Stay Warm with These Holiday Romances
About a playboy duke, a queer second chance, and a spicy connection on a film set
Hi, friend.
Welcome to another edition of Crooked Reads, where I share a collection of bite-sized reviews about books on a theme.
It’s December, and therefore I must be a law-abiding citizen and share with you some holiday romances. They’ll fill you with some cozy joy, a little bit of spice, and are best served with a warm beverage and a snoozing pet on your lap. I challenged myself to read every holiday book in my Kindle library this month, and these are just the tip of the iceberg.
A note about diversity: I did a bad job with my reading choices for this topic and this list is hella white. I apologize for that. What To Read If has a great rec this week, with a holiday romance set during year when Christmas, Eid, and Hanukkah landed within days of each other.
The books
👑 Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday
Dani’s given up on love. Her ex was garbage and inspired her to create a list of things she’ll never again do for a man. Max is heir to the Duke of Aquilla and a recovering fuckboy. When the two meet during the holiday season, all is great. They both want nothing to do with love! How convenient! But this is a romance novel we’re talking about, and Max’s father is pressuring him to find a suitable bride. When Dani and Max fall for each other, it’s in slow and sweet moments over the course of a few years, meeting up whenever Max is in New York. In between visits, their text conversations are full of the wittiest banter. And when they admit their feelings for each other, it’s just lovely.
🏝️ Second Chances in New Port Stephen by T.J. Alexander
It’s only fitting that on the night Eli Ward returns home for Christmas after years away, he runs into his still-hot, still-charming ex-boyfriend. Eli’s a different person now—post-transition, sober, and recently unemployed after his TV writing gig blew up—and it takes Nick a moment to put the pieces together after their carts bumped into each other. They hang out for the remainder of the holidays, both unsure if the flames are really being rekindled or not. Second Chances in New Port Stephen is such a sweet and funny book about family and love and identity.
🌶️ A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Bee’s mega-successful career as an adult film star takes a turn when her producer casts her in a PG Christmas movie. She’s thrilled about the chance to share her career with a wider audience, but terrified of her identity as Bianca von Honey coming out and ruining the film. Her co-star, Nolan, is an ex-boy band member whose posters she had covering every inch of her teenage bedroom. Oh, and he’s a loyal subscriber to her ClosedDoors account. They’re both trying to have a fresh start in their careers, but things immediately get spicy between them. When they hook up and quickly fall in love on set, things get messy. Secrets can never stay hidden, and there’s so much at stake. But can love conquer it all? You betcha!
The links
Don’t forget about Bookshop’s Holiday Gift Guides! Peep this list of books for the reader who reads everything, whether that’s you or someone you love. Use the code HOLIDAY23 to get 15% off your order and support independent bookstores and this newsletter!
The nightstand
The Dreamland Billionaires series surprised me in the best way. Brothers Rowan (grumpy) meets his sunshine in Zahra, Declan (averse to love) has his arranged marriage and falls in love with Iris, and Cal (the golden retriever) gets his second-chance with Alana. Lauren Asher is a treasure and I’ll be reading everything she writes from here on out.
I’m currently reading The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert and I cannot handle how adorable it is.
The backlist
In case you missed ’em, or want to peep the archives:
xoxo
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I’m so excited to steep some tea and settle in under a blanket with my Kindle and...let’s face it, probably all of these 😅
So many great ones here!