#holiday romances

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

[bettslovesromance]

Holiday season is over, I know, and as much as I hate the actual holidays, I love reading about it, so I'm already in the mood of reading cozy holiday books.

These are some of my favorites, some are just Christmas and others involve new year.

[nerdynatreads]

 ☆☆YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Storygraph ☆☆

book review || Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

video review || 5 by 5: Holiday Romance || 5 Romance Reads and Reviews

Right out of the gate, this is a whole lot of shenanigans with a marriage of convenience and then the reveal of Ellie’s one that got away is related to her fake fiancé. It’s ridiculous and totally entertaining, which has made for a very fast read so far. The Christmas atmosphere is plenty strong in the first half, with tons of snow and festive activities being mentioned, but this completely disappears in the latter half, unfortunately. You could definitely tell the climax would likely have a blow-up of family drama as well, which is tea I will always drink, but holy shit, was it frustrating that Ellie does nothing to try and actually communicate her side of the story in a more coherent way.

Along with the main plot, we have novelized versions of a comic Ellie wrote about her wonderful one-day romance with Jack the previous year. While these can mess with the pacing, Cochrun has placed them well so they give us answers to questions that pop up in the current timeline. Jack and Ellie’s interactions in the current time are slightly awkward and filled with sexual tension, while their past ones are easier, though surprisingly deep, and equally as tense. I’m sort of in love with Jack, I’ll admit. Both Jack and Ellie are neurodiverse, which is well incorporated into their characters and actions, making them feel more believable and realistic. I enjoyed watching their feelings for each other grow and the spice was definitely good, 3 chilis worth. However, they’ve technically only been together for about a week, meaning a love declaration at the end felt really fast and odd.

Since we’re seeing from Ellie’s POV, we also have an added side plot of her struggling relationship with her mom. This has made me love Andrew and Jack’s family all the more for welcoming Ellie with open arms. We also see the extent to which that relationship has affected Ellie’s life. I greatly appreciated that Ellie was called out on her toxic thought patterns and paralyzing fear of failure, so we were finally able to see some growth from her, though most of it happens off-page. All of this made Ellie a very likable, albeit frustrating main character to follow who can be empathized with. Though she is pretty obtuse at times about Jack’s feelings, but I suppose that could be influenced by Ellie’s own demisexuality. Speaking of which, I’m not demi, but I have seen a few reviewers point out the oddity of having a main character that is demisexual and yet she partakes in a one-night stand. I definitely thought the same.

3.75 / 5 stars

[lady-sai]

ɴᴏᴡ .𝟿𝟿ᴄᴇɴᴛs 𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙣: https://mybook.to/snowed-in #SnowedInAnthology #snowedin #wintersteamyromance #instalove #forcedproximity #winterromancebooks Snowed In - Two attractive people stuck together during a blizzard, what could go wrong...or right?

[hellspawnmotel]

noelle getting a new outfit was the most exciting part of the newsletter for me

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Make the Season Bright - Ashley Herring Blake

I'll Get Back to You - Becca Grischow

Merry Weihnachten - E.J. Noyes

Wake Up, Nat & Darcy - Kate Cochrane

It's September, which means it's Christmas romance publish date season, so that means it's also time for my annual post asking for help finding all the sapphic ones!

who knows of any sapphic holiday romances being published in 2024?

the only one already on my list is the new Lippincott & Derrick collaboration. bonus points for any recs that aren't fem/fem

[teahmugs01]

A job well done ~ ^^

By the Peach Tree is now available on Webtoon!

[dailyflicks]

THE HOLIDAY (2006) dir. Nancy Meyers

[torpublishinggroup]

Cover art: @lilithsaur

Designer: Lesley Worrell

In The Nightmare Before Kissmas by New York Times bestselling author Sara Raasch, the prince of Christmas is a chaotic bisexual with a big problem: the hot goth guy he drunkenly made out with at a bar is actually the Prince of Halloween—and they’re both supposed to be romantic rivals in a holiday media stunt. The only thing left to do in this steamy rom com full of tricks and treats is to make the yuletide…gay. 🏳️‍🌈

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

[cinematicsource]

ROMAN HOLIDAY 1953 — dir. William Wyler

[s1ushyz]

'Tis the season for some festive red hair gerard!

