#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR.
Well, it’s almost time for the big day – are you ready? Got all the prep done (if you celebrate Christmas!)? Hopefully you’re able to relax for a few days and enjoy any time off you might have, maybe by curling up with a good book!
#5OnMyTBR December 23rd: Winter Celebrations
Christmas Chemistry by Rory London
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: December 5th, 2023
Two friends with an attraction that’s ready to ignite.
A small town with big holiday energy.
‘Tis the season…for sparks to fly.
Marley
Between my kitschy wardrobe, sentimental decorations, and overflowing to-do list, I can’t wait for Christmas. Maybe it’s basic to love the holidays this much, but hey—I never claimed to be exciting.
Making the tinsel even brighter is my new friend, James. Ever since the sexy city boy came to Coleman Creek, his not from around here vibe has captured my attention. Too bad Mid-Marley isn’t the type of girl to hold his interest.
Still, I’m sensing we could have some serious fun together. If only for the season.
James
Coleman Creek is starting to feel like home. Folks are kind—something I’ve needed after a string of setbacks—and I love my new teaching career.
Then there’s Marley. She’s making my holidays merry for the first time in years. Our connection is intense, but so are the walls I’ve built around my heart. Between budget problems at school and my dreaded upcoming high school reunion, it’s probably best to keep things platonic, right?
I’m just not sure I can hold back—especially when a weekend away forces us to share a bed.
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin, Marissa Stapley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: September 23rd, 2023
Three times the holiday magic. Three times the chaos.
As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another. At least they’ll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam’s life, Saif, wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops.
An emergency landing finds Anna, Saif, Maryam, and her sister’s entire bridal party snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town, where fate has Anna’s actor-crush filming a holiday romance. As Maryam finds the courage to open her heart to Saif, and Anna feels the magic of being snowbound with an unexpected new love—both women soon realize there’s no place they’d rather be for the holidays.
The Duke Who Hates Christmas by Bianca Blythe
Genre: Regency Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: September 20th, 2022
Grumpy, rakish military man Caspian Arundel, Duke of Concord, knows the recipe for a perfect Christmas: no mistletoe, no mulled wine, and certainly no revelers.
The last thing Caspian wants is for some runaway bride to move into the empty castle where Caspian is training his militia. He especially doesn’t want to live near a runaway bride who constantly chirps about the wonders of the coldest holiday of the year.
Miranda didn’t plan to run away from her own wedding. She didn’t even plan to wed. But when her aunt and uncle tell her that they’ve secretly posted the banns on her behalf, she decides to flee. Even if she looks ridiculous running in her loveliest gown down the streets of London looking for a hack, and even if she has nowhere to go except her great-aunt’s crumbling castle on the Sussex coast. At least she can finally celebrate Christmas just like her parents always did and create a place for her fellow spinsters and bluestockings to escape their overbearing relatives.
Caspian Arundel, Duke of Concord, is furious. Women have taken over the castle that his men were planning to stay at. Worse, they want to celebrate Christmas there. Caspian has no time for Christmas or women. Not when that beastly Bonaparte might attack any day. He has a particular dislike for Miranda, the leader of this despicable group of females. She already ruined his cousin’s wedding, and clearly she has every intention of ruining his militia and ensuring he’ll never be able to return to the front.
If only she weren’t so enticing .
Winter’s Wishfall by Ceri Houlbrook
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: October 12th, 2023
You’re never too old to believe . . .
After losing her job, boyfriend and flat just a few weeks before Christmas, Ellie Lancaster makes some
1. Exact revenge on ex.
2. Be unboring.
3. Find a job.
With #1 complete, Ellie manages to tick off #2 and #3 simultaneously by accepting a mysterious archiving job on a tiny Scottish Island that doesn’t seem to exist on any map.
In the new year, her equally new bosses – celebrity baker Clementine Jones and her straight-laced twin brother Cole – introduce Ellie to the a vast network of underground caverns, filled with scrolls dating back centuries, each addressed to the same person, in a multitude of Dear Father Christmas . . .
Despite the strangeness of it all, Ellie quickly falls in love with the island and her life there – but life is never simple, and just as she and Cole seem to be overcoming their mutual distrust, Ellie makes a fourth resolution – one that threatens everything she’s come to hold dear. As the big day itself draws near, she has one chance to put things right and bring about her own Christmas miracle . . .
Mistletoe Malarkey by Stella Bixby
Genre: Mystery – Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: December 7th, 2021
They’ve been dating more than a year. They practically live together. Now, Shayla’s meeting his family for Christmas.
In Ireland.
Seamus is a park ranger, shares an apartment with three other guys, and drives a beat up pickup truck.
How would Shayla have known he was practically Irish royalty?
When they arrive at the airport and are bombarded by camera flashes, Shayla’s insecurities move closer and closer to the surface.
An old girlfriend, a creepy uncle, and an entire town are on hand for a getting-to-know-you dinner party. Everything is going well until someone ends up dead.
The guarda want Shayla to stay out of it. She may be a police officer in the United States, but she has no jurisdiction in Ireland.
Too bad, she can’t seem to keep from stumbling onto clues everywhere she goes.
Cozy up with this fun Christmas mystery this holiday season.
As always, if you’ve read any of these or have any recommendations, I’d love to hear from you!
Unwrapping Words 