Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan – LONDON
A Redbird Christmas
A novel of melancholy set in RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Ten Great Books with Christmas in their Title
26th October 2024
Ten Great Books with Christmas in their title.There are almost 150 titles in the TripFiction database that have Christmas in their title. Here we choose 10 of the best from several countries – classics and brand new favourites – to put you in the mood for the festivities. They range from Romances to Cozy Mysteries – and many more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
A Christmas in Prague by Helga Jensen – PRAGUE
When Olivia’s beloved Aunt Grace passes, she leaves everything to her niece, with one condition: Travel to Prague and deliver a message to Grace’s long-lost true love, Marek.
The trouble is, Olivia’s world is getting smaller. Since her husband left her one heartbreaking Christmas Eve, she has found even getting into town a challenge, let alone travelling by herself to a different country.
But this is one adventure she has to take, if she is to honour Grace.
The snowy, magical city of Prague slowly starts to awaken her festive spirit, and as Marek’s nephew, Tomas, shows her around the gorgeous Christmas markets, Olivia begins to feel she can truly live again.
Grace never had her chance at love, but might Olivia’s secret Christmas wish come true and grant her a second chance at romance?
Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan – LONDON
“The scent of cinnamon, orange peel and ginger perfumed the air, with a strong undercurrent of coffee. Outside the rain was battering against the large windows of the eau-de-nil-painted exterior of the Cupcake Café, tucked into a little grey stone close next to an ironmonger’s and a fenced-in tree that looked chilled and bare in the freezing afternoon.” What a wonderful start to this lovely book. Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn’t be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don’t seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe – with its increased demand for her delectable creations – begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.
A St Ives Christmas Mystery by Deborah Fowler – ST IVES
When tragedy brings Merrin McKenzie back to St Ives, she knows adjusting might take time, even with the comfort of Christmas back in her hometown. Stepping back from her career as a solicitor, she agrees to clean holiday rentals for her friends who own cottages nearby. She anticipates dirty laundry and sandy floors, but she didn’t sign up for a dead body, neatly tucked up in one of the guest beds.
The police are baffled by the young man’s identity and the strangeness of his death. For Merrin, however, coincidences are beginning to stack up. Even though Inspector Louis Peppiatt is sceptical of her theories, something sinister is hiding beneath the festive surface of this charming seaside town. As the case unfolds, a dark side to the Cornish coast emerges.
A Concert for Christmas by Helen Hawkins – COTSWOLDS
Unwrap a story of festive song, good cheer and – just maybe – a sprinkling of love …
Schoolteacher Sophie Lawson has fled to the Cotswold countryside after a tragic break-up and is throwing herself into dating and organising Cranswell’s annual Christmas concert.
The festive fun is marred by the arrival of a handsome but surly musical director, tricky pupils and concert preparations falling into disarray. Disaster strikes, but the show must go on. Will the concert bring Christmas harmony to Cranswell and will Sophie end the year on a high note?
All I Want For Christmas by Karen Swan – COPENHAGEN
Three first dates and an art-world mystery – it’s going to be a busy Christmas for Darcy. All I Want for Christmas is the Sunday Times bestselling cosy winter romance from Karen Swan, author of Christmas By Candlelight.
Can she find love this Christmas?
Christmas in Copenhagen is a magical time of year but Darcy Cotterell isn’t feeling festive. Newly single, again, she’s not even going home for Christmas. Instead she will be spending her holiday finishing her art history PhD. Her best friend, Freja, has other ideas. She signs Darcy up to a dating app, determined that she won’t be lonely this Christmas.
Darcy agrees to three dates – but her mind is on work, not play: an unknown portrait by Denmark’s greatest painter has been found and she is tasked with identifying the woman in the painting. During her research, she encounters sexy, arrogant lawyer Max Lorensen – who happens to be bachelor number one! The attraction is instant but, knowing they must work together, they abandon the match. Or try to. But their feelings are undeniable – until Darcy discovers Max has an agenda . .
The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright – YORKSHIRE DALES
It’s Christmas Eve at the Merry Monarch. Nestled amongst the Yorkshire Dales, the pub is preparing to host its annual scavenger hunt for its rabble of regulars. There’s the landlord, Mickey, his wife Sofia and their wayward son, James; local policeman Alex and his supernaturally minded deputy Don; as well as Sita, Mrs Fazarkaley, the Kapoors and Curtis, who’s never far from his beloved dog Barkley. Quite the crowd.
And this year, they are interrupted by a knock at the door from Maddie Marlowe, a journalist who was homeward bound to Edinburgh for Christmas – only to be stranded by car failure, and by the snow storm that’s closing in on the village.
But Maddie’s arrival won’t be the only surprise of the night. When the power is cut off and darkness descends, the hunt turns deadly. Maddie and her unexpected Christmas companions must try to find the murderer amongst them, as it seems one of the group would kill to win . .
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flag – ALABAMA
Oswald T. Campbell, aged fifty-two, down-and-out in a Chicago winter, is given only months to live unless he moves South… He finds himself in the small town of Lost River, Alabama, where the residents are friendly if feud-prone and eccentric to a fault. One of them, Roy, keeps a red cardinal, a once wounded bird called Jack. Patsy, a sad, sweet little kid with a crippled leg, from the trailer park up in the woods, takes to dropping by the store – and falls in love with Jack.
Flagg takes us on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the lives and hearts of an engaging crew of misfits, fixers and ordinary good-hearted folk, set against the vivid natural backdrop of a mellow Alabama winter, along the riverside where birds and fish abound. Her enchanting story culminates at Christmastide with surprises and a magical ‘redbird’ moment.
Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews – ENGLAND AND LAPLAND
Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents: writing cards: tree-decorating. She’s soon in huge demand and Cassie’s business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.
Carter Randall wants to make Christmas special for his children, so he enlists Cassie’s help, and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she can rely on her loving partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.
When millionaire Carter asks Cassie to join his family on a trip to Lapland, she knows she shouldn’t go . . . Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking choice that could change her entire life.
A Mother’s Christmas Wish by Glenda Young – RYHOPE
‘I hope this Christmas is better than last year’s.’
Following a scandalous affair, wayward Emma Devaney is sent in disgrace from her home in Ireland to Ryhope, where she will live with her widowed aunt, Bessie Brogan, and help run her pub. Bessie is kind but firm, and at first Emma rebels against her lack of freedom. Struggling to fit in, she turns to the wrong person for comfort, and becomes pregnant.
Accepting she must embrace her new life for the sake of her baby, Emma pours her energy into making the pub thrive and helping heal the fractured relationship between Bessie and her daughters. She catches the attention of Robert, a gruff but sincere farmer, who means to win her heart.
As December approaches, thankful for the home and acceptance she’s found, Emma is determined to bring not just her family, but the whole Ryhope community, together to celebrate – and to make one very special mother’s Christmas dreams come true.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin – PARIS
When Anais receives a near-derelict Paris hotel in her divorce settlement, her first thought is to tidy it up and sell it immediately. All she wants is to move on and forget her disaster of a marriage ever happened.
But selling it proves impossible, so she has only one option: to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas… when her funds will almost certainly run out.
She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar-owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment though. Nor is she expecting to find a mysterious room – which holds the key to a one-hundred-year-old secret – about a woman who chose love against the odds.
One thing’s for sure… as the fairy lights twinkle all over the city of lights and the first snowflakes start to fall… this will be a Christmas in Paris to remember.
Enjoy our selection of books with Christmas in their title! If we’ve missed any of your favourites, please add them in Comments below,
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