Must Read 2025 Ho-Ho-Hoe Book TBR

Nov 1

Holiday festival with lights and a couple embracing in love. 'Our Holiday Ho-Ho-Hoe Book Holiday Romance TBR. — We’ve got a bushel of holiday romance lined for us with these twenty one (21) holiday titles we’ve been saving for just this occasion.
There’s a whoooole lot going on here—take a snowy stroll through our TBR below and watch for our read-and-rated reviews over the next two months. We don’t review in order, but we’ll read them all by Christmas.
We won’t ever recommend something we haven’t read and, because it’s always worth repeating, we’re humans. And we’re doing human things: making Christmas punch, throwing our backs out carrying the tree upstairs, dressing up the dog. These are things only humans like us can do.
**UPDATE 11/29:** We’ve read 4 so far! “🥂 **Read & Rated**"
**UPDATE 11/30:** Just banged out 3 more (*winky face*)
**UPDATE 12/6:** Slow progress, not the books’ fault! Added another review.
**UPDATE 12/8:** Loooots of progress. We’ve officially read and rated 12 books on our list. Just over 50%!
**UPDATE 12/10:** Added two more reviews.
**UPDATE 12/19:** Just two books remain! Updated the “read” emoji to champagne flutes because it feels fancy. Removed “Snow Place Like Home” by Chelsea Curto from the reading list - launch date moved to 2026.
**UPDATE 12/20:** That’s a wrap! We finished our holiday TBR with 5 days to spare. Shit, what are we gonna read?

Those tingles aren’t just the RumChata

This Holiday TBR is going to be a roller coaster of spice. Some of these seem tame and polite. Others…well, we’re hoping they’re a little dirty. ‘Tis the season. And we’ve got a nice variety of page lengths—we’re not always in the mood for an epic (READ: long) adventure. Sometimes we want to sit down, read, bang one out (we said what we said) and move on.

On our Halloween TBR, we tried to predict some of the details of each book, but we were about 40% wrong… so we’re not going do that again. We’ll just read the book and then fill in the information. But we did jump to wild conclusions and tell you what we THINK we’ll find based on the book jacket, the author, and past titles. This will be fun!

With that, let’s get into it 🎄❄️🎅🧤🕯️

(Penelope hates emojis…so I added too many)

A collage of book covers for the "Home Sweet Holidays" Amazon Original Stories Collection. Shows four book covers with a snowy background and the author names in red text. Black text says "Read and Listen with Prime and Kindle Unlimited" — **Titles:** Snow Place Like Home by Laura Pavlov, Merry and Bright by Ali Rosen, All Wrapped Up In You by Rosie Danan, You Better Not Pout by Mia Sosa
**Series:** Home Sweet Holidays (Amazon Originals)
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Aw, these seem so sweet. “Cookie-sweet” as described by Amazon. They seem like stories of second chances, small towns, and first loves returning.
**Our Series Review:** Read Merry & Bright and All Wrapped Up in You. They’re sweet.
—
🥂 **Read & Rated**
**Book 1:** Snow Place Like Home by Laura Pavlov
**Our Ratings:** **☆ 3.0** **- Skip This**
**Tropes:** Small Town Return, Return to Hometown, Brother's Best Friend, Celebrity, Slow Burn, Only One Bed, Longtime Crush
**Spice Level:** Mild, closed door
**Pages:** 57 Pages
**Listen Time:** 1 hour, 8 minutes
**Our Review:** Lacked depth. We didn’t really care about the characters because there wasn’t much development.
—
🥂 **Read & Rated**
**Book 2:** Merry and Bright by Ali Rosen
**Our Ratings:** **☆ 3.5** **- Liked This**
**Tropes:** Small Town Return, Return to Hometown, Family Drama, Athlete, Slow Burn, Only One Bed, Fake Dating
**Spice Level:** Mild, closed door
**Pages:** 63 Pages
**Listen Time:** 1 hour, 19 minutes
**Our Review:** Aw, this one was sweet. He’s a widower just trying to get through the holidays. She’s the unseen child in her family. They support each other in their awkward family dynamics.
—
🥂 **Read & Rated**
**Book 3:** All Wrapped Up in You by Rosie Danan
**Our Ratings:** **☆ 4.0 - Loved This**
**Tropes:** Christmas Meet-Cute, Neighbors, Doctor MMC, Comedian FMC, Accidentally Alone, She Got His Mail
**Spice Level:** Mild, closed door
**Pages:** 53 Pages
**Listen Time:** 1 hour, 19 minutes
**Our Review:** A true Christmas meet-cute. She’s a comedian, he’s a doctor. They lead such different lives but they’re searching for the same thing: Belonging. Also, she gets his mail and thinks he ordered a Japanese sex toy. So awkward.
—
🥂 **Read & Rated**
**Book 4:** You Better Not Pout by Mia Sousa
**Our Ratings:** **☆ 2.5** **- Skip This**
**Tropes:** Second Chance, Fake Engagement, Break-Up Due to Misunderstanding, BIPOC, Cross-Cultural Couple
**Spice Level:** Mild, closed door
**Pages:** 51 Pages
**Listen Time:** 1 hour, 19 minutes
**Our Review:** They’re breaking up because they really don’t get one another. But it’s a tough read—the onus seems to land solely on Eric to better understand and cater to Julianna. She’s a contradiction with every breath and it’s tiring.

