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Book Covers to Love: Christmas

20 beautiful reading options that are perfect for the holiday season.

Hip, hip.. Humbug!

I have had absolutely zero luck in developing any kind of enthusiasm for the holidays this year.. So I have devised a three part plan to attempt accumulating some amount of Christmas cheer.

Step One:
Christmas Books
Step Two:
Embarrassing (but spirited) Christmas Karaoke Sessions
Step Three:
Binge Christmas Movies

I think I might even start with The Grinch.
(We shall see!)

Now.. I’m pretty sure the last Christmas book I read was ‘The Polar Express’ (and I was ridiculously young at the time) so if you have any recommendations? They are most certainly welcome.
Bonus points if the book also contains a loveable furry sidekick!

Without further ado..


(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.)

Holiday Ever After by Jill Shalvis

Three fan-favorite Jill Shalvis novellas are together for the first time in this holiday anthology!


One Snowy Night

It’s Christmas Eve and Rory Andrews is desperate to get home to her family. Problem is, her only ride to Lake Tahoe comes in the form of the annoyingly handsome Max Stranton, her long-time crush, and his big, goofy, lovable dog. A long road trip in a massive blizzard might be just what they need to face their past…and one steamy, snowy night is all it takes to bring Max and Rory together at last.

Holiday Wishes

When Sean O’Riley shows up for his older brother’s bachelor weekend, the last person he expects to see is Lotti Hartford, the woman he lost his virginity to a decade ago. As the weekend continues, Sean realizes he wants to leave his hook-up life behind, but can he convince Lotti to open her heart to him again?

Mistletoe in Paradise

Years after their secret fling ended, Hannah isn’t eager to see James during their families’ annual joint holiday-themed yacht adventure. But when they’re the only people who show up, James and Hannah are stuck together on the high seas for days. As the former lovers try to make the best of the Christmas snafu, they soon realize the best things in life can’t be planned, and sometimes love is sweeter the second time around. 


A Little Christmas Spirit by Sheila Roberts

Single mom Lexie Bell hopes to make this first Christmas in their new home special for her six-year-old son, Brock. Festive lights and homemade fudge, check. Friendly neighbors? Uh, no. The reclusive widower next door is more grinchy than nice. But maybe he just needs a reminder of what matters most. At least sharing some holiday cheer with him will distract her from her own lack of romance…

Stanley Mann lost his Christmas spirit when he lost his wife and he sees no point in looking for it. Until she shows up in his dreams and informs him it’s time to ditch his scroogey attitude. Stanley digs in his heels, but she’s determined to haunt him until he wakes up and rediscovers the joys of the season. He can start by being a little more neighborly to the single mom next door. In spite of his protests, he’s soon making snowmen and decorating Christmas trees. How will it all end?

Merrily, of course. A certain Christmas ghost is going to make sure of that!


Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber

Lindy Carmichael isn’t feeling particularly joyful when she returns home to Wenatchee, Washington, for Christmas. The man she thought was “the one” has cheated on her with her best friend, and she feels completely devoid of creativity in her graphic-design job. Not even carolers or Christmas cookies can cheer her up—but Lindy’s mother, Ellen, remembers an old tradition that might lift her daughter’s spirits.
 
Reading through a box of childhood letters to Santa and reminiscing about what she’d wished for as a young girl may be just the inspiration Lindy needs. With Ellen’s encouragement, she decides to write a new letter to Santa, one that will encourage her to have faith and believe just as she’d done all those years ago. Little does Lindy know that this exercise in gratitude will cause her wishes to unfold before her in miraculous ways. And, thanks to some fateful twists of Christmas magic—especially an unexpected connection with a handsome former classmate—Lindy ultimately realizes that there is truly no place like home for the holidays.


Christmas at Cozy Holly Inn by Meredith Summers

When Julie Green’s ailing grandmother asks her to arrange one last party at the old Inn she used to run, Julie can’t say no even though the last thing she wants is to leave the city for middle-of-nowhere Vermont. Even worse, Cozy Holly Inn is in disrepair, there’s a persnickety cat hiding in the basement and the family of grinches who own the competing inn down the street seem determined to ruin her chances of success.

