The Best Christmas Ever by Sarah Morgan

 

5*

If I had to choose one theme that encapsulates this lovely, heartwarming Christmas story, it would be “chosen family.” The holidays can be incredibly stressful, especially for those whose birth families put undue pressure on having the “perfect” Christmas. For overachieving people pleasers like Brooke, it leads to heightened anxiety and guilt. For women like Izzy and Mabel (one who never had love and the other who lost it), it’s a day filled with loneliness, regret, and self-recrimination. However, when the winter storm of the century leaves colleagues Izzy and Jason and Brooke and her family (husband Matt and darling girls Elsie and Poppy) stranded, Mabel lets them into her fairytale-like home. What starts as a reluctant but inevitable decision by Mabel turns out to be the “best Christmas ever” for everyone.

Morgan’s Christmas books are always on my must-read list because of how well she develops her characters, sets the scene (in this case, a blizzard in Vermont and a stunning home complete with turrets and a library I’d kill for), and elicits emotion. This one also has a closed-door romance. I highly recommend this delightful story.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Mira through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A Cinderella Christmas by Sabrina Jeffries; Mary Jo Putney; and Anna Bradley

 

4*

If you’re looking for some historical Christmas romances that are clean or closed door, check out this anthology. It features rags to riches novellas from the English Regency era which are a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. The story by Putney isn’t as well-written than those by Jeffries and Bradley, but it’s still a delightful collection. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Kensington through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Break the Ice by Kristen Bailey

 

5*

If you’re looking for a funny, feel good Christmas story, you’ll find it with Break the Ice. When an impromptu road trip in heavy snow finds Josh and Phoebe delivering a new dog (Steve) to her sister’s family, it becomes instantly obvious that these two are polar opposites. Where graduate student Josh is quiet and pretty buttoned-up, Phoebe is a highly energetic, somewhat chaotic talker who loves to help people, projects happiness, and makes friends with a whole host of characters. My favorite scene is at The Guggenheim Museum where she befriends a colorful, elderly firecracker of a native New Yorker. What starts as a madcap adventure through the quaint villages of the UK leads to a New York City New Year’s Eve when Josh invites Phoebe to be his date for a party where he dreads running into his ex. Will this fledging relationship survive the holidays? You’ll have to read it to see.

I loved how many laugh out loud moments there are in this delightful book, especially with Steve. I also appreciate the excitement they each felt when seeing the sites for the first time. The joy Josh exuded when experiencing everything from Stonehenge to a local pub with Christmas Eve revelers was matched by the enjoyment Phoebe exhibited seeing the City’s famous landmarks. Bailey always delivers with her engaging, somewhat steamy Christmas stories and they’re not to be missed. Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Christmas in Belgravia by Stacey Reynolds

 

5*

Book 14 of The O’Brien Tales series by Reynolds is the perfect story to add to a holiday to be read list. It features Cian, whose mother is an O’Brien, and Eira Pritchard, a preservation architect who has been hired by the firm where Cian is COO. Like all of the books in the long and wonderful series, it covers some heavy topics including accidental death of her parents, assault, and more, but central to the story is the proven belief that O’Briens find their soulmates, but only after facing major obstacles.

There is so much to love about this book. It’s set in my favorite city, London, which does Christmas better than anywhere else I have ever been; Eira and her younger brother find chosen family with the Carrington clan and her delightful colleagues; and the descriptions of the gorgeous historic hotel that the firm is restoring with Eira’s expertise is one I wish I could visit in real life.

I highly recommend not only this heartwarming romance but also the entire captivating series. However, it can be read as a standalone. There’s also a bonus novella, A Galway Christmas, featuring minor characters from previous books.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Counting Down to You by Emily Stone

5*

Every Christmas season, I eagerly await Emily Stone’s newest book. Although they all have some pretty deep topics, the beautiful romances manage to balance out the emotional impact. In Counting Down to You, it is grief over the loss of a best friend. Ali is still in mourning when her boss insists she take a sabbatical, so she chooses a ski town in France, one mentioned by her late friend Robyn in a personalized advent calendar that was their holiday tradition. With its daily handwritten prompts, she assigns challenges that help Ali navigate the grief and open her life to new possibilities. She serendipitously meets Leo Brooks in London and is surprised later to find he is the manager of the resort where she has taken a temp job to help stave off time to wallow. Aside from the romance, the calendar is my favorite part of the book, a physical manifestation of a loving friendship and an aid to help with the grief process. If you love Christmas stories with a bit of angst and a bunch of emotion, I highly recommend this steamy, slow burn, grumpy-sunshine romance. Let the countdown begin!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Ballantine/Dell through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez

 

5*

Abby Jimenez could write the phone book and I’d read it, so I jumped at the chance to read and review this delightful, humorous, and heartwarming collection of three sweet (and no spice) Christmas romance short stories. Unlike her full-length novels, this one doesn’t have the trauma, angst, and heavy themes. As she states in her author note. “I wanted to veer from my usual deeper themes and keep these short stories fun and light. I figured nobody wants to cry at Christmas.”