“Book Cover for "A Holly Jolly Ever After" by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone shows two people standing in a town center in the snow. Town center says Theater on the building and there are pine trees on each side.” — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** A Holly Jolly Ever After
**Author:** Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
**Series:** A Christmas Notch, Book 2
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.0** **- Loved This**
**Genre:** Small Town Romance
**Tropes:** Christmas Romance, Praise Kink, Dirty Talker, Religious Trauma, Separated/Divorcing/Divorced, Childhood Celebrity Crush, Celebrity, MC is Shunned by Family, Small Town, Playboy/Virgin, Reformed Playboy, Co-Parenting, MC has Interfering Family, Redemption, Forgiveness Arc, Opposites Attract, MMC is A Golden Retriever, Accidental/Surprise Pregnancy
**Spice Level:** HOT, but most of it happens in the first half of the book.
**Pages:** 432 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** It sounds so sweet, but it’s Sierra Simone so it’s probably also…dirty as hell. 🤞
**Our Review:** The filthiest, sweetest Hallmark-esque book you'll find. She's been evicted from her family for DARING to divorce her weasel of a husband. He's got a pretty low bar for affection, seeking out anything he can find. They're cast alongside one another in a daring "after dark" movie and sparks ignite. He teaches her to love herself. She teaches him that he's worth seeing. Two plot points that need resolution: 1. Her ex-husband issued threats early in the book. Buuuut we never see him again. 2. Did Kallum get his tooth fixed?

"A Very Stalker Christmas" by Layla Fae book cover shows a santa hat, a pair of binoculars, a snow mound, and snow flakes. There's a farm house and a christmas tree in the background. Text says "A Spicy Holiday Novella" — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** A Very Stalker Christmas
**Author:** Layla Fae
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 3.5** **- Liked this**
**Genre:** Dark Romance
**Tropes:** Stalker, Small Town, Praise Kink, Mask Kink, Disabled MMC (mute), Sweet Naive FMC
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 105 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Layla writes some dark shit. We predict this won’t be light and fluffy—the cover art font treatment is lulling us into a false sense of holiday bliss. That’s so Layla.
**Our Review:** We were right - it was dark. It was also sweet despite being dark and stalker-y. She’s so concerned with others that she can’t remember to take care of herself. He’s doing nothing better than watching her. All day. There’s probably something psychological here that he’s soothing, but he treats her well.

"The Gingerbread Bakery" by Laurie Gilmore shows a quaint bakery with wreaths and garland decorating the front of a pink shop. There's a bench in front of the window. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** The Gingerbread Bakery
**Author:** Laurie Gilmore
**Series:** Dream Harbor, Book 5
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.5 - LOVED This**
**Genre:** Small Town Romance
**Tropes:** Small Town Return, Second Chance, Friendship Group, Overcoming past breakups, Story Told in Past and Present, MC is Popular/Rules the School, Virgin FMC, MC is a Prodigal Son/Daughter, MC is an Only Child, Childhood Promise Fulfilled, Saved as a Child, Redemption, Friends to Enemies to Lovers
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 358 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Hot, aggressive passion from the MCs - we hope it holds up to the angst that’s been building since book 1.
**Our Review:** BETTER THAN PREDICTED. I was grinning the entire book. The most genuinely enjoyable book. I didn't want it to end. Perfect evolution of enemies-to-lovers.

