To the festive at heart,
You have to love this time of year, unless you’re the Grinch or Jake Frost. In that case, I’ll give you the warm hug that will melt your heart in the right way, because darling you are so love. I love the holiday season with the pine scent, the cinnamon emanating in the air, the sweater weather, and NO SCHOOL.
That’s the only type of math I’ll be doing this winter break.
If you’re like me, you really stock up for the winter with trying to cram all the books you wanted to read during the school year. The holidays are also a great time to get in any last minute books you wanted to read before the end of the year. I don’t know about you, but I make a list each year of all the books I’ve read just so I can keep track to see how much I’ve read. It used to be that I would challenge myself to read more each year, but with school really kicking my butt, I have had less time to read, thus less books make my list. But that’s okay because I still read a good amount of books each year and reading is not a race, but a journey fo enjoyment. So as long as I take my time with reading the books I chose, then that’s all that matters. I would much rather take months to read a good book rather than two days just so I can make my list long.
My book list is by no means a naughty or nice list that I have to check off, so what’s the rush, right?
Anyway, nothing gets me more in the holiday spirit then reading holiday books or anything that has that feel to it. I thought you might like to also get in that same spirit as me, so without further ado, here are some of my holiday book recommendations:
Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregonâit’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.
Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.
By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.
A short read, but a meaningful one. One of my favorite Christmas books hands down with the romance, the family, and the heart. I love the Christmas tree farm Sierra’s family has and how Sierra finds love with Caleb despite what other people say. A romance with a holiday background, it’s like a Hallmark movie but for books đ
An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train, setting off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.
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A trio of todayâs bestselling authorsâJohn Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracleâbrings all the magic of the holidays to life in three hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and kisses that will steal your breath away.
It’s been fooooorevvver since I read this, so I can’t say I remember all the details, but I knew I had such a good time reading this book. I loved how the writing meshed together to create a beautiful story that was so connected with its characters and settings. Besides being related to Christmas, theres also romance and teenage issues everyone can find themselves in.
If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers (Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de La Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, Laini Tayler and Kiersten White), edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa, there’s something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.
There’s a story in here that everyone can truly fall in love with. I read this quite some time ago, but I remembered one of my favorite short stories was the one with the lumberjack, not sure that says much, but I think it says a lot that I remembered that specific story line. Anyway, such a cute read that will give you all the warm-fuzzies.
Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship.Â
Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.
When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.
This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever . . . or is it?
Recently got done reading this book, and I can throughly say it’s such a fun, heart-warming read about finding yourself when your lost and being grounded in your family
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now sheâs a girl who doesnât believe in second chances, a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her momâs diner and obsessing over what might have been.
    So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her lifeâand starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. Sheâs got a lot on her plate, and for a girl whoâs been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
    Itâs time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much sheâs willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last….
Not really a book about Christmas, but I remember reading it, it gave me all sorts of cozy vibes because of the baking and nothing says cozy to me more than Christmas!
What does it really mean to be kind . . . and why does it sometimes feel like the hardest thing in the world to do?
High school senior Kendall, who just returned from a life-changing semester in Europe, and Max, who is drifting his way through a gap year before college, struggle with these questions when they witness a tragic accident in New York City during the holiday season.
Racked with guilt, the two accept a dare to perform random acts of kindness to strangers. The challenge pulls these two teens, who have a history together from back home, closer and closer as they explore a vibrant city filled with other peopleâs stories and secrets.
Kendall and Max canât deny their growing bond, even though they both have other romantic entanglements and uncertain futures. As the clock counts down on New Yearâs Eve, will they find themselves together at midnight?
Jennifer Castleâs latest novel is a romantic, thought-provoking tale of human connection and how we findâand makeâour place in the world.
Dash and Lily have had a tough year since readers watched the couple fall in love in Dash & Lilyâs Book of Dares. Lilyâs beloved grandfather suffered a heart attack, and his difficult road to recovery has taken a major toll on her typically sunny disposition. Lilyâs spark has dimmed so much that Langston, her brother, has put aside his grudge against Dash to team up and remind Lily what there is to love about life.
With only twelve days left until ChristmasâLilyâs favorite time of the yearâDash, Langston, and their friends take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the holiday spirit of New York City in December, a time and place unlike anywhere else in the world. Told in alternating chapters, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily is bound to be a Christmas favorite for seasons to come.
