Here are 80 books that A Yuletide Kiss fans have personally recommended if you like
A Yuletide Kiss.
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Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. She’ll never tire of dreaming up brooding, kilted heroes.
No one writes kilted comedy like Caroline Lee, and this title may be her funniest yet. In this medieval festive romance, our heroine is determined to take her happiness into her own hands, convincing the man of her dreams that they truly are the perfect match. The fact that she embroiders bloody battle scenes rather than the usual floral compositions, and is working on a compilation of kama-sutra-style coital positions is the icing on the cake of this wonderful romp.
A year ago, Nessa Oliphant FINALLY landed the man of her dreams in bed…but when her father, the laird, betrothed her to the first Henry, her lover failed to fight for her. Brohn, the housekeeper’s son, might be in command of the Oliphant troops, but knows his duty to the clan is to step aside and let Nessa make a strong betrothal contract. But after SEVEN failed betrothals—all to Henrys—Nessa is done with fiddling around. It’s going to take the legend of the Ghostly Drummer of Oliphant Castle, some random sprigs of mistletoe, and plenty of Yuletide magic to fix…
Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. She’ll never tire of dreaming up brooding, kilted heroes.
I have a soft spot for ‘in disguise’ stories. Here, our heroine is on the run from the dastardly stepbrother who’s after her money. Being a genius with horses, she conceals her gender and finds work as a stablehand. However, taking refuge during a snowstorm, her secret is soon revealed—to the dashing heir of Cannich no less! A rushed marriage follows, but will our heroine ever be safe from her wicked stepbrother?
Kit Laing is a genius with Glen Lyon’s horses and a favorite with his employer’s family, but he isn’t all he seems. In fact, the shy stablehand isn’t a he at all. Kit is actually Christabel Urquhart, Countess of Appin, on the run from a greedy, violent stepbrother with designs on her fortune.
And the laird’s handsome nephew has worked out just what it is.
Quentin MacNab, the dashing heir to Cannich, has had his suspicions about the new stable lad from the first. Kit is far too pretty to be a boy –…
Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. She’ll never tire of dreaming up brooding, kilted heroes.
A heart-tugger ‘secret baby’ medieval romance, featuring a ruthless mercenary assassin and another heroine disguising herself, this time as a widow to protect her illegitimate daughter. When the brooding Scot appears—with the goal of murdering her father no less—our heroine can no longer hide. There’s a whole lot of dark alpha warrior deliciousness going on, and chemistry that had me cheering for a happy ending.
He’s a Highland assassin. She’s the noblewoman he abandoned nine years ago. Can forgiveness give them a second chance at love this Christmas?
The Scottish Highlands, 1308. Infamous mercenary Hamish Dunn betrayed a powerful clan and is now pursued by killers almost as ruthless as himself. Deep in the snowy wilderness, a Highland faerie convinces Hamish to travel to the Border Lands for one last job.
Deidre Maxwell has a dangerous secret. She’s not the widow she claims but a disowned noblewoman with an illegitimate daughter. After being cast aside by Hamish, the man she loved, she’ll never let herself…
Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. She’ll never tire of dreaming up brooding, kilted heroes.
Grab your hanky for this bittersweet medieval romance featuring a heroine loved by two noble brothers. When her betrothed dies, Rona follows a trail of scrolls he left behind, designed to bring her together with the brother who was a rival for her affection. Colmac put aside his own feelings to allow his sibling to find happiness, but his deceased brother’s actions allow him a second chance at love. A story of redemption and forgiveness with all the feels.
A bittersweet steamy medieval Scottish romance about second chances...
Following a trail of mysterious letters left by her deceased betrothed, Rona joins his brother on an emotional yuletide journey to uncover the truth. Can they reach a place of forgiveness and reignite their long lost love? Or are some wounds too deep to ever heal?
"Sky Purington is at her best in this tale of love. I was hooked and drawn into this book the minute I started reading it." ~Goodreads
PLEASE NOTE: Originally released in Once Upon a Christmas Wedding boxset, Highland Yule is a historical romance set in…
As someone who struggles with the relentless “Family is everything!” of the holidays—a reality I share in common with a lot of queer people—I’ve been a lover of queer holiday stories that work to counterbalance and center the chosen families so many of us queer people create. As a queer reader, I’m always looking for more immersive stories about people like me, and during the holidays, I’m all the more ready for happy stories of queer holiday joy. I also own a rescued husky, and queer holiday audiobooks help get me through those frosty Canadian winter walks.