Nolan Miller retreated to Pinecone Falls, Vermont, to heal his broken heart and help his grandfather run Barrington Lodge – a rustic old bed-and-breakfast that has been in the family for generations. This year, though, he needs to find a way to get his Christmas spirit back before he turns into a grinch like his father and grandfather. But even if he gets his spirit back, he’s not letting anyone in again, especially not Julie Green who has made it clear she’s leaving town as soon as she can.

But when Julie needs help, Nolan can’t say no and putting the party together makes Julie realize that small town friendships might have more to offer than big city lights.

Kringle, the cat, only wants a warm home and his forever human. This girl, Julie, does not seem to fit the bill no matter what the nice lady at the animal shelter told him. Julie knows nothing about cats so he will do his best to get her to return him to the shelter. But as the week unfolds, Kringle discovers that people can change in surprising ways and sometimes what you thought you wanted, isn’t what you really needed at all.


The Clause in Christmas by Rachael Bloome

Cassie Hayward hates Christmas. Especially this year.

No job. Flat broke. And an ex most definitely on the naughty list.

The unexpected inheritance of a charming Victorian cottage in the small town of Poppy Creek may be the Christmas miracle Cassie needs.

Except for one itty-bitty problem: a clause in the will.

To inherit the house, Cassie must complete a series of festive tasks every day in December leading up to Christmas. All overseen by the handsome, Christmas-loving lawyer Luke Davis.

Luke is as strong and steady as the bespoke furniture he crafts as a hobby. He has to be. Stepping into his late father’s shoes as the town lawyer comes with a sleigh full of responsibilities. Which means the captivating stranger collecting her inheritance is a distraction he can’t afford.

As the unlikely pair complete the daily tasks, their hearts begin to soften. But will the wounds from their pasts—and an unexpected visitor—steal what little hope they have left?


Finding Christmas by Olivia Miles

December is the most magical time of the year in Blue Harbor, with its garland-wrapped lampposts and twinkling storefronts, but pianist Jenna Conway’s favorite part of Christmas is always the music. When newcomer and temporary principal Travis Dunne announces cutbacks to the school’s holiday pageant, Jenna is reminded that not everyone is as eager as she is to uphold the community’s beloved traditions.

Helping to plan the Winter Carnival is just what Jenna needs to regain her Christmas spirit—until she’s paired up with a certain Scrooge. Jenna is determined not to let Travis steal any more of her holiday joy than he already has, but somewhere between the tree lighting ceremony and door-to-door caroling, Jenna discovers that there’s more to this handsome stranger than she first thought.

After bouncing around all his life, Travis still hasn’t found his home, but with the help of this small-town community—and one resident in particular—this season he may just find the true meaning of Christmas.


The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Laid off from her department store 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 Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job.

Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping? What will happen when a famous and charismatic author takes a sudden interest in the bookshop—and Carmen? And will the Christmas spirit be enough to help heal her fractured family?


The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole

One Dress. Two Women. The Magic of the Holiday Season.

When hopeful fashionista Meg Julliard must return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her late father’s apartment building, she thinks her dreams of making it in the fashion business are over. Add in her father’s eclectic roster of tenants who all need Meg’s attention (ASAP!), a host of building related disasters, and a handsome handyman she keeps embarrassing herself in front of, and this has all the makings for the worst Christmas she’s ever had.

Ellie Wade, one of the building’s longtime residents, is also not feeling the Christmas Joy this year. She is preparing to move into a nursing home (reluctantly), and is in the process of sorting through her belongings to downsize. Every corner of her apartment holds memories, some good, some bad. But there’s one dress she hesitates to pack up as it represents both the best and worst night of her life.

Ellie and Meg strike up an unlikely friendship and the story of Ellie’s dress comes out. Ellie gifts the gorgeous dress to Meg, hoping that it will bring her more luck, on the condition that she wear it to the building’s Christmas party.

The dress magically fits, and while it eventually leads to the best night of Meg’s life, it also acts as inspiration for Meg to follow a life-long dream of her own, a dream that will help save the crumbling Parkview West, and restore it to its former glory, and keep it as a safe home for all of the current tenants.

The dress and the magic of the holiday season helps both Meg and Ellie find their own happy endings. 


Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan

Nora and her husband, Simon, have run the beautiful oak-beamed book shop in their small British village for thirty years. But times are tough and the shop is under threat of closure–this Christmas season will really decide their fate. When an elderly man visits the store and buys the one book they’ve never been able to sell, saying it’s the perfect gift for his sick grandson, it gives Nora an idea. She and Simon will send out books to those feeling down this Christmas. Maybe they can’t save their bookstore, but at least they’ll have one final chance to lift people’s spirits through the power of reading.

After gathering nominations online, Nora and Simon quietly deliver books to six residents of the village in need of some festive cheer, including a single dad of twins who is working hard to make ends meet, a teenage boy grieving for his big sister, a local Member of Parliament who is battling depression, and a teacher who’s newly retired and living on her own. As the town prepares for a white Christmas, the books begin to give the recipients hope, one by one. But with the future of the bookshop still up in the air, Nora and Simon will need a Christmas miracle–or perhaps a little help from the people whose lives they’ve touched–to find a happy ending of their own….


No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoune

Mistletoe, Maine, is buzzing and not just because Christmas is around the corner! Dante West, local cutie-turned-Hollywood hunk, is returning home to make his next movie. Everyone in town is excited . . . except librarian Lucy Marshall. When Dante took off for LA without warning—or even a goodbye—he broke Lucy’s heart. She swore not to spend one more minute thinking about her ex, but Dante makes an offer Lucy’s struggling library can’t refuse: a major donation to film on-site.

Dante is thrilled to help boost his hometown’s economy and finally begin making amends to the people he hurt years ago when he left, starting with Lucy. But seeing his former best friend on set every day feels a lot less like closure and more like a fresh start. It’s one thing for Dante to fall for Lucy all over again, quite another for a famous movie star and a small-town librarian to find lasting romance. Can the magic of the holiday season give Lucy and Dante’s first love a second chance?


Sleigh Bells Ring by RaeAnne Thayne

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.

The six-year-old twins recently lost their mother, so Annie tells herself it wouldn’t be a problem to bring them to Angel’s View. Why should it be? The Sheridans haven’t visited in years, not since Wallace died. They would never know the twins were there…until Tate Sheridan shows up out of the blue two weeks before Christmas.

Crushed to learn that Tate is there to sell his grandfather’s property—and mortified that her secret guests have been discovered—Annie offers her resignation. But Tate asks them to stay and help him get the house ready for one last family Christmas before it’s put on the market.

Annie and Tate have three days to work their magic before the Sheridan clan arrives—and to work through the growing attraction between them. But Annie simply can’t fall for the man who will put her out of a job and a home. Still, the sparkle of the season is impossible to deny…and this Christmas has surprises in store for everyone.


The Christmas House by Victoria James

It’s Christmas in the small town of Silver Springs which is bursting with holiday spirit. The downtown shops boast twinkling lights, and the town square features an enormous Christmas tree. Every Christmas Eve for the past fifty years, Ruby Harris, the owner of the historic B&B, The Christmas House, has opened her doors to strangers in need, showing them the compassion once denied to her.

When Ruby invites her family home for the holidays, including her two adult grandchildren, Charlotte and Olivia, she hopes they will be able to put the past behind them. However, her plans for reconciliation implode as the women unravel secrets from the past that force them to confront the impact they’ve had on their dysfunctional family. As Charlotte grows closer to Wyatt, the neighbor next door and a friend from the past, old memories resurface that the women would rather forget. they’re reminded of a man they want to forget.

As the clock inches closer to the New Year, can the magic of the season bring the family closer? Or will a surprise guest threaten their tentative truce and test newly formed bonds?


One More Christmas at the Castle by Trisha Ashley

This Christmas will be the most special of them all…

Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day.

Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.

But when the snow begins to fall and Sabine’s family arrive at the house – including Dido’s teenage crush Xan – tensions rise around the castle’s future and long-buried mysteries begin to unravel…

As past secrets come to light, can this still be a magical Christmas to remember?


Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews

It’s a few days before Christmas, and Meg’s grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. Most of the family are there, helping out in one capacity or another, including Meg’s grandmother, Cordelia–invited by Grandfather in rare gesture of peace-making, to share her expertise on rehabilitating large birds, including owls. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered. Even if Caerphilly is able to clear the roads in time, Chief Burke doesn’t want the various suspects to scatter to half a dozen continents before he identifies the killer, so there’s a very real possibility that none of them will make it home for Christmas . . . at least not unless Meg comes to the rescue.


