As winter’s chill settles in, there’s nothing quite like curling up with a festive page-turner. This year’s holiday releases offer the perfect escape, whether you’re wrapping presents, sipping hot cocoa, or seeking refuge from the seasonal bustle. From heartwarming romances to magical adventures, these ten standout books capture the enchantment and wonder of the holiday season. Let’s explore the most captivating festive reads of 2024.
Christmas With The Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
In December 1952, as Queen Elizabeth II prepares for her first Christmas radio broadcast, two friends reunite at Sandringham House. Olive Carter, a single mother and BBC typist with journalistic ambitions, covers the royal Christmas festivities. Jack Devereux, a widowed New Orleans chef, takes a position in the royal kitchens. Over five consecutive Christmases, their paths intertwine and romance blooms. However, Olive harbors a significant secret. As Britain anticipates the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech in 1957, Olive must decide whether to reveal her truth, potentially destroying their relationship unless Christmas magic saves the day.
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The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling
Reclusive Bowen Penhallow, who studies ancient magic in the Welsh mountains, reluctantly attends a Yuletide wedding at Tywyll House at his ghost friend’s request. There he encounters Tamsyn Bligh, a human who deals in magical artifacts and secretly desires him. She’s there hoping to steal a valuable magical item. When a spell goes wrong during the wedding, both are transported to 1957’s Yuletide celebration at the same estate. As they work together to return to their own time, they must confront the house’s haunted history and their growing feelings for each other, despite the taboo of their different worlds.
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The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
Nicholas “Coal” Claus, disillusioned heir to Santa, has a steamy encounter with a mysterious man behind a bar. Soon after, he’s forced into an arranged marriage with Easter Princess Iris, who his brother secretly loves. The situation becomes more complicated when Halloween Prince Hex arrives to compete for Iris’s hand—and turns out to be Coal’s passionate bar hookup. What follows is a messy fake competition between two holiday princes secretly falling for each other, while navigating a marriage arrangement neither wants. It’s a sexy, chaotic holiday romance that upends traditional fairy tale expectations.
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Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
Amateur sleuth Ernest Cunningham finds himself investigating a Christmas murder at a magic show. The victim is the benefactor of famous magician Rylan Blaze. The suspects are all professional illusionists: a magician, assistant, executive, hypnotist, identical twin, counsellor, and tech expert—each skilled in deception. The case involves peculiar elements: a blood-covered suspect with amnesia, a murder committed without entering the crime scene, and a mysterious advent calendar. Ernest must see through the misdirection to solve this puzzle, noting that murder, like magic, is all about clever deception.
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How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
A Christmas-hating recluse living in a year-round holiday town faces disruption when his nemesis, Storee Taylor, moves next door to care for her aunt. When Storee enters the town’s Christmas Kringle contest, he spitefully joins the competition to prevent her from winning, despite his aversion to festivities. Their rivalry takes an unexpected turn as they begin fake dating, leading to real kisses and genuine attraction. Everything comes to a head during one chaotic night involving Christmas lights, the competition, and a ladder, transforming their antagonistic relationship into something unexpectedly romantic.
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I’ll Get Back to You by Becca Grischow
In this queer, fake dating holiday romance, there is more than just a fire warming up. Murphy has been struggling to launch her life and is staring down the barrel of failing yet again in the class that cost her graduation last semester. Ellie just came into town and is much cuter than Murphy remembers. Furthermore, she’s the daughter of the professor about to fail Murphy. So they hatch a plan to fake date that could earn one of them a ticket out of college and the other approval for her dreams, but something is sparking over this holiday weekend.
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A Winter Wish by Emily Stone
After her estranged father’s death, Lexie unexpectedly inherits half of his holiday travel company, which specializes in cultural holiday traditions worldwide. The other half goes to Theo, her father’s attractive but grumpy executive. The will requires them to co-manage the business for a year before making any changes. Though Lexie plans to leave afterward, she finds herself drawn to the company’s mission. During a business trip to Spain, undeniable attraction sparks between her and Theo, challenging their initial impressions of each other and complicating their professional relationship.
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Christmas Sweater Weather by Jaqueline Snowe
Charlotte Calhoun has avoided her brother’s best friend, Hayden Porter, since he rejected her years ago. But at her brother’s pre-wedding ski resort celebration, they’re thrown together amid mistletoe and fireplaces, with adjoining rooms. Though Hayden, a single father and college coach, claims he can’t pursue relationships, their attraction becomes undeniable. They begin a secret fling during the holiday festivities, trying to keep their growing feelings hidden to avoid drama before her brother’s wedding. With two weeks until the ceremony, maintaining their secret romance becomes increasingly challenging in the close quarters of the ski resort.
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The Most Wonderful Time by Jayne Allen
Two women orchestrate a holiday house swap: Ramona Tucker flees to Malibu to avoid revealing her broken engagement at her mother’s Christmas Eve party, while artist Chelsea Flint takes Ramona’s place, hoping to sell enough art to save her family’s beachside cottage. In Malibu, Ramona encounters Jay, a mysterious fitness instructor, while dealing with an intrusive neighbor. Meanwhile, Chelsea connects with Carlos but conceals important information that could affect their relationship. The story weaves together themes of romance, self-discovery, and Christmas magic as both women navigate new possibilities and personal growth through their temporary escape.
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All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard
Romance writer Jessica Carrington faces an awkward situation when she’s snowed in at a remote inn with her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, now a successful rival author who writes romances without happy endings. When forced to share a room before Christmas, their initial anger transforms into creative inspiration. They channel their tension into writing, rekindling both their creativity and old feelings. Despite her reservations about falling for Nick again—the man who once broke her heart and now specializes in unhappy endings—Jessica begins to wonder if he might be her one chance at a real-life happy ending.
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