Book picks similar to
The First Noël at the Villa des Violettes by Patricia Sands
christmas
france
fiction
romance
The Bride Wore Mistletoe
Christina Skye
My novella is included right now in the paperback edition of her best-selling Christmas book, Mr Miracle. You can purchase the two combined stories now wherever books are sold.
The Parisian Christmas Bake Off
Jenny Oliver - 2013
But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!
Sleep In Heavenly Peace Inn
Malinda Martin - 2014
What could be a better destination for the holidays than a peaceful inn tucked in the picturesque mountains of Vermont? But when a blizzard hits, three couples will be forced to deal not only with the weather but also with the reality of their relationships. Mary Michaels, competent innkeeper is very good at her job. And at hiding her growing attraction for the inn’s handyman, Joe Puletti. Friend of her late husband, Joe is a great catch, but with a five-year old son and complications from her past, Mary is not. Lila Benson needs to reinvent her life. What the quiet, second grade teacher doesn’t need is to run into a face from her past—Dan Hamilton, football star that she helped tutor in high school. And fell hopelessly in love with. Celia and Richard Davis have brought their children Kevin and Jenna for a family vacation. It will be their last since the divorce will be final soon. However, Kevin and Jenna have hopes that a little time together is all their parents need to heal their family. Can these relationships be saved? Anything’s possible at Christmas. Especially with the help of three children, a man with a white beard, the inn’s mysterious manager, and a reindeer.
Merry, Merry
Fern Michaels - 2012
Well, if cosmetic king Peter King thinks he's going to buy struggling veterinarian Andi Evans's family property out from under her, he's got another thing coming. This Christmas, Andi is not in a giving mood…but is she ready to receive something her heart never expected?
Praise for Fern Michaels and her novels
“Heartbreaking, suspenseful, and tender.”—Booklist on Return to Sender“Fast-moving…entertaining…a roller-coaster ride of serendipitous fun.”—Publishers Weekly on Mr. and Miss Anonymous33,500 Words.
Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky
Holly Martin - 2016
She calls nowhere home, she works alone and that’s how she likes it. For long ago Piper decided that to protect her heart she should lock it away. So when Piper’s next assignment brings her to the newly opened Stardust Lake Hotel for the festive season, the last person she expects to face is Gabe Whitaker, the man who broke her heart so completely she could never love again. But Piper isn’t the only one who has been frozen in time by heartbreak. Gabe hasn’t forgotten the golden-eyed girl who disappeared from his world without a trace. Now fate has reunited them on Juniper island, can the magic of Christmas heal old wounds? And can this enchanting town be the one place Piper can finally call home? Curl up with this gorgeously romantic tale and let the glistening snow and the roaring fires of Stardust Lake Hotel get you in the festive spirit this Christmas.
One More Christmas at the Castle
Trisha Ashley - 2021
Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers as a child, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day.Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought. But when the snow begins to fall and Sabine's family arrive at the house - including Dido's teenage crush Xan - tensions rise around the castle's future and long-buried mysteries begin to unravel...As past secrets come to light, can this still be a magical Christmas to remember?_________Praise for Trisha Ashley:'One of the best writers around' Katie Fforde'Full of down-to-earth humour' Sophie Kinsella'A warm-hearted and comforting read' Carole Matthews
The Charm Bracelet
Melissa Hill - 2012
Many years ago she was sent one with just a single charm attached. The charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life. As a result, Holly's bracelet is her most prized possession. So when she finds someone else's charm bracelet, she feels she has to try to reunite it with its owner. Even if the only way she can is to use each charm to help discover more about them. In a search that will take her all over New York City at Christmas, Holly becomes ever more determined to piece together the details of this other charmed life. But what she doesn't know is that her quest may also lead her somewhere she never, ever expected...
