❄️🎄~ Merry Christmas! - My 2022 Christmas Book List! ~🎄❄️

---

To those of you who celebrate it: Merry Christmas! 💗

Every year during the winter holiday season, there's always a plethora of wintry reads to get you in the mood for Christmas! It feels like I posted my last Christmas book list just yesterday, but here we are again with another one, 2022 ver, with 5 new holiday books. 

Except this time, we're doing this tbr style! These books are novels that have been recommended to me by the lovely bookstagram community, I'm really thankful to be a part of such a positive platform <3 Think of this post as my Christmas wishlist, but only for books ;)

Also, a mini disclaimer that this post will be a bit shorter than my usual ones, since I'm trying to stay off of social media as much as I can to recharge during my winter break :)) Less personal opinions (because we all know how long my reviews get when I let myself rant), and more about the book.

Onwards!

//❄️❄️❄️//

1. Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

 Book Description: Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a ridiculous collection of designer shoes and a stealthy addiction to CBD oils. That is, until her parents snipped her purse strings. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is: Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea. Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when a drunk Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backwards and accidentally conjures Hall, an unexpectedly charming Holiday Spirit in the form of a man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.

But as the wiles of magic lose their charm, Bettie finds herself set off-kilter by Hall’s sweet gestures. Suddenly, Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways come back as soon as the holidays are over?

--- 

I'm curious to see how the author executed the plot, since it has an unconventional mix of sci-fi/fantasy and holiday rom-com! If you're looking for something new, and not 'mainstream', this is the book for you! 

//❄️❄️❄️//

2. All I Want For Christmas by Maggie Knox

Book Description: True love wasn't on their holiday wish list.

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they've finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem--Sadie and Max can't stand each other.

But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or will an unexpected trip to Banff spark real feelings by the Christmas finale?

---

I've been super excited to read this one, especially after I found out that some of the plot was set in Banff! Also, I'm predicting that the fake-relationship trope will be making a comeback after this novel. It's been a while since I've read a good book with this trope, so I hope this one gets me out of my rom-com reading slump. 

//❄️❄️❄️//

3. Once Upon A December by Amy E. Reichert 

Book Description: With a name like Astra Noel Snow, holiday spirit isn't just a seasonal specialty--it's a way of life. But after a stinging divorce, Astra's yearly trip to the Milwaukee Christmas market takes on a whole new meaning. She's ready to eat, drink, and be merry, especially with the handsome stranger who saves the best kringle for her at his family bakery. For Jack Clausen, the Julemarked with its snowy lights and charming shops stays the same, while the world outside the joyful street changes, magically leaping from one December to the next every four weeks. He's never minded living this charmed existence until Astra shows him the life he's been missing outside of the festive red brick alley.

After a swoon-worthy series of dates, some Yuletide magic, and the unexpected glow of new love, Astra and Jack must decide whether this relationship can weather all seasons, or if what they're feeling is as ephemeral as marshmallows in a mug of hot cocoa.

---

First of all, Astra is such a pretty name for a main character! According to my friends who read it, this book is the perfect holiday romance, with its own quirks. I think this novel will end up being part of the selection of classic, lighthearted Christmas romances, a novel that you'll revisit the next Christmas <3

//❄️❄️❄️//

4. Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

 Book Description: Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.

The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk . . .

---

This book went right on my wishlist the second I saw its London-bright-academia-bookstore aesthetic. That's probably not an actual aesthetic (Pinterest will probably prove me wrong) but you know what I mean. I just know this book is gonna become one of those aesthetic novels you fill to the brim with even more aesthetic annotations! 

//❄️❄️❄️//

5. The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo 

Book Description: Lila Santos is ready for her last winter break of high school. The snow in her small town of Holly, New York, is plentiful, the mood is as cozy as a fuzzy Christmas sweater, and she's earning extra cash working at the local inn—AKA the setting of the greatest film of all time, Holiday by the Lake—while moonlighting as an anonymous book blogger.

But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss's frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Rivera, becomes her coworker. Lila is type A; Teddy is type “Anything but Lila’s Way,” and the two of them can’t stop butting heads over tangled icicle lights and messy gift shop merch. But when they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they realize they've both been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets—and an unexpected snowstorm—bring these rivals together?

---

The fact that the main character is a book blogger sold this book for me, it would be so cool to review this book on my blog! The description was really good at drawing me in to the book, I think it was really clever to include the accidental phone switch in the plot. It makes me really curious to see how the story plays out, which is why this is one of my most anticipated reads. 

//❄️❄️❄️//

And that brings us to the end of this year's Christmas book list! 

I did 4 books in my list last year, and 5 this year by coincidence, so I'm thinking of adding 1 more book to the number each year! What do you guys think? 

Thank you as always for reading <3 I hope you enjoyed this post, even if it was shorter than usual. I'll get back to my normal posts soon! 

Have a very merry Christmas! <33

Sincerely,

Sapphire