Today I am very excited to be joined by Cassie from Culture Coverage to talk about something very exciting….
5 Books That Give You That Christmas Feeling
Christmas is my favourite time of year, and I love to spend it curled up on the couch with a heart-warming Christmas book. After all, Christmas is meant to be a time of joy! The following five books are some of my favourites, and they all left me with that wonderful Christmas feeling.
- “With Love at Christmas” by Carole Matthews
Nobody loves Christmas more than Juliet Joyce, but this Christmas is a lot more chaotic than usual. Juliet’s daughter, Chloe, is pregnant again, and she and her son have moved back in with Juliet. Juliet’s son, Tom, still can’t find a decent job, and he won’t stop bringing home rather unsavoury partners. Juliet’s parents are no better. Her mother, Rita’s, behaviour is extremely eccentric, and it’s only getting worse. Her father, Frank, is struggling to deal with his own heartbreak.
Juliet is anxious that all the chaos is too much for her husband, Rick. As Christmas gets ever closer, Juliet does her best to keep everything from getting completely out of hand because she doesn’t want the chaos to ruin Christmas. She simply wants it to be filled with family and love.
Even though the first half of “With Love at Christmas” seems a bit heavy, Carole Matthews manages to lift it into a Christmas mood in the second half. It had me laughing out loud a few times and left me with a lovely festive feeling. It’s a great novel to read when you’re snuggled under a blanket during the holidays!
- “Call Me Mrs. Miracle” by Debbie Macomber
Emily Merkle (Mrs. Miracle!) is working in the toy department in Finley’s department store this Christmas. Her boss is Jake Finley, the owner’s son, and he doesn’t much care for Christmas because of a tragedy that happened on Christmas Eve years ago. Finley’s is the last family-owned department store in New York City, but the business is failing. Despite all the decorations and fake cheer, there’s no true Christmas spirit in Finley’s because Christmas only means profit for Jake and his father.
Holly Larson is also struggling this Christmas. Her brother is in the army, and he won’t be home for Christmas. Her sister-in-law passed away, so her 8-year-old nephew, Gabe, will spend this Christmas with her. She desperately wants to give Gabe a happy Christmas. She decides the best way to do this is to get him a gift he desperately wants—a toy robot from Finley’s. The only problem is she doesn’t know how she’ll be able to afford it. Luckily, Mrs. Miracle is there to help. She loves making children happy and adding some romance to Christmas.
Debbie Macomber is known for her enchanting Christmas romances, and “Call Me Mrs. Miracle” doesn’t disappoint. I loved it because it’s a feel-good story of romance and hope that’s made for reading in front of a log fire. I discovered that it’d been made into a movie also called “Call Me Mrs. Miracle.” Unlike many movie adaptations of books, this one is excellent and left me with that warm Christmas feeling. Unfortunately, it isn’t available on Netflix or Amazon U.K., but it is available on Amazon U.S. to buy or stream. You can stream it if you use a Virtual Private Network. Secure Thoughts has a review that will show you how. Alternatively, you can buy the DVD, but you’ll need a DVD player that can play region 1 DVDs.
- “Let It Snow” by John Green, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson
A storm on Christmas Eve leaves Gracetown buried in snow and causes a fair amount of trouble for the residents. Jubilee Dougal is on a train to visit her grandparents when it gets stuck in the storm. When she leaves the train, the handsome Stuart comes to her rescue. Tobin and his friends set off for the local waffle house but crash their car. They end up walking the rest of the way in the snow. After a hilarious encounter with some cheerleaders, Tobin discovers he may find love closer to home than he imagined. Addie, who works at Starbucks, loses a teacup pig, goes through a lot of heartache and does some serious soul searching to find love where she least expects it.
“Let It Snow” is a book that consists of three intertwined short stories by three different best-selling authors. I particularly enjoyed the way the three heart-warming Christmas stories complemented each other despite being unique. This uplifting book is one to enjoy on a cold winter day. As a bonus, the book is being adapted into a movie for Christmas 2017!
- “Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe” by Fiona Harper
This Christmas Louise Thornton, is embarking on her new life. She’s divorced her cheating, famous, football player husband. This should help her escape from the intrusive paparazzi and get her life back. Now that she isn’t in the public eye, she doesn’t have to spend hours on her appearance or worry about her figure as much. She’s given up the expensive salon visits, and she’s eating her beloved carbs again!
Her son is spending Christmas with his dad, but Louise is determined to make things perfect for him until he leaves. But as soon as he’s gone, she’s going to ignore Christmas entirely. Unfortunately, she still has to deal with her infuriating Mr. Darcy-like neighbour. But sometimes romance comes from unexpected places.
“Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe” is another sweet tale by Fiona Harper, but it’s a little deeper than some of her other novels. That doesn’t detract from it at all though. The story’s sense of renewal and hope had me completely hooked. It truly is a magical story and an indulgent Christmas read.
- “It Started with a Kiss” by Miranda Dickinson
Romily Parker is a singer in a wedding band, so she’s seen countless happy endings. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to a happy ending of her own because her love life is rather complicated. A few days before Christmas, Romily declares her love for Charlie, her best friend. That doesn’t work out very well for Romily, but she doesn’t have too much time to dwell on it.
She soon finds herself sharing a kiss with a gorgeous man she’s never met before. After their brief but life-changing encounter, Romily is determined to find him. She spends a year looking for him, aided by her helpful (and sometimes not-so-helpful) friends: cake-baking Auntie Mags, eager Uncle Dudley and vivacious Wren.
Miranda Dickinson is a natural storyteller, and her writing just flows so naturally that I immediately lost myself in “It Started with a Kiss.” I loved Romily from the start, and the other characters are so lovable and entertaining. This book is so filled with Christmas magic and romance that it’s perfect for a Christmas read on a cold winter’s night.
These five books all left me with that wonderful, warm Christmas feeling because they’re all filled with romance and joy. They’re all worth reading, especially for the holiday season. You can get all of them at Amazon U.K. too. Do you have any recommendations for great Christmas reads?
About Cassie
Cassie is a blogger who writes about entertainment and tech. She loves Christmas and Christmas novels. She hopes these books leave you with a warm Christmas feeling.
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