Hey-o everyone, the holidays are pretty much here! I say pretty much, though, because… well, you know–the lights on everybody’s houses always go up a month before the real events take place.
And, of course, there are a bunch of different holidays we all like to celebrate this time of year, from Christmas and New Year’s to Hanukah and Kwanza to everything else left in between. And, assuming you’re a well-to-do reader reading this right now… I’m sure there’s at least one holiday coming up that you believe could be celebrated with a good book, right?
So, here we have a grand list of all the holiday-related audiobooks I’d like to recommend you all go pick up and read/listen to right now! Heads up, though… there’s a lot of rom-coms. Sorry, not sorry!
A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Now, I haven’t actually read this one (yet)… and, I know, I know, you can bash me all you want to for putting a book I don’t even know much of anything about on this list, but, ya know, it looks pretty dandy fine to me. Heads up on this one, though–it does seem to be part of a series, but it is still readable as a stand-alone. Anyway, if you try it out and happen to love it, you’re welcome!
Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.
It’s hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she’s unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family’s whiskey brand. No big deal…
(Book cover and description taken from Goodreads.)
One Way or Another by Kara McDowell
Of course, I’m sure I’ve recommended this book on my blog at some other point or another, but… hey, it’s really one of my favorites, and it just so happens to include a plot taking place over a high schooler’s holiday break!
The average person makes 35,000 decisions every single day. That’s about 34,999 too many for Paige Collins, who lives in debilitating fear of making the wrong choice. The simple act of picking an art elective is enough to send her into a spiral of what-ifs. What if she’s destined to be a famous ceramicist but wastes her talent in drama club? What if there’s a carbon monoxide leak in the ceramics studio and everyone drops dead? (Grim, but possible!)
That’s why when Paige is presented with two last-minute options for Christmas vacation, she’s paralyzed by indecision. Should she go with her best friend (and longtime crush) Fitz to his family’s romantic mountain cabin? Or should she accompany her mom to New York, a city Paige has spent her whole life dreaming about?
(Book cover and description taken from Goodreads.)
Recommended for You by Laura Silverman
For a little Hallmark-channel-movie take on Jewish and other ethnically and sexually diverse characters, check out Recommended for You, which is also an audiobook focused on a sweet teen romance.
Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.
When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.
Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.
(Book cover and description taken from Goodreads.)
A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli
Again, I just want to point out that I haven’t actually read this book yet… but, I’m officially putting it on my to-read list after coming across this beautiful cover! And, because I’m totally not someone who just judges books based on their covers (um, yeah…), I can say that its description sounds pretty magical, too.
Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She’s always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she’s always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she’s laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn’t exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding.
Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it’s the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.
When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life–to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.
(Book cover and description taken from Goodreads.)
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
Okay, now… y’all knew I’d include at least one LGBTQ+ book on this list, right? Well, if you didn’t, here it is… and, again, yeah, I haven’t actually read it myself just yet… but I’ll get around to it if you check back with me and let me know how good (or possibly bad, who knows) it is!
One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.
Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.
(Book cover and description taken from Goodreads.)
Well, there you have–the perfect reading list of all the best holiday-esque audiobooks you should be adding to your reading queue this month! And, you know, I’d just like to point out, if nobody notices… all of the covers kind of match in shades of blue, which is pretty cute, and that was totally a happy coincidence.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve personally read (unlike me) most of these books… and what you thought/think of them!
–Kari
Kari Lynn M. 