Holiday Romances to Warm You Up
There’s something about the holiday season that just makes us crave romance. As the weather outside gets colder and maybe (hopefully) we start to see snow fall, we all get a little bit more sentimental. We want to watch all the Hallmark Christmas movies. We’re here for every single seasonal romance and heart-warming love story. At this time of year who among us doesn’t crave a warm and fuzzy rom com with a happily ever after? Here are a few great holiday romances to warm you up and make you feel just a little bit cozier this holiday season.
When your holiday rom com takes place in Mistletoe, Maine, you know the Christmas sparks are going to fly. And yes, Mistletoe is the setting of Belle Calhoune’s No Ordinary Christmas. Local celebrity turned Hollywood hunk Dante West has just returned home to make his next movie. Everyone in town is excited to have Dante back. Well, everyone except for librarian Lucy Marshall. Back when Dante took off for LA, he left without telling her goodbye, leaving her completely heartbroken. But now that he’s back, and with the magic of the holiday season, Dante’s hoping he might have a second chance.
Craving a Jewish holiday rom com? Seasons of Love will absolutely warm your heart this holiday season. Miriam Blum has finally got a thriving art career when her great-aunt Cass passes away, leaving Miriam part-owner of Carrigan’s, a Jewish-run Christmas tree farm. The business is at risk of going under, and if Miriam wants to have any chance at turning things around, she’ll have to learn how to work alongside the farm’s grumpy manager Noelle Northwood. Meanwhile, Noelle wants nothing to do with Miriam, even if Miriam is charming and has really good ideas. But saving the Christmas tree farm will require Miriam and Noelle to learn to trust one another.
You know what always makes a Christmas romance just a little bit better? Cats. In A Cat Café Christmas, Kara Ingalls is realizing a life-long dream when she opens up the Meow and Furrever Cat Café. But business has been slow lately. If Kara can’t find some way to get it out of the red before the holidays, the café might just have to shut it down for good. That’s when marketing guru Ben Reese swoops in to save the day. Ben has the perfect plan to get the café back in the green, but will Ben and Kara be able to keep things professional and get the job done when there’s so much romantic tension between them?
Yes, we love Christmas cats, but how about dogs? Enter Lizzie Shane’s The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, a delightful holiday rom com set in the small town of Pine Hollow, where the holiday vibes are on point. Snow is falling, and Ally Gilmore is excited to spend some quality time with her family. That is, until she learns a Grinch by the name of Ben West has pulled the funding for her family’s rescue shelter. Suddenly, she’s scrambling to find a new home for twelve dogs. Ben feels guilty about the shelter closing, and so he agrees to help Ally adopt out the puppies. Of course, as the two spend time together, they realize they have more in common than they originally thought.
If you’re looking for some good old-fashioned cowboy Christmas cheer this holiday season, check out Wishing on a Christmas Cowboy by Sarah Richardson. Pediatric nurse Kyra Fowler has just lined up her dream job at the most prestigious children’s hospital in London. But there’s one problem; she’s just inherited the small Wyoming town of Star Valley. Kyra is confident that she can sell Star Valley by the New Year, and so she heads to Star Valley for the holidays. But ex-Navy SEAL Aiden Steele has other ideas. His plan? Show Kyra the sights and let the Christmas spirit work its magic. By the time he’s done with her, Aiden is certain Kyra will fall in love with Star Valley.
Christmas at Fireside Cabins is a heartwarming holiday story all about finding your home away from home. Lila Evans is having a hard time with the holidays coming up, but the countryside retreat of Fireside Cabins sounds like the perfect place to create new holiday traditions and memories. But Lila isn’t getting the warm welcome she’d expected from the small town of Pinewood Hills. Especially not from Theo Perry, the gruff owner of the local coffee shop. But there’s more to Theo than meets the eye, and the more Lila and Theo run into one another, the more Lila begins to thaw his icy heart.
Emily Martin has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi. She’s a contributing editor at Book Riot and blogs/podcasts at Book Squad Goals.