It’s the most wonderful time of the year—and by that I of course mean it’s the time of year to escape into some Christmas romance! I love putting together this list each year, and there are some really good ones this time around. And, to no one’s surprise, I still have about a million books on my holiday TBR! So even though I started reading a few months ago to vet all the books I’m sharing here, I still have a lot to look forward to between now and Christmas.
But enough about me, lets talk about the books! All thirteen of the books below are ones that I personally enjoyed (at least a four star rating, I don’t include less than that!). They range in length from 84 pages to 352 pages. All of them contain at least some element of romance, and they are all clean by my standard, meaning no spice and low/no language. And of course, all of them are filled with holiday cheer and delight!
One last note—I definitely included the Christmas romcom I released this year because why have a list like this if you can’t put your own book on it? Not included (but still recommended) is The Holiday Exchange, a romcom novella I wrote a few years ago that I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you about, but I figured a little reminder wouldn’t hurt.
Let’s get reading!
(P.S. Stick around all the way to the end for a short list of new holiday releases on my TBR!)
Previous Christmas Book Guides:
🎄 2017 // 2018 // 2019 // 2020 // 2021 // 2022 // 2023 // 2024🎄
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2025 Christmas Book Guide
This historical Christmas romance really hit the spot. It was so easy to root for Mercy and Colin as they worked out the personality differences that actually made them a good fit for each other. Colin’s eccentric aunt who precipitated their marriage of convenience was a delight! I’m always fascinated by historical holiday stories that show the way people used to celebrate, and the author did a great job of creating a Christmas atmosphere with the weather (very snowy!) and the various traditions that were common at the time.
Enemies who get stuck in an extremely cold elevator? Um, yes, please! This rom-com was perfectly balanced between the rom and the com with hilarious banter and lots of chemistry. And if you enjoy this one, you should definitely move straight into Since We’ve No Place to Go, which is another delightful holiday novel that spins off of this one. Also, I’m obsessed with this cover.
This is another wonderful historical holiday romance that is full of heart and atmosphere. The back and forth with Sophie and Edward as they get to know each other is lovely. Edward has to learn to be vulnerable and show his true personality to Sophie, and she has to learn to trust that he cares for her and wants the best for her, repairing the damage that her father has done by not stewarding her heart as he should have. And it’s a novella, so it’s a short, fast read.
This book is just an absolute and utter delight. Holly hates Christmas because as a middle child with a Christmas birthday, she always feels overlooked around the holidays. This year, she’s also going home single and newly jobless. Nick also hates Christmas because hard memories, but this year he’s agreed to go home for the holidays with his best friend and coworker Rhett—both as Holly’s date (the part Rhett knows about) and to talk to their parents about selling him the family farm for his nonprofit (the part he doesn’t know about). The short version is that big family gatherings are the best kind of cozy chaos, and everyone in the Sinclair family has some kind of secret this Christmas. Also, Axel is the best character. You can tell me otherwise, but we’ll have to agree to disagree.
Christmas at the Castle Library
If you like cozy academic vibes, this book is for you. When Ellie gets a rare opportunity to study her dissertation topic over Christmas in the castle library of the country of Leathersby, she never expects to make a breakthrough on a decades old mystery or to find love. This book is full of faith and personal growth as Ellie grapples with the fear and insecurities that have plagued her throughout her life. I’ll admit that I didn’t find her very likable at first, but she does grow and change over the course of the story. The castle and royal family make for a charming backdrop to this story.
I think this holiday novella is best described as ‘quiet’. It’s primarily about a family celebrating Christmas and welcoming guests into the inn they run, while two of the sisters try not to overthink complicated romantic prospects. The stakes are fairly low, and the pace is on the slower side, but I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy, atmospheric Regency story.
When celebrity chef Charlie sustains a head injury at a crucial point in filming a career-changing holiday baking show, she enlists her identical twin Cass to take her place until she recovers. Growing disillusioned with a boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer and her life managing their family’s small-town bakery, Cass jumps at the chance to take a break and let Charlie take over for a few days. Of course, plenty of Parent Trap-esque shenanigans ensue, including romances that neither of them were prepared for, and a reckoning that has to come before the happily-ever-after. This story also comes with a full cast of side characters and plenty of food descriptions that will make you hungry!
Three historical novellas, three delightfully sweet stories of holiday romance. The first is a marriage of convenience between old friends, the second shows what happens when a snowstorm traps people in the middle of nowhere, and the third follows the unconventional courtship of a professor who finds himself attracted to a young woman convinced she will be a spinster. All three are delightful in their own ways, but I have to say I was thoroughly charmed and completely surprised by the third story. I love a good nerd romance!
If you’ll indulge a shameless five star self-rec here, I’ll go ahead and tell you about my recent release. It’s an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about an event planner who finds herself without an assistant during her busy holiday event season. Thankfully—or not, since it was all his fault that her assistant quit—her brother’s best friend offers to step in and help her for the month of December. Sparks fly as Lauren realizes that Max has changed a lot from the kid she used to know and she doesn’t know quite what to do with the charming, thoughtful guy he’s become.
I’m not sure what to say about this novella except that I’m still thinking about it a few weeks after finishing it. It’s a book that turned out not to be anything like I expected. Joy is approaching her first Christmas after her divorce, a split that was precipitated by her sister sleeping with her husband. In a desperate attempt to feel something other than devastation and anger, she drives to the airport and hops on a plane bound for Hope, Canada without luggage or telling anyone she’s leaving. But things don’t go at all according to plan, and that’s all I’m going to tell you because I don’t want to spoil any part of this strange but strangely endearing little book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this unique historical Christmas novella. Tatiana is an assistant at an Icelandic publishing house in 1944, and she has long admired Anders, her coworker who is both a bestselling author of children’s sagas and an editor—her editor, although he doesn’t know it. Unbeknownst to her, Anders likes her too, and when Tatiana’s seven-year-old niece, Elea, comes to stay with her for Christmas, helping make her holiday special is just the excuse Anders needs to spend more time around Tatiana. I loved all the historial details—the author clearly did a ton of research—in this charmingly bookish holiday tale of family and belonging. It’s a quick read with a beautiful cover that I whole-heartedly recommend.
This hilarious but heartwarming romantic comedy is one of my favorites out of all the books on the list. It goes down so sweet and smooth watching a travelling nurse who fancies herself a matchmaker have the tables turned on her. Somehow—she’s not quite sure how it happened—she ends up staying at the home of a professional baseball player whose family she got to know when she treated him after an accident, and every single one of them thinks that they would be perfect together except her. It’s not that she doesn’t objectively think he’s hot and kind and funny. It’s just that he doesn’t fit into the plan she made for herself. I’d give this one six stars if I could!
Even for a novella, this felt like a quick read. I enjoyed it enough that I really think the author could have made it longer with more details, because it did feel a little rushed. But overall I loved the cozy vibes of a werewolf who works in a bakery and a witch trying to recover from a traumatic past and make a home in a new community. The romance is sweet, I liked the fantasy elements, and the strong holiday atmosphere was perfect for a Christmas read.
Extra books!
If you’ve made it this far, huzzah! As a bonus, here are a few of the books on my holiday TBR. Keep in mind, I haven’t read them yet so this is not an official recommendation but I really expect to enjoy:
