7 Christmas Romance Books (And What To Watch After)

Katie has nowhere to go for Christmas until a regular at the diner asks her to pose as his girlfriend for a holiday dinner at his family’s winery. Katie, who has been quietly crushing on Juan, leaps at the opportunity for him to see her as a romantic interest.

After Juan tells his family about bringing a date home for Christmas, he and Katie are involved in an accident. Now, Juan is in a coma, and his family thinks Katie’s destined to marry into their family.

Katie has promised not to tell Juan’s family about the deception, but she can’t help but want to confess to his brother Mateo, who has an incredible smile and is so kind and… the wrong brother for these feelings!

The Holiday Mix-Up is full of good people trying to do the right thing, even if it’s morally grey. Katie made a promise to a man she barely knows, but wants to be honest with his family, who are incredibly worried about him. She, as his girlfriend, seems to bring them (especially his Abuela) comfort. When she tries to confess or back out, she gets begged (more than once) to wait until after Christmas.

In addition to the fake dating and “coveting my brother’s girlfriend” tropes, there’s an engaging subplot about the future of the winery, which I found more interesting than the love story. Sorry, I just love the drama of family secrets coming to light!

If you’re after a sweet holiday rom-com that focuses more on the wholesome aspects of love than the spice, this will be the perfect book for you to curl up with.

Patrick and Quinn have been married for less than a year, and they’re struggling to balance their relationship with their careers and a mortgage for the fixer-upper that’s not getting fixed.

On Christmas Eve, Patrick wakes Quinn to confess that he might have just killed a man, who turns out to be Santa Claus, who quits on the spot, leaving Christmas in jeopardy.

Donning the red suit to save Christmas, Patrick and Quinn agree to assume the roles of Santa Claus and the first-ever Merriest Mister for the next year until replacements can be found. Unfortunately, a year-long contract in the magical North Pole isn’t a permanent solution to their marital tensions.

When we first meet the couple, Patrick is unhappy with his architecture career and is constantly bringing work home, while Quinn, an elementary school teacher, feels reluctantly thrust into a “homemaker” role in a house he doesn’t even like. As partners, they’re on different pages, so I don’t blame Quinn when divorce comes up during a vent session with his bestie. After all, he’s struggling to cook a festive ham after Patrick agreed, without talking to him, to host Christmas dinner at their place.

Despite this marital friction, Timothy Janovsky makes it clear that a lack of love isn’t the cause of the issues. When external factors are removed after their move to the North Pole, their love and passion return easily, but without fully addressing their previous issues, the lovey-dovey bliss doesn’t last.

Not to detract from the storyline, but my favourite part of this queer christmas rom-com is actually its dual perspectives, which reminded me of the “no, this is Patrick” SpongeBob meme when I saw a chapter in his POV.

Nolan will spend the holiday season as he always does: haunting the terrible people of Annapolis as the Ghost of Christmas Past. But Harriet is a good person, or rather is trying to be, so neither of them has any idea why she’s been assigned to him. Hand in hand, they’ll have to uncover each other’s past to untangle the threads binding them together, all before Christmas Eve.

If you’re looking for something a little different from the usual contemporary holiday rom-com, this book is a paranormal romance set during Christmas, offering a spicy, contemporary twist on a Dickensian classic. 

I think by now there are enough rom-com-style retellings of A Christmas Carol to create its own Christmas-romance subgenre. Good Spirits is listed as Ghosted # 1, which implies there could be others coming soon, and I can’t wait!

Vivan is a dedicated social worker on the cusp of a big promotion, but before she starts her new job, her daughter convinces her to tag along on a work trip to England (styling a member of the royal family!).

When Vivian meets Malcolm Hudson, the Queen's personal secretary, he volunteers to be her tour guide. Flirtatious banter leads to a kiss under the mistletoe, which becomes an extended visit and a holiday fling.

Royal Holiday is a contemporary romance about Vivian and Malcolm, both of whom have experienced unsuccessful marriages, but their experiences aren’t portrayed as traumatic. It’s part of their pasts, and they’ve both picked up and moved on. Neither are bemoaning their singledom when they meet, but are equally open to the potential for romance.

