Catching up on reading
With finally having a break from schoolwork and finals being in the past, I am so excited to jump back into my reading habits and schedule! I get to set my Goodreads and Storygraph goals for 2022 and wind down with books next to the Christmas tree.
Of course, I had to put together a TBR (to be read) list of Christmas and wintery books to read over break.
Here are some that I am planning to read; I hope one catches your eye.
In a holidaze by christina lauren
This book follows Maelyn, who is down on her luck during the holiday season. She hates her job and is living with her parents. Mae is spending her Christmas at her family’s shared cabin in Utah for the last time. While driving away from the cabin for the last time, Mae wishes for the universe to show what will make her happy. Then, everything goes black and Mae wakes up days earlier on the plane to Utah and is forced to relive the holiday over and over again. She has to figure out how to break the time loop, and also find some true love while she is at it.
This book has been on my TBR for years, and every year Christmas rolls around and I never get to it. But I am going to try my best to read it this year.
It is written by an iconic author duo, Christina Lauren, the combined pen name for best friends, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. They have been writing together for years, and I still have not managed to read any of their books. So In a Holidaze is a must for this year.
The Afterlife of holly chase by cynthia hand
This is a reread for me. I read it last year on Christmas Eve and was so shocked by the plot twist that I was frustrated that I did not see it coming. So I want to give it another shot this year.
The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a retelling of A Christmas Carol. It follows Holly, who on Christmas was visited by three ghosts, the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and they tried to show her how self-absorbed and spoiled she was. She refuses to change her ways, then she dies. In the afterlife, she works for a top-secret company in New York: Project Scrooge, and takes on the role of the ghost of Christmas past.
Every year the company chooses to try to save a “Scrooge”. Holly was a failed attempt and each year she stays frozen at the age of seventeen, helping other people change when she could not. But this year’s “Scrooge” is Ethan. And when Holly takes a personal interest in Ethan, things start to get complicated.
This book was such a fun read last year, but the ending caught me really off-guard. I think knowing how it ends would change my perspective on the story and make me enjoy it even more. Hence, why it has a place on this list.
One Day In December by josie silver
This book seems like such a cute story! One Day in December follows Laurie, who is on a bus one day in December (title drop!) where she locks eyes with someone who is outside the bus and swears it was love at first sight. She spends the next year trying to find him. Not until next Christmas, at her best friend Sarah’s party, do they meet again. Sarah introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend and low and behold it is the guy from the bus, Jack. The story follows the three of them over ten years of yearning and heartbreak.
I am genuinely so excited to read this. There is so much room and opportunity for nuances and drama between the characters that I am excited to see unfold. Especially because all the drama takes place over the span of ten years. This feels like one that has a lot of plot twists ahead and I could not be more excited.
The holiday swap by maggie knox
This book has been marketed as being a perfect fit for fans of In a Holidaze and One Day in December. So I have high hopes for it.
The Holiday Swap follows two identical twins, Charlie and Cass, who decide to switch places over the holidays. Charlie, who runs her own reality TV baking show, loses her sense of taste and smell after hitting her head and Cass keeps running into her ex-boyfriend while trying to run the family’s busy bakery. The two swap and are introduced to their respective love interests, Jake and Miguel. With the swap, will their holidays end up going as planned?
I am so excited for this book. I love the secret identities trope and I also love the movie The Parent Trap. Plus the excitement of Christmas and romance is added in! The swap also seems like a recipe for disaster, but also that makes for good reading content. Definitely excited to read this cozied up by the Christmas tree this year.
Window shopping by Tessa Bailey
This one has been marketed as the grumpy and sunshine trope, which is such a good book trope. It follows Stella, who is caught looking at a shop’s display during Christmas by Aiden. Aiden asks what she thinks of the display, and Stella calls it a tragedy, but she does not know that Aiden runs the shop. She ends up working for him (to help fix his lack of talent with displays), while also pining for him.
This book seems so fun! I love when a couple’s meet-cute is something unconventional and odd, and this definitely hits the mark. I also think watching their relationship grow from working together to liking one another will be so fun. Plus it takes place in a small shop over the Christmas season, what more could I want from a book?
Christmas and reading
I have such fond memories of reading during the Christmas season ever since I was a child. It is definitely one of my favorite times of the year and one of the best times to get some books read! I hope you find time to cozy up with a new read or an old favorite this holiday season.
Happy reading and happy holidays to those who celebrate!