Book picks similar to
Lost & Found in Copper Ridge by Harlow James
forced-proximity
christmas
holiday
holiday-reads
The Plight Before Christmas
Kate Stewart - 2021
And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.When Mom insisted that we all gather at my Grandparent’s ancient cabin for an old school family Christmas, I fully intended to get into the holiday spirit with the help of the three wise men, Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jim Beam. But those boys did absolutely nothing to offset the shock or temper the sting of seeing my EX on our doorstep the first day of our holiday soiree.Apparently, Santa missed the memo, and this elf is pissed.Stuck for a week with the man who obliterated my heart nearly two decades ago, I did the only thing I could do and put on my game face, thankful for the home advantage.I knew better than to drink that last cup of eggnog.I knew better than to get tongue tangled beneath the mistletoe with the only man to ever break my heart.I knew better than to sleep with Satan’s wingman on the eve of the Lord’s birthday.I could blame the nog. I could blame the deceitful light blue eyes, thick, angelic hair, and panty evaporating smirk…but mostly, I blame Eli because he always knew exactly which of my buttons to push.I foolishly thought a family Christmas filled with nostalgia was going to turn my inner Scrooge around, but this year’s festivities went up in flames. Leave it to the ghost of my Christmas past to be the one to light the match.Fa la la la la, la FML.
The Grump Who Stole Christmas
S. Doyle - 2021
Mistletoe and family. Except my dad broke his leg hanging the family wreath. My brothers are at war over taking proper care of Dad. Oh, and I just found out our family business, the Kringle Inn, is failing!The last thing I need is this mysterious new guy, who runs the Kringle tree farm, interfering. He’s big, bearded and grumpy. He wears a lot of flannel and he does NOT like taking orders. Especially from me. We can’t agree on anything other than saving the business.Even if we have to kill each other doing it. Or kiss each other doing it…Because I might be falling for the guy.My name is Kristen, don’t call me Kris, Kringle and this is a Christmas Romance Emergency!
Jingle Wars
R. Holmes - 2020
Holmes & Veronica Eden comes an all-new steamy new adult enemies-to-lovers holiday romcom standalone.Two inns, one town, and there’s not enough room for the both of them.Add in a reindeer-ish donkey, a Christmas competition, and a rivalry to end all rivalries and you’re bound to end up in disaster, right?Finn Mayberry has enough on his plate trying to keep his Grandparents inn afloat. The last thing he needed was some California state of mind starlet bulldozing into his town and throwing up a five-star resort right next to his family’s inn.But, now she’s here and he can’t get her out of his town or his head.Freya Anderson took one look at the snowcapped mountains of Hollyridge and fell in love. She’s finally here and ready to take on the task of proving to her father that she can handle running Alpine.She never expected to make enemies with the sinfully delicious lumberjack of a man who runs the inn next door. He’s moody, impossible and completely off limits.There can only be one winner, but you know what they say. All is fair in love and… Jingle Wars?
The Mistletoe Motive
Chloe Liese - 2021
She loves them. She’s full of festive cheer. He’s brimming with Bah, Humbugs. Besides unreasonably seasonable names, the only thing Jonathan Frost and Gabriella Di Natale have in common is a healthy dose of mutual contempt. Well, that and the same place of employment at the city’s most beloved independent bookstore, Bailey’s Bookshop. But when the store’s owners confess its dire financial state, Jonathan and Gabby discover another unfortunate commonality: the imminent threat of unemployment.With the Baileys’ requests to minimize expenses, win new customers, and make record sales dancing in their heads, Jonathan and Gabby conclude—barring a financial Christmas miracle—one of them will soon be cut from the payroll. Neither are willing to step down from their position, so they strike a bargain: whoever has more sales in December gets to stay on in the new year; the loser will resign. With a lifetime's worth of festive tricks up her sleeve, Gabby should easily outsell her nemesis, except the unreadable Mr. Frost’s every move seems purely designed to throw her off her game.As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabby's deceptive ex won't quit pursuing her, and her anonymous online friend suggests they take a break. Worst of all, as the pressure mounts to save the bookshop and her job, Gabby meets a new, tender side of Jonathan. Is this the same man she's called her cold-hearted enemy?Maybe he’s got a motive she just can’t figure out—or maybe Jonathan Frost isn’t as chilly as she once thought. Maybe Jonathan and Gabby already know—and love—each other in ways they never thought possible.This is an #OwnVoices story for its portrayal of autism by an autistic author.
