88 Books Like The Christmas Love Letters

Christine has a brain injury, which causes her memories to degrade every time she sleeps. She wakes up every morning as a blank slate, and her devoted husband explains who she is and then helps her get through the day. Unbeknownst to him, she starts keeping a journal—and soon realizes that his story about how she was injured is a little different each time.

I'm never in the mood for a thriller with a big twist in the penultimate chapter. I always want one with a big twist at the end of every chapter, and this book absolutely delivers. Is the husband a good guy or a bad guy? I changed my mind a dozen times over the course of this book, expertly manipulated by the author. I read the whole thing aloud to my wife on a long drive, and the time went by in a blink.

This was my first Freida McFadden book, and I was drawn in from the start and though I wasn’t sure how I felt about the narrator (the maid) or the husband and wife who hired her; I love a main character who makes me cringe and that she was the housekeeper privy to the owners’ secrets kept me guessing.

The prologue set me up for an ending that I never saw coming. Is she a housemaid or something else? I read this in one sitting!

I love stories of adventure set in alternative magical worlds and was enchanted by this one. The world building is incredible with a wealth of interesting characters and a riveting plot. The writing is so beautiful and evocative it sang from the pages.

The protagonist of the story is Zarya who has been trained to fight but forbidden to use her magic by her guardian, who has kept her a virtual prisoner by a magical force that won’t allow her to venture far. One day she breaks free and goes in search of the truth of her past and is swept into an adventure with demons, dark magic and romance.

A real escapist read inspired by Indian mythology and culture. It’s the first of a quartet so I can’t wait to read the rest.

I love reading uplifting stories showing how the actions of others can affect our lives, and this emotionally engaging story was a fascinating read.

A dual timeline story, about Mattie and granddaughter Ashlee, it relates how Mattie made an important decision after witnessing Rose Parkes’ refusal to give up her seat. Years later, Ashlee is a young, successful lawyer who also has an important decision to make. She returns to her family home to visit her dying grandmother, Mattie.

As she reads the story her grandmother has written Ashlee realises that it is the real story of her grandmother’s life, and reading it has a big impact on Ashlee’s life and decisions. Beautifully told, with strong, warm characters.

Any and all of Jenny Bayliss’s books can be read at Christmas and leave you feeling just as good as a hot toddy with the perfectly sized slice of spice cake.

Each of her books is a delectable treat and an immersion in the holiday spirit, but Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is my absolute favorite. Probably because I adore the heroine – Elinor Noel, or Nory for short. She owns her own vintage bookshop in London, but grew up in the English countryside.

Her parents’ home was near a posh private school, which Nory received a scholarship to attend. Throughout the years, she’s remained close with her old school chums and now two of them are set to be married just before Christmas in the old castle on the school grounds. 

Isaac has taken over as head gardener for the castle estate. He tormented Nory when they were children,… show more.

A family reading session bathed in the glow of the Christmas tree lights is one of my traditional activities during the Christmas season.

I like this anthology because the selected stories are the perfect length – neither too short to disappoint the older members of the family nor too long to lose the attention of the younger ones. I am also fond of the illustrations which perfectly illustrate the classic stories in a contemporary style, and enthrall young listeners.

I would recommend this collection for any family Christmas gathering.

Another gorgeous ‘second chance’ romance, also set in the wilds of Scotland. Here, both the hero and heroine believe themselves abandoned by the other, so there are huge walls to be overcome when fate throws them together once more. Caught out in a blizzard, Lady Leventon is rescued by our hero, waking to find him rubbing her frozen toes! With no choice but to remain under his roof, it’s not long before their passion revives… but can past hurts be forgiven?

Dylan Thomas’s compressed and lyrical account of a young lad’s Christmas has always enchanted me, and it continues every time I read it or hear it read. I recommend listening to the author reading it, available on YouTube. It is delightful poetic prose, moving, amusing, and always surprising. I envy his style here and his wit, feeling, and language proficiency. I wish I could write like that.

A longer story that is illustrated with great skill and feeling by PJ Lynch. (And it’s another one that brings tears to my eyes most times I read it!) Jonathan Toomey is a wood carver who has moved to a village far from where his wife and baby died. So this is not a typical picture book dad. He is solitary and grieving.

The widow McDowell and her son, Thomas, are newcomers to the village. In their move, they have lost a precious nativity set. So they ask Jonathan Toomey if he will carve them a new one. The carpenter reluctantly agrees. His heart warms to both Thomas and Thomas’s mother. He carves a beautiful replacement nativity set. In the making, he faces his terrible loss. And the final, beautiful image is of the three of them walking side by side on Christmas day with laughter in their eyes.

The kindness of the human spirit has called to me—like a magnet seeking true north—since I was a small child. I grew up reading Heidi and Pollyanna. Throw in a strong redemptive character arc, and I’m all in. How the Grinch Stole Christmas has it all—plus an adorable dog. I’ve read this book at least once a year for almost my entire life. This book, more than any other, has inspired my work as a writer.