Romantic Christmas Book Recommendations

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

Hint: The universe has a wicked sense of humor.

Haley Hanson’s idea of the perfect Christmas is escaping to the Caribbean to work so she can avoid all the traditional Christmas distractions. Over the years, she’s sacrificed her personal life to climb the corporate ladder at a prestigious Boston advertising agency.

Now she just needs to land a coveted Christmas toy company account to make partner. But first her boss thinks she needs a holiday attitude adjustment and ships her off to a Christmas Camp at Holly Peak Inn to help her find her Christmas spirit.

When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses is a labor of love, but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor.

At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit with a note written in a childish hand in a pocket from a little girl who has one Christmas wish: for her father to return home from the war.

Her desire to solve the mystery connects her with the local community in ways she never imagined, even when all she wanted was to lick her wounds in solitude.

Ten years ago, a young and naïve Cassie married her first serious boyfriend, believing he would be with her forever. Now her marriage is in tatters and Cassie has no career or home of her own.

Though she feels betrayed and confused, Cassie isn't giving up. She's going to take control of her life. But first she has to find out where she belongs . . . and who she wants to be.

When Declan Lorne, the last remaining knight in Ireland, dies suddenly, his estate on Ireland’s rugged south-west coast is left to his three daughters. The two eldest inherit in line with expectations, but to everyone’s surprise the baby of the family gets the castle.

Something unknown made her turn her back on her family three years earlier, escaping to Dublin and vowing never to return. She announces she is selling up, with a sweet revenge that pushes the sisters to breaking point.

Ever since Scarlett Bailey was a little girl, White Oaks Inn has been at the heart of her Christmases. Each holiday, her grandmother fills the old-fashioned hotel with the scents of cinnamon and chocolate.

But this year will be the Baileys’ last Christmas there unless Scarlett can convince Charlie Bryant, a handsome, successful property developer, to invest in her beloved inn.

Growing up as an orphan, Angela Stark has never been a fan of the holiday season, even though she was a Christmas baby. This year is no exception when everything that could possibly go wrong does, and she and her elderly cat are about to be homeless.

Her last resort is to move in temporarily with her best friend who is allergic to cats. But then, a letter arrives that changes everything, and she heads to Nantucket. It seems like the perfect financial solution that will enable her to return home to San Francisco a few months later.

This New Year will bring widowed nurse Abigail Powell a fresh start in a different city. Excited about the chance to create an unforgettable Christmas for her young son in picturesque Silver Bells, Colorado, Abby has been hired to take care of her dear friend’s recuperating grandmother.

But sprightly senior Winnie insists she doesn’t need looking after. What she does need is help decorating her historic mansion, Holiday House, for a seasonal town fundraiser. Abby warms to the festive task, but she’ll have to contend with her own personal Grinch: Winnie’s prickly grandson, Ethan Lancaster.

Angel’s View Ranch has always been special to Annelise McCade. Once upon a time, it was her family’s land, until her grandfather sold it to billionaire Wallace Sheridan. Now employed as the live-in caretaker, Annie is just trying to make it through the holidays with both her sanity and her niece's and nephew’s faith in the magic of Christmas intact.

When she brings her orphaned relatives to visit, she tells no one, as the Sheridans haven’t visited in years. Of course Tate Sheridan shows up out of the blue two weeks before Christmas, and there go all her carefully laid plans.

Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. When Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that’s the last straw.

She decides to kill him with kindness, chronicling her acts of kindness via a blog that becomes a smash hit. But will that be what prevents true love from triumphing?

Fifteen years after leaving school behind, four friends return for a reunion, laughing, reminiscing, and chatting how much has changed—and how much hasn’t. Frankie suggests a singles cruise for the holidays.

Aboard the ship, the entertainment options are endless, the food is to die for, and the passenger list includes hundreds of eligible men. Holidays—like the path of love itself—don’t always go exactly as planned, but over the course of one festive, unforgettable week, all four will set sail on surprising new adventures.

Laid off from her job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life does not appeal.

Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either, but she needs her help. Carmen moves in and takes a job at a shabby bookshop that just might help her revive not just the store but also her fractured family.