The Christmas Fix
Lucy Score - 2017
No festival means no tourism dollars. A disaster of epic proportions for his hometown.But when home renovation expert slash smoking hot reality TV star Catalina King shows up with a camera crew and a budget big enough to put the town back together again, Noah balks. Hard. The last time Cat was in town she stirred up trouble everywhere she went. (Residents are still talking about the town's first and only bar fight.) Noah doesn't need a TV diva capitalizing on his town's tragedy or filling his daughter's head with glitz and glam.Cat is ready and willing to put Merry back in Christmas mode with a holiday special that will leave everyone believing in miracles and get her friends back in the home they love. But there's one big problem standing in her way. And his name is Noah Yates. He's wrong about her and she can't wait to prove it. Ring those jingle bells because it's on.
Eight Perfect Hours
Lia Louis - 2021
But fate seems to have different plans.On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.
Lovelight Farms
B.K. Borison - 2021
A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend.Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process.Lovelight Farms is a romantic comedy featuring a handsome, freckled data analyst, a messy, optimistic Christmas tree farm owner, and a small town with the best hazelnut lattes on the east coast. This sweet and steamy romance is a holiday happily ever after.
Stuck at Christmas
Georgia Coffman - 2021
It's the furthest thing in my mind.Until her.To my surprise, one night is all it takes for me to fall for her, even though I know next to nothing about her.I never thought I'd see my mystery woman again, but like a holiday miracle, she shows up at my clinic one night with her young daughter.Every minute I’m with them only makes me fall harder, but our situation isn’t so simple.Getting stuck in a closet with Isabel just days before Christmas might be the gift we didn’t know we needed.
A Cross-Country Christmas
Courtney Walsh - 2021
After all, she has plenty to keep her busy—namely, her duties as a set decorator on a TV sitcom.But this December, Lauren's brother and his wife are expecting a baby, so her brother arranges a ride home for her with his good friend, Will.Unfortunately for Lauren, she’s been trying to forget college baseball coach and childhood crush Will Sinclair for more than ten years.Now, thanks to her fear of flying, she’s stuck in a car with him from California to Illinois.She’s circumspect and organized. He’s flirty and spontaneous.She’s convinced that people don’t change. He’s trying to prove to her (and himself) that he has.On this cross-country road trip, they’ll both discover that history doesn’t exactly repeat itself. . . but like any good Christmas carol, it does have a second verse.
Christmas in the Scottish Highlands
Donna Ashcroft - 2021
Will this finally be the year that Belle’s dreams come true?Thirty-year-old Belle Albany is feeling lonely this Christmas. Another whole year has passed and her life is… exactly the same as it was last December. She longs for true love and a little bit of winter magic – but she’s almost given up on finding it in the sleepy Scottish community where she lives…When Belle crashes into elderly Edina on her cherry red bicycle, it’s not the meet-cute she’d been hoping for. But she immediately recognises the lost look in Edina’s watery-blue eyes and resolves to organise a Christmas to remember for them both – brimming with mince pies, mulled wine and lots of sparkle. Although Belle hadn’t counted on Edina’s home being a crumbling Scottish castle and she certainly hadn’t been expecting Edina’s handsome long-lost grandson Jack Hamilton-Kirk to turn up on the doorstep in the middle of a snow storm…Jack is arrogant, rude and bossy and Belle is convinced he’s about to ruin the seasonal cheer she has worked hard to create. He’s basically the Grinch in human form, so why does her heart race every time they’re in the same room? They disagree on almost everything, from menu choices to music, and yet she starts to glimpse a softer side hidden behind Jack’s clipped words and brooding countenance.As they hunt down costumes for the annual nativity show and save a donkey from a snowy disaster, Belle can’t ignore their growing attraction. But will a secret from Jack’s past come between them? Or will this finally be the year Belle falls in love?This gorgeous, festive read is like a warm hug in a book! The perfect cosy romance to snuggle up with this Christmas. Fans of Nicola May, Trisha Ashley and Debbie Macomber will love this wonderfully uplifting novel.
