Halloween is less than two weeks away, but already many people’s minds are tuned to Christmas. Big-Box Retailers rolled out holiday decor weeks ago, and the Hallmark Channel launches its Countdown to Christmas this Friday (yeah, as in, tomorrow)! It seems like Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year, doesn’t it? My daughter and I have a “rule” that we can start listening to Christmas music in earnest beginning November first. Before then, I try very hard to avoid giving the season too much space in my crowded brain.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is reading Christmasy books. Each year, numerous novelists put out Christmas-themed or Christmastime-set stories. A lot of my most beloved, go-to authors publish Christmas novellas during the holidays. I particularly love these shorter stories because I can read more of them. It’s easier to fit in a novella over a full-length novel between all the holiday goings-on.
I love finding new Christmas stories to read, but also have my faves that I re-read most years. This year, I have already broken my Christmas-after-Halloween rule and re-listened to the audiobook for The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham. I could not help myself. Perhaps it’s because Ms. Basham is publishing a second book featuring the beloved Lord and Lady Astley from Mistletoe, and I’ve been seeing lots of hype over The Cairo Curse. I am so looking forward to this next book (which is not Christmas-themed), I had to revisit Frederick and Grace in the Christmas-time set Mistletoe Countess. Now that I’ve broken the seal, I’m tempted to jump headfirst into all the Christmas books.
I’ve begun making note of some of my go-to authors publishing Christmas stories. Here are a handful of new Christmas books launching this year that I’ve already added to my TBR list:
Second Chance Christmas, novel, Betsy St. Amant
Merry Ex-Mas, novel, Courtney Walsh
Christmas on King Street, novella, Ashley Clark
Sugar and Spice, novella (part of the Love in Any Season Collection), Heather Greer
A Texas Christmas Carol, novella, Karen Witemeyer
I will continue combing through several Christmas stories new release posts from my social media reading groups to add to this list.
Below are several Christmas books I’ve previously read, many of which I plan to re-read this holiday season:
As mentioned above, The Mistletoe Countess, novel (first in Frederick & Grace Mystery Series), Pepper Basham
A Cliché Christmas, novel (first in Love in Lenox Series), Nicole Deese
A Cross-Country Christmas, novel, Courtney Walsh
Christmas at the Circus, novella (connected to The Lady and the Lionheart), Joanne Bischof
Catching Christmas, novella, Terri Blackstock
The Ornament Keeper, novella, Eva Marie Everson
A December Bride, novella (set in Hunter’s Chapel Springs Universe), Denise Hunter
A Sugar Creek Christmas, novella (set in Jones’ Sugar Creek Universe), Jenny B. Jones
An Ivy Hill Christmas, novella (part of Tale from Ivy Hill Series), Julie Klassen
One Enchanted Christmas, novella (connected to the Walker Family and Maple Valley Series), Melissa Tagg
One Enchanted Eve, novella (connected to the Walker Family and Maple Valley Series), Melissa Tagg
The Proposal, novella (part of the Porter Family Series), Becky Wade
Because of You, novella (part of A Bradford Sisters Romance Series), Becky Wade
A Match Made at Christmas, novella (part of Nantucket Love Story Series), Courtney Walsh
An Old-Fashioned Texas Christmas, a 2-in-1 novella collection (part of Archer Brothers Series), Karen Witemeyer
Tin Can Serenade, short story, Amanda Dykes
Oh boy, looking over these lists has convinced me I need to get busy reading sooner rather than later. Do you enjoy reading Christmas-set books? What are your favorites? Will you add any of these to your holiday TBR list? And what would you recommend that I missed?