The Christmas Collector
Kristina McMorris - 2017
. . Toss, repair, sell, repeat. Most of the time, people are grateful for estate liquidator Jenna Matthews’ organizing services. Not Reece Porter, her new client’s handsome but grouchy grandson. As far as he’s concerned Jenna is a vulture, picking through his late grandfather’s treasures, during the holidays, no less. Personally, Jenna isn’t one for Christmas nostalgia, or any kind of nostalgia. Plus, she’s just doing her job. But when she and Reece are drawn together in an emergency, it becomes clear there’s a whole other kind of tension between them, one that’s pure electricity. And when Jenna discovers keepsakes that suggest an intriguing Porter family secret, unwrapping the mystery leads both Jenna and Reese to the greatest gifts of the holidays—and the truth in their hearts. . . PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF KRISTINA McMORRIS
THE EDGE OF LOST
“Compelling, resonant and deeply moving, The Edge of Lost is an absorbing tale of deceit and self-deception, survival and second chances, the ties that bind and the lure of the unknown.”--Christina Baker Kline, # 1 New York Times bestselling author “Will grab your heart on page one and won’t let go until the end. I absolutely love this book, and so will you.” --Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants “Kristina McMorris takes us on a thrilling ride from the Emerald Isle, to the boroughs of New York, to the ‘Rock’ of Alcatraz. I found myself thoroughly immersed in her richly evocative settings, just as I was captivated by the pure humanity of her characters as they struggled for redemption. This book is a wonderful read!”--David R. Gillham, New York Times bestselling author of City of Women “I adore everything that Kristina McMorris writes and this book is no exception.”--Jennifer Robson, author of Somewhere in France “A beautifully told story about a young man’s journey through adversity and loss with an exhilarating ending that I couldn’t put down and stayed up well past my bedtime to finish.”--Charles Belfoure, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Architect “An absorbing, addictive read.”--Beatriz Williams
THE PIECES WE KEEP
“McMorris’s strong pacing keeps the two stories zipping along and all its many strings connected for a gratifying conclusion.”--Kirkus Reviews
BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES
“Impeccably researched and beautifully written.” --Karen White LETTERS FROM HOME “An absolutely lovely debut novel filled with endearing chara
The Season of Us
Holly Chamberlin - 2016
To Gincy Gannon Luongo, it was a place to escape from, as quickly and as permanently as she could. Since she moved away twenty years ago, Appleville has been her hometown in name only. But at her brother Tommy’s urging, Gincy is coming back to visit their recently widowed mother in the weeks leading up to Christmas—and she’s bringing her teenage daughter, Tamsin, with her.Ellen Gannon, once feisty and strong-willed, is mired in depression six months after losing her husband. Tommy isn’t doing much better. Gincy starts restoring order to the household in her usual practical way, but the real issues run much deeper than an empty fridge or an unpaid bill. Imagined slights and lingering resentments have created chasms between them all.With each passing day, Gincy realizes she has seriously undervalued her mother and underestimated her brother. Only now, with the support of her husband, daughter, and best friends, is she starting to see how much she may have missed. For beyond the surface of every family and every picturesque town is something more complicated but infinitely more rewarding—a tapestry of those small acts of acceptance, love, and loyalty that could transform this Christmas into the best Gincy’s ever known.Praise for the novels of Holly Chamberlin“Chamberlin’s latest is a great summer read but with substance. It will find a wide audience in its exploration of sisterhood, family, and loss.” – Library Journal on Summer with My Sisters“Nostalgia over real-life friendships lost and regained pulls readers into the story.” —USA Today on Summer Friends“A thoughtful social commentary and tender narration of friendship and loyalty.” --Publishers Weekly on Last Summer“A dramatic and moving portrait of several generations of a family and each person’s place within it.” --Booklist on The Family Beach House
Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners
Gretchen Anthony - 2018
And this year she's going to throw her husband, Ed, a truly perfect retirement party, one worthy of memorializing in her upcoming letter. But the event becomes a disaster when, in front of two hundred guests, Violet learns her daughter Cerise has been keeping a shocking secret from her, shattering Violet's carefully constructed world.In an epic battle of wills, Violet goes to increasing lengths to wrest back control of her family, infuriating Cerise and snaring their family and friends in a very un-Midwestern, un-Baumgartner gyre of dramatics. And there will be no explaining away the consequences in this year's Baumgartner holiday letter...Full of humor, emotion and surprises at every turn, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners brings to life a remarkable cast of quirky, deeply human characters who must learn to adapt to the unconventional, or else risk losing one another. This is the story of a family falling to pieces--and the unexpected way they put it all back together.
