Hi there, friends! Today’s blog is a little different than normal!
It’s the first day of Hanukkah, and I want to take it easy and spend time with my family. I have asked for some holiday recommendations (some of which I’ve had the pleasure of reading) and compiled a list!
First, I want to give a major shout-out to Jae, who made a monstrous list of sapphic holiday books! Many of these recommendations were found on this list, and I cannot recommend it enough if you’re looking for a little Sapphic cheer!
Looking for a Clean Anthology?
CHristmas in Sweetheart Springs: An Anthology Prequel
A closed-door, “clean romance” anthology penned by the incredibly talented Monique Brasher, Kimberly Hanson, and B. Burton.
A Sweetheart Christmas: A Sweetheart Springs Novel
Stepping foot in Sweetheart Springs on the eve of their annual Christmas festival felt surreal. Previously, the town and festival held an air of magic for Ellie Johnson, now it only brought sadness and regret. She needed to decide if she could ignore the ghosts of her Christmas past and move on, although in a small town, it didn’t seem likely.
Having spent the last ten years of her life building up her own graphic design business in New York City, the last thing she ever considered doing was moving back to her small hometown. Especially when her thoughts tended to stray back to her first love, Tommy Donovan. But now with a failed marriage and debt piling up with the rising costs of the big city, she didn’t have much of a choice.
There weren’t many things in Tommy Donovan was proud of. Spending his life trying to do the ‘right thing’ had left him as a single dad, stuck working for his dad’s business, and abandoning anything he’d ever wanted for himself. The only silver lining was his son, Adam. Six years old, funny, and too smart for his own good.
With the only woman who ever truly held his heart back in town, Tommy is forced to come to terms with his past while planning a future for himself and his son. Not sure if he’d be able to fully let his guard down, Tommy must decide if anything short of a Christmas miracle could make his heart open to love again and rekindle the dreams he thought were never meant to be.
Sugar Cookie Christmas: A Sweetheart Springs Novel
A decade ago they eloped in Vegas, and not long after her father demanded they get their marriage annulled. Too bad the paperwork went missing, and they’re actually still husband and wife.
Emma Watkins busted the century-and-a-half old myth that kissing your first love on the town’s historical bridge ends with a happily ever after. They kissed all right and even got married. But then her world spun on her its axis and fell apart when Miles broke her heart and all his promises, so she followed her dream to New York and made something truly successful of herself. When her sister calls and tells her things are dire on the family Christmas tree farm, Emma is on the first plane home to help save things.
Miles has poured himself into being the best sous chef he can be at one of the most premiere restaurants the local ski resort has to offer. It’s not the restaurant he always dreamed of opening himself, but he kissed that dream goodbye the night he left Emma waiting for him at the bus station, and never showed up. He never expected for her to come home, or to run into her almost everywhere.
And he certainly didn’t expect to get paired with her again for the Sweetheart Games, especially when he didn’t sign up.
The towns Matchmakers are at work again, trying to mend a marriage broken by young love and feuding families. Not only do they set Emma up for the annual Christmas bachelorette auction at the Christmas dance, they pair them together for the Christmas baking contest too. No matter how much distance they try to keep between each other, Emma and Miles find themselves stuck together at one holiday event after another, and eventually, their walls come down.
But will wounds from their past let them work enough toward the future to still have a happily ever after?
What about a Spicy Menage-a-Trois Romance? (M/F/M)
Merry “Chris” Mas
[Menage Amour: Erotic Menage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, HEA] Jilly Reimers wants love but can’t find it. Chris Spinell is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who suffers from PTSD and a haunting feeling that something is missing in his life. Chris Poole is also an Afghanistan war veteran is ready to break out of his shell but is unsure how. With Christmas just around the corner, they decide not to spend it alone. Believing The Love Play Matchmaking Service to be just what they need for a night of fun and passion, they sign up. But when the guys show up and see that they’ve been set up on a menage, the only one happy about it is Jilly. Their consultant, called an Eros, assures Jilly that the service has a perfect track record but she’s certain they’ll be the first ones to get their money back. Will they have a very merry Christmas? Or will the three spend yet another one alone? ** A Siren Erotic Romance
More bang for your buck? Here is a collection of four holiday novellas!
