Holiday Book Recommendations for 2023

Books, Holiday 2023

My favorite time of year for reading continues! There is still plenty of time for fall reading, but I am ready to get into some holiday themed reads. When it comes to holiday books, I tend to gravitate toward easy, feel-good, fun romances that are likened to a TV holiday special or rom-com. There is just something so delightful about holiday reading.

I created a list of some holiday books that I have read and would recommend. At the end of this post are books I am hoping to read this holiday season. I surely will not get to them all, but I cannot wait to cozy up with a blanket, a cup of tea, and get lost in these holiday stories.

Holiday Books I Have Read and Recommend

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox ||I love a good holiday book that is centered around food. Our female protagonist, Charlie Goodwin, suffers a concussion and loses her sense of taste, which is crucial to her job as a chef. She has been working toward a promotion and begs her twin sister, Cass, to switch places with her. Charlie takes over the family bakery while Cass pretends to be her. This book is sweet and delightful, if you are a fan of the Princess Switch movies on Netflix, you will enjoy this!

One Day in December by Josie Silver || A second chance love story that takes place over the course of 10 years. A winter romance that will have you rooting for the main characters! This would be a good book to read around the new year.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas || If you have read the ACOTAR series and have not picked up this novella, the holiday season is the perfect time! If ACOTAR was a TV series, think of this book as a special holiday episode. The story follows our favorite characters during the Winter Solstice celebration. It’s cute and fun, with no real plot, and sets up the next book in the series. However, you don’t necessarily need to read it before ACOSF.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousins || Two women are in the hospital in labor on new years eve and there is a cash prize for the first baby born in 1990. One of those babies, Quinn, who wins the cash prize, will be born into a charmed life, the other is Minnie Cooper. Minnie continues to have the most unfortunate luck year after year. She meets Quinn for the first time on their mutual 30th birthday in a delightful meet cute situation. It’s a fun enemies to lovers story that I could totally picture as a rom-com movie!

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borrison || This is one of my favorite holiday reads! If you read one book from this list, I recommend it be this one. A Christmas tree farm owner, Stella Bloom, is up to her eyeballs in debt. She applies for a contest through a famous social media influencer and all she has to do is charm her to win a cash prize and a feature on social media. The only problem is she lied on her application and said she owned the tree farm with her boyfriend (who doesn’t exist). Enter, Luka, Stella’s best friend, to save the day…see where this is going? You will not only fall in love with these two main characters, but there are so many secondary characters in this book that are just a delight.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone || I am not sure why I always associate the Harry Potter series with the holidays. I have been a big reader all my life, but this series was the first series that truly consumed all my thoughts after reading it. I remember spending ALL DAY in a cozy chair at my grandparents house reading this book when it first came out, I think I was only 9 or 10 at the time. The Christmas celebration scene in this book includes important plot points and there is something magical about reading this series during the holiday season.