"Holiday Ever After" by Hannah Grace book cover shows two people embracing in the middle of a small town. Woman on the right is in blue, man on the left is in a red flannel. There are four shops in the background and text on the cover. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Holiday Ever After
**Author:** Hannah Grace
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.25 - LOVED This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Small Town, Rich/Wealthy FMC, Family Business, MC has Interfering Family, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Redemption, MMC/FMC has a Cute Dog, Loss of Parent (Death), Work Trip/Business Trip, Workplace Rivals, One Night Stand, Business Competitors, Personal Growth Journey, Winter Resort, Obsessive MMC, Grumpy/Sunshine, Witty Banter, "Smart, Strong, Independent FMC", Holiday Romance, Seasonal, Praise Kink
**Spice Level:** Medium (multiple closed door scenes, one graphic scene)
**Pages:** 384 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** If you’re mad because Hallmark left Peacock and you refuse to pay $8/mo for Hallmark streaming (we’re projecting), this might scratch the itch.
**Our Review:** She's not some flighty nepo baby, she's the real deal. And when she goes to Fraser Falls to right the wrongs of her company, she leaps into action. I LOVED how detailed the story was in Clara's scheme to mend fences. Her not-a-murder-board sticky note plan made me like Clara even more. Jack has his buffoon moments, but he's sweet and driven by a good heart. Loved these two!

"Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison book cover shows two people embracing but their faces hidden by mistletoe. Woman is in orange, man is in blue. Both wearing scarves. Text on the cover says title and author name. Title in white, author name in blue. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Lovelight Farms
**Author:** B.K. Borison
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.0 - Loved This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Small Town, Friends to Lovers, Fake Relationship, Christmas Romance, Only One Bed, Friendship Group, Overcoming Past Trauma, Italian MMC, MC has Interfering Family, Loss of Parent (Death), FMC & MMC Enter Into A Contract, MMC is A Golden Retriever, MMC/FMC has a Cute Cat, "Clutzy, Accident-Prone FMC"
**Spice Level:** Medium (most encounters were vague, but there were many)
**Pages:** 324 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Someone’s lying to themselves about how ‘fake’ this relationship really is.
**Our Review:** What a pleasant surprise! Sweet, funny, relatable. She's in love with her best friend, but stuck in her head about risking it all. She'd rather have this than nothing. He's also in love with her and uses a social media contest to finally get her in his arms. They're PRECIOUS. I rated it down a bit because the first half of the book there is no real conversation between the MCs. He says words out loud, she responds in her head and just...nods. It was frustrating. She figures it out, but can you imagine only getting small physical gestures in response to brave words? No.

"The Mating Game" by Lana Ferguson book cover shows two people looking at each other. One in pink, the other in green flannel. They're in the woods and there are dog paw prints leading to a cabin in the background. Title text and author name in green — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** The Mating Game
**Author:** Lana Ferguson
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.0 - Loved This**
**Genre:** Shifter Romance, Fantasy Romance
**Tropes:** Lumberjack Vibes, Small Town, Grumpy/Sunshine, Loss of Parent (Death), MC has a Sick Parent, MC has Interfering Family, Shifters, Overcoming past breakups, FMC & MMC Enter Into A Contract, In-Heat, Healing Together, "Mysterious, Brooding (MMC)", Touch Her and Die Vibes, Possessive MMC, Brown Eyed FMC, Brown Eyed MMC, Tall MMC (6'4''+), Friends to Lovers, Trapped in a Cabin
**Spice Level:** HOT with knotting!
**Pages:** 416 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Late blooming shifters - that means lots of confusion, some reaally heavy petting [*wink*], and finding a fated mate?
**Our Review:** We've located the ultimate Grump - Hunter is so perfectly written, it's astounding. Hard exterior, absolutely oozey center.

Book cover for "Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal" by Meghann Quinn shows two people surrounded by red ribbon and pine needles. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Merry Christmas Your Filthy Animal
**Author:** Meghan Quinn
**Series:** Kringletown Christmas, Book 2
**Our Rating:** **☆ 2.0 - Skip This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Christmas Romance, Family Rivalry, Family Business, Small Town, Farm/Ranch Life, Rescue, Enemies to Lovers, Personal Growth Journey, Learning a New World, City Girl/Country Boy, Breakup Due to Misunderstanding, MC has Absent Parents, Socially Awkward MMC, Friendship Group, Hidden Identity, Overcoming Past Trauma, Forgiveness Arc
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 455 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** We hope it’s dirty. Filthy, even.
**Our Review:** Okay, the rating makes it seem like this is a dumpster fire, but there were some things that worked. The narration was funny and broke the 3rd wall. Cool mechanic. The loose adaptation to Home Alone was a creative spin. Truthfully, the only things that didn't work were the MCs. (and the brothers' names, but that's not the point here). Both of the MCs were written to be eccentric, awkward, and endearing. Meghan got 2 out of 3. We didn't get the endearing part and it was ROUGH (e.g. why did Betty own a tarantula, other than for Home Alone purposes?). All of the valuable insights and resolutions happened inside Betty's head, but everytime she spoke she was a bitchy, unreasonable fuss. She reminded me of Nesta in ACOTAR. And that's...not a compliment.

