'Tis the season for new holiday romance books [1], and 2020 has plenty of titles just as sweet as a batch of Christmas cookies! The holiday season and romance novels go together like hot cocoa and cookies, so we're excited to see the latest releases full of holiday cheer. Whether you're looking for a cosy small-town romance, a contemporary romance [2] with some quirks, or even an elegant historical, there's definitely a new holiday title coming out this year that you'll want to dive into. For all your holiday romance reading needs — mistletoe kisses and all! — keep reading for our top ten favourite new books coming out just in time for this holiday season.
Finding Love at the Christmas Market by Jo Thomas
Blind dates are nerve-wracking even under the best of circumstances, and Jo Thomas's Finding Love at the Christmas Market [3] puts a holiday twist on the favourite trope. A caterer gets set up with a baker who checks off all the qualities on her partner wish list, but when she meets her date's professional rival, she's forced to reconsider if that list is really the best way to go about finding love.
A Little Country Christmas by Carolyn Brown, Rochelle Alers, Hope Ramsay, and A.J. Pine
A Little Country Christmas [4] features four new holiday stories from four bestselling romance authors. Brown's The Perfect Christmas follows a cowboy trying to woo a single mom with a perfect Christmas, while Ramsay's Joy to the World features a Scrooge-y retired music teacher and a Christmas-loving accompanist. Alers contributes Home for the Holidays, which pairs up a pastry chef on holiday with a soldier on leave, and Pine adds A Christmas Cowboy at Heart, set in a small town as a deputy teaches the grumpy mayor the joys of Christmas.
Mistletoe & Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler
Sarah Morgenthaler continues her Moose Springs series with Mistletoe & Mr. Right [5]. In this quirky comedy, a socialite turned investigator and a cute local team up to try to track down the town's biggest mystery: the Santa Moose, a local legend out to destroy holiday cheer.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Christina Lauren's In a Holidaze [6] puts a holiday spin on the old Groundhog Day timeloop plot. Stuck in a rut and devastated over her last holiday at the beloved family cabin, Mae finds herself reliving the same holiday over and over again until she can figure out what's going wrong — and maybe find romance along the way.
A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday
Who doesn't love a Hallmark-worthy "princess meets normal guy" romance? In A Princess for Christmas [7] by Jenny Holiday, Princess Marie of Eldovia is ready to snap after having to take on more responsibilities in the wake of her mother's death,. But when she hails a cab outside the UN, she winds up meeting a gruff but kind-hearted driver who agrees to be her driver throughout the trip — just enough time for them to start falling for each other.
A Princess by Christmas by Julia London
Julia London's A Princess by Christmas centres on Hollis, a wealthy widow who's slowly turning her successful society gossip gazette into a place for investigative news. One story that catches her eye is a rumoured coup — and the handsome stranger she meets could be the lost hero or the secret villain.
The Christmas Swap by Sandy Barker
If you love the house-swap rom-com plot of The Holiday, you should definitely check out The Christmas Swap [8] by Sandy Barker. When three best friends agree to swap around their locations for the holidays, they each find something new and unexpected, learning more about themselves and finding love where they never planned to.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
The premise of The Twelve Dates of Christmas [9] by Jenny Bayliss is all right there in the title. Kate is happy with her career and cynical about dating, especially in her small, gossipy town. Then her best friend signs her up for a dating service that promises to find love before Christmas, resulting in Kate getting set up on twelve dates with twelve different men. Most are disasters, but real love might be hiding among the mess too.
A Surprise Christmas Wedding by Phillipa Ashley
In A Surprise Christmas Wedding [10] by Phillipa Ashley, event planner Lottie finds herself in a nightmare scenario: organising a last-minute wedding at the estate where she works — and the groom is the ex who walked out on her a year ago.
Sweet on You by Carla de Guzman
For a sweet dose of #ownvoices [11] holiday romance, look no further than Sweet on You [12] by Carla de Guzman. Local café owner Sari is frustrated when a big-city guy from Manila sweeps into the neighbourhood with a competing bakery. Of course, it's tough to be competing when you can't stop flirting with each other . . .