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Whether you’re looking for gift ideas for the bookworms in your life or a great pick to snuggle up with this season, here’s a selection of books to get you in the holiday spirit.
Christmas Bells: A Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini
Inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, Christmas Bells, this heartfelt novel toggles between the 1860s and present-day Boston, sharing the story of Longfellow’s family during wartime and Sophia, a young vibrant teacher whose job at a local school has been cut. Despite Sophia’s loss of security, she leads the children’s choir at a church for a Christmas Eve concert, where she chooses a carol set to Longfellow’s poem. This is the perfect holiday read that reminds us to continue on in joy, despite the heaviness so often marked in life.
The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan
Workaholic marketing guru Imogen has carefully crafted a fictitious personal life down to a framed image of a fake dog. Every event she is part of goes off without a hitch—until she is derailed by her toxic mother. Her boss, Rosiland, forces her to take time off, and Imogen finds herself living in a cottage owned by one of her clients in the idyllic Cotswolds during the Christmas season. Her life is turned upside down when she discovers family, Miles (the hunky local vet), a dog named Ralph and the lies her mom has told her. This quintessential holiday story will bring you coziness, healing, hope and a bit of mysterious intrigue.
For Kids: The Christmas Tree Ship, by Carol Crane
For Middle-Grade: Let it Glow, by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy
For YA: The Afterlife of Holly Chase, by Cynthia Hand
Casie Leigh Lukes is a Minnesota-based writer, editor, and owner of Cocoa&Champagne—creator of custom library curations. You can find her on Instagram @cocoaandchampagne.
