Hello everyone today I'm here to share Best Books to Read During the Holidays and some of my favorite holiday books to read.
so you guys know I do like favorite fall reads, favorite spooky beads, favorite summer reads, and favorite holiday reads I do all the seasonal reads.
I don't think I'll ever stop because honestly, I enjoy reading them and I enjoy recommending them
so I hope you're not sick of them either I try to have new ones every single year.
The Ultimate Holiday Reading List: 14 Books You Can't Put Down!
Today's article gonna be filled with some of my favorite holiday reads like Christmas kind of just books that take place around Christmas and new year's that have the holiday vibe.
I have a mixture of adult books and why a book, so let's get right into it because I actually have a lot this year when I first started my holiday reads I barely had any now I have a ton to recommend.
1. In a Holidaze
the first book I want to recommend to you is the holidays by Christina Lauren. This is their latest book they are an author duo and this is their first kind of holiday read this fall is a character named may and may loves Christmas time but this year she's just having not the best Christmas.
she learns that she like her family is selling the cabin that they go to every Christmas she has the family that goes she also has her parent's best friends and nurse sons and her other best friend other than her other parent's best friends and it's just like a big old like family pretty much and so when she learns that they're gonna sell their cabin she's very distraught and as she's leaving the cabin after Christmas she like throws a thought in the universe like show me what will make me happy.
and then there we kind of have the groundhog day effect where she wakes up on the plane going to the cabin again and things keep happening and she keeps repeating and over and over until she eventually gets it right and of course at the center of this is a romance we have a character named Andrew who has been in her life ever since she was little because he is one of her parents best friend's son and of course, she's harbored a crush on him for many years.
you can guess it because kind of all romance follows the same you know similar line but I really enjoyed this one it takes place at a snowy cabin it's Christmas time it's friends to lovers with kind of a time travel element into it but it was just fun and adorable and the perfect book to read near the holidays.
2. The Afterlife of Holly Chase
I'm gonna try to switch back and forth from adult Hawaii so it's just kind of fair I guess I don't know but one of my favorites may be my favorite holiday read is the afterlife of holly chase by Santan I remember reading this a few years ago I heard about it and I was like I'll try it because I did enjoy Cynthia hands books and I have to say I really loved it.
it is a reimagining of the Christmas carol we all know the famous stories in this book we have a character named holly chase who is just let's be honest she's horrible she's not great and then she um she's visited by the ghost of Christmas past you know she's visited by all the ghosts Christmas past present future things like that to try to change her life otherwise like it's gonna be miserable and she does not change her life then she died and now she's stuck working at project scrooge and she's actually the current ghost of Christmas past so she has to visit all of these people to try to correct their errors because you know she didn't do it.
and then she's assigned this one guy that she actually has feelings for and things get really complicated from there and it's very it's just a fun reimagining while also teaching you a lot about life and decisions and you know happiness when it comes to life and I loved it we'll always recommend it as a perfect like y a holiday read.
3. One Day in December: A Novel
moving back into the adult we have one day in December by Josie silver this one while the cover looks very Christmassy I don't know I thought I would classify it as a Christmas read it's hard you know to say what's a Christmas read and what's not but I did read this did I read this last year now I read this two years ago for the Seasonathon the readathon that I host it's like all holiday-themed and I think with that I'd always tie it to Christmas and the cover the title I mean and this was Christmas.
so this book is all about a character named Lori and Laurie is just not happy with her life she's just really struggling and she's on the bus one day um going home from work in London and she meets eyes with a strange man on a bus stop and they both kinds of are instantly like drawn to each other and she tries to get off the bus he tries to get on it and you know it just didn't happen she's been trying to find this man for like a year.
and then suddenly one day her best friend's like hey let's throw a party together and I want to introduce you to my new boyfriend and who should the new boyfriend be but jack the mysterious man from the bus stop so what goes on from there is this book takes place during like many many years of you know Lori having feelings for jack but she can't recep but she can't do anything about it because he is her best friend's boyfriend and it's very kind of it has as a love triangle element into it and I just really loved it.
it's very like kind of a heart-wrenching love story it would be a great movie that I would definitely see so if you want one that's like Christmasy kind of new years but also takes place throughout the entirety of the year I would recommend this one also if you want like a really tragic love story go for this one as well.
