Top Ten Tuesday/ Christmas To Read

 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl with a new topic every week.

December 14: Books on My Winter 2021 To-read List (or summer if you’re in the southern hemisphere)

Since we are getting closer and closer to the end of the year, I thought I would share the ten novels I’m hoping to finish by the end of 2021.

Goodreads Blurb:

“All I want for Christmas is someone to love.”

Shy retail clerk Elliott Gaffney’s Christmas wish isn’t something Santa can grant him, but that doesn’t stop it from being his favorite time of year. Especially since he gets to work at Chicago’s prestigious Ashby’s department store in “the North Pole,” doing his part to make the magic of Christmas come alive for others.

All Bennett “Ash” Ashby wants for Christmas is to forget about it. Unfortunately, his father is forcing him to pay penance for the media frenzy caused by his latest public sex scandal. The Ashby heir, working as a lowly department store Santa? Only the fact that no one will know it’s really him can save Ash the embarrassment of being stuck in a fat suit instead of partying with his friends.

But when Elliott catches Ash’s eye, Christmas starts to look a whole lot brighter. And even though Elliott would never have the guts to say yes if he knew who Ash really was, falling for “Ben,” the new Santa, is another story all together.

Goodreads Blurb:

Since the loss of her family in a plane crash, Harley Diekerhoff has led a quiet life and keeps to herself. Taking the temporary job at the Copper Mountain Ranch as widower Brock Sheenan’s housekeeper seems perfect for her. But her calm cocoon is invaded with the arrival of Brock’s pre-teen twins, Mack and Molly who’ve never experienced a proper Christmas and before she knows it, Harley’s determined to make their holiday perfect.

Annoyed at first by Harley’s interference, Brock is secretly pleased she’s changed Mack and Molly’s world. It doesn’t hurt that he finds Harley incredibly attractive, fierce, smart and passionate. It’s also an added bonus that she’s not afraid to challenge him and get his blood heated! But when sparks fly and the attractions sizzles between them, Harley’s not so sure she can handle something permanent with this dark, taciturn cowboy who doesn’t know how to let her in. But Brock is determined to hold on to her and praying for a Christmas miracle… 

Goodreads Blurb:

In a department store in London, a little girl called Sophie visits Santa’s magical forest with her grandfather. As they emerge from the forest, Sophie’s grandfather reports her missing… but the little girl’s right there. Is she a ghost, a twin, an alien abductee—or is there some simpler explanation? Twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles has fifteen minutes to figure out the puzzle before the police are called and Christmas is ruined.

Goodreads Blurb:

I lied. I do care about you. I’m not over you and I don’t know if I ever will be.

My name is Abigail, but most people call me Abby. When Jonathon broke up with me a year ago just after Christmas I thought I’d be fine. Now the holidays are here again, and I’m falling apart at the seams. I can’t get him off my mind no matter how hard I try.

Reconciliation isn’t an option. He has a new girlfriend, a more serious one like he wanted. They’re perfect for each other. He’s the son of a billionaire, a district attorney, and she’s a publicist. As a secretary in a lawyer’s office, I can’t compete with that. I know I need to move on with my life, but I don’t know how.

When I invited his parents over for tea on Christmas Day, l didn’t know I was igniting a course of events that would change our lives forever. Once the wheels were in motion everything spiraled so quickly. I didn’t even see it coming.

Will Abigail find it in her heart to move on with a new love? Or will she win Jonathon’s heart back in time for Christmas?

Goodreads Blurb:

Carson Trent doesn’t know that the beautiful Millie Cruise who literally falls into his lap on the morning train is really Camille Harper, a rock star of the romance industry.
Millie doesn’t know she is headed for Carson’s grandmother’s picture perfect inn in a quaint New England town.
Neither Carson or Millie know that their lives are about to spin out of control thanks to a patch of black ice, a cow, and a little white Christmas lie.

Goodreads Blurb:

After fleeing her beloved small town five years ago, Julia Bailey is back to spend Christmas with her family. Returning is hard, but keeping the devastating secret about her late husband is even harder. Her place isn’t in Big Sky Country any longer…but the more time she spends with the irresistible Sheriff who saved her once before, and his adorable little daughter, the more Julia starts wishing she could let go of the past and start a new life.

Single dad and county Sheriff Chase Donovan had been secretly in love with his best friend’s wife for years. But after her traumatic loss he knew Julia needed to get away from Shadow Creek, even though helping her leave was the last thing he wanted to do. Now she’s home and he doesn’t intend to lose her a second time. Chase is going to prove to Julia just how good they can be together this Christmas…and forever.

Trapped in a cabin in a raging blizzard with the one man on earth who could turn her world upside down…this Christmas holiday was not playing out at all the way Lil Reynolds had planned. Not even close.

When Lil’s former fiancé chose to marry on Christmas Eve—the day he and Lil had planned to marry one year ago—she knew she had to get out of town for the holidays. Heading to the isolated family cabin seemed like the perfect solution, until the blizzard came…and a man showed up at her door in the heart of the storm. Casey Lanigan. Her ex-fiancé’s brother. A man with whom she shared a secret summer romance many years ago. A man who’d betrayed her trust. A man who, despite everything, still made her heart beat a little harder…

So much for a Lanigan-free holiday

Goodreads Blurb:

Headstrong cowgirl Peta Dixon has put her life on hold this Christmas to prove she can run her ranch as well as any man. There isn’t anything she can’t ride, fix, or stare down, and the only things to scare her are long hemlines and sky-high heels.

Self-made rancher Garrett Ross normally doesn’t take orders – he gives them. But when asked to step in to act as a temporary foreman on a Montana ranch over the holidays, he can’t refuse.

Yet when Garrett meets the beautiful and stubborn ranch owner, he realizes he’s signed on for a whole lot of trouble. Cynical and jaded, he has no time for feelings. And when Peta meets the man she’s to share her life with until Christmas, she discovers she no longer wants to be the person others expect her to be…

Will the rancher finally listen to his heart and admit he can’t live without a certain straight-talking cowgirl?

Goodreads Blurb:

It’s Christmas time at Crescent Hall, but don’t expect expect peace, harmony and goodwill among men. When Mason Hall and his wife, Regan, invite their friends to stay for the holidays, sparks fly in an epic battle of the sexes, military style!

Navy SEAL Dan Hemmins goes head to head with soldier Sarah Metlin to prove once and for all that woman can’t possibly qualify for an elite branch of the military, but when Sarah proves she’s not just one of the most qualified warriors he’s ever met, she’s also one of the smartest and sexiest, too, he’ll do whatever it takes to get close to her, even if he has to challenge her to another contest…or three…or five!

Goodreads Blurb:

One small town. One hot neighbor. One second chance at love.

The best fake snow decorations in L.A.? Done by me.

About to get a promotion? Also me.

Sent to a sleepy small town right before Christmas to save a bookstore? Unfortunately, me again.

Old Pine Cove was the one place on earth I had sworn I’d never return to. Then my boss asked me to manage one of our bookstores there. I wanted to tell her no way, but that would definitely lower my chances of being promoted once I returned to L.A. So I sucked it up. Besides, it was only supposed to be temporary. What could possibly go wrong?

Gosh, how naïve of me.

Alex Denverton opening the door with that smoldering look of his, that’s what went wrong. It had been ten years since I crashed his truck and made a run for it. And now he was back in my life. How was I supposed to focus on work knowing he was right next door? And why did I ever agree to organize the annual Winter Walk with him?

One thing was certain, though. If I wanted to have a magical Christmas, I couldn’t ask Santa to make it happen. It was up to me to decide: go big or go home.

Alex