Although I was reading a digital ARC, I read the description of what the final print deluxe edition will look like, and I think it will make a wonderful gift for a friend, family member, secret Santa, or even for yourself. It includes a second chance romance, a funny meet cute, and a love at first sight story, and they’re all based in Minnesota, the perfect wintry backdrop for a Christmas collection. I suspect this is a book that will be an annual re-read. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Jezebel List by Alisa Dean

 

5*

This fabulous debut novel from Alisa Dean is, to some extent, taken from real life by someone who also escaped the fundamentalist church. She has drawn her main characters with care and intention and has surrounded them with secondary characters whose individuality really shines. Yes, there is religious trauma that some might need to avoid, but the story is so full of hope, dedication, and love.

FMC Christina “escaped” her oppressive upbringing with the help of therapy and, as a final act of liberation (or defiance, depending on who you’re asking), writes her Jezebel List. “It’s a list of things I was told my whole life that I should not do. Could not do. But I can do them. So, I’m doing them.” Shortly after a serendipitous meeting with MMC Danny, he offers to help her complete the list and thus begins a beautiful romance in which they recognize that they can be their true selves. The maturity and emotional intelligence of these two is astounding. The love between them is selfless, reverent, shamelessly passionate (verrrry steamy), and supportive.

Although Christina has had therapy, it isn’t until much later that she realizes she hasn’t processed the grief. She ultimately sees that the only way through is by embracing the traumatized girl she was with the hard-fought jezebel she has become.

“I may have spent a year in trauma therapy exorcising my self-hate, but I now have to grieve everything I lost. Everything I never had. I have to grieve for the younger version of myself and all the trauma she endured.”

There is definitely a villain in Christina’s hypocritical pastor father, the perfectly awful blend of “self-loathing and self-righteousness.” However, after getting closure, Christina realizes that in the process of completing the list, she has found a new family and a home in a loving partner. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Alcove Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Cozy Little Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

 

4*

RaeAnne Thayne can always be depended on to gift her readers with warm, heartfelt Christmas stories, and Cozy Little Christmas lives up to its name. Like many of her previous books, this one is set in a small lakeside town in Idaho, the perfect wintry backdrop for this delightful story. Yes, there are some heavy topics around grief and cancer, but there is also the thread of hope woven through the book. Add this one to your Christmas reading list!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Mira through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur

4*

When I downloaded this ARC, it was because of my love for Bellefeur’s other books, and I shamefully didn’t pay any attention to the description. To say this is a huge departure from her norm is an understatement. Since I’m not a big fan of romantasy, it took me awhile to really get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. Having a queer demon as the FMC (most of the main characters in the book are queer, in fact) is an interesting premise that allows readers to accompany her on her journey of rediscovering her human husband of 400-plus years. It gives a whole new meaning to eternal love (a very steamy one at that). I think readers who are looking to try out romantasy will appreciate this story because it doesn’t require a lengthy commitment to world building as so many heavy tomes in the subgenre do. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Romance through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle

 

4*

Once, Again, Always is a delightful debut novel from Amanda Gayle. After a head injury, Molly Graham suffers a brain hemorrhage and is left with amnesia, only to find out that her high school arch nemesis, Aster Bishop, is now her husband. What follows is multiple months of overcoming grief, trying to recapture the memories she lost, and a rebuilding a relationship that she finds unfathomable at first. Yet, the more time Aster spends being the loving, doting, and, yes, frustrating at times husband, the less Molly wants to dwell on her past self and the more she just wants to be loved for who she is now.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the relationship arc between Molly and Aster with undeniable chemistry and a mutual respect borne out of the detritus of their antagonist beginnings. One of my favorite aspects of this enemies-to-lovers romance is the boundary-defying friends who lend quite a bit of comic relief to what could have been a heavy read otherwise. There are definitely some spicy scenes but not what I would consider graphic. If you like second chance and enemies to lovers’ romances, be sure to check this one out. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.