Christmas is full of so many wonderful moments. Spending quality time with family is one of my absolute favourite things to do. And...well....reading. Lots of reading.
Here are the top 5 Christmas themed books that i'd love to read this festive season.
1. A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley
A charming romantic
comedy about a hard-up single mum inheriting a stately home – and a host
of headaches – The perfect novel for curling up with during the long
winter nights.Sophy Winter is not your typical Lady of the Manor….When
she unexpectedly inherits Winter's End - a crumbling mansion in the
beautiful Lancashire countryside - it seems like all Sophy's prayers
have been answered. She eagerly swaps life as an impoverished
housekeeper in favour of her own team of staff.But Sophy quickly
realises the challenge on her hands - the house is decrepit and its
eccentric inhabitants are a nightmare. And once it is discovered that
Winter's End played host to a young Shakespeare, the entire village of
Sticklepond becomes curious about Sophy's plans, especially charming
Jack Lewis. But is he really smitten by Sophy…or her newly-acquired
cash?Meanwhile, Sophy’s gorgeous head gardener Seth is the strong and
silent type. But does his passion bloom for anything beyond the
horticultural?As Sophy gets to grips with squabbling relatives,
collapsing buildings and the ghostly presence of one of her ancestors,
she wonders if Winter's End is not so much a gift from the gods as a
mixed blessing…A charming romantic comedy for fans of Katie Fforde and
Jill Mansell - guaranteed to thaw the coldest of hearts!
2. The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver
Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!
Watching
snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English
village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic
ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But
Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.
Because
the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin!
And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But
Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got
one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect
profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.
As well as
clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s
definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to
Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might
gift-wrap her one anyway…
Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!
3. Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner
Whether your favorite
holiday story is "A Christmas Carol", "The Story of Hanukkah", or "'Twas
the Night Before Christmas", you'll find it transformed to reflect
current sensibilities in Politically Correct Holiday Stories. Injecting
our popular holiday fables with a modern perspective is no easy task,
but someone had to do it -- and who better than the proven master of
cultural sensitivity? James Finn Garner joyfully frees these holiday
tales from sexism, ageism, religious imperialism, and every other sorry
vestige of our flawed, low-consciousness past.So gather the family
(whether traditional, dysfunctional, co-dependent, or otherwise) around
the hearth, and read aloud these tales as they should have been told the
first time.
4. What Happens at Christmas by T.A.Williams
When career-girl Holly
Brice learns that her estranged father has died, she decides to take a
trip down memory lane and find out about the man she never knew.
Arriving
in the sleepy little Dartmoor village, she’s shocked to discover that
she’s inherited the cosy little cottage she remembers so fondly, a whole
load of money – and her father’s adorable dog, too!
Head to snow-covered Devon!
And
as the first snowflakes begin to fall and Holly bumps into her gorgeous
neighbour, Jack Nelson, life gets even more complicated! Men have
always been off the cards for high-flying Holly, but there’s something
about mysterious writer Jack that has her re-thinking her three-date
rule…
5. Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews
Cassie Smith has been
out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of
Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents;
writing cards; tree-decorating. She's soon in huge demand and Cassie's
business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.
Carter Randall wants to
make Christmas special for his children so he enlists Cassie's help,
and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she
can rely on her partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.
When
Carter asks Cassie to join them on a trip to Lapland, she knows she
shouldn't go. As much as tries, Cassie can't deny how drawn she is to
Carter and everything he has to offer, but she still loves her
warm-hearted Jim. Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking
choice that could change her entire life.
What's on your Christmas reading list this year?