I re-listen to this one on audiobook every year while I bake my Christmas cookies and walk the dog, and every year, it helps conjure joy via the two men realizing they’re right for each other despite some missteps. Thanks to some dire events, the main character, Toby, learns how to both stand up for himself and finally declare what it is he wants out of life—which happens to be Mr. Miggles, the town librarian (and also his boss).
Tristan Wright takes an already wonderful story and makes it entirely engrossing via his performance, and I have multiple “Yes!” fist-pumping moments throughout (which, if I’m walking the dog, makes people stare at me on the street). Also, Toby and his love interest, Mr. Miggles, are librarians, and this story has so much library love in it I felt like I was getting a warm hug.
Toby Kincaid loves being the junior librarian in his hometown of Sandy Lake, Ohio. He spends his days surrounded by books and chatting with the library patrons. He especially adores the head librarian, Mr. Miggles, who is kind, witty, knowledgeable about everything, and hopelessly addicted to Christmas. Sean Miggles is also pretty cute—especially for an older guy who wears ties and suit pants every day. But Sean keeps himself at a distance, and there’s a sadness about him that Toby can’t figure out. When Sean is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he gives up without a fight. Toby…
As someone who struggles with the relentless “Family is everything!” of the holidays—a reality I share in common with a lot of queer people—I’ve been a lover of queer holiday stories that work to counterbalance and center the chosen families so many of us queer people create. As a queer reader, I’m always looking for more immersive stories about people like me, and during the holidays, I’m all the more ready for happy stories of queer holiday joy. I also own a rescued husky, and queer holiday audiobooks help get me through those frosty Canadian winter walks.
It’s a queer re-telling of The Gift of the Magi, both adorable and melodramatic—and I loved it! Yin and Ari celebrate their own space they’ve carved out with help from supportive friends and family and their own hard work, which fits Herrera’s Dreamers/refugee theme and is handled with trust, compassion, and love—but isn’t sugar-coated, either.
They’ve both got instincts and baggage around things falling apart or not working out and a hesitancy to think they can do enough for each other. This brilliantly written psychology leads to a series of good (yet terrible) choices. Watching them try to do something truly special for each other—even though they’re breaking their own rules for the gift exchange—had this wonderful bittersweet edge to it that ultimately ended on a note of joy I really loved, even if it got a little bumpy along the way.
Denpo Myint “Yin” Thuta is living the dream. His dream. A good job, higher education, supportive community and, best of all, his live-in boyfriend, Ari. Yin has his happily-ever-after … if only he and Ari could take the time to actually enjoy it. With the holidays fast approaching, Yin’s determined to change all that and surprise Ari with an over-the-top gift that will leave him in no doubt how much he’s loved—even though they agreed to keep things simple this year.
Like Yin, Aristide “Ari” Douniama worked so hard to secure his future that he may have forgotten how to…
Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. While waiting on her own country house party invitation [sending a wink to Inveraray Castle—which is just down the road, and boasts a duke!] she makes do by serving up imaginary shenanigans.
One of a series of twelve novellas taking up the themes of the traditional Yuletide song, this one has a ‘snowed in’ scenario at a fancy-schmancy manor house and a mysterious newcomer among the guests. All is not as it seems, as the handsome stranger has a hidden agenda. Is his interest in our heroine all playacting, to uncover the information he seeks, or is his fascination something more…? Brimming with heartwarming Christmassy elements, this romance has strong ‘opposites attract’ and ‘enemies to lovers’ vibes.
It’s 1817, with geese flocking just before Christmas—but Maria’s all alone…
Maria Fitzroy wants to do just two things this Christmas: avoid all questions about her matrimonial prospects, and see more of this strange Mr. Walter who appeared at Chalcroft asking strange questions.
He’s new to the village, mysterious and handsome, and has a strange fascination with Maria. Which absolutely should not get her heart racing. But an instinct that pulls her to him just as the geese are drawn across the sky keeps pulling Maria into Walter’s path, and before she knows it, scandalous kisses and games she should…
As someone who struggles with the relentless “Family is everything!” of the holidays—a reality I share in common with a lot of queer people—I’ve been a lover of queer holiday stories that work to counterbalance and center the chosen families so many of us queer people create. As a queer reader, I’m always looking for more immersive stories about people like me, and during the holidays, I’m all the more ready for happy stories of queer holiday joy. I also own a rescued husky, and queer holiday audiobooks help get me through those frosty Canadian winter walks.
