As the cold of winter starts to settle in and festive cheer buzzes in the air, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a romance novel to keep warm. Unexpected friendships, fake dating, and second-chance romances abound in these 10 sapphic holiday rom-coms.
Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
This is a delightful holiday rom-com filled with chaotic bisexual energy, fake dating hijinks, and a lovely friendship that develops out of it. The main character is a trainwreck, but in the most endearing way. She also provides wonderful plus-size representation. There are disability and chronic illness depictions that feel authentic and aren’t used as the character’s sole definition.
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake
For fans of second-chance romance and musicians in love, Blake’s novel tells the story of ex-fiancés Charlotte Donovan and Brighton Fairbrook. Charlotte plays violin in a string quartet in New York, and Brighton played guitar in a band that kicked her out. The two find themselves spending the Christmas holidays at the same house with mutual friends and pretending not to know each other. But the romantic atmosphere and familiar experience of making music together start to bring the two ex-lovers back into each other’s orbit.
Her Night With Santa by Adriana Herrera
Farnaz Castillo, a sex toy maker, is the favorite niece of one of the Kings of the Magi, allowing her to borrow Santa’s secret beach villa for a holiday getaway. Kristina Kringle is the first woman to take on the mantle of Santa, an exhausting endeavor that leads her to take some well-deserved R&R at her secret Caribbean hideaway. When she finds Farnaz at her vacation home, she decides one night couldn’t hurt. This is a short and steamy novelette perfect for some holiday heat.
Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
The fake dating and ex-best friends tropes come together in this cozy and warm holiday novel. Arden James, a famous Hollywood actor, finds herself needing to repair her party-girl image if she wants to get the role of her dreams. She makes her way back home to her small town to find her former best friend, Caroline Beckett, an aspiring journalist. They agree to engage in a fake relationship to help Arden with her reputation and give Caroline the ultimate scoop to set her up for success in her career. But old feelings start to come back, leading the two friends to find their way back to each other.
I’ll Get Back to You by Becca Grischow
Former classmates Murphy and Ellie Meyers find themselves navigating a complicated Christmas in their suburban town together. Murphy had planned on attending the University of Illinois with her best friend, Kat, but instead finds herself stuck failing the same class and working at the same coffee shop she’s been at since sixteen years old. Ellie’s mom happens to be the professor who keeps flunking Murphy in her class, so Murphy sees this as an opportunity. Ellie needs help getting her mother to agree to her own dreams, so she goes along with Murphy’s plan to start a fake relationship.
Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark
The three adult Belvedere siblings each find themselves at a crossroads when they reunite at their mother’s Catskills manor for Christmas. Hollywood showrunner Liz, the eldest, can’t figure out how to follow up on the first season of her hit show, or her crush on its star, Violet Grace. Middle child Birdie turned her quirks into a stand-up comedy career that’s on the verge of crashing and burning as her manager drops her, since she spends more time picking up women than working on her material. The baby, Rafi, finds himself heartbroken after his girlfriend turns down his marriage proposal in front of his entire company. This book is a celebration of love, family, and the excitement of life as a creative.
I’ll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone
This is a house-swap holiday rom-com that’s perfect for fans of The Holiday film. The hustle of San Francisco’s tech industry leaves Bee Tyler in desperate need of a break, so she takes her best friend’s advice and finds a getaway on a popular house-swap app. Meanwhile, Clover Mills has spent a year dealing with the loss of her mother and leaving her fiancé, so she jumps at the chance to get away from her small town and instead spend the holidays in San Francisco. As Bee finds herself spending time with Clover’s charming ex-fiancé, Clover keeps crossing paths with Bee’s beautiful sister and falling head over heels.
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
Ellie Oliver was living her dream, working a job in animation and meeting a woman on Christmas Eve at a bookstore, falling head over heels in one night. But a betrayal the next morning and losing her job soon after left her feeling lost, alone, and in need of money. Ellie finds a job at a local coffee shop to get by, and just like that, it’s Christmas time once again. When her landlord proposes a marriage of convenience so he can receive his inheritance and she can lessen her financial strain, Ellie never imagines the ploy will lead her back to the woman who broke her heart the last Christmas… who just so happens to be her landlord’s sister.
Season of Love by Helena Greer
When Miriam Blum’s great-aunt Cass passes away, she leaves Miriam as part-owner of Carrigan’s, a Jewish-run Christmas tree farm. She wants nothing more than to sit shiva, avoid her parents, and leave the farm behind, but when she learns the business is on the verge of going under, she decides to stay and turn things around. But to do this, she must work with the farm’s grumpy manager, Noelle Northwood. It’s going to take risk and trust to make their dreams come true.
How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow
In this “sapphic Jewish twist on the classic Christmas rom-com,” days before winter break, Shani gets dumped, leaving her wanting only to focus on her month-long paleoichthyology internship. But then she runs into May, quite literally, with her mother’s Subaru. Their paths cross again when Shani takes on a dog-walking gig. Now, rather than spending all her time diligently studying fossils and dead fish, Shani begins to develop feelings for May when they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. Will it turn into a new, long-term relationship, or can Shani keep it as a passing winter fling?
