Top Rated Christmas Romance Books | Updated 2026
What are the Top Rated Christmas Romance Books? Which Christmas Romance novels are the highest rated by avid romance readers? I have done the research, crunched the numbers, and I am here to reveal all!
What are the Top Rated Christmas Romance Books?
Um, here’s the awkward truth about Christmas romances: many of them have really low ratings. Are they too jolly? Too merry? Are reviewers feeling like Scrooge?
My criteria: each book must have a 3.75 rating or higher on Goodreads. Here’s the list!
Updated for 2026! I’ve added new Christmas romances that are already earning top ratings, plus a few older favorites.
Quick Picks by Vibe
| If you’re in the mood for… | Pick up… |
| Holiday novellas from a romance favorite | A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez |
| A cozy paranormal Christmas Romance | Merry Spooky Love by Josie Silver |
| Fake dating with serious spice | Christmas Staycation by Meghan Quinn |
| A Christmas Grump finds love | Mistletoe All the Way by Lauren Blakely |
| Hockey players and holiday festivals | Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson |
| A good cry and a snowy Alpine setting | Counting Down to You by Emily Stone |
| A Hallmark movie in book form | Cozy Little Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne |
| A read-and-watch option | In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – check out my post for all the details |
New Top Rated Christmas Romances for 2026
Many of these have not yet been published, so I’ll keep an eye on the ratings, but all of them have strong early reviews.
A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez
- Three holiday novellas: high school exes who fake date, a bet that ends with someone in a zombie Santa costume, and a three-day whirlwind romance that raises the question of marriage
- Novella collection
- Fake dating
- Includes illustrations and recipes
- Goodreads rating: 4.62
- Release date: October 20, 2026.
Christmas Staycation by Meghan Quinn
- A woman fakes a wedding with her ex to save her family’s Christmas, but her ex’s brother sees right through it
- Fake relationship
- Falling for the brother
- Small-town Christmas
- Series: How My Neighbor Stole Christmas #3
- Goodreads rating: 4.33
- Release date: October 20, 2026
The Christmas Competition by Zoe Allison
- Rival neighbors in the Scottish Highlands go head to head in a Christmas decorating contest
- Rivals to lovers
- Neighbors
- Scottish Highlands setting
- Goodreads rating: 4.18
- Release date: October 20, 2026
The Christmas Curse by Alix Kelinda
- A woman who feels cursed every December meets a holiday-loving neighbor
- Next-door neighbor
- Christmas grinch meets Christmas lover
- Goodreads rating: 4.27
- Release date: October 20, 2026.
Light Up My Life by Kasie West
- YA holiday romance
- Two teens from rival neighboring families fall for each other while their households compete over Christmas decorations
- Rival families
- Decorating war
- Romeo and Juliet with twinkle lights
- Goodreads rating: 4.04
- Release date: October 20, 2026. Thanks to Scholastic for the ARC.
25 Dates of Christmas by Kathryn Freeman
- Anna is grieving her brother at Christmas
- His final wish: she completes a list of Christmas adventures with his best friend Luke
- Enemies to lovers
- Bring tissues
- Goodreads rating: 4.05
- Release date: October 20, 2026.
The Christmas Cookie Bookshop by Anita Faulkner
- Noémi runs a cozy bookshop
- Shay opens a pop-up business next door and they fight over customers
- Enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine
- A festive event decides the bookshop’s future
- Goodreads rating: 4.55
- Release date: October 22, 2026.
A Curse for Christmas Past by Morgan Lockhart
- A cursed woman turns to a talented witch to break her run of bad luck before Christmas Day
- Magical small town
- A curse with a Christmas deadline
- Witchy paranormal romance
- Goodreads rating: 3.87
- Release date: September 22, 2026. Thanks to them for the advance copy!
Christmas in Austenland by Shannon Hale
- An impulsive woman escapes to an Austen-themed Christmas vacation, complete with Regency costumes and mistletoe
- Return to the world of Austenland
- Regency role-play at Christmas
- Jane Austen fans, this one is for you
- Goodreads rating: 4.06
- Release date: September 22, 2026.
The Little Shop of Merry and Bright by Jenny Bayliss
- A contemporary take on A Christmas Carol: a woman whose proposal rejection went viral gets a chance to see how her life could have gone
- A Christmas Carol retelling
- Second chances
- Cozy British Christmas setting
- Goodreads rating: 4.01
- Release date: September 22, 2026.