Holiday Fauxmance—i.e., fake dating for the holidays—is a peppermint-scented novella catnip for me. Sasha’s family can be a bit much over her being single, which she knows comes from a good place but is relentless, so she makes up a girlfriend, which works until her eldest sister tries to call her bluff and dares her to bring her “girlfriend” home for the holidays.
Enter neighbor Kennedy, who is beautiful, available, and—bonus—she’s also an actress and in need of a gig. This book is sweet and cute and the couple drew me in from the start, and I can’t express how much I loved the low-angst content. Their connections came from genuine emotions coming out of the pretending and the scene where they eventually come clean about the deception. I could not stop laughing.
Sasha Wolfe has been talking up her new girlfriend to her overbearing mother for months, and when her skeptical sister dares her to invite this new squeeze over for family Christmas, Sasha accepts the challenge. After all, how hard can it be to bring your nonexistent girlfriend home for the holidays?
Since I was a child, Halloween and Christmas have held equally hallowed positions in my heart. When I learned of Krampus folklore in my teens, I was immediately fascinated. Krampus offered the best of both worlds—a dose of Halloween creepiness to counterbalance the bright jubilation of the winter holidays. Krampus Confidential, a middle-grade mystery, and adaptation of The Maltese Falcon, is my second children’s book that aims to introduce this magnificent creature to children in a way that doesn’t inspire nightmares. My first, Goodnight Krampus, is a board book for young readers that reimagines the monster as a rambunctious toddler who gives Santa a hard time by refusing to go to sleep on Christmas Eve.
Nobody does dark holiday tradition quite like the Icelanders. From a gigantic cat that preys on children who aren’t wearing new clothes to an ugly ogre who eats naughty children, Icelandic Christmas folklore is replete with macabre creatures ready to pounce. This collection of poems by Jóhannes úr Kötlum was originally published in 1932 and features the inspiration for several characters in my own book, including Grýla, Jóla the Yule Cat, and the Yule Kids (known in Icelandic folklore as the mischievous Yule Lads).
Since the first publication in 1932 Christmas is Coming has been an integral part of Icelandic Christmas traditions and helped preserve age-old folklore in modern culture. A seasonal bestseller from the start, few other books have been reprinted as many times. A children’s favorite The Yuletide-lads are thirteen mischievous and sometimes scary characters, appearing in towns and farmsteads, one by one, the first on December 12th and the last on December 24th. The Ballad of Grýla tells the tale of an ugly and vile female ogre that starves if the children are nice and behave, but is quick to reach…
As someone who struggles with the relentless “Family is everything!” of the holidays—a reality I share in common with a lot of queer people—I’ve been a lover of queer holiday stories that work to counterbalance and center the chosen families so many of us queer people create. As a queer reader, I’m always looking for more immersive stories about people like me, and during the holidays, I’m all the more ready for happy stories of queer holiday joy. I also own a rescued husky, and queer holiday audiobooks help get me through those frosty Canadian winter walks.
I love queer romance when it shows slices of queer life that we don’t see anywhere near as often as we do when we’re glimpsed in the mainstream, and that includes stocky, cuddly bear-type dudes like Will, who have such heart and is so genuinely well-written as a big gentle, shy dude I just melted for him at step one.
The snow, the holiday, the crush, and the passing of secret notes to his singer/songwriter crush are icing on the already wonderful gingerbread cookie that is this story, and it’s one of the first I revisit every year to get myself in the mood for the holidays. Also, the singer crush is written swoon-worthy, so you’re crushing out on him right there with Will.
A rising star struggling to write a Christmas song.
Song lyrics written in secret.
Will Johnson is shocked to discover his hotel room window overlooks the courtyard patio of one of his favorite gay singers, Rex Garland. Even more amazing, Rex seems interested in Will too.
When Will overhears Rex struggling to write an original Christmas song, he is struck by a flash of inspiration and drafts an anonymous note with song lyrics. Will is sure nothing will come of it, but the Christmas magic swirling amidst all the snow in upstate New…
