Three holiday-ish romances

And some very festive guest recs

There’s been a veritable deluge of holiday romances in the last few years, perhaps spurred by the emergence of holiday rom-coms on every streaming service you can think of. Everywhere you look, there’s holiday hijinks, conveniently placed bushes of mistletoe, and the occasional dash of magic. My own holiday romance tastes tend to run to what I like to call holiday-ish: a little bit of sparkle, a wintry setting, maybe some mishaps with vaguely holiday-themed activities, but a romance first and a holiday book second. So today I’m rounding up three books that have just a dash of festive sparkle.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

This sapphic fake-dating romance is perfect if you want a romance that’s set during the holidays but not particularly focused on them. After a disastrous first date, uptight accountant Darcy and free-spirited Elle find themselves reluctantly fake-dating with an end date of New Year’s Eve. Bellefleur’s writing has a sparkle to it that I always enjoy and Darcy and Elle’s opposites-attract dynamic is pure delight. There’s little nods to Pride and Prejudice, a wonderful celebration of Seattle, and a thoughtful subplot about dealing with familial expectations and the tension of family holiday gatherings. This was Bellefleur’s debut and she’s been one of my auto-buy authors ever since. (Open door, medium steam.)

Headliners by Lucy Parker

The fifth installment in Parker’s London Celebrities series can easily stand on its own and might be my favorite of an all-time favorite series. Two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show…with their jobs on the line if they don’t make it a success by Christmas. I love Sabrina and Nick in all their ambitious, snappy glory and their enemies-to-lovers chemistry is absolutely explosive. There’s hijinks during a boat race down the Thames! A mysterious morning show saboteur! A murder mystery dinner party set on a train! I especially like the peek into London at Christmas and the dishy behind-the-scenes details of morning TV. (Open doorm medium steam.)

With Love, From Cold World by Alicia Thompson

An emotionally grounded, big-hearted workplace romance about two people trying to open up their worlds to new kinds of connection and make peace with their painful pasts. Asa and Lauren have great chemistry and it’s really lovely to see them tentatively find their way towards each other. This is such a sincere, thoughtful romance and Thompson handles some difficult topics really sensitively. I also quite enjoyed the unusual setting, a charmingly kitschy winter-themed attraction in Florida, and Thompson’s obvious love for her state. Bonus points for the fabulous side characters, one of which is going to feature in Thompson’s 2025 release! (Open door, medium steam.)

Here, you might pause and ask: what if I crave all the festivity? What if I would like to spend all of December filled with holiday joy? That’s exactly why I asked my friend Tracie, who’s a Christmas romance queen, for her go-to festive romance recommendations. She reads a huge array of holiday romance every year and is also writing an absolutely adorable NYC-set holiday rom-com. These are her top recommendations:

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

My go-to Christmas romance rec! This is the perfect holiday read that is right up my Hallmark-Channel-loving alley.

The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score

This is basically a Hallmark Channel movie with a sprinkling of top tier banter. So cute!

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

This is such an underrated holiday read! 10 years of Christmas flights leading up to a super romantic story set in Ireland.

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

What's better than celebrating one holiday? Celebrating three! This snowed-in book will make you feel all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

I can never say no to a story surrounding a Christmas tree farm.

Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

Very reminiscent of the Hallmark Channel movie #Xmas, this fake dating set at Christmas is hilarious and sweet.

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Now on to your highly specific book recommendation requests!

Natalie G asked: My husband. He loves the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Was okay on Ready Player One. Looking for fiction that will suck him in! He plays DnD, Final Fantasy. Also loved archaeology and biology.

My recommendation: Murderbot! The Murderbot series by Martha Wells, which startes with All Systems Red, is snarky, action-packed, and so well-paced. Maybe Red Sister by Mark Lawrence, which is the first in a series about a secret order of warriors? My boyfriend recommends the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons, which he described as sci-fi Canterbury Tales with great action and interesting characters. On the biology side, maybe he’d be into murderous mermaids? Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is an enthralling horror set on board an expedition to the Mariana Trench.

Jana asked: Like you, I LOVE Cat Sebastian’s We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky; I’m reading her Cabot novellas now and enjoying them as well. I’ve been trying (and struggling) to find more books that live up to these, in terms of both Cat’s excellent writing style and character work and her great writing of time periods you don’t see often in romance, like the 50s/60s. Have you read anything else that reminds you of these novels?

My recommendation: This is so tricky! Part of the reason that I love her recent duology so much is because it feels so unique. If you’re looking for more 60’s set romance, I really liked the Fly Me to the Moon series by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner, set during the Space Race, which has great character development and historical detail. Another romance with an unusual setting is Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets, set in a grand hotel in 1870’s Vienna and one of my favorites from last year. The Evander Mills mysteries by Lev A.C. Rosen aren’t technically romances but they do have a lovely romantic subplot and are so well written and researched, especially in Rosen’s portrait of queer 1950’s San Francisco. And if you want gorgeous line-level writing, I’ll always, always recommend Kate Clayborn.

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Currently reading: Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson, which is her take on a classic country house English mystery and very fun so far.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• One of my favorite things about moving to Brooklyn is the panoply of cute little stores to poke around, like Rider Gifts on 5th Ave which sells delightful cards, locally made gifts, and ornaments. (We bought a mini Bob Ross cradling some happy little trees.)

• The very impressive Lego wreath my boyfriend built over the weekend. Tips on how to hang it on our door welcome!

• Some very good pairs programs from the Grand Prix Final. (Not all of them but you can’t have everything…) I maintain that pairs is the most exciting discipline when it’s good and yes, that is why I’m writing a romance novel about a pairs figure skating team.