|
|
Holiday Reads December 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Holiday Ever After by Hannah GraceAll Clara Davenport has ever wanted to do is climb the ladder at Davenport Innovation Creative, her family's toy business. Everything was going according to plan, until the company was accused of stealing a doll design from an independent toy maker, creating a flurry of bad publicity. With a promotion dangled in front of her like a carrot to a reindeer, Clara is tasked with charming the locals of the small town to solve the PR nightmare, by any means necessary. Jack Kelly would be happy to never hear the name Davenport ever again. Less than a year after a guy in a fancy suit appeared on his doorstep with a sleigh-full of promises, the company that once falsely claimed they wanted to sign him to their small business program has copied his design. So when Clara prances into town hoping to convince Fraser Falls that her company is not the enemy, Jack is determined not to be fooled by Davenport twice. But Clara has a plan to win over the community only to realize that beneath Jack's frosty demeanor lies the key to the town's heart--and maybe her own.
|
|
|
|
The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny ColganA new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers' hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop. Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt's attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she's been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family's collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate--if they only knew where it was.
|
|
|
|
The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean MeltzerEvelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you've got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she's shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor. It's been two years since David walked away from Evelyn and their life in Manhattan, and his ex-wife is still the same workaholic who puts her career before everything else--especially her health. But when Evelyn begins hallucinating 'ghosts' tied to her past heartbreaks, and every single one leads to David, he finds himself spending much more time with her than he anticipated--
|
|
|
|
Golden Age Christmas Mysteries by Otto PenzlerEdgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler selects Christmas-themed mysteries from the genre's Golden Age, including stories by Mary Roberts Rinehart, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, and more.
|
|
|
|
Christmas at the Women's Hotel: A Biedermeier Story by Daniel M. LaveryChristmas at the Biedermeier Hotel means work. For much of the year, employment comes infrequently to Biedermeier residents. But during the Advent season, they're in high demand all over the city--as holiday window dressers, sales-girls at the card stores on Forty-Second Street, Broadway usherettes, assisting the Lincoln Center laundress at the Nutcracker, or working for Pinkerton as off-season security guards at the World's Fair. Katherine explores the possibility of reconnecting with a younger sister moving to New York. Lucianne goes into business for herself, running a telephone-order, strictly Social Register male escort agency out of her room, while Mrs. Mossler attempts to solve the mystery of the Biedermeier's skyrocketing phone bill and frets over Christmas tips for the hotel's few remaining employees. And while the three gem thieves who broke into the American Museum of Natural History have recently been apprehended, not all of the stolen jewels have been recovered--and Patricia and Carol have been behaving very strangely recently. Christmas is a season of wonder and mystery, after all-.
|
|
|
|
Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew NormanThe new year had barely begun when Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses. Now, nearly a year later, the first holiday season since their Great and Terrible Sadnesses approaches. Although their mothers scheme to matchmake the two surviving spouses, it's clear that neither is ready to date again. Yet no one understands what they are going through better than each other, and a delicate friendship is born. When Henry sees an ad for a Christmas movie marathon-once an annual tradition for him and his wife-Grace offers to watch some films with him, despite her aversion to a few of his picks. Her two young kids, Ian and Bella, also join in whenever possible-bedtimes permitting, of course. With each movie, Grace and Henry's shared grief eases as they start to see a life beyond the sadness. But as they draw closer, other romantic possibilities leave them uncertain about their future together. Is their bond merely the result of loneliness and shared circumstances, or have they found something that's worth taking a shot at ... again?
|
|
|
|
Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America's Golden Era
by Becky Libourel Diamond
With origins that date back to the nineteenth century and even earlier, the recipes in The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook have been adapted for today's ingredients and appliances, allowing cooks to recreate them in their own modern kitchens. Each recipe will provide a colorful glimpse into the era, featuring the fascinating history behind each cookie, its ingredients and baking methods.
|
|
|
|
Snow Be It!: How to Make a Wreath and 29 Other Fun Christmas Activities by Thomas LinkinsLearn how to make the perfect holiday wreath and plenty more festive fun activities! Learn how to make the perfect holiday wreath to adorn your front door with a step-by-step guide that even the littlest elf can follow. Then move onto other holiday activities like making an advent calendar so you can count down the days to the twenty-fifth; preparing a custom snack tray to leave out for Santa and the reindeer; building a sturdy snowman; and how to trim a tree to perfection. Then turn your attention to crafting the perfect festive table, whipping up some steaming mulled wine, eggnog, or a fizzy festive cocktail to entertain your guests, before impressing them all with a showstopping feast with all the trimmings. Transform your festive fun with twenty-nine ideas for the most wonderful time of year!
|
|
|
|
Extremely Happy Holidays: Wildly Creative New Cocktails to Uplift and Enchant Through a Full Year of Holiday Chaos by Devin C. B. McEwanIt's the most wonderful time of the year, namely COCKTAIL TIME! What better way to honor and enjoy all the holidays of a year than to toast each one with a fabulous new cocktail? This exuberant little book takes you from New Year's Day all the way to New Year's Eve, with stops along the way at the other festive holidays of the year: Groundhog Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, April Fools' Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. McEwan's original creations are truly wonderful, and he is a droll and delightful guide through the tools and techniques the reader will need to make all these snazzy cocktails and mocktails at home. The book is designed and illustrated by the inimitable Sandra Boynton, who happens to be the author's mother.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
