“No peeking.” The Christmas mantra of my childhood. Closets that held unwrapped gifts were strictly off-limits. You picked at any tear on a wrapped gift at your own peril. I remember when I used to eyeball the gifts piled underneath our Christmas tree, summoning my X-ray vision to try to see through the wrappings on the ones that were for me, alas, to no avail. Mom would say, “You want to be surprised on Christmas morning, don’t you?” But when you’re five there’s no such thing as deferred pleasure. The twelve days of Christmas can seem like an eternity.
Flash forward a few decades (who’s counting?) and you have the adult me celebrating the holiday season in a very different manner than the child me. I’m way more into what’s on my TBR than what’s under the Christmas tree, for instance. I’m a sucker for holiday-themed books and movies.
This year there’s a delightful crop of holiday-themed novels and novellas to choose from, some of the new releases, some of them newly reissued. Here are a few that I recommend:
Deck the Halls, by Donna Ball. I adore Donna Ball’s writing, and I’m not saying that just because she’s my critique partner. I was a fan long before she became my CT. Her latest, a trilogy of novellas featuring characters from her popular mystery series, is a pure delight. A mix of mystery and holiday spirit, stirred together to create highly entertaining stories. Here’s a synopsis.
Three holiday parties, three holiday mysteries featuring your favorite sleuths:
Raine Stockton and Cisco in Angels in the Snow
While preparing for the annual Dog Daze Christmas party, Raine leaves on a secret Christmas errand and becomes trapped in a blizzard. Injured and alone, with a desperate criminal on the loose, a surprising canine hero comes to her rescue. But is it all a product of her imagination, or a genuine Christmas miracle?
Flash and Aggie in The Good Shepherd
A missing infant, a holiday pageant, and a priest determined to do the right thing no matter what the cost all come together to present Dogleg Island police chief Aggie Malone and her canine assistant Flash with one of their most unusual cases yet. When a routine call escalates into a kidnapping on the eve of the annual Dogleg Island Police Department holiday open house, Flash and Aggie are held hostage by a desperate man whose only chance for redemption may be the grace of the holiday season.
Buck Lawson in Welcome to Bethlehem
Police chief Buck Lawson wants his first Christmas in his new hometown of Mercy, Georgia, to be a memorable one, both for his family and the police officers under his command. But while preparing to host the traditional police department Christmas party, Buck’s home is burglarized by a Middle Eastern man who may be connected to far more violent crimes. As the investigation unfolds and unsettling connections to the past come to light, Buck fears this Christmas will be memorable for all the wrong reasons.
It’s a Wonderful Wife, by Camille Pagan. Camille is a friend and one of my favorite authors. She’s also the queen of catchy titles. Every time I see she has a new release, it goes straight onto my Kindle. I always know I’m in for a treat. Her new book is no exception.
Coincidence … or Christmas miracle?
Bailey George’s life hasn’t turned out quite like she hoped it would. She doesn’t have the children she always longed for, and her husband, Chris, barely seems to register her presence. Still, her nephew and nieces rely on her. So do most people in her small town, who works at the family cannery she’s run since her parents’ untimely deaths. She’s lucky—or so she tries to remind herself.
But just as a careless mistake threatens to sink her already-struggling business, Bailey discovers that Chris has been hiding something from her. And with Christmas Eve fast approaching, she finds herself on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Then Bailey runs into a handsome stranger who claims to know her—and through a series of strange events, helps her realize how much she’s impacted the people she loves.
In this charming retelling of Frank Capra’s classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, bestselling author Camille Pagán shines new light on what it takes to make a difference in this wonderfully messy world.
Comfort and Joy, by Kristin Hannah. If you’re one of my friend Kristin Hannah’s gazillion fans, she needs no introduction. Each of her novels is beautifully told and deeply felt, filled with memorable characters and fueled by propulsive pacing. This is one of her older titles and it’s every bit as delightful as any of her newer titles. I remember discussing it with her while she was writing it. Oh, my, where have the years gone?
Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind—to just walk away—and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined.
In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again.
But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy’s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love—and a family—that can’t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find.
It’s a Wonderful Christmas, is an anthology of novellas by five authors, one of whom is my friend Julie Cantrell, who writes like a dream, as you know if you’ve read one of her novels. The other authors are Lynne Gentry, Allison Pittman, Kelli Stuart, and Janyre Tromp. This holiday-themed anthology is a delicious reimagining of classic holiday movies. Better than chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Five bestselling authors have joined together to create this enchanting set of holiday novellas.
Nothing jump-starts Christmas nostalgia quite like the movies. With stirring images of snow-covered hills, crackling fireplaces, and happy families gathered around the decorated tree, these silver-screen tales capture all the magic and wonder of the season. Inspired by some of their favorite holiday films, each of these novelists has paid homage to the classic stories we all love, crafting an eclectic collection that delivers something for everyone.
From small-town romance to a Sugar Plum Fairy, this Christmas box set includes five stories sparked by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, The Nutcracker, and Remember the Night.
Topped with a whole lot of cheer and sentimentality, It’s a Wonderful Christmas: Classics Reimagined will delight readers from the first page to the last.
So grab a cup of hot cocoa, nestle under a cozy blanket, and enjoy these holiday stories in a whole new way!
For more holiday cheer of both the readable and edible varieties, check out this wonderful holiday-themed website.
Here’s the link to my recipe for pumpkin-chiffon pie that’s on it :
What brings you joy during the holiday season?
