while. I’m also handing out superlatives for my favorites from different categories. If you’ve read any of these books already, let me know if you agree with my assessments!

And, of course, I only recommend books that I have actually read, so you can rest assured that all of the titles on this list have been personally approved. Typically I end up with at least one or two books that don’t make the final cut, but this year there were no duds! And I still have a pretty hefty list of books that I wanted to get to but just didn’t have time for. The good news is, just because the list is out doesn’t mean I have to stop reading Christmas books, and the other good news is that if you are on my email list you’ll get to hear about and great titles that I finish later on.

Not subscribed yet? You can sign up here to make sure you don’t miss any of those bonus books!

P.S. For all you parents out there, I also have a list of children’s Christmas books that I published in tandem with this post. We can’t forget our baby bookworms! There are 7 books on that list, and all of them are super cute and approved by my kiddos.

Previous Christmas book lists: 2018, 2017, 2016

This post contains affiliate links, which means I might make some extra coffee money at no extra expense to you if you buy something through one of my links. Read more about that here.

Adult Christmas Books

Catching Christmas

When grouchy cab driver Finn picks up Callie Beacher for a doctor’s appointment he is equal parts annoyed by being responsible for her and angry at her no-good granddaughter Sydney for not taking care of the sweet old lady. But as he is coerced into spending more time with Callie over the course of the week before Christmas, he begins to see that things aren’t as they seem. Sydney is stressed to the max trying to care for her grandmother and maintain her standing as first year partner at a demanding law firm. Will Finn and changing circumstances help her re-evaluate her priorities before it’s too late?

This book won a 2019 Christy award in the ‘Short Form’ category, and it was well deserved. I listened to it on audio (it’s about 5 hours long) and I finished the whole thing in just over 24 hours. Loved it!

The Immortal Nicholas

This story follows a man named Agios and his journey to faith as he witnesses the birth, life, and death of Jesus. Along the way he encounters many different types of people and struggles to reconcile the grief he’s experienced in his life with the peace he witnesses in followers of Christ.

I would describe this book as biblical fantasy. Now, hear me out before you roll your eyes or shout blasphemy. As a devoted Christian I listened to this historical account of the birth, life, and death of Jesus with both eyes open, but from what I could tell it was completely accurate and took no liberties. It’s very clear when you reach the portion of the story that enters into the fantasy realm, and while I will admit to being a bit confused for a second, I liked where the author went with it. I thought this book was really well done, and made me tear up several times, which is unusual for me because I’m NOT a cryer.

Be sure to read the Amazon description of this book before getting started, as it really sums up the author’s motivation for writing the book, which is a helpful context to have while reading.

A Christmas Secret

When Dominic and Clarice come to the tiny village of Cottisham to fill in for Reverend Winter while he’s on a holiday, the last thing they expect to do is investigate a murder. It soon becomes clear that the good vicar isn’t coming back, and that there is more than one secret hiding in the community. The young couple work together to uncover the perpetrator of the crime despite pushback from the village doctor, and minister to the people of Cottisham in the process.

I’m new to Anne Perry, but come to find out, she has a long list of Christmas books in her catalog. I really enjoyed this story and wasn’t expecting the twists and turns in the mystery surrounding the murder they feel responsible for solving. Next year (or possibly later this year) I will certainly be picking up more of her holiday themed books. This is book is the only mystery on this list, so it automatically wins the prize for Best Christmas Mystery‘!

A Christmas Haven

Ivy Zook is ready to leave her Old Order Amish community in favor of the modern world so she can grow her party planning business. She informs her mother as respectfully as she can that she will be moving out in October – but events immediately begin to conspire against Ivy, most notably the arrival of a young brother and sister from an even more strict Amish community than the one she grew up in. Seeking medical treatment, Magda and Arlan end up staying with the Zooks while Magda recovers. Arlan and Ivy butt heads frequently, but their discussions challenge each other. Will either of them be able to reconcile the problems they see in the church with the good they see in the Amish way of life?