4. 10 Blind Dates
next up I have 10 blind dates by Ashley Elston. I read this last year during Christmas and it's honestly just really adorable in this book, we have a character named Sophie and she just wants freedom from overprotective parents her boyfriend breaks up with her and so she travels back to her aunt's house to be with her family and things like that her aunts and all of her family members decide to set her up on these dates with just random.
you know guys that they think they'll pair off with they even have like a pool of like whose date will be better and things like that basically she starts to have feelings for somebody that's been in her life forever and things go from there but this is just an adorable book it's got a whole big family in it.
it's got the 10 blind dates element to it with Christmas and it was just a fun Christmas read if you want something light and fluffy and funny this is perfect to read during the holidays I will say that probably 50 000 times since our last book was about 10 blind dates.
5. The Twelve Dates of Christmas
I have the 12 dates of Christmas with 12 blind dates so we're upgrading from y to adult so this but we have a character named kate and kate is also very unhappy about the holidays she's 34 and she's like she's ready to settle down she's ready to find the man of her dreams she decides to go on the site that offers these 12 blind dates.
and so basically it's like group dates where one date she'll meet a guy they'll go salsa dancing they're all set up like or a cooking one and things like that and she's trying to find you know her leading man and again throughout it all, we have a character that's been in her life forever that maybe just she's like.
I think I have feelings for you I mean yes a lot of holiday romances are very predictable, yes but I still love them so this was cute it takes place in this really small town in England called Blackford it was cute it's not one of my favorite holidays reads but it's still a cute one if you just want a fast cute holiday read look no further.
6. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
another one of my all-time favorite holidays reads that I always recommend every single year is my true love gave to me this is a 12-holiday story because of the 12 days of Christmas and this is edited by Stephanie Perkins we have a whole myriad of authors David leviathan rainbow Rowell Lainie Taylor Kirsten white Gail Forman holly black we have a whole bunch and so this has 12-holiday stories in it and some of them are the favorites that I've ever read.
I read it probably like six years ago which is insanity but I think short stories a short story collection is actually a great thing to read near the holidays because you can just read one, especially leading up to Christmas the 12 days leading up to Christmas that's a great idea right there so do that um but they're just and they're all just cute and adorable.
I think my favorites in this were midnight's my rainbow roll it's a yuletide miracle charlie brown by Stephanie Perkins. I really liked it also I think Jenny Han has a story in here as well yes Polaris is where you'll find me by Jenny Han it's just fun really cute Christmasy books like all of these are.
7. This Time next year
another recent read for me this year is this time next year by Sophie cousins again this is kind of like we met in December it's not exactly overtly Christmas like the cover you know it came out around Christmas the cover looks kind of Christmassy but this one really kind of centers around new year's.
I would say so we have this character named Minnie and Minnie was born on new year's like eve like 12 o'clock am on new year's day and basically, the whole book starts with Minnie's mom giving birth to her, and Minnie's mom is paired with another woman in the same birthing like room Minnie's mom helps this other woman go through her birth as well as her own and Minnie's mom confides into the woman like she's gonna name her daughter Quinn.
because nothing bad ever happens to Quinn's twins or winners and things like that and lo and behold the other woman steals the name and names her son Quinn leaving many left named Minnie and so pick up many years later as many as kind of seeing her birthday as a curse like everything that bad that happens always happens on her birthday.
so she basically when she's older she meets actually the Quinn that stole her name and they become friends and things kind of go from there this book has a lot of things in it Minnie struggles a lot with her love life her business life and Quinn also is very you know confident in his business life but his mom struggles a lot with anxiety and he hasn't had a really full-fledged relationship.
because he can't commit himself because his mom is always there and always calling him all the time to help save her and so he's very conflicted so Minnie and Quinn have kind of this um tumultuous relationship I guess you could say and we see a lot of new year's past where Quinn's new year's and Minnie's new year's and how they may have inadvertently met and not realized it.
and it's a really cute book it's not one of my favorites nor again isn't overtly very Christmassy but it does give me Christmas vibes because the whole book starts off on new year's it really kind of centers around new year so I would recommend it again it's got kind of the same vein as one day December we have this really kind of I don't want to say tragic love story but just kind of an epic overarching love story like not insanely cute and fluffy but not like make you cry a thousand pieces somewhere in the middle of that maybe but I enjoyed it.
8. Snow in love
The last white book I want to recommend is snow in love this is four short stories by melissa de la Cruz nick stone Amy freeman and Casey west. I read this a couple of years ago it was cute it's not one of my favorites when I think of favorite why short stories like a holiday I always go back to when my true love gave it to me but this was cute.
