December Reading List: Holidays
- Victor Castillo
- Dec 9, 2024
- 9 min read
Bookshelf Buzz
There is nothing a book lover loves more than discovering a good book—except, of course, reading one. Like all book lovers, we find it hard to pick our next read because there are so many good books to select from. So we decided that they all deserve a bit of love. To that end, we give you the Reading List, our monthly go-to post for our Busy Bee's top book recommendations, which can also be found in our Hivebrary.
Content & Trigger Disclaimer: This blog post discusses books that may contain sensitive material, including themes such as violence, mental health issues, and other potentially triggering subjects. Reader discretion is advised. Please use your judgment and conduct further research if you have specific concerns. |
One Big Happy Family
by Susan Mallery
Please don’t come home for Christmas…
Julie Parker’s kids are her greatest gift. Still, she’s not exactly heartbroken when they ask to skip a big Christmas. Her son, Nick, is taking a belated honeymoon with his bride, Blair, while her daughter, Dana, will purge every reminder of the guy who dumped her. Again. Julie feels practically giddy for one-on-one holiday time with Heath, the (much) younger man she’s secretly dating.
But her plans go from cozy to chaotic when Nick and Dana plead for Christmas at the family cabin in memory of their late father, Julie’s ex. She can’t refuse, even though she dreads their reactions to her new man when they realize she’s been hiding him for months.
As the guest list grows in surprising ways, from Blair’s estranged mom to Heath’s precocious children, Julie’s secret is one of many to be unwrapped. Over this delightfully complicated and very funny Christmas, she’ll discover that more really is merrier, and that a big, happy family can become bigger and happier, if they let go of old hurts and open their hearts to love.
Let it Glow
by Marissa Meyer & Joanne Levy
When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior’s center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author like her grandfather.
One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. What better way to discover the magic of the holidays than to experience them firsthand? The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families at the pageant. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditions–what could possibly go wrong?
Eight Nights to Win Her Heart
by Miri White
Andie Williams is not looking forward to spending her first Chanukah alone after her father’s death. About to lose her job, with her only prospect for another work opportunity across the country, she could use some chutzpah to make it through the eight nights alone.
Leo Dentz has had a crush on the girl across the hall from his apartment for years but has never had the courage to say anything—until she drops her grocery bags and he notices her drug store Chanukah candles. Ready to take a chance outside of his comfort zone, Leo offers to join Andie on the first night, sharing his dinner with her. As Andie and Leo fall for each other one night at a time, and the clock ticks down on Andie’s move, will this season of miracles light their way forward?
We Three Kings
by Kristen Bailey
Maggie loves her job as head of IT at a financial firm, and her three geeky but lovable work buddies. And when they invite her to stay with each of them for the holidays, she can’t resist the chance to get to know them better.
But then her boss tells her she has to make one of her beloved team redundant, and Maggie is distraught. Frank’s work is his world, Jasper’s sarcastic humour is everything, and Leo…well, he’s talented, professional, confusingly attractive, dependable, and funny… Maggie definitely doesn’t want to lose him.
With her career and her heart on the line, Maggie sets off on the Christmas adventure of a lifetime, from playing fake girlfriend at a lavish wedding, to rescuing baby foxes on a posh country estate, to chasing a very confused donkey on Christmas Day in the Lake District. She can’t ignore the sparks between her and Leo – but she also can’t avoid her dilemma.
Can she find a way to keep her work family together, and maybe even find true love under the mistletoe?
Uri and the King of Darkness: A Hanukkah Story
by Julia Alvarez
It's the first night of Hanukkah and Uri's dad is still not home. “What happened to Dad? Is he caught in the fray? Could it be that an elephant's blocking his way? Maybe the enemy soldiers attacked? Maybe, just maybe, he cannot get back?” While they wait for Dad's return, Uri and his sister battle the evil King of Darkness. Their courage and spirit bring the light of Hanukkah to the world around them. Nati Bait's lilting verse and Carmel Ben Ami's appealing illustrations promise to make this a heart-warming Hanukkah favorite.
A Home for the Holidays
by Taylor Hahn
For wedding singer Mel Hart, the holidays have always retained a certain magic. Her mother, Connie, always managed to pull off spectacular Santa hijinx that convinced Mel to keep believing in Santa way longer than other kids. Those moments meant everything to Mel because the rest of the year, life was unpredictable because of her mother’s alcohol use.
But two weeks before Christmas, Mel gets a call from the her mother has died. Then a woman shows up on Mel's doorstep, claiming to be Connie's estranged best friend, promising to tell Mel a different narrative—one in which Connie was almost a famous country music star, if only a man hadn't gotten in the way.
Instead of spending Christmas alone in her dead mother's house, Mel agrees to stay with Barb for the holidays, finding herself in the middle of Barb's complicated family and uncovering secrets while fighting an attraction to Barb’s in-the-middle-of-a-divorce son. As Christmas approaches, Mel reckons with how little she knew about her mother's past while reexamining her own future.