Book cover for "Merry Me" by C.R. Jane shows two people in the woods, leaning on a Christmas tree. Looks like enemies to lovers. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Merry Me
**Author:** CR Jane
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 3.5 - Liked This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Overcoming past breakups, Second Chance, "Young, Innocent, Naive FMC", FMC with Self-Esteem Issues, Morally Grey MMC, Possessive MMC, Celebrity, First Love, Obsessive MMC, Protective MMC, MMC Falls First, Movie Star/Commoner, Forced Proximity, Dominant MMC, Christmas Romance, Holiday Romance, Small Town
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 414 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Another one for the Hallmark lovers - in order to know what love looks like, she needs to know and accept herself. Probably.
**Our Review:** MMC isn't as chaotic and obsessive as C.R. Jane's typical MMCs. It might be a nice book for someone new to C.R. Jane as an author. Was a tad slow for my tastes. The Santa Clause Suit kink was defintiely a new one. And it was nice to see an MMC that hates banana's just as much as I do

Book cover for "Moonlight Over Manhattan" by Sarah Morgan shows NYC skyline, snow, and a blue background. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Moonlight Over Manhattan
**Author:** Sarah Morgan
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.25 - Loved This!**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Doctor, MMC/FMC has a Cute Dog, Forced Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Abusive Parent(s), MC is a Twin, Dominant MMC, New York City, Holiday Matchmaking, Holiday Romance, Christmas Romance, FMC Falls First
**Spice Level:** Medium—passionate, but not graphic
**Pages:** 384 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** In a city of millions of opportunities, they probably meet against all odds. And fingers crossed for a cute cat in this mix.
**Our Review:** Love *Challenge Harriett* - she's easy to root for. An FMC that evovles and truly grows-what a refreshing read! For a doctor, Ethan certainly is a block head. Thank all that's holy that he figures his shit out.

Book cover for "My December Darling" by Lauren Asher shows a gingerbread house and text that says "a small-town Christmas novella" — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** My December Darling
**Author:** Lauren Asher
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 2.5 - Skip This**
**Genre:** Small Town Romance
**Tropes:** Small Town Return, Doctor, MC has Interfering Family, Strong Sister Bond, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace, Grumpy/Sunshine, Under 18 MMC, MMC Falls First, Blue-Eyed MMC, Short/Novella
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 252 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Return to small town and my poor, shriveled heart grows three sizes.
**Our Review:** Everything you need to know about this plot comes from the chapter summaries: "[We] fall into a pattern over the next few days of meeting up at work to write her speech, spending our free time building the LEGOs set, and texting during the in-between." It suffered from a lack of real tension or conflict, boring exchanges, on-the-nose resolutions. Just boring all around.

Book cover for "The One Night" by Meghan Quinn shows a boat on water in front of the Seattle skyline — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** The One Night
**Author:** Meghan Quinn
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** ☆ **4.25 - Loved This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Best Friend's Ex, Separated/Divorcing/Divorced, One Night Stand, MC has Matchmaking Parents, Family Business, Short/Novella, Christmas Romance, Holiday Matchmaking
**Spice Level:** Medium, one scene that’s graphic
**Pages:** 82 pages
**Audio:** 2 hours, 8 minutes read by Teddy Hamilton
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** A funny misunderstanding of the entire situation by both MCs.
**Our Review:** WE’RE SO DESTROYED WE MADE AN IG ABOUT IT HERE. It’s such a lighthearted, feel good story…at first. Then once you care about Cooper and Nora, once you really open your heart to their blossoming affection, Meghan crushes your soul in her hands, watching your face change from confusion to horror and relishing the power of her dark magic. But…you should still read it.

Book cover for "Paddled by Krampus" by Harley Laroux shows a woman in red lingerie in front of a Christmas tree. Looks seductive. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Paddled by Krampus
**Author:** Harley Laroux
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 2.0 - Skip This**
**Genre:** Monster Romance
**Tropes:** TBD
**Spice Level:** TBD
**Pages:** 36 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** You really shouldn’t fuck around with Krampus. But we’re excited that this naked coed is going to take her chances.
**Our Review:** Razor thin plot, lots of spanking, and a kleptomaniac FMC who drinks an orgasm potion effectively summoning Krampus. Also the book cover is modern, the story is the f*cking middle ages.