I had some reservations about this one because I’m not a huge fan of Amish stories just in general. But the publisher surprised me with it and I decided I should at least give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It’s difficult for me to describe the feeling it gave me, but the closest I can come is to say that even though there was plenty of action and conflict, it felt like a very gentle, peaceful book. I appreciated the thoughtful discussion of what it means to be faithful and how that relates to an Amish way of life. The struggles of the characters feel authentic and I was invested in seeing what happened to them.

Winter Street

Kelley Quinn, owner of the Winter Street Inn in Nantucket, is ready for a great Christmas together with three out of four of his adult children – until he walks in on his wife, Mitzi, kissing Santa Claus. The shock of her betrayal combined with the stress of his youngest son’s deployment sends Kelley into a downward spiral. Despite their own issues, Patrick, Ava, and Kevin do their best to make Christmas happen anyway, with the help of a few unexpected friends and family members along the way.

This book is a movie waiting to happen. It’s also the first in a series, so if you like this one there are three more waiting for you. You can actually get all four of them in one volume, but since I only read the first one, it’s the only one getting an actual recommendation from me in this list.
P.S. The four volume version has terrible reviews, but it appears to be mostly from people who didn’t realize it was four books they had already enjoyed packaged up together. Do what you will with that information.

Love Find You in Frost Minnesota

Owner of a wildly successful Christmas store/inn in the town of Frost, Merry Noel Blake is delighted when Jack Frost comes to town and takes a room in her place! She is sure this is destined to be the best Christmas ever, until she realizes what a Scrooge Jack is about her favorite holiday. Jack’s plan is to get in and out of Frost as quickly as possible, but the business that led him to the little town is far more complicated than it should be, and getting seriously sick doesn’t help matters either. To add to his dilemma, he finds Merry to be less annoying and more delightful by the day. But how can he ever get involved with someone who so passionately loves the holiday he despises?

This is a fun, sweet book. It’s extra heavy on the Christmas references, cheer, and traditions, and discusses some of the issues faced by folks who don’t look forward to the holiday the way the majority of us do. It’s mostly light-hearted, but also thoughtfully written. Two thumbs up!

The Great Christmas Bowl

Find out what lengths a mother will go to in order help her kids and make Christmas a memorable experience for all in this short, funny Christmas story. Told from the perspective of an almost-empty-nester, Marianne learns a lot about what parts of Christmas are really important and what parts are just the ornaments.

This book was hilarious, you guys. I’ll just throw out this one piece of information that I think will hook you – she dresses in a trout costume to be the emergency mascot of her teenage son’s football team (and that pun was totally on purpose). The Great Christmas Bowl wins the ‘Most Humorous‘ prize from me this year.

Alaskan Holiday

What started as an Alaskan summer romance gets complicated when it’s time for chef Josie to return to Washington at the end of the season. Palmer doesn’t want her to go, but Josie is convinced that it could never work between them since she would have to leave her mother and career to stay on in the tiny, isolated village of Ponder, Alaska. But her conviction on that point it put to the test when she misses the last boat out, and finds herself stranded in Ponder for the foreseeable future.

Debbie McComber is pretty widely recognized as a Christmas romance writer, and for good reason. She has a ton of titles in that category and all of the are sweet and mostly lighthearted. I enjoyed Alaskan Holiday, although I think I liked the one I shared in 2017 just a little better (that was Starry Night, in case you were wondering).

The Christmas Heirloom

This collection of Christmas novellas follows a cherished family heirloom through four different loves stories spanning over a century. The first story begins in England in 1827. Sarah is thrilled to land a job as a companion for an elderly lady, but doesn’t anticipate falling for her employer’s handsome and wealthy grandson. Later we meet Ruth, who isn’t expecting a second chance at love, followed by Fleeta, who doesn’t want a man and marriage to get in the way of her dream of owning a gun shop. Finally, we finish the journey with Maddie in the present day, as she struggles to reconcile the feelings she has for her deceased friend’s widower husband with the loyalty she feels towards her old friend.

Two of the stories in this book were nominated in the ‘Short Form’ category of the 2019 Christy Awards. While neither won, they were both very deserving of consideration and I enjoyed this entire books. I loved the idea of using a piece of jewelry to connect the love stories of four different women. I give this book my ‘Best Historical Christmas‘ prize.

That’s it for this year! Don’t forget to check out the children’s Christmas book list too!