[nerdynatreads]

☆☆YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Storygraph ☆☆

book review || Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd

video review || 5 by 5: Holiday Romance || 5 Romance Reads and Reviews

Okay, this didn’t start off fantastically as I already had 2 red flag moments in the first interactions between Olivia and Asher, but I’ll admit, this was so good! Totally took some unexpected turns that gave it a more serious tone toward the end, which made the whole book feel more realistic and less like a pure Hallmark movie, but that doesn’t mean the Christmas vibes ever stopped!. Still not a fan of the fact that Olivia is Asher’s intern, even if there doesn’t feel like there’s a power imbalance.

This is so damn Christmas-y, I love it. Olivia could give Hall from Just Like Magic a run for his money. Constant mentions of the winter atmosphere, classic holiday events taking place, tons of Christmas movie references, and I love all of it.

As far as characters go, it did take me a while to warm up to Asher, as he originally comes across as a grouchy douchebag, but some of his actions do definitely show the kind interior he hides. He’s still a bit too mean for my taste, but at least it doesn’t feel like he’s bullying Olivia. She holds up against his insults and always has fun comebacks. Their banter is impeccable and always has me laughing. I’ve spent a lot of this book laughing, honestly. Olivia is sweet and cute, aggressively happy and determined for everyone else to have a wonderful holiday. There have been some more serious moments when we learn about why she loves Christmas so much that definitely gives her depth. I do think she can ride the line of being a little annoying, a bit naive, and strangely secretive about part of her life for no real reason.

Though their set up starts as a fake relationship, it’s a pretty minimal part of the plot. They still have plenty of time together outside the fake dating and the real good tension between them is when they’re acting like themselves. Spice scale is still pretty light, maybe 1 chili pepper.

I will say, this does deviate from the traditional romance plot layout. The dramatic breakup is not long after the halfway point and the rest of the book spends time delving more into Olivia’s character (we do see a bit of depth from Asher as well) plus some exploration of the side plot that has developed. As far as their relationship, they slowly make their way back together, but with a few bumps along the way. There was some miscommunication, which I’m never a big fan of, but it wasn’t so bad that I was throwing the book across the room.

5 / 5 stars

[theblob1958]

when you hate a woman for 20 years then 7 years post-gay-divorce you find yourself saying this shit to her. it's OVER for you it's so over

[novelbear]

happy little holiday scenarios for your otp 🎄

prompt list by @novelbear

late night drives to see all the christmas lights in the neighborhood

"do we want sugar cookies or chocolate chip?"

lifting one up so that they can place the decorations up on the wall

christmas movie date nights.

"ho ho holy shit you look good." lmao im so sorry

their first date being at a tree lighting celebration

jokingly going up to the santas at the mall and embarrassing the other one

one not knowing how to wrap a gift and the other just laughing at them out of endearment

^ but of course they help them out + walk them through it <3

sharing a warm kiss during the first snow of the season

"you know you didn't have to get me anything.."

putting a gingerbread house together

^ think about it: one is trying to hold the walls up and the other one walks over and gently places their own hands over theirs to help and :((

meeting each other's family for the first time over the holidays

"oh don't be such a scrooge" "i knew you were going to say that."

sweetly singing christmas songs to one another

when it's cold outside so they hold hands together inside someone's coat pocket.

"there is tinsel. everywhere." [laughing] "i think you got more of it on yourself than the tree"

holiday shopping dates!

sharing a candy cane <3

bickering over which christmas movie is superior

[shittybundaskenyer]

stranded enemy soldiers during the first contact war au has me in a chokehold. rest is on ao3 because it's a bit spicy :))