It’s Christmas Eve at JFK in NYC.
Charlotte is a British student, waiting for a flight home after the worst semester of her life. Anthony is a native New Yorker, surprising his girlfriend at the airport after three months apart. Charlotte has just been dumped, and Anthony is about to be dumped, right in the middle of the holiday crowd.
Charlotte’s flight is canceled when a blizzard blows in, and Anthony can’t bear to go home. So, they set out into the city together, clutching a book Charlotte picks up in the airport gift shop: Ten Easy Steps for Getting Over Your Ex. For this one night, they’ll focus on healing their broken hearts … together.
Step-by-step, the two struggle to put the past behind them. But the snow is so enchanting, and the holiday lights are so beguiling, that soon their shared misery gives way to something else. Soon, they’re not only over their exes — they’re falling for each other.
Then a subway ride splits them up by mistake. Will they reunite before Charlotte’s flight leaves New York forever?
Part Before Sunrise, part Sleepless in Seattle, this delightful story will appeal to anyone who sees the romance in a swirl of snowflakes at the top of the Empire State Building, or anyone who’s wondered if true love was waiting at the other end of the airport ticket counter.
Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day
5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market
4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi
3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm
2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)
1) Being accusedâalong with her fellow teenage employeesâ of stealing upwards of $10,000
Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.
Over the course of one chaotic night stranded at the Denver airport, Ryn confronts her shattered past thanks to the charm of romance, the uniqueness of strangers, and the magic of ordinary places in this stunning novel from the author of Boys of Summer.
Ryn has one unread text message on her phone. And itâs been there for almost a year.
She hasnât tried to read it. She canât. She wonât. Because that one message is the last thing her best friend ever said to her before she died.
But as Ryn finds herself trapped in the Denver International Airport on New Yearâs Eve thanks to a never-ending blizzard on the one-year anniversary of her best friendâs death, fate literally runs into her.
And his name is Xander.
When the two accidentally swap phones, Ryn and Xander are thrust into the chaos of an unforgettable all-night adventure, filled with charming and mysterious strangers, a secret New Yearâs Eve bash, and a possible Illuminati conspiracy hidden within the Denver airport. But as the bizarre night continues, all Ryn can think about is that one unread text message. It follows her wherever she goes, because Ryn canât get her brialliantly wild and free-spirited best friend out of her head.
Ryn canât move on.
But tonight, for the first time ever, sheâs trying. And maybe thatâs a start.
As moving as it is funny, The Chaos of Standing Still is a heartwarming story about the earth-shattering challenges life throws at usâand the unexpected strangers who help us along the way.
Noah is a hopeless romantic. Heâs traveling home for one last chance with his first love, and he needs a miracle to win her back. Ammy doesnât believe in true loveâjust look at her parents. If thereâs one thing sheâs learned about love in the last year, itâs that it ends.
That is, until one winter night when Noah and Ammy find themselves in the same Amtrak car heading to Upstate New York. After a train-wreck first impression between the two of them, the Amtrak train suddenly breaks downâin the middle of a snowstorm.
Desperate to make it to their destinations, Noah and Ammy have no other option but to travel together. What starts off as a minor detour turns into the journey of a lifetime, but come morning their adventure takes an unexpected turn for the worst.
Can one night can really change how they feel about love…and the course of their lives forever?
Charlotte âCharlieâ Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. Heâs a star athlete, a National Honor Society member, and the most popular guy in school. Plus he contributes to the school paper, where Charlie is a co-editor. Basically, he’s exactly the type of guy Charlieâs looking for. The only problem isâhe barely knows she exists.
But Charlie has a plan: rig the paperâs Secret Santa and win his heart with the perfect gift. The catch? She has no idea what to get him. Enter J.D. OrtizâTeoâs cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. Heâs easy going, laid back, disorganized, and spontaneousâthe exact opposite
of Charlie (and Teo). But he knows what Teo wants, so sheâs stuck with him.
Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?
Shani Petroff’s newest young adult comedy of errors, My New Crush Gave to Me, is the perfect read for those searching for some love and laughter along with their holiday spirit.
If you have read any of these books, let me know what you think of them and we can discuss below? Any other holiday books that you would recommend to me? đ
No matter what type of holiday you are celebrating, I truly wish you nothing but love, peace, happiness, and festivity this season and every day.
I hope you have beautiful, wonderful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this.
And as always, with love,