I will say my favorite stories in this where I think from nick stone and Casey west they all have different ones one's about a snowy road trip one's about a Hanukkah miracle another one's about a Christmas eve another one is about a scavenger hunt amid the holiday crowds and they're all just cute.
it's really short it's only 250 pages so if you want a short read for your Goodreads goal to get into that I would recommend checking this one out.
9. We Met in December: A Novel
I read this last year and it was just okay oh it's about a girl named Jess who decides to move to London and she shares this flat with like four strangers and one of them is Alex and she meets him on the first night and she knows there's an immediate connection and she's she decides you know when she gets back from versus vacation that she's gonna ask him out.
and when she gets back from Christmas vacation he is actually in a relationship with another roommate in the same house and so again it's got that kind of one day in December where like they can't be together something's happening like something's keeping them apart because they're dating other people and it was cute.
it just wasn't super rememberable but if you're trying to just find a cute fluffy Christmas read maybe check this one out it just wasn't one of my favorites but still wanted to talk about it.
10. The Tourist Attraction: A Sweet Vacation Romantic Comedy
This one is not super Christmassy I don't even remember if it took place on Christmas but it does take place in Alaska and I think Alaska think of like north pole and Christmas because of Alaska but this one is about a guy named Graham who owns this little like food shop called the tourist trap and he just kind of lows Taurus like he hates them even though he makes lifting off of them.
and then one day a girl named Zoe comes to Alaska because she's always wanted to go there and she meets graham and you can guess like a surly guy and like a really like happy-go-lucky girl get together things happen and there you go but this is I have some qualms with this number one the length it's like almost 400 pages.
and I don't really feel like it needed to be but if you're looking for kind of Christmassy but set in a very very cold place I would check out the tourist attraction I know the sequel just came out as well called mistletoe and Mr right maybe that one's more Christmassy I'm not a thousand percent sure.
Best Favorite Short Stories to Read Over the Holiday
quickly before I am done with this article I do want to mention some short stories so I mentioned some books that are collections of short stories
but I've also read a lot of just singular short stories that are very holiday-esque and perfect to read for Christmas especially you know when it gets to this year you don't have a lot of time to read
as I read probably the least of all in December because of just life honestly so these are perfect to read for those times.
11. Wrapped Up in You: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel
After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground.
And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. As the realities of the past, she’s worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporarily. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.
Kel, an Idaho sheriff, and ranch owner are on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-term plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.
12. Booked for Christmas: A Short Story
In this book, we follow a character named Sophie who is an author a romance author and she really loves this book critic called wolf who is always leaving her books with scathing reviews like it's just horrible and so basically what happens in this little short story is she throws a holiday party with all her friends and somehow the book created wolf shows up.
I guess she could stay and then somehow also he gets stuck with her alone in her own house because of like a snowstorm and it's great to hate to love romance I wanted more from it but again much like all these they're short they're cute they're romantic they're Christmasy and again short so perfect to read.
13. The Christmas Pact
then we also have the Christmas pack. this is a very short story. this one is about it's gonna be really interesting to explain so we follow a character named Riley Kennedy who always gets her email confused with Kennedy Riley so it's a guy and they're always emailing back and forth because their emails get sent because you know he they have the same names pretty much just the different combinations of them.
she's Riley Kennedy and he's Kennedy Riley very interesting and somehow they work for the same company and they following me at this Christmas party and he decides hey like I'll go home with you to new york to like pretend to be your boyfriend because your mom's on your back about all the time and you know it's great to hate to love to romance it's very cheesy very over the top but goodness I was it cute and I enjoyed it.
14. The Deal of a Lifetime
and then the last one probably the saddest one on this entire list is the deal of a lifetime by Frederick Bachman this is a very short story about a father and son finally reuniting after many many tumultuous years and his father confiding him that there is this little girl at a hospital that is dying of cancer and he can and he has to make some decisions about it and it's very heart-wrenching just like Frederick robin's books um it's not one of my favorite books by him I love a lot of his books as well as a lot of his short stories this one I didn't love a ton.
but if you want a short story that's going to resonate with you and pull your heartstrings this was a great one to check out those are all the holiday reads that I would like to recommend to you.
Conclusion of Best Books to Read During the Holidays
hopefully, you got some best books to read during the holidays, and hopefully, you can squeeze a few of these in before Christmas time rolls around.
I would love to recommend some of my favorite holiday books. thank you guys so much for reading and I will see you in the next article.
