5 Holiday Romances to Read Before Christmas

by Donna Huber

I don't know about you, but I sometimes can't remember books I've been wanting to read - particularly if it has been a few months. Christmas books have been coming out since the end of summer. So for Day 7 of the 25 Days of Christmas Reading, I've gathered a few Christmas romances we've reviewed this year that you will want to read this month.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

October 2023; Bookouture; 978-1837906666
audio, ebook, print (346 pages); holiday romance

Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Last year, I reviewed Walsh's Christmas romance, Holiday Romance (see my review) which I enjoyed. MK reviewed this year's book Snowed In. She said that the set-up between the main characters Megan and Christian has you warming up to them quickly. This makes the novel a fun read. 

Buy Snowed In at Amazon

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Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

September 2023; St. Martin's Press; 978-1250285812
audio, ebook, print (288 pages); holiday romance

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

Susan and I both love Mary Kay Andrews's beach reads, but we've also discovered her great Christmas stories. I really enjoyed Bright Lights, Big Christmas (read my review). Setting the story in a Christmas tree lot in New York City was unique and just fun. Susan wrote in her review, "This is a fun-filled novel that is about family love, has a bit of romance, and some colorful characters."

Buy Bright Lights, Big Christmas at Amazon

Christmas in River's Edge by Nan Reinhardt

October 2023; Tule Publishing; 978-1961544314
ebook, print (260 pages); holiday romance

You can go home again… After a painful divorce from her high school sweetheart, triplet Jenny Weaver returns to River’s Edge with her young son. While happy to be reunited with her sisters and working at the family’s marina, she has no intention of jumping into the dating pool, especially going into the holidays. Then Gabe Dawson, once a shy nerd who tutored her in history classes, arrives home transformed into a handsome hunk who makes her pulse race. Archeologist and history professor Gabe Dawson thought he’d long ago outgrown his teen crush on Jenny. Back in town for a few months to help his mom post surgery, he can’t resist reaching out to Jenny. She’s as beautiful, warm, and funny as he remembered and soon Gabe is reconsidering his future. Gabe is determined to seize this second chance, but can he convince a very wary Jenny that a globe-trotter is ready to come home for good this Christmas?

Christmas in River's Edge is the third book in the Weaver's Sister series, but can be read as a stand-alone. It is a sweet, clean romance. Check out my full review.

Buy Christmas in River's Edge at Amazon

Hideaway at Silver Lake by Jennifer Greene

January 2023; Avon; 978-0063241138
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); holiday romance

They say there’s no place like home for the holidays...but Poppy McGuire is done with all that! Her sisters are suffocating, and her father hasn’t done anything for himself in years. What she needs is a change—of pace, of heart, of attitude. ...and so she flees to an isolated Wisconsin cabin, determined to get through to a Happy Solo New Year’s.

Hideaway at Silver Lake is the first book in the Snowflake Sisters series. Poppy is the oldest of three sisters and this is her story. Learn more about the book in Susan's review.

Buy Hideaway at Silver Lake at Amazon

The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman

November 2023; Graydon House; 978-1525812002
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); holiday romance

Once the hottest mergers and acquisitions executive in the company, Henrietta Wegner can see the ambitious and impossibly young up-and-comers gunning for her job. When Henri’s boss makes it clear she’ll be starting the New Year unemployed unless she can close a big deal before the holidays, Henri impulsively tells him that she can convince her aging parents to sell Wegner’s—their iconic Frankenmuth, Michigan, Christmas store—to a massive, soulless corporation. It’s the kind of deal cool, corporate Henri has built her career on.

This book is on my reading list for this month and I hope I get to it (I finally read last year's Christmas book A Wish for Winter this summer). Susan reviewed The Wishing Bridge last week and stated, "This is a great book -- there's a little romance, a little magic, and lots of love between family members."

Buy The Wishing Bridge at Amazon

Join us for our 25 Days of Christmas Reading. We will be featuring Christmas book reviews, recommended Christmas reading lists, free Christmas books, and more!

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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