An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow

If there’s one gift Erika Sheraton does not want for Christmas, it’s a vacation. Ordered to take time off, the workaholic surgeon reluctantly trades in her scrubs for a ski suit and heads to Wild River, Alaska. Her friend Cassie owns a tour company that offers adventures to fit every visitor. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush Erika feels on being reunited with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds.

Gone is the buttoned-up girl Reed remembers. His sister’s best friend has blossomed into a strong, skilled, confident woman. She’s exactly what his search-and-rescue team needs—and everything he didn’t know he craved. The gulf between his life in Wild River and her big-city career is wide. But it’s no match for a desire powerful enough to melt two stubborn hearts…


The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan

In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…

Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…

As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?


Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

Krista Galloway is not a fan of Christmas. After her rough childhood in multiple foster homes, the holiday season just brings too many bad memories to the surface. But when she accepts a job as a city manager in the mountain town of Winter Hill, Washington, Christmas is part of the deal. The small town is famous for its Christmasville celebration, something that the city manager . . . well, manages.

As she tries to make her tiny new apartment feel like home for her and her eight-year-old daughter, Emily, Krista begins to wonder if this move was a mistake. She doesn’t always feel welcomed in the close-knit town, and Emily continually wonders, “Where’s the snow?” Can a friendly stranger and his family help restore Krista’s Christmas spirit before the big day?


Christmas at Holly Berry Inn by Emily Childs

When a snowstorm strands her at a hundred-year-old inn, Sloan Hanson’s holiday season gets off to a rocky start. Especially when the innkeeper happens to be her former best friend and the guy who broke her heart in two like an overbaked sugar cookie.

Rowan Graham thought he’d let go of Sloan years ago. But when she blows back into his quiet life and wins over his niece, whose happiness is his top priority, he starts to wonder if this is the do-over he’s been waiting for.

As sparks fly, fighting a deeper attraction becomes more pointless than hanging mistletoe over a couple of newlyweds. But when their separate lives threaten to pull them apart they will have to choose between love or the different paths they thought they always wanted.


A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

Two years after the car accident that took Erin Baxter’s life, her father, John Baxter, still lives in constant grief. John’s heartbreak prompts him to invite Kendra Bryant, the transplant recipient who now has Erin’s heart, to Christmas Eve dinner despite protests from his remaining children. Ashley and Luke want to protect their ten-year-old niece­ who is the only surviving child of Erin’s, but John remains determined and believes that meeting this woman is something his deceased daughter would want.

Meanwhile, Kendra Bryant is struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that gave her a second chance. It is only when she witnesses the Baxter’s unwavering faith in God that she begins to heal and allow peace and happiness back into her life.

At the same time, Maddie West, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Brooke Baxter West, continues to pray for meaning this Christmas. When she discovers a newfound friendship with a boy she never expected to see again, she begins to believe in miracles, especially around Christmastime.


It Started With Christmas by Jenny Hale

Holly McAdams loves spending the Christmas holidays at her family’s cozy cabin, with its little red door and twinkling lights, tucked in the snowy hills outside Nashville. But this year will be different. Someone unexpected is joining them…

After Holly and her beloved Nana struggle through a snow storm to reach the cabin, they discover gorgeous and wealthy Joseph Barnes, who has been renting the cabin for the last few weeks, is now snowed in. And it looks like he’ll be staying for the holidays.

Determined to make the best of the surprise situation, Holly tries to bring everyone together by baking delicious treats and decorating the cabin with plenty of festive sparkle. She finds herself growing close to handsome Joseph, who is unlike anyone she’s ever met before, even if Nana isn’t so keen on the dashing stranger with the mysterious past.

But charming and irresistible musician Rhett Burton is also back in town. Thrown into close proximity with the person who used to be her best friend and the man who broke her heart, Holly realizes it’s time to face her feelings and figure out what she really wants from her life. But to complicate things, both Joseph and Rhett have secrets to reveal…

Will Holly be able to find herself and the love she’s always dreamed of this Christmas?


Happy Holidays to you and yours!

I hope you enjoyed my post and that one of these lovely, heartwarming stories called to you!
They all sound wonderful and I actually have a few.. I just need to figure out what I’m looking for when I don’t entirely know what that is.
Fun stuff, right?

