Hi, friends!! Arin here! I know I already posted my TBR with our announcement post, but I’ve made some minor changes in plan so I thought I would revisit and update it on here with a new post! I haven’t been reading much of anything this month, but I would like to not completely fail a readathon I’m hosting for the millionth time, so I am going to try and actually read some of these too. I will not finish all of these by any means, but these are my options to chose from!
What I Plan on Reading!
Group Book – Christmas Inn Maine by Chelsea M. Cameron
All Colden Hayes wanted was to spend Christmas by herself in a cottage by the sea where the cheer of the holiday season couldn’t reach her. Everything was going according to plan until the cottage she rented turned out not to exist and she ends up snowed in at a charming inn that happens to be owned by the family of her most-hated coworker, Laura Sterling. Talk about bad luck.
Colden ends up saying yes to Laura’s mother when she insists on giving her a room. It’s only for a night, but she somehow finds herself agreeing to spend Christmas with the Sterlings as well. She blamed the festive atmosphere that she couldn’t seem to escape. Maybe there’s something in the mistletoe?
Against her will, Colden finds herself being sucked into the comfort and joy of the season, even though she can’t seem to escape Laura, who is literally everywhere Colden is, like she’s doing it on purpose. Things get even worse when they’re forced to share a bed when there’s a fire at a local farm and the inn offers all the available rooms to the family.
Colden finally realizes there’s a thin line between annoyance and attraction, and she and Laura definitely crossed it. She’s also pretty sure that Laura’s mother is shipping them hard and so is the rest of her family, right down to her great-grandmother whose main companion is a two-hundred-pound pig named Minnie.
Will the magic of the holiday season melt Colden’s heart? Or will she go back to Boston alone, with only the memories to keep her warm?
Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper
Dave Cunningham hates the rampant consumerism that’s come to dominate his family’s Hanukkah celebrations. But a chance to bring a bit of a holiday happiness to his long-time crush, Amit Cohen, helps put him in a more festive mood.
In the quest to craft the perfect gift, Dave tries to urge a few personal details out of stoic Amit. Unintentionally, he learns the Cohen family’s secret: Amit is a golem. But Amit has a problem that runs deeper than his magical origin, and a Hanukkah miracle might be the only thing that will keep the budding flame between him and Dave from going out.
Ben’s Bakery and the Hanukkah Miracle
Former ice hockey star Adam Bernard has spent the last ten years caring for his ailing father and coaching his pee-wee hockey team. He doesn’t have time to brood over what could-have-been since leaving the NHL draft – and he sure doesn’t have time for a love-life. When his team is invited to a prestigious tourney in Boston – and it’s during the week of Hanukkah – he can’t find it in his heart to tell them no. Adam hates the idea of leaving his dad alone during the holidays – but a promise is a promise.
Ben Daniels wasn’t running from his almost-Olympic past when he started up a kosher-style bakery three years ago. Deciding to stick to Hanukkah-themed treats, though, was probably running from the truth, which is that he’s one bad month away from bankruptcy. An infusion of donut-hungry preteens is exactly what his register needs – but their adorable and mysterious coach might be exactly what Ben’s heart has been yearning for.
Adam’s life is back in Montreal – but the more time Adam spends with Ben, the less he wants to leave Boston. Ben might have spent the last three years avoiding the ice – but Adam could be the key to melting his resolve.
When Adam gets an offer from the NHL, it’s a chance for them both to rewrite their histories. But Ben hasn’t been entirely truthful with Adam – and Adam’s got some prejudices that might just extinguish what’s burning between them.
With Adam’s future at a crossroads, and Ben’s past out in the open, will they find a way to prove that miracles aren’t only found on the ice?
A newly out-of-the-closet band mom falls for an orchestra teacher while snowed in at All-State. Lana Novak hasn’t played violin in over twenty years, her musical life these days confined to being a devoted band mom to her clarinet whiz daughter Robin. She didn’t think she could get back into it after this long, but Melanie Feinberg, the outgoing, enthusiastic, and very cute butch orchestra director from Robin’s school, has other ideas.
A sunny dog trainer. A grieving New Orleans photographer. The unruly pup that brings them together.
Ashley’s never owned a dog, much less trained one. But she’s not about to let that little detail stop her—especially during the holiday season—from applying for this dog training job. Her new gig is the perfect way to survive the recession while strolling the festive streets of New Orleans with a cute pooch. The biggest challenge? Heeling a growing attraction to her stunning shut-in of a boss.
When her girlfriend died a year ago, Madison found herself overwhelmed by grief and her girlfriend’s rambunctious puppy. Now the dog is an unmanageable, attention-starved reminder of everything Madison has lost. She’s still afraid to face the world, but her vibrant new dog trainer—with the help of a furry sidekick—is determined to bring light, laughter, and Christmas cheer back into Madison’s life.
Mason attempts to bake gluten-free cookies for their crush and college classmate, Natalie. When the baking goes very wrong, can Mason still win Natalie’s heart?
This low stakes story includes holiday baking, two people pining, rain-soaked admissions from hopeless romantics, some wholesome smut and a 100% nonbinary trans cast.
It’s their first holiday season together as datemates, and they’re both a bit nervous.