Rainbow Reads
The Rainbow Reads sections will be dedicated to featuring our top book recommendations centered around Queer Stories. It is important that we can all find and access books that allow us to see ourselves represented in all ways. The Book Hive is an inclusive community. We are a safe space for everyone, and we want to shine a light on the amazing stories, characters, and authors that make up the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Merriest Misters
by Timothy Janovsky
Fixing Christmas? Easy. Fixing their marriage? Not so much.
Patrick Hargrave and Quinn Muller have been married for less than a year, but their passionate romance is cracking under the pressures of domestic life and a cumbersome mortgage. That's until Christmas Eve when Patrick wakes Quinn up 'I think I've killed a man.'
Quinn realizes the 'burglar' Patrick knocked out is none other than Mr. Claus himself. Instructed by a harried elf to don the red suit and take the reins of the reindeer-guided sleigh up on the roof, Quinn and Patrick work together to save Christmas.
But as the sun rises on Christmas morning, the sleigh brings them back to the North Pole instead of New Jersey, and they're in for a massive shock. The couple must assume the roles of Santa Claus and the first ever Merriest Mister or Christmas will be cancelled . . . permanently.
With Christmas - and their marriage - on the line, Patrick and Quinn agree to stay together for one year. But can running a toy shop together save their relationship, or will Patrick and Quinn be stuffing coal in each other's stockings come next Christmas?
Make the Season Bright
by Ashley Herring Blake
It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true.
As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton.
All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events.
Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won’t talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together—Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin—and it all feels painfully familiar. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts...right?
Make My Wish Come True
by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick
Hollywood teen actor Arden James' messy reputation is interfering with her career when a notoriously picky director won't give her a role based on her party-girl image. So she and her publicist make up a lie – not only is she from a small town (true) but her childhood best friend Caroline, is her long-term girlfriend (false) and she can prove it when she goes home for Christmas.
Caroline Beckett hasn't thought about her ex-best friend Arden James for years, focusing instead on her dreams about becoming a journalist. When Arden turns up on her doorstep and promises her an article in Cosmopolitan magazine on their twelve snow-covered romantic days together, Caroline agrees to play along.
But when old feelings start to bubble up, what will fall faster – Arden and Caroline or the Christmas Eve snow?
Marshmallow Mountain
by A.J. Truman & M.A. Wardell
What’s worse than being snowed in with your ex? Literally nothing.
Initially, the only thing Marshall and Marshall had in common was a name. Marshall (aka Data) lived his life around spreadsheets, while Marshall (aka Marsh) was an F5 tornado of chaos. Yet for eight years, they were madly in love. Until Marsh abruptly ended things with a half-baked excuse.
Six months later, Data gets a text from Marsh out of the they need to clean out their cabin in Maine and sell it ASAP. He can make it through one more weekend with the man who broke his heart.
Marsh loved adding squiggles to the straight lines of his boyfriend. If only he could’ve lived up to the potential Data saw in him. If only he didn’t feel like he was one big miscalculation on Data’s ledger. Saying goodbye to Marshmallow Mountain will be the final tie to sever, even though he still pines for his number-crunching teddy bear.
But when a massive snowstorm traps them in their small cabin for days, they’re forced to confront hard truths about their breakup…as well as resist the sweltering heat raging between them.
These boys might be headed for a second act, but only if they can make it off Marshmallow Mountain.
You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince
by Timothy Janovsky
BRING A LITTLE JOY TO THE WORLD? NOT TODAY, SANTA.
Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He's on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents' charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?
It's bad enough he's stuck in some festive winter wonderland—it's even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who's unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.
Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior...with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can't resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince's heart grow three sizes this year.
The Holiday Trap
by Roan Parrish
Greta Russakoff loves her tight-knit family and tiny Maine hometown, even if they don't always understand what it's like to be a lesbian living in such a small world. She desperately needs space to figure out who she is.
Truman Belvedere has just had his heart crushed into a million pieces when he learned that his boyfriend of almost a year has a secret life that includes a husband and a daughter. Reeling from this discovery, all he wants is a place to lick his wounds far, far away from New Orleans.
Enter Greta and Truman's mutual friend, Ramona, who facilitates a month-long house swap. Over the winter holidays, each of them will have a chance to try on a new life...and maybe fall in love with the perfect partner of their dreams. But all holidays must come to an end, and eventually Greta and Truman will have to decide whether the love they each found so far from home is worth fighting for.
The Hive's Hot Picks
Discover countless amazing reads with our monthly curated reading lists at the Hivebrary! Venture into a world of literature where you'll find a diverse selection of books handpicked for our community of bookworms. Whether you're looking for your next favorite novel or exploring new genres, our Hivebrary has something for everyone. Don't miss out on the chance to expand your literary horizons and join a community of enthusiastic readers.
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