Book cover for "Snow Place Like Home" by Chelsea Curto is green with additional text that says "a holiday novella" — 💀**Launch Date Moved to 2026**

**Title:** Snow Place Like Home
**Author:** Chelsea Curto
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** TBD
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** TBD
**Spice Level:** TBD
**Pages:** TBD
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Probably sweet and a lot spicy.
**Our Rating:** Not yet read or rated.

Book cover for "Spark" by Ali Lasky shows two people wearing knit hats standing in the snow. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Spark
**Author:** Allie Lasky
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 2.0 - Skip This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Return to Hometown, Second Chance, MCs were Childhood Friends, Friendship Group, Friends to Lovers, Bisexual MMC, Shy FMC, Socially Awkward FMC, Longtime Crush, Holiday Romance, LGBTQIA, Neurodivergent FMC, Jewish FMC, Jewish MMC
**Spice Level:** HOT (one veeeery graphic scene)
**Pages:** 120 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** We love a will-they-won’t-they story of romance that grew from friendship. We hope it’s as wholesome as that.
**Our Review:** Lite on literally every story detail EXCEPT why Asher wanted to be pegged.

Book cover for "Twelve Nights as His Mistress" by Elisa Braden shows a woman in regency clothes, a cloak, and snow. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Twelve Nights as His Mistress
**Author:** Elisa Braden
**Series:** Rescued from Ruin, Book 6
**Our Rating:** **☆ 4.25 - Loved This**
**Genre:** Historical Romance
**Tropes:** Regency/Georgian/Victorian Period, Widow/er, Reformed Rake, Age 30+ FMC, Age 40+ MMC, Accidental/Surprise Pregnancy, Break Their Heart To Save Them, MC has Interfering Family
**Spice Level:** Medium
**Pages:** 168 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Sweet with dark undertones, just like the books in the series (which are some of our 4-star faves).
**Our Review:** Loved this. They fell for one another when it was impossible. And now that they're free to fall in love, they continue to discover obstacles to their happiness. They finally say 'fuck it' and live happily ever after.

Book cover for "The Very Naughty List" by Callie Rose shows a lit Christmas tree, a woman in sexy read and white stockings, and presents. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** The Very Naughty List
**Author:** Callie Rose
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 2.5** **- Skip This**
**Genre:** Contemporary Romance
**Tropes:** Fake Dating, Why Choose, Reverse Harem, Small Town Return, Overcoming a Previous Breakup, Brother’s Best Friends
**Spice Level:** SPICY!
**Pages:** 442 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** Um…Did you ever read The Time Traveler’s Wife where the guy time travels as a teenager back to himself and he starts experimenting physically with his future self? That’s what this feels like. Three of the same looking man and one of her.
**Our Review:** Okay, we were sort of right. It was three guys who look the same banging one girl. But the story was all smut with a shallow plot. Like…rain water in a barrel shallow. We were skimming the dialogue by the end.

Book cover for "Mean One" by Ab. Cynthe shows green fur background, candy cane lettering for the title, and candy canes. — 🥂 **Read & Rated**

**Title:** Mean One
**Author:** Ab. Cynthe
**Series:** Standalone
**Our Rating:** **☆ 3.25** **- Consider Reading It**
**Genre:** Horror Romance
**Tropes:** Folklore Romance, Holiday Romance, Forced Proximity, Loss of Parent (Death), MC is trapped, Small Town, Age Gap Romance, MMC/FMC is/are on the Run, Revenge, Tortured MMC, What the hell did I just read and why can't I stop, MC has a Tragic Past, Dark, Murder Spree
**Spice Level:** HOT, Smutty
**Pages:** 130 pages
**Our Pre-Read Prediction:** This is going to be so weird.
**Our Review:** We were right! It was weird. Genuinely was impressed how they translated “Whoville” pleasantry and joy into “Whoreville” despair. Couldn’t predict a single thing about this story or its resolution. For that alone, you might consider reading it.

Cardigan B

Must Read 2025 Ho-Ho-Hoe Book TBR

Those tingles aren’t just the RumChata

THE VELVET PAGES

CONTACT US

USEFUL LINKS

RECS BY GENRE

Must Read 2025 Ho-Ho-Hoe Book TBR

Those tingles aren’t just the RumChata

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THE VELVET PAGES

CONTACT US

USEFUL LINKS

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