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It’s finally December, which means there’s no shame in decorating that tree, stringing that garland, and obsessing over all things Holiday. And that includes your book collection! Every year, our favorite romance novelists publish sweet and steamy Christmas love stories that are guaranteed to warm your heart. From sexy mistletoe kisses to snowed-in adventures, these books are filled with the best parts of the holidays: decorations, celebrations and love.

If you want to add a little spice to your reading list this Christmas season, here are ten holiday romances that you won’t want to miss:

Chasing Christmas Eve, Jill Shalvis (Avon, September 26, 2017)

 width=It’s all about strangers connecting in this holiday-themed Heartbreaker Bay Novel by powerhouse author Shalvis. When Colbie Albright and Spencer Baldwin meet by chance in a San Francisco fountain, neither can deny their instant chemistry. But Colbie’s running from her real life in New York, and Spencer is beyond wary of falling in love again. With only two weeks to spend together, they have to decide if this is just a Christmas fling, or something much more real. USA Today calls Chasing Christmas Eve “romance … you can lose yourself in.”

 

 

 

Sugar Pine Trail, RaeAnne Thayne (HQN Books, September 26, 2017)

 width=Part of Thayne’s Haven Point series, Sugar Pine Trail tells the story of neighbors Julia Winston and Jamie Caine. Though there’s always been a spark between the two, librarian Julia has no interest in being pilot Jamie’s latest fling. But when she takes in two little boys over the holidays, she starts to see a side of Jamie that just might have her changing her mind.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan (William Morrow Paperbacks, October 10, 2017)

 width=Quaint and cozy, Colgan’s wintery romance takes us back to Mount Polbearne, the seaside English village that’s the home of Polly’s Little Beach Street Bakery. Polly and her boyfriend Huckle are more than ready to celebrate the holidays together, but when a severe storm rocks their community, neighbors and friends must band together for a Christmas that no one is likely to forget. Fellow New York Times bestselling author Jane Green calls Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery “delicious, comforting, satisfying.”

 

 

 

Merry and Bright, Debbie Macomber (Ballantine Books, October 3, 2017)

 width=The queen of the Christmas romance, Macomber is at it again with Merry and Bright, the story of overworked temp Merry Bright who’s too busy to even think about love. When her family makes her an online dating profile, Merry soon finds herself chatting daily with a man who always makes her smile. They arrange to meet – only it turns out that Merry knows him, and he’s the last person she ever thought she could fall in love with. Luckily, her heart has other ideas.

 

 

 

 

Christmas at Carnton, Tamera Alexander (Thomas Nelson, October 3, 2017)

 width=Alexander transports readers to the Civil War era in the inspirational novella Christmas at Carnton. Widow Aletta Prescott is in danger of losing everything when she meets wounded Confederate soldier Jake Winston at the Women’s Relief Society auction. The two form an unlikely friendship that blossoms into love, teaching both of them what it truly means to heal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holly and Ivy, Fern Michaels (Kensington, September 26, 2017)

 width=Michaels’s latest holiday novel, Holly and Ivy, centers on Ivy Macintosh, a widow who lost her husband and her two children in a plane crash. Eight years later, she’s used to spending holidays alone, until a young girl stumbles into her life – as well as the girl’s father, Daniel, with a tragic backstory of his own to share.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in Icicle Falls, Sheila Roberts (MIRA, October 24, 2017)

 width=It’s Christmas in Icicle Falls, and this year, Muriel Sterling is determined to make her holidays perfect. But when she orders a tree online and it arrives looking all beat up, she decides to make the best of it anyway. The tree becomes a metaphor for her and her friends, as they all work to give new life to the “ugly-trees” in their lives.

 

 

 

 

The Christmas Room, Catherine Anderson (Berkley, September 26, 2017)

 width=Maddie McLendon and her family decide to move to Rustlers Gultch to start over, but they end up having to camp while waiting for their house to be built. At first, it seems like Maddie and her wealthy neighbor, Sam Conacher, will never see eye to eye. Especially not when Maddie’s grown son and Sam’s grown daughter begin to fall in love. But the two have more in common than they think in this story about family, grief, and finding new love during the holidays. New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs calls The Christmas Room “a romantic tale that celebrates the hope and resilience of the human spirit.”

 

 

 

 

Just a Little Christmas, Janet Dailey (Kensington Pub Corp, May 30, 2017)

 width=Just a Little Christmas, the third book in Dailey’s Cowboy Christmas series, focuses on the very-pregnant Ellie Marsden, who returns home to Branding Iron, Texas, after a rough divorce. She’s not happy to be back in the small town, though all that changes when she reconnects with Jubal McFarland, her high school sweetheart who’s looking for a mother for his daughter Grace.

 

 

 

 

We’ll Always Have Christmas, Jenny Hale (Bookouture, September 18, 2017)

 width=Noelle Parker is desperate to raise enough money to keep her family’s beloved bakery open during the holidays. In addition to giving the shop a makeover, she takes on the job of caring for the wealthy and grumpy William Harrington. Soon Noelle is helping William connect with an old love, even as she’s quickly falling for his grandson, Alexander. The Writing Garnet describes We’ll Always Have Christmas as “a soul hugging, emotional and poignant read that highlights the true magic of Christmas and family.”

 

 

 

 


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Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter grew up surrounded by trees and snow and mountains. She graduated from the University of Vermont and Columbia University, where she received her MFA in nonfiction writing. She is the author of the So Close to You series with Harperteen. These days you can find her working on her next novel in the woods of Vermont.

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