There’s something magical about settling in with a good book during the Christmas season. Whether you’re drawn to small-town romance, bookish charm, or a bit of festive mystery, these seven books capture the warmth and wonder that make the holidays special. From New York’s Greenwich Village to cozy English estates, each selection offers that perfect blend of heart and holiday spirit to make your winter reading unforgettable.
All is Bright
By RaeAnne Thayne
Sage McKnight is an ambitious young architect working at her father’s firm when she takes on her most challenging client yet—Mason Tucker, a former pro baseball player still healing from the physical and emotional scars of a plane crash that left him a wheelchair-using single dad. Mason has built walls around his heart and isn’t about to let anyone breach his defenses, but Sage knows her design work on his new home in Hope’s Crossing is her best yet, and she’s determined to see it through.
What makes this story so compelling is how RaeAnne Thayne handles both characters with such care and authenticity. Sage isn’t trying to “fix” Mason—she’s simply creating a beautiful, accessible home while being her genuine self. The way their relationship develops feels earned and real, and I appreciated how the book addresses Mason’s journey without making his disability the entire focus of the story.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: This book beautifully captures the transformative power of the season through themes of healing, hope, and opening your heart to possibilities. With the quirky, matchmaking locals of Hope’s Crossing and a generous sprinkling of Christmas magic, this story reminds us that the holidays are about second chances and letting love in. We’re featuring this heartwarming tale in one of our Christmas book boxes because it perfectly embodies hope and new beginnings.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibe: Small-town Christmas, healing journey, grumpy/sunshine, disability representation
Page Count: 352
Perfect For: Readers seeking authentic disability representation, anyone who loves stories about walls coming down, fans of Hope’s Crossing series, people drawn to emotional depth in their romances
Bright Lights, Big Christmas
By Mary Kay Andrews
When fall rolls around, Kerry Tolliver leaves her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina to help her gruff older brother Murphy and his dog Queenie sell trees at the family stand in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper called “Spammy” and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to carve out a new corner for herself. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, she quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the friends she’s come to think of as family. And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block.
Mary Kay Andrews has a gift for creating settings that feel like home, and this book is no exception. The Christmas tree stand in Greenwich Village becomes its own character, and I loved how the neighborhood community embraced Kerry. The contrast between her small-town roots and big-city Christmas created such a warm, festive atmosphere.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: If you love stories about finding where you belong and discovering that family can be found in unexpected places, this book delivers all the feels. The descriptions of the tree stand, the neighborhood decorations, and the magic of a New York City Christmas will make you want to visit Greenwich Village yourself! This charming story is included in our premium Christmas collection alongside festive gifts that celebrate community and connection.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibe: Christmas trees, New York City magic, small-town girl meets big city, found family
Page Count: 288
Perfect For: Mary Kay Andrews fans, readers who enjoy fish-out-of-water stories, anyone who loves Christmas tree farms and city holiday magic, people seeking heartwarming community-centered romance
The Holiday Cottage
By Sarah Morgan
To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder. Suddenly, Imogen is handed enforced time off to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage seems like a picture-perfect haven. But can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?
Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite authors for heartwarming women’s fiction, and this book showcases everything she does best—complex characters, emotional depth, and the power of unexpected connections. Told from three perspectives (Imogen, Dorothy, and Dorothy’s daughter Sara), the story beautifully weaves together their journeys of healing and self-discovery.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: This story captures how the holidays can be a catalyst for change and healing, especially when we’re brave enough to be vulnerable. The themes of found family, facing painful truths, and discovering hope during difficult seasons make this an ideal Christmas read for anyone navigating complex emotions during the holidays. We’re pairing this touching novel with comforting gifts in our deluxe Christmas box because it reminds us that sometimes the best gifts are the connections we make.
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Vibe: Cotswolds cottage, emotional healing, found family, multi-generational perspectives
Page Count: 352
Perfect For: Sarah Morgan fans, readers navigating difficult holidays, anyone who loves stories about female friendship and family dynamics, people seeking comfort and hope during the season
The Christmas Bookshop
By Jenny Colgan
When the department store where Carmen works closes for good, she has perilously little cash and few options. She doesn’t want to move in with her perfect sister Sofia in Edinburgh—with Sofia’s perfect house, perfect children, and perfectly ordered life. Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help at his struggling bookshop. At Sofia’s arrangement, Carmen finds herself working at old Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the streets of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Can she use her skills to revamp the store and bring it back to life in time to benefit from Christmas shopping? And can the Christmas spirit help heal her fractured relationship with her sister?