There’s nothing about Christmas that Markus doesn’t love, from family gatherings and gift giving to decorating and filling their home with Christmas spirit. Devon doesn’t love Christmas. Or obligatory gifts. Or holiday commercialism. Or red with green, if he’s entirely honest. But maybe, for Markus, he’s willing to try to find something to celebrate.
Can they find a way through the dizzying Christmas season together?
There is also a third book in this series that I will most likely pick up too!
Mangos & Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera
Kiskeya Burgos left the tropical beaches of the Dominican Republic with a lot to prove. As a pastry chef on the come up, when she arrives in Scotland, she has one goal in mind: win the Holiday Baking Challenge. Winning is her opportunity to prove to her family, her former boss, and most importantly herself, she can make it in the culinary world. Kiskeya will stop at nothing to win , that is, if she can keep her eyes on the prize and off her infuriating teammate’s perfect lips.
Sully Morales, home cooking hustler, and self-proclaimed baking brujita lands in Scotland on a quest to find her purpose after spending years as her family’s caregiver. But now, with her home life back on track, it’s time for Sully to get reacquainted with her greatest love, baking. Winning the Holiday Baking Challenge is a no brainer if she can convince her grumpy AF baking partner that they make a great team both in and out of the kitchen before an unexpected betrayal ends their chance to attain culinary competition glory.
The Christmas Ball by Lily Seabrooke
Alice doesn’t want to go to this Christmas party. Pretending to be straight around all her family and the Fowler family for an entire month to prepare for a ball, for her to dance with the man they want her to marry is not in the top 100 ways to spend December. But since her family is paying her tuition, she can’t risk saying no. Besides, it’s only once every ten years. She just has to survive.
She thinks she can handle it, until she finds out her rehearsal partner she’ll be spending the month with is the same one from ten years before–and the first girl Alice ever liked. And unfortunately for her, her feelings haven’t changed.
The Christmas Ball is a 50k-word f/f romance with family drama, a secret romance, a childhood crush, plenty of mutual pining, and of course, they only have one bed.
Content warning for open-door sex scenes, queerphobia, and a really sleazy man.
Do You Feel What I Feel: A Holiday Anthology
Twelve lesbian fiction authors bring you a heartwarming collection of holiday-themed short stories.
From a tattoo artist hiding an origami angel in her lover’s desk to a seventy-year-old woman hesitating to accompany her partner to a family celebration on the first night of Hanukkah, this anthology will delight you with romantic holiday moments.
Authors: Alison Ruth Solomon, B.A. Caldwell, Blythe Rippon, Caren J. Werlinger, Catherine Lane, Chris Zett, Eve Francis, Jove Belle, Lois Cloarec Hart, Lyn Thorne-Alder, Patricia Penn, Ruth F. Simon
Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.
Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.
When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.
But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?
In Triple Dog Dare by Georgia Beers, Sasha Wolfe has been talking up her new girlfriend to her overbearing mother for months, and when her skeptical sister dares her to invite this new squeeze over for family Christmas, Sasha accepts the challenge. After all, how hard can it be to bring your nonexistent girlfriend home for the holidays?
In Hustle & Bustle by Maggie Cummings, Hannah Monroe is ready to dazzle customers with her pop-up shop at NYC’s winter holiday market. NYPD beat cop Toby Beckett, who just wants to protect and serve, barely notices the spirit of the season until events keep pushing her into Hannah’s path.
In A Christmas Miracle by Fiona Riley, Mira Donahue’s bar, Mirage, is the hottest Christmas party venue in Boston, despite Mira’s secret: she hates Christmas. When self-described Queen of Carols Courtney Rivers books Mirage for her company’s holiday party, she clashes with Mira over the plans. Then a freak storm strands them in the bar, and more than miracles abound.
The Holiday Treatment by Elle Spencer
By day, Holly Hudson’s a story editor for Wifetime Network. By night, she’s the writer for the network’s very cheesy, very straight holiday romance series―Christmas in Evermore. Holly took the job to accomplish exactly one thing: a gay Christmas movie. She’s been shot down before, but things start to look up when Meredith Drake unexpectedly moves into the network’s holiday division.
On the heels of a brief (but totally hot) fling, Holly and Meredith agree to keep things professional now that they’ll be working together. Especially since the network has a strict policy about workplace relationships. Instead, they vow to channel their passion into a pitch for the network’s first Christmas movie to feature two female leads.
In this contemporary romance, Holly and Meredith work to make the Yuletide gayer while discovering that happy endings aren’t only for the movies.
Movies I Plan on Watching!
I am currently in the middle of my MCU rewatch so while I will inevitably watch a fair amount of them too, I would like to watch some gay Christmas movies, so here are some I am thinking of watching:
Make the Yuletide Gay is a 2009 American Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Rob Williams about a gay college student who is out at school, but is afraid to reveal his sexual orientation to his parents. It stars Keith Jordan as Gunn, and Adamo Ruggiero as Gunn’s boyfriend and roommate, Nathan.
A young woman with a plan to propose to her girlfriend while at her family’s annual holiday party discovers her partner hasn’t yet come out to her conservative parents.
(I’ve already watched this movie once and it made me cry so I am very much looking forward to watching it again, I like pain apparently).
A New York Christmas Wedding (2020)
As her Christmas Eve wedding draws near, Jennifer is visited by an angel and shown what could have been if she hadn’t denied her true feelings for her childhood best friend.
Sapphic Saturdays 