Rockin' Around That Christmas Tree
Donna Hill - 2003
As a matter of fact, it seems that is all she has been in the twenty-plus years she and her husband, Edward, have been married. But the kids are grown and out of the house, and she's ready to live a few dreams of her own. Edward, however, would like to keep things just the way they are, and Denise realizes that if she doesn't do something drastic, then all she will ever be is a mother and wife. When Denise drops the bomb at Thanksgiving dinner that she is leaving Edward and selling the house, everyone is stunned, and her announcement opens the door to Morrison Family Dysfunction 101. Edward moves in with his crazy Aunt Etta, their daughter Christine moves back home when she suspects her husband is cheating on her, and their son Anthony is simply dazed and confused. In the midst of it all, Edward hatches a plan to get his wife back. Not only does he plan to be back at home and in their bed, but he also knows that, come Christmas, he and Denise will be...Rockin' Around That Christmas Tree.
A Wedding in December
Sarah Morgan - 2019
First to arrive are the bride’s parents, Maggie and Nick. Their daughter’s marriage is a milestone they are determined to celebrate wholeheartedly, but they are hiding a huge secret of their own: they are on the brink of divorce. After living apart for the last six months, the last thing they need is to be trapped together in an irresistibly romantic winter wonderland.Rosie’s older sister, Katie, is also dreading the wedding. Worried that impulsive, sweet-hearted Rosie is making a mistake, Katie is determined to save her sister from herself! If only the irritatingly good-looking best man, Jordan, would stop interfering with her plans…Bride-to-be Rosie loves her fiancé but is having serious second thoughts. Except everyone has arrived—how can she tell them she’s not sure? As the big day gets closer, and emotions run even higher, this is one White family Christmas none of them will ever forget!
The Oddest Little Mistletoe Shop
Beth Good - 2017
Rose Mistletoe runs her family's flower shop on Christmas Parade, and loves every minute of her job. So when the Parade comes under acquisition by a redevelopment company, Rose forms a protest group against the bid. But business tycoon Nick Grimsby is determined to make her sell up. His company is planning to knock down the parade of traditional shops and build a block of exclusive apartments instead. And it seems the sexy billionaire will go to any lengths to get her shop. As Christmas approaches and Nick dangles the proverbial mistletoe, can Rose resist his powerful allure? Given how gorgeous he looks in a tuxedo, the answer is probably no. But she's not going to make it easy for him! Because Rose has secret plans of her own ... Warning! This romcom novella contains jokes, oodles of romance, festive wreaths, mistletoe, holly, and a sprinkling of paper hats. Another quirky romcom in the popular 'Oddest Little Shop' series from Beth Good. Titles can be read in any order.
Christmas Ever After
Karen Schaler - 2020
Scrambling for an answer, she quickly answers that she has had great love in her past and that love inspired her novels.Little does she know that this one offhanded remark will turn her world upside down. Three of her ex-boyfriends see the interview, and each, believing she’s talking about him, shows up for her Christmas Camp book event at the Christmas Lake Lodge, determined to rewrite his happily-ever-after with her!Over the festive weekend, Riley’s old boyfriends compete to win her heart, pulling out all the stops while planning the most romantic Christmas dates on the planet. Despite herself, Riley starts falling for each guy— again—but for different reasons. As Riley revisits each relationship and discovers more about herself, she embraces the magic of Christmas and finally finds true love and her own Christmas ever after...Bonus Content: Christmas Ever After includes delicious original Christmas recipes and fun holiday crafts and activities
Being Mary Ro
Ida Linehan Young - 2018
When a series of dramatic events brings a strange man to her door, Mary emerges from the comfortable isolation that she knows to follow her dreams in Boston. Those desires do not come without sacrifice and hard choices. When her past comes back to haunt her, Mary must decide whether there is room for both her aspirations and her heart—or if she must surrender one to have the other.