This week, the New York Times published a holiday romance round up I wrote, and I am SO proud of it, y’all. Extreme chuff. Maximum delight. All the things.
And the title is cute! Holiday Romance Novels to Make Your December Merry and Bright! (Gift link.)
I wanted to focus on 2024 holiday romances – there are, well, quite a few – and include as many cultures, holidays, observances, and perspectives as possible. I’m honestly surprised that they published the full list, because there are fifteen of them!
Response to the article has been really kind and enthusiastic, too!
One of my favorite reactions came from the very fabulous Claire Willet on Bluesky, who wrote:
everything on this list looks so good, do I start with CHRISTMAS GHOST or do I start with THEATRE MILF or do I start with QUEER SIBLING ANTICS
THEATRE MILF! HA!
Then Claire updated that they’d bought Grimm Curiosities ( A | BN | AB ): “I immediately downloaded this book within minutes of reading this article because it was so me-coded.
“I have just finished it, having put all my other evening plans on hold, and I am going to strongly encourage everyone else to to the same thing. Sharon Lynn Fisher, you’re an icon.”
Need more? Claire says:
it’s spooky! it’s Christmas! there’s a haunted antique store! there’s witchy shit! there’s a ball! the heroine gets a new gown for the ball! they fall in love while doing a supernatural detective caper like a Dickensian X-Files! twice I was like “that side character’s a lesbian” and I was right!
DICKENSIAN X-FILES. That is perfect and I’m mad I didn’t think of it first.
Celia said, “I Just read The Wedding Witch ( A | BN | K | AB ) and I loooooved it like the rest of the series.”
You can peek at the article to see the write ups for each one but these are the books I featured.
Have you read any of these? What 2024 Holiday Romances are making you happy?
I’ve read and enjoyed three of the books in the roundup, and posted my reactions in WAYR entries. MAKE THE SEASON BRIGHT is one of my favorites of this year– I’ve picked it up more than once in recent weeks to re-read passages that described the pain and delight of second-chance romance. ONLY SANTAS IN THE BUILDING was, in my view, the best of the five novellas in the Amazon “Under the Mistletoe” collection (although I enjoyed all five stories). And I just finished LOVE YOU A LATKE and posted about it in today’s WAYR. Thanks for the recommendations, @SBSarah– I’m looking forward to reading several more of the books on this list.
Congrats @SBSarah for the recognition on the article. All praise is 100% deserved. This is an outstanding collection of holiday themed books.
Second EditChief – I really enjoyed ONLY SANTAS IN THE BUILDING. It had a miscommunication that I thought ohhhh I could see how that happened! It wasn’t too contrived! AND AND the FMC made a Mariah Carey Christmas costume! Just all the good things.
And now to start reading Grimm Curiosities IMMEDIATELY.
YAY, @SBSarah! I have Mia Heintzelman’s Last Christmas Crush on my TBR!
Go Sarah!
Congratulations! Fantastic list.