The Holiday Swap
Maggie Knox - 2021
All they want for Christmas is a different life. When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell--both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family's bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won't get the memo that they're over. With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven't done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician's assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins' identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?
The Holiday Ex-Files
Jennifer Peel - 2021
But catching my husband under the Christmas tree with another woman kind of did something to me. Like make me digitally crop him out of all our wedding photos and post them online. Who knew that post would go viral? Thanks to all the requests I received to do the same for other jilted partners, I started a new business called, the Holiday Ex-Files. And I couldn’t be happier. Well . . . at least I’m not unhappy.Then along comes my ex-husband’s best friend, Noah Cullen. Yep, like the vampires. He’s extremely gorgeous like them too. He has a plan to help me believe in the magic of holidays again. But the more I’m around him, I begin to think he’s the magical one, and that perhaps I picked the wrong best friend to begin with. Maybe, just maybe, it will be a very merry Christmas after all.Get ready for a laugh-out-loud, heartwarming holiday rom-com, perfect for any season, by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Peel.
Faking Under the Mistletoe
Ashley Shepherd - 2019
Christmas cookies? She’ll take three dozen. Christmas movies? Yeah, she’s seen them all. So it’s no surprise when she’s put in charge of Loveridge & McGowan’s holiday festivities. Secret Santas? Yep. Ice skating? Of course. Holiday trivia? Duh. Christmas-themed bar crawl? That’s one big jingle bell hell yes.Kissing her boss at a Christmas tree lighting in front of his ex-girlfriend? Well… it is the season of giving. And Olivia does not come with a gift receipt. No exchanges. No returns. No refunds. All sales are final.In an effort to ungrinch the grinchiest man she’s ever met, Olivia enlists herself, Santa’s Executive Helper, to scheme up a plan that includes sleigh rides, snow days, and one too many mistletoe kisses, which certainly gets Asher’s tinsel in a tangle. She’s pretty sure that she sleighed this whole fake dating thing.Well… until she realizes there’s nothing fake about her feelings for Asher, and suddenly tangled tinsel, unsolicited Christmas trees, and celebrity heartthrobs are the least of her worries.
Twelve Days to Save Christmas
Elizabeth Neep - 2021
But George is strangely not in the spirit this year. As Poppy wrestles him into her Christmas jumper built for two for a holiday snapshot, she finds out why.He’s leaving her. And she only has twelve more days until he moves out.Poppy is heartbroken. But she’s not going to give up on their five-year relationship without a fight. George is the love of her life, and his warm and stable family are worlds away from her own chaotic upbringing. And she is sure he still loves her too – she just needs to remind him of all the reasons why. Twelve days: twelve chances to get her man back and save Christmas.But festive surprises aren’t only found under the tree. As Poppy’s twelve days count down and she goes to ever more ambitious lengths to prove to George she’s exactly the kind of girl he wants, she starts to realise that maybe the Christmas miracle she’s working towards is not the one she really needs. And that the person she’s truly meant to spend Christmas with is closer than she thought…This bittersweet and uplifting festive read is perfect for anyone who has ever worried they’re not enough as they are. Fans of One Day in December, Beth O’Leary and Mhairi McFarlane will be completely enchanted by this witty and warm story about friendship, love and finding yourself.
Window Shopping
Tessa Bailey - 2021
Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin.I'm standing alone in front of the famous Vivant department store, when a charming man named Aiden asks my opinion of the décor.It's a tragedy in tinsel, I say, unable to lie.He asks for a better idea with a twinkle in his eye.Did I know he owned the place? No. He put me on the spot.Now I'm working for that man, trying to ignore that he's hot.But as a down on her luck girl with a difficult past, I know an opportunity when I see one—and I have to make it last.I'll put my heart and soul into dressing his holiday windows.I'll work without stopping. And when we lose the battle with temptation, I'll try and remember I'm just window shopping.