Falling In Love At Christmas
Grab some hot cocoa and get into the Christmas spirit with four heart-warming Christmas romance novellas by A.M. Olenick. Believe in the magic of love and of Christmas this holiday season.
For all you western lovers, don’t forget to save a horse and ride a cowboy this holiday season!
Snow On The Range
Every Christmas, Red Hart Ranch opens their doors, and Montana provides the perfect backdrop for good company and better food. But this year, the table won’t be as full.
Eve Beaumont is a twin heir to Red Hart Ranch. She loves the land, loves the people, and will do anything for them. Christmas sees most of the ranch hands return to their own homes to celebrate. Only a few long term cowboys remain with the family.
When Eve and her brother Trav go into town to collect supplies, they each bring home a drifter for Christmas. Rhys Archer and Simon Haldon are as different as two cowpokes can be. One rough edged who can work the land and animals with a firm hand; the other a smooth talker with a devilish charm. Eve finds both men attractive against her better judgement, but when tragedy hits the ranch, romance is the last thing on her mind.
Vandalisms happen around the ranch, and Eve isn’t sure who she can trust. She knows neither man is who he pretends to be — but when no one listens to her, she has to prove her suspicions on her own.
Maybe you’re in the mood for a second chance?
Mugshots and Candy Canes
Ally royally screwed up her job as an Internal Affairs officer in Melbourne, interrupting Cal and Danny’s investigation. When her boss offers her a second chance over Christmas, she jumps at the opportunity to make up for her mistakes, and start the new year with a fresh start. The catch? She’s going undercover to audition for a place in the task force she deceived.
Cal’s team is the best there is, and if Ally wants to resurrect her career, she needs to have this job completed by Christmas. Brett Walker is her point of contact within the small time drug racket. Sexy as hell with an easy going smile, he’s a crook and she can’t trust him.
As they work more closely together, Ally suspects there’s more to his story, and she’s determined to discover who he really is.
Feeling something a little less normal? Maybe paranormal?
Dear Monster Claus
Honorary mention to the lovely @emsreviewsandrecs who suggested this book for the list! Go check her out to read her review!
***
Her entire life, Xo has brought others happiness and love, complete with endings tied in pretty little bows.
This year, she wants that for herself.
Love.
Romance.
A happy ending.
And there’s a grumpy Santa who’s more than willing to grant her this wish in exchange for finding his love for Christmas again.
Where there are candy canes, there are happily ever afters… and they’re both about to find theirs.
This is a standalone holiday 40k word novella.
Craving paranormal, but want something sapphic? We got you!
A Wolf For The Holidays
Mandy’s not having a great December. She was given a rescue “dog” (who looks much more like a wolf) by her lackluster girlfriend as a Christmas present. Mandy lives in a studio apartment and can’t keep her new pet, but that turns out to be the least of her problems when she’s woken up in the middle of the night by a gorgeous naked woman…who just happens to be stealing a pair of jeans from her dresser.
Paige isn’t a thief…she wants Mandy to believe she’s a werewolf, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and through a series of unfortunate events, ended up at an animal shelter. That’s an unbelievable idea for Mandy…until Paige transforms in front of her.
But the worst part? Paige’s sister is still at the pound, still masquerading as a wolf-dog, because to transform to her human form would be to out werewolves to the world, something that can never be done.
A madcap rescue and a holiday romance to warm your heart await you in A WOLF FOR THE HOLIDAYS. This novella is approximately 22,000 words.
Not into sapphic werewolves? How about vampires? With a sense of humor? Oh my!
Holidays Bite
Nobody bothered to tell Malia Ward that vampires existed.
When she landed a new job at the nearby cafe, Malia thought she’d be dealing with hangry customers and messy tables at most.
She had no idea the job would include catering to the needs of the supernatural and the super-normal alike.
