Holiday Romance Novella Recommendations: CHRISTMAS
We reached out to Whoa!mantics on our Instagram and Twitter for December Holiday Romance Novella recommendations and got back some real winter winners.
Novellas are ideal for just a taste of holiday cheer in your regular reading rotation. So we are excited to share this sampler of stocking stuffers.
In case you’d like to stuff your very own stocking, or the stocking of a friend, with these books, we’ve included relevant links to the author’s website. No ad, no affiliate stuff, so don’t worry about accidentally supporting us. (If you’d like to support us on purpose…)
Mangos & Mistletoe by Adrianna Herrera
The MC is a baker, ultimate contempo-Christmas content career. And she moves from the Dominican Republic to Scotland. So some unexpected fish-out-of-water stuff is in there as well.
Per the GoodReads:
Kiskeya Burgos left the tropical beaches of the Dominican Republic with a lot to prove. As a pastry chef on the come up, when she arrives in Scotland, she has one goal in mind: win the Holiday Baking Challenge. Winning is her opportunity to prove to her family, her former boss, and most importantly herself, she can make it in the culinary world. Kiskeya will stop at nothing to win , that is, if she can keep her eyes on the prize and off her infuriating teammate's perfect lips.
Sully Morales, home cooking hustler, and self-proclaimed baking brujita lands in Scotland on a quest to find her purpose after spending years as her family’s caregiver. But now, with her home life back on track, it's time for Sully to get reacquainted with her greatest love, baking. Winning the Holiday Baking Challenge is a no brainer if she can convince her grumpy AF baking partner that they make a great team both in and out of the kitchen before an unexpected betrayal ends their chance to attain culinary competition glory.
One Bed For Christmas by Jackie Lau
Episode coming soon!
Friends to lovers, if you’re asking me, makes the most sense in the short run. Not unlike just one bed! And this novel delivers faster than Santa with ten full-size reindeer (would tiny ones be faster actually?)
Per the GoodReads:
Let me be clear: I’ve been friends with Caitlin Ng for more than a decade, and I’ve had a crush on her for just as long. And I’ve known, all that time, that I wasn’t her type.
When we met, we were both studying computer engineering at university. She was near the top of the class, and I was in danger of flunking out. Now, she’s a CEO, and I, well…
I’m wearing an inflatable T-Rex costume and dancing along to Christmas carols sung by an elderly barbershop quartet.
Yes, I’m being paid to do this.
And that’s how Caitlin finds me when she leaves work late in the middle of a snowstorm. She asks to stay with me because her house is farther away and her power is out. Of course, I say yes.
When the heat goes out in my apartment and she asks me to join her in bed to snuggle for warmth, I say yes, too.
But being so close to her is dangerous for my heart…or could a weekend of Christmas fun actually lead to the romance I desire?
A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant
Episode coming soon!
This one was ADAMANTLY requested by many, including the Scarlett Peckham who recommended it thrice.
Per the GoodReads:
It should have been simple...
With one more errand to go—the purchase of a hunting falcon—Andrew Blackshear has Christmas completely under control. As his sister's impending marriage signals the inevitable drifting-apart of the Blackshear family, it's his last chance to give his siblings the sort of memorable, well-planned holiday their parents could never seem to provide.
He has no time to dawdle, no time for nonsense, and certainly no time to drive the falconer's vexing, impulsive, lush-lipped, midnight-haired daughter to a house party before heading home. So why the devil did he agree to do just that?
It couldn't be more deliciously mixed-up...
Lucy Sharp has been waiting all her too-quiet life for an adventure, and she means to make the most of this one. She's going to enjoy the house party as no one has ever enjoyed a house party before, and in the meanwhile she's going to enjoy every minute in the company of amusingly stern, formidably proper, outrageously handsome Mr. Blackshear. Let him disapprove of her all he likes—it's not as though they'll see each other again after today.
...or will they? When a carriage mishap and a snowstorm strand the pair miles short of their destination, threatening them with scandal and jeopardizing all their Christmas plans, they'll have to work together to save the holiday from disaster. And along the way they just might learn that the best adventures are the ones you never would have thought to plan.
A Kiss For Midwinter by Courtney Milan
Milan is beloved for a reason, so this feels like a reliable choice in a season when reliable sounds so nice.
Per the GoodReads:
Miss Lydia Charingford is always cheerful, and never more so than at Christmas time. But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way.
Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...
A Kiss for Midwinter is a novella (38,000 words) in the Brothers Sinister series. It follows The Duchess War. Each book stands on its own, but those who prefer to read in order might want to read that book first.
The Captain’s Midwinter Bride by Liana De La Rosa
Jeez, how nice would it be if Christmas was really mid-winter and not early winter? This is mostly a localized problem, but typing it up a second time really made me think…
Per the GoodReads:
Life at sea sharpened Captain Phillip Dalton into a shrewd and strategic military man...yet none of those skills prepared him for the intricacies of planning his daughter’s upcoming Christmas wedding. His family, most especially his wife, are all but strangers to him thanks to his service to the Crown. But if Phillip finds himself bewitched by his practical, charming, and guileless wife, he does his best to hide his struggles.
Annalise Dalton raised two children and built a comfortable life for herself while her husband of convenience provided for them from afar. But now Phillip's home to stay, and she finds it impossible to ignore his gruff manner, brilliant blue eyes, or the gentle way he looks after her needs. And if Annalise is unnerved by the budding feelings her husband inspires in her, she does her best to hide how they unsettle her.
When past secrets and misunderstandings threaten the tenuous steps they've taken to create a real and loving marriage, can Phillip and Annalise overcome the years they spent apart to forge a happy future together, and for every Christmas to come?
His Brother’s Christmas Bride by Aislinn Kearns
A Jerry Springer concept, in a Christmas bow! The salacious title rivals that of its inspo - “While You Were Sleeping”.
Per the GoodReads:
Is she really the woman he thought?
Will Callaghan wants nothing more than to lick his post-divorce wounds in peace, so he’s spent the last two years hiding in the family estate outside the city. But then his brother calls to announce he’s getting married there to a woman Will has never met. Worse, the wedding is on Christmas Eve—six days away—and the bride is arriving early to make last minute arrangements.
When Molly Patterson steps out of her car, Will knows instantly he’s in trouble. His brother’s future wife is exactly his idea of a perfect woman, and as the days pass, he increasingly struggles to keep his loyalty to his brother and his honor intact.
But when his brother finally shows up, Will realizes Molly might not be the woman he’d thought…
A Timeless Christmas by Alexis Stanton
Now a Hallmark Channel original movie—need we say more?
Per GoodReads:
Megan Turner is in love with the past. As a tour guide at a beautiful historic mansion, she tells visitors about its original owner, Charles Whitley. An inventor and businessman in the early 1900s, he rose from poverty to wealth…only to disappear without a trace.
Charles was always intrigued by the future. He just never expected to go there. But when he repairs a mysterious clock he bought on his travels, he’s transported to the twenty-first century, with his home decorated for Christmas and overrun by strangers.
Charles is determined to find a way back to his own era, especially when he learns about what happened after he left. But as Megan introduces him to the wonders of smartphones, pizza, and modern holiday traditions, they both feel a once-in-a-lifetime connection. Could it be that, somewhere in time, they belong together?