Books like Falling Slow — picked by fans

Small town that you will want a realtor for: Mirror Valley, CO

What I love about Woodley’s books is that you completely forget you're reading a book at all. Her writing is like listening to one of your closest friends tell you a story, and I mean that in the best way possible. The Next Worst Thing is no exception.

I found myself making up all kinds of excuses to avoid housework, errands, and other chores, so I could spend more time with this super sweet small-town romance. And yes, it’s also a rom com, so you might get some concerned looks from family members as you actually laugh out loud.

Small town that you will want a realtor for: Cashmere Cove, WI

If you love grumpy/sunshine, fierce sisterly love, and wholesome midwest towns, this is the book for you. Dobrinska does a wonderful job of creating likable characters and a feel-good storyline with tons of delightful twists and turns.

It’s so gosh darn good! I am talking stay-up-way-too-late-reading good. And while I have never been to Wisconsin in my life, after reading Friends Don’t, I am ready to change that!

Small town that you will want a realtor for: Hunter’s Creek, WA

Okay, not only is this book super sweet, but it’s hilarious. I felt like I was hanging out with friends as I laughed out loud throughout the story. You can bet Faking It With The Grump has a small town you’ll love just as much as the characters.

Not to mention, if you’re like me and fall for side characters just as hard as you do the main ones, you’re going to adore this book! Seriously, where is Hunter’s Creek exactly, and when can I visit it?

Small town that you will want a realtor for: Sunset Ridge, AK

I actually read this book after I started my Darling Men series, and it’s a good thing it happened in that order. Because if I had read Moose Be Love beforehand, I don’t think I would’ve bothered writing my series at all.

This book perfected the Alaskan small-town sweet romance! I definitely recommend it if you aren’t sure if you would rather get lost in a heartwarming story, or go on a vacation to Alaska. Good news, you don’t have to choose! Not with Moose Be Love in your personal library!

I think we all know what we want from a Christmas romance. We know there’s going to be snow. We know it’s going to be heartwarming. We know there are going to be heaps of lovely romance tropes (hello there to the commitmentphobes in the titles!).

What we want to see is all of those things done well and bundled together by a brilliant author into a joyous, uplifting, bundle of escape from our day-to-day stresses. And Rhoda Baxter, who also writes as Jeevani Charika, is a brilliant author and this story absolutely delivers that perfect punch of warm, sparkly, loveliness which is exactly what I’m looking for to get me into the festive mood.

I love this book because its slim size makes it ideal to carry and read on the move.

I often read it on the train, in cafes, or in the park when I take a break during my busy workday. The twelve stories it contains are all well-loved classics that have been anthologised many times, but it is that familiarity that I like about this anthology. I never tire of reading these stories, many of which were read to me as a child.

Christmas is a time of warmth, and this selection fills me with festive warmth even on the coldest of park benches.

As a longtime reader of Christmas histories, I thought I knew most of what there was to know about the holiday, but Nissenbaum’s book continually and consistently surprised me! While reading, I found myself taking notes and jotting down instances of forgotten customs and traditions, determined to work some of them into my own celebrations of the holiday going forward!

It is truly inspirational to know that my favorite holiday has been a part of the American fabric for hundreds of years now and has continued to evolve to meet the needs of those who love it so much. 

This poem was published anonymously in 1823. It’s such a Christmas staple that it’s hard to imagine how ground-breaking it was, but the simple plot – a family sleeps on Christmas Eve while the father hears a noise outside and sees Santa Claus in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer – was the first to set that quintessential Christmas scene. A friend of the author was charmed by the poem and sent it anonymously to a New York newspaper. The author finally owned up to it in 1837, confessing that as a Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, he had been uneasy about being associated with “unscholarly verse” that he had written only to amuse his children. But this “unscholarly verse” made his name and charms us still.

From about mid-September onwards you will find me on the sofa absolutely glued to whatever Christmas movie I can find.

You know the films where the big city lawyer has to go to the small town to close down the Christmas tree farm, and ends up learning the true meaning of Christmas and falling in love with the Christmas tree farmer? I love those movies, and this book is those movies in novel form. It has the small town. It has the hunky hero. It even has a set of festive activities that must be completed. A warm hug of a novel!

A Shepherd’s Song was an unexpected Christmasy delight.

More real, more raw, and less sterile than characters I sometimes meet in Christian fiction, David Shepherd was so well-drawn in his unloved, screwed-up desperation, as was the heroine, Gloria. The Pittsburgh setting, which coincided with my time in college there, made my Yinzer heart happy.

The author did a great job of interweaving ideas and comparisons from David's area of expertise: astronomy. And, she employed some of the best original, well-crafted similes I’ve read.