There’s something inherently romantic about the holiday season—just ask the Hallmark Channel and its hundreds-strong slate of wintery romance movies. Maybe it’s the season’s focus on generosity and spending time with loved ones, or it could just be all those cheerful twinkly lights casting everyone and everything in a charming glow. Whatever the reason, one thing we know for sure is that if you’re in the mood to lean into the romanticism of the holidays, there are plenty of movies and books that’ll help do the trick, perfect for when you’re traveling to visit family, looking for a quiet escape from said family, or couch-rotting during that awkward week between Christmas and New Year’s.
On the literary front, the canon of holiday-themed romances spans practically every popular trope of the romance novel genre, every spice level, and every winter holiday. Here, we’ve made a list and checked it twice, rounding up 14 of the very best holiday romance novels, all guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit.