Counting Down to You by Emily Stone
- While working a seasonal job in the Alps, a woman opens an Advent calendar left to her by a friend who has died, one window at a time
- Advent calendar with a purpose
- Snowy Alpine setting
- Grief and new beginnings: bring tissues
- Goodreads rating: 4.15
- Release date: October 6, 2026.
Cozy Little Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne
- Music therapist Hannah is planning her annual benefit concert in Shelter Springs, Idaho
- Her first love Wes is back in town, recovering from an injury, with his K9 partner
- Second chance romance with a dog
- Hallmark-style small-town Christmas
- Goodreads rating: 4.32
- Release date: October 6, 2026.
Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson (YA)
- YA holiday romance
- A teen plans her town’s first-ever winter festival
- She has feelings for her best friend AND a charming hockey player
- Love triangle in a small town
- Goodreads rating: 4.18
- Release date: October 6, 2026. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the advance copy!
Mistletoe All the Way by Lauren Blakely
- A grumpy veterinarian comes home to his family’s horse farm and fake dates a Christmas-loving optimist
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Fake dating
- Hometown return
- Goodreads rating: 4.17
- Release date: October 6, 2026. Thanks to Atria for the ARC.
Merry Spooky Love by Josie Silver
- Ghost-seeing Melody and her skeptical ex team up to save a family department store at Christmas
- Paranormal rom-com
- Exes working together
- Department store Christmas setting
- Series: Melody Bittersweet #3
- Goodreads rating: 3.99
- Release date: October 2026. Thanks to Dell for the ARC.
Favorite Top Rated Titles from Christmas Past
A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan (Harlequin)
- In Northern England, the members of the Balfour family prepare to celebrate Christmas
- Mom Jenny is concerned that her newly retired husband is depressed
- Married daughter Rosie worries that her marriage is fraying
- Son Jamie has a secret
- Single daughter Becky is forced to share a ride with someone she dislikes. Or does she?
- If you like a women’s fiction feel, a lot of family chaos, and low spice, this is the book for you.
- Goodreads Rating: 3.96
- Release Date: October 7, 2025. Thanks to Harlequin for the advance reader copy!
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison (Avon)
- A lonely woman who runs an antique store is suddenly haunted by Nolan, an Irish ghost
- Nolan has no idea why he was assigned to Harriet and even more confused when he starts exploring his own past.
- Is there a connection between them?
- Can this relationship work?
- High spice!
- Goodreads rating: 3.97
- Release Date: October 21, 2025. Thanks to Avon and Libro.fm for the advance listening copy.
Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman (Ballantine)
- After the tragic death of her husband, Grace is now a single mom to two kids.
- Henry’s wife perished in a plane crash.
- They become friends, watching and discussing movies together over the course of a year.
- But could this friendship be more?
- Goodreads Rating: 4.26
- Release Date: October 14, 2025. Thanks to Ballantine for the advance readers copy!
christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk (Harper Collins)
- a 90s/00s style rom com with fake dating and fun hijinks
- A smart and ambitious main character training to be a doctor
- Scotland! Kilts are worn
- Two hilarious best friends to add snark and sass
- Family dynamics and small town vibes
- Goodreads rating: 3.95
- Release date October 14, 2025. Thanks to Harper Collins for the advance copy
A Little Holiday Fling by Farah Heron (Forever Books)
- Grumpy sunshine Christmas romance
- Cranky hotelier meets a Christmas fanatic
- Will she move to the UK to realize her dream?
- Goodreads rating: 3.76
- Release date: October 21, 2025 by Forever Books.
My Favorite HolidaTE by Lauren Blakley (Atria)
- When your single dad billionaire boss agrees to be your pretend boyfriend
- Set at a Christmas wedding
- Week-long Christmas competition
- Open door spicy Christmas romance
- Goodreads Rating: 3.87
- Release Date: October 7, 2025. Thanks to Atria books for the advance copy
Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (Gallery)
- A modern-day retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen set in New York’s East Village
- Part of the For the Love of Austen series BUT these are standalones. Though some characters from the first two books make a quick cameo in this one
- A sweet second chance at love story
- Themes of family pressure and wistful regret
- Goodreads Rating 3.82
- Thanks to Gallery Books for the advance copy! Release date: October 28, 2025
Play Christmas Bingo this holiday!