With a rush of holiday shoppers piled into the cafe, half the customers ordering off a secret menu, and drink requests piling up, no one seems satisfied with the service they’re getting. Being flustered by the attractive businesswoman isn’t helping Malia pick up the pace, either.
If only she could figure out what a Troubleshot was and how to make it, things might just turn out okay.
Beatrice doesn’t date humans who don’t know what she is.
However, there’s something tempting about the oblivious barista who gave her whiskey in her coffee instead of blood.
So she doesn’t shoot Malia down when the human shows interest.
Determined to open Malia’s eyes before their date on Christmas Eve, Beatrice finds herself offering Malia a job at her supernatural events firm and throwing every occult encounter at Malia that she can.
Nothing works, though, and if Beatrice can’t find a way to tell Malia she’s a vampire then their plans for the holidays are really going to bite!
This is the holiday romance you’re going to want to sink your teeth into!
Check out this adorable lesfic romcom that melted my heart and maybe made my eyes leak. Just a little.
Written In The Stars
A National Bestseller and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Romance! Featured on Shondaland, Oprah Mag, Bustle, The New York Times Book Review, Buzzfeed, POPSUGAR, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, NPR, Culturess, Vulture, and more. Named one of the Best Romances of 2020 by Washington Post, Bustle, and Buzzfeed!
With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride & Prejudice, this debut is a delightful queer rom-com about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with a grumpy actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!
After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.
Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.
Darcy begs Elle to play along and she agrees to pretend they’re dating. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family during the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a faux relationship. But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?
“Everything I want from a rom-com: fun, whimsical, sexy.” – Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Join me in reading my Book of the Month selection! A lesfic romcom? Clearly I have a type.
Kiss Her Once For Me
The author of the “swoon-worthy debut” (Harper’s Bazaar) The Charm Offensive returns with a festive romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister.
One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.
Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.
Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and One Day in December, Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.
Looking for something sapphic and jewish? Mazel!
How to Excavate a Heart
Stonewall Honor author Jake Maia Arlow delivers a sapphic Jewish twist on the classic Christmas rom-com in a read perfect for fans of Kelly Quindlen and Casey McQuiston.
It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.
Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.
It could be going better.
But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup.
Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?
What about a Christmas in Jamaica? Don’t mind if we do!
Grand Market Bliss: Christmas In Jamaica
It’s Christmas Eve in Jamaica, and Hunter and Sinclair are celebrating. Along with their family and friends, they’re getting ready for Grand Market, a night of music, food, and holiday-making under the stars.
But the rumblings of another couple’s relationship disintegrating around them threaten the happiness they’ve created together. This destruction shakes Hunter’s confidence and exposes a vulnerability she never knew existed.
Can she find her feet again, and still have Sinclair by her side?
What about a Sapphic story that pulls at your heartstrings?
The Bluest Christmas: African American Lesbian Holiday Romance
For Lynn Harris, Christmas isn’t the most wonderful time of the year. She finds no joy in lights, decorated trees or anything that jingles and that’s just how it is. She’s guarded, a little depressed, too particular and downright miserable leaving her with very few friends and closed off from family.
Her quiet life takes an interesting turn when tasked with enforcing an eviction on a young woman, Nola Wiles and her baby, who are in hiding from her abusive husband. Against professional rules and her own sense of judgment, Lynn makes a crazy decision to help her.
As the pair quickly make themselves at home in her house and rearrange her life against her will, she begins to learn that maybe, she was the one who really needed their help after all.
How about: Holidays, but make it sci-fi? And gay?
The Alien’s Reindeer
Christmas is coming and the aliens of Kyven want a reindeer as a surprise for their humans. How were they to know that even a small reindeer herd needed a human to tend them?
An out-of-this-world f/f alien holiday romance between a human woman and a beautiful alien female. This is a standalone sapphic love story with a guaranteed happy end. If you love lesbian romance, cute animals, and humorous science fiction, this series will make you laugh, swoon, and wish you had your own alien mate.
What’s on your holiday reading list? I’d love to know! Let me know in the comment section down below!
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Ivy Whitaker 