Jasmine Guillory has a gift for writing characters who seem to have it all figured out (or at least who have a solid plan) and enough life experience to develop a strong sense of self. They often appear content, with or without a romantic entanglement (or are good at compartmentalizing this desire), while remaining open to the possibility of love. It’s something that readers further on their life journey might find relatable compared to the more passionate and intense early-in-life romances (though Jasmine doesn’t skimp on passion or intensity, either).

Before we move on, I just wanted to say that Royal Holiday needs to be adapted into a movie because there aren’t enough diverse holiday movies, let alone those that romanticize the royal staff. Princes out, personal secretaries in!

Five years after Charlotte is left at the altar by her ex, giving their high school friends-to-lovers fairytale an unhappy ending, she’s coerced by her friend Sloane into spending Christmas in a small Colorado town with their string quartet. It would be tolerable if Sloane’s sister hadn’t also brought a friend home for the holidays. Nothing says Cheery and Queery like spending the holidays with your ex-fiancée!

Brighton, on the other hand, planned to spend the holidays with her family in Michigan after being kicked out of her band. With her family in France, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers while living under the same roof, all while participating in the town’s annual Two Turtledoves event filled with holiday-themed dates for singles.

Make the Season Bright is a prime example of the kind of book I’d seek out for sweet, sweet angst. Ashley Herring Blake has set the table beautifully for a gourmet meal of anger, hurt, longing, and sweet, tender moments... the perfect recipe for tears, laughter, and joy!

Before Maya Bashir moves back in with her parents, having lost her accounting job and ended her relationship, she stops by a posh friend’s party and is greeted by her ex-something’s bare bum. Sam, her best friend’s twin and the boy who broke her heart when they were eighteen, is serving drinks as a naked butler, a part-time gig he took to help a mate. He’s particular about doing his secret side hustle far enough away from Glenavie to avoid people he knows, so he wasn’t expecting to see Maya or need a lift home when his car dies.

Both Sam and Maya have reason to believe the other is at fault for why things didn’t work out as teens, but as their frostiness thaws to friendship, they realize that their heartbreak eight years ago wasn’t as it seemed.

The Ex-Mas Holidays is a spicy second-chance romance that immediately tells readers that there is a miscommunication trope afoot and isn’t shy to hammer home that most of the bad things could have been avoided if the characters had talked to each other. Beautifully written by Zoe Allison, their failure to communicate is understandable and sympathetic, since they were teenagers at the time of their almost-but-not-quite relationship, but more than that, they were both struggling with some pretty heavy stuff!

Sam and Maya are so deserving of their HEA (Happily Ever After), but readers may need to be prepared to shed a tear or two along the way.

Kallum Lieberman, formerly of INK fame and owner of the Slice, Slice, Baby pizza franchise, is living his best life as “the funny one” with a dad bod. After his sex tape goes viral, he capitalizes on the opportunity by starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.

Winnie Baker, on the other hand, is struggling, even though she abstained from sex before marriage, married her childhood sweetheart, and avoided the pitfalls of child stardom to transition to a successful adult acting career; her life still fell apart.

With no husband, no baby, and a career quickly flatlining, it’s time for Winnie to redefine herself by starring in a steamy Christmas movie for the Hope Channel, even if she’s out of her depth when it comes to intimacy. Luckily, she’s willing to put in the work, and Kallum is happy to help with “research”.

We’re back in Christmas Notch for the filming of another Hope Channel original movie! I was stoked about a sequel to A Merry Little Meet Cute focusing on Kallum and Winnie. While the first book didn’t introduce much about Winnie, Kallum made an impact with every word, and I’m here for a male lead who's confident in his dad bod.

Unfortunately, the sequel deals with heavier topics. Kallum is still full of pizza puns and good (and reckless) humour, but Winnie is tragic; her parents’ religious oppression did a number on her, not to mention her struggles to start a family with her (unimpressive, selfish, icky) ex-husband.

A Holly Jolly Ever After is explicit and the spiciest rec on this list. If you like your romance books extra smutty, make sure to add this one to your Christmas wishlist!