Have you read any of these books?
What did you think?

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This Post Has 21 Comments

  1. Linda Moore

    Lots of nice Holiday reading.

    1. Sheri Dye

      Thank you!
      I was hoping they would be.. but my first choice hasn’t been very enjoyable. I’m seriously considering DNFing it and moving on to something more cheerful. 🤔

      1. Linda Moore

        I never read holiday books hardly. Only if it’s an author that I really love. I do hope you find one you enjoy out of those.

        1. Sheri Dye

          I don’t usually either but.. I was thinking it might put me in a holiday kind of mood. I did pick up another one and am enjoying it way more, then again, it’s a modern retelling of ‘A Christmas Carol’ so.. It’s darker.
          Thank you! Are you enjoying yours?

          1. Linda Moore

            I’m reading a thriller.. again. lol It’s pretty good. Parts are dragging but not enough to keep me from reading.

          2. Sheri Dye

            I don’t blame you! You don’t usually have to worry about all the drama and romance in those. I’m glad you’re.. sort of? enjoying it. Hopefully it picks up though, most thrillers tend to by the end. Fingers crossed!

          3. Linda Moore

            I had to put that one aside. I was having to much trouble enjoying it. I did start another thriller though and it’s way better.

          4. Sheri Dye

            That’s too bad.. Hopefully this next one has been more enjoyable?

          5. Sheri Dye

            I guess you answered that already, my apologies, I’m glad it’s been a better read!

  2. Lady Tessa

    Love the Christmas covers 😍😍😍 Christmas karaoke, huh – will there be some holiday happy juice to go with that? Have fun with your three part plan.

    1. Sheri Dye

      Thank you! Aren’t they pretty?
      And that might actually make having to listen to my caterwauling a tad bit easier but, no, I don’t really drink.
      The plan has been a bit bumpy so far but.. We finally have a tree up!
      I hope you had a great weekend! 😊💕

  3. Silver Stone

    Love these covers! They all give that very cozy feeling of winters and Christmas in general 😌

    Your Christmas plans sound fun (especially the karaoke one). Hope you have a blast with them!

    1. Sheri Dye

      Agreed! There’s so much beauty and comfort in Christmastime.. the lights, the snow, the colors.

      And thank you! Even if the plan doesn’t help me find some holiday spirit.. I’ll have enjoyed trying!
      How about you? Are you ready for the big day or just ready for it to be over?

      1. Silver Stone

        The colours always get me, ’cause they’re so mesmerizing.
        I’m actually waiting for the day to come. Guess the holiday spirit is staring to set in early for me.

        1. Sheri Dye

          The food, the colors, the lights, the ‘pretties’ everywhere.. Oh, I love the holidays. I just don’t enjoy the stress, the extra crazy family expectations, the cost. Basically.. the adult side of things. 😅

  4. Tanya

    Love the beautiful covers and some great options for Holiday Reading

    1. Sheri Dye

      Thank you, I’m glad! And I’m hoping so!😊
      Have you read any of these?

  5. Carla

    You know I love Christmas books, Christmas movies, Christmas Lights, Christmas cookies and so on. I hope you find a couple you like on this list. I have read about half of them, and have a few others on my TBR.

    1. Sheri Dye

      Lol. There’s so much about Christmas to love.. (especially the baking) I have a serious soft spot for all the lights and sparkles!

      And that is so impressive! I haven’t had the pleasure of reading too many Christmas books yet but.. I think they’re growing on me.
      Is there one that you would recommend above the others?

      1. Carla

        It depends on what you want. I just finished Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop (romcom), One Christmas Wish (bit steamy romance/second chances), Colorado Christmas Magic (sappy/HEA/Hallmark type story), and The Cranberry Inn (Romance). Of the ones on your post, I loved Sleigh Bells Ring by RaeAnne Thayne (family/romance) and A Little Christmas Spirit by Sheila Roberts (multi-generational).

        1. Sheri Dye

          Wow! That’s impressive! But I don’t think I know what I’m looking for… I ended up picking up ‘The Afterlife of Holly Chase’ and it’s certainly been different so far but I’ll see about Sleigh Bells Ring.. I like the closeness of family at Christmas. Thank you!
          I hope you’re enjoying your December so far, stay safe, and happy reading!

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