Get festive with these holiday titles!
The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin
A holiday story that reminds us that sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones we least expect and don't deserve.
Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbor's yellow Lab--since a dog topped the boys' wish list for Santa. In the charming tale that follows, Audrey and Eve are surprised to find their own hearts healing from the tragedies of war and opening to the possibility of forgiveness and new love.
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.
Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.
But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.
Mrs. Claus and the Evil Elves
by Liz Ireland
April Claus is getting an early gift for her second Christmas in Santaland. Her dear friend, Claire, is visiting from Oregon, and April hopes to show off her adoptive country at its cozy, glittering best. But when the annual ice sculpture contest is derailed by a kamikaze drone-deer, it’s just the first in a series of un-festive events…
Drone-deer, created by inventor elf Blinky Brightlow, are none too popular with the genuine, flesh-and-hoof kind, who are currently on strike. With no reindeer games to keep them in shape, Nick worries they may get too chunky to pull his sleigh come Christmas. Now Blinky is missing, his girlfriend, Juniper, is under suspicion, and between rogue reindeer and conniving elves, all of Santaland seems to have gone sugarplum-crazy. Add a dash of murder to the mix, and suddenly April is battling not just to clear Juniper’s name, but to save herself from being put on ice—permanently…
Home Sweet Christmas
by Susan Mallery
With twinkling humor and heartfelt Christmas spirit, two friends find love in a town called Wishing Tree…
Until Camryn Neff can return to her “real” life in Chicago, she’s in Wishing Tree to care for her twin sisters. She’s not looking for forever love, not here. But handsome hotelier Jake Crane is a temptation she can’t resist, so she suggests they pair up for the season. No golden rings, no broken hearts. At his side, she sees her hometown through Christmas-colored eyes. The cheer is cheerier, the joy more joyful. She thought she had put her future on hold…but maybe her real life was here all along, waiting for her to come home.
New in town, River Best is charmed by Wishing Tree’s homespun traditions and warmhearted people. When she’s crowned Snow Queen, she’s honored but wary. Dylan Tucker, her king, seems like the stuff of sugarplum dreams, but she can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something big. As they perform their “royal” duties—tasting cookies, lighting trees—Dylan’s good humor and melty kisses draw her to the brink of love. But she can’t let herself fall until she uncovers his secret, even if her lack of faith means losing him forever.
A Christmas Courtship by Shelley Shepard Gray
A solitary sort, forty-two-year-old Atle Petersheim spends his time hard at work in his wood shop. But as the days get longer, he realizes just how lonely he’s become. When his longtime crush, Sadie Mast, a widow and mother of three, asks him to help her build a room in their barn for her son, Atle can’t say no. Eager to pursue Sadie at last, he turns to bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller for courting advice. More than happy to help, Sarah Anne decides the best way to learn about love is through books—romance novels to be precise.
Between completing holiday orders for her flourishing food business, helping Cale navigate a dramatic new relationship with his boss’s daughter, and coming to terms with the trauma her late husband had inflicted upon her and her children—not to mention Atle showing up at her door with flowers—Sadie is in over her head. Though Atle’s efforts are initially clumsy and his declarations a bit awkward, Sadie can’t help but be charmed by her patient and kind neighbor. But is she ready for love?
Christmas at the Ranch
by Anita Hughes
It’s days before Christmas and Samantha Morgan is in her Brooklyn apartment when her editor, Charlie, shows up. Her publisher Arthur Wentworth is throwing a Christmas party and wants Samantha to be the guest of honor. Samantha tries to come up with an excuse to miss it. She writes a series of books featuring a female James Bond-type heroine named Sloane Parker and Charlie is the only person who knows that Samantha is the opposite of Sloane, though the marketing team has built up an entire social media presence for her claiming that she is just as adventurous. In reality, Samantha rarely leaves her neighborhood and does her research online. She is afraid of almost everything and is only happy when she’s sitting in her apartment and writing.
Samantha reluctantly agrees to go. But instead of taking her to Arthur’s house in Connecticut, the driver goes to the airport. On the phone, Charlie admits that the party is at Arthur’s new ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For a person who hates even walking around the block when it snows, this is her worst nightmare.
But when a handsome stranger sits next to her on the plane, things begin to look up. She feels comfortable enough to spill all her secrets to him, including all of her fears and the truth about her fake Instagram account. However, when she shows up at the house, it turns out that this man, Drew, is Arthur’s son. Now Samantha is worried that Drew will tell his father about her lies.
Over the course of Christmas week, Samantha grows closer to Drew. But when his fiancée, Beatrix (who recently gave him an ultimatum about settling down), shows up, things get more complicated. As Samantha’s fears of bison and giant icicles subside, and her feelings for Drew grow deeper, new fears develop…
Will she leave this Christmas adventure broken-hearted? Or will true love prevail?