Jenny Colgan creates such a charming atmosphere that you’ll want to visit this fictional Edinburgh bookshop yourself. The descriptions of the dusty stacks, winding aisles, and the magic of matching readers with perfect books felt incredibly relatable. Plus, the sisterly relationship at the heart of the story adds real emotional depth.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: A bookshop at Christmas is basically the coziest setting imaginable! This book celebrates the joy of books bringing people together, the warmth of community, and the magic that happens when we open ourselves to second chances—both in relationships and in life. Plus, there’s something wonderfully meta about reading a book about Christmas books during the Christmas season.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Vibe: Bookish, Edinburgh setting, sisterly reconciliation, small business revival
Page Count: 310
Perfect For: Book lovers and bookshop enthusiasts, fans of Jenny Colgan, readers drawn to sister stories, anyone who dreams of saving a charming old bookshop, people seeking stories about family healing
Comfort & Joy
By Kristin Hannah
Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of year. Now, recently divorced and estranged from her sister (who is pregnant with Joy’s ex-husband’s child), she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. On an impulse, she boards a plane to the Pacific Northwest, but Joy’s plans go terribly awry when the plane crashes deep in the forest. After the crash, Joy makes a bold decision to walk away and leave her ordinary life behind. She finds her way to the Comfort Fishing Lodge, where she meets Daniel and his six-year-old son Bobby, who are facing their first Christmas without Bobby’s mother. As Joy helps this father and son heal, she finds herself again—but not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley.
Kristin Hannah is known for her emotionally powerful storytelling, and this book is no exception. While it deals with heavier themes and has strong elements of magical realism, the message of hope, healing, and second chances makes it a beautiful—if unconventional—Christmas read.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: This isn’t your light and fluffy holiday read, but it’s perfect for anyone who needs a reminder that the holidays can be about transformation and new beginnings. The story explores how sometimes we need to let go of our old lives to find what we’re truly meant for, and how the Christmas season can be a time of profound personal change. Just be prepared for a story that blends reality with magical elements in unexpected ways.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibe:Emotional journey, Pacific Northwest setting, magical realism, redemption and healing
Page Count: 272
Perfect For: Kristin Hannah fans, readers seeking deeper holiday stories with emotional complexity, people who appreciate character-driven narratives about second chances
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
By Ally Carter
Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He’s Mr. Big-Time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise). But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at an English estate, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone—vanished from a locked room. Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.
I loved this fun twist on the Christmas mystery! Ally Carter brings her signature wit and clever plotting to this holiday whodunit. The rivals-to-lovers banter between Maggie and Ethan is chef’s kiss, and the blend of humor with genuine mystery made this a page-turner.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: If you’re looking for something a bit different from the typical holiday romance, this cozy mystery delivers festive fun with a side of intrigue. The English manor setting covered in snow, the cast of quirky characters, and the clever mystery elements make this perfect for readers who want their holiday books with witty banter and puzzle-solving. Plus, the romance is absolutely swoon-worthy!
Genre: Cozy Mystery Romance
Vibe: English manor, locked-room mystery, rivals-to-lovers, witty banter
Page Count: 293
Perfect For: Cozy mystery fans, readers who enjoy Knives Out-style mysteries, anyone who loves manor house settings, fans of enemies-to-lovers romance with clever dialogue
Holiday Swap
By Maggie Knox
When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness—she also loses her ability to taste and smell, both critical to her success as a show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie’s identical twin Cass is frantically trying to hold her life together back in their quaint mountain hometown of Starlight Peak while running the family’s bustling bakery and dealing with her ex who won’t get the memo that they’re over. With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven’t done since they were kids: switch places. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake and gorgeous physician assistant Miguel are thrown into the mix.
This modern take on the twin-swap trope was so much fun! I appreciated how the book gave equal time to both sisters’ stories and showed that there’s no “right” way to live your life. The bakery scenes made me incredibly hungry, and the small-town Christmas celebrations were described so vividly I could practically smell the gingerbread.
Why it’s perfect for Christmas: This book captures the magic of the holiday season while also exploring deeper themes about identity and authenticity. The twin swap creates plenty of humorous moments, but the heart of the story is about discovering what truly makes you happy and having the courage to make changes. Perfect for anyone who’s ever wondered “what if?” about a different path in life—plus you get TWO romances!
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibe: Twin swap, small-town bakery, dual POV, identity and self-discovery, double the romance
Page Count: 351
Perfect For: Fans of twin stories and life-swap plots, baking enthusiasts, readers who enjoy dual perspectives, anyone seeking uplifting holiday romance with a Hallmark movie feel
Which of these Christmas reads are calling to you this season? We have several of these titles available in our curated Christmas book boxes, each thoughtfully paired with festive gifts and cozy accessories to enhance your reading experience. If you’re in the West Michigan area, stop by one of our upcoming craft markets to browse these titles in person and discover more holiday favorites—plus all the bookish gifts perfect for the season.
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