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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

Karen Bellovich
November 19 2020
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It’s that special time of year. The time for holiday stories, ones that make us laugh and cry, fall in love, escape, and believe. Stories of second chances, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, heartbreak and hope, friendships, trust, and, of course, love. Stories filled with messages that everything will be all right in the end. I hope you enjoy these books and that they bring you some joy.

Being a former bookseller, I am passionate about sharing my love of books—especially ones like these that make me feel, think, love, and believe.

The Noel Letters
by Richard Paul Evans

Noel Book has believed certain things about her father her whole life. When he dies, Noel will be forced to face the past, especially when she starts to receive anonymous letters. Will those letters be enough for Noel to make peace with her past? A heartfelt story about one woman’s journey back to herself.

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The Noel Letters
Richard Paul Evans

#1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans returns this holiday season with a tale of love, belonging, and family, following a trail of letters that leads to a Christmas revelation about the healing miracle of hope and forgiveness.

After nearly two decades, Noel Post, an editor for a major New York publishing house, returns to her childhood home in Salt Lake City to see her estranged, dying father. What she believed would be a brief visit turns into something more as she inherits the bookstore her father fought to keep alive. Reeling from loneliness, a recent divorce, and unanticipated upheavals in her world, Noel begins receiving letters from an anonymous source, each one containing thoughts and lessons about her life and her future. She begins to reacquaint herself with the bookstore and the people she left behind, and in doing so, starts to unravel the reality of her painful childhood and the truth about her family. As the holidays draw near, she receives a Christmastime revelation that changes not only how she sees the past but also how she views her future.

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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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In a Holidaze
by Christina Lauren

On the day after Christmas, Maelyn Jones learns some devastating news. Feeling hopeless, she throws a plea out to the universe for help and gets the second chance she never thought she would have. This newest romantic comedy from Christina Lauren is incredibly charming and fun.

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In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

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One Day in December
by Josie Silver

Laurie’s New Year’s resolution is to find the boy from the bus stop, the one she made eye contact with and instantly fell in love with, but never spoke to. When Laurie meets her best friend’s boyfriend, Jack, she wonders if he could be the one she has been searching for. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful, but ultimately a story about finding love, even when it seems impossible.

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One Day in December
Josie Silver

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MENTIONED IN:

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The Mistletoe Secret
by Richard Paul Evans

Somewhere in the depths of the internet sits a message waiting to be discovered: a voice crying out in loneliness and despair but also hope. Hope that there is someone out there listening, someone to love. A story of two lonely people looking for—and finding—their heart.

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The Mistletoe Secret
Richard Paul Evans

The master of the holiday novel presents the moving story of two people who brave loneliness and loss to find love.

Dear Universe,
Is anyone out there?

Thinking no one is reading, a blogger who calls herself LBH writes about her most personal feelings, especially her overwhelming loneliness. She goes from day to day showing a brave face to the world while inside she longs to know how it would feel if one person cared about her.

Alex Bartlett cares. He’s reading her posts in Daytona Beach, Florida. Nursing his own broken heart and trust issues, he finds himself falling for this sensitive, vulnerable woman whose feelings mirror his own. Following a trail of clues LBH has inadvertently revealed, he discovers that she lives in the small town of Midway, Utah. He makes his way there just after Thanksgiving, determined to find LBH. Maybe she’s a Lisa, Lori, or a Luanne. Instead, he finds a woman named Aria, a waitress at the Mistletoe Diner, who encourages Alex in his search while serving his pie along with some much-needed sympathy and companionship.

Alex finally finds his LBH, a woman who is as beautiful and kind as he imagined she would be. How can he tell her that he knows her secret? What’s holding him back? Could it be his feelings for Aria?

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MENTIONED IN:

10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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The Mistletoe Matchmaker
by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Cassie, longing for a connection she has never felt, decides to spend the holidays in the Irish town where her grandparents live. Taking part in the town’s annual Winter Fest will lead Cassie to the connections she longs for and a place she can call home. A wonderfully heartwarming story.

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The Mistletoe Matchmaker
Felicity Hayes-McCoy

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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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Christmas in London
by Anita Hughes

Louisa Graham, a pastry chef, has just been offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to star on a Christmas cooking show that’s filming in London. A story to escape into. Make yourself a cup of cocoa, wrap up in a blanket (don’t forget the cinnamon rolls, which play a role in the story), and spend your Christmas in London.

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Christmas in London
Anita Hughes

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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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All About Us
by Tom Ellen

Ben feels as if his life is frozen, along with his career and marriage. On Christmas Eve, with the help of a mysterious man and a broken watch, Ben will face regrets from his past and get a chance to begin again. A magical story that will touch your heart.

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All About Us
Tom Ellen

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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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Miracles and Menorahs
by Stacey Agdern

Sarah Goldman, vice chair of the Hollowville Hanukkah festival, has a problem. How does she keep the annual holiday event from being canceled? Enter Isaac Lieberman, a local metal sculptor. Can Sarah and Isaac work together to meet this challenge? A sweet and warm story about family and community.

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Miracles and Menorahs
Stacey Agdern

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MENTIONED IN:

10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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Moonlight Over Manhattan
by Sarah Morgan

Harriet Knight, a shy professional dog walker in Manhattan, has just made herself a promise. She will do one thing every day in December that challenges her. Ethan Black is an ER doctor who is afraid to open himself up to love. Will Harriet be the one to finally open Ethan’s heart— and will he be the one to capture hers? A cute story, filled with romance.

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Moonlight Over Manhattan
Sarah Morgan

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10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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Christmas at the Island Hotel
by Jenny Colgan

It takes a lot to open a hotel, especially if it is on the remote island of Mure, which sits halfway between Scotland and Norway, and especially if every day is getting closer to Christmas. Fintan and his sister Flora must work together to open the hotel in time for the holiday. The latest in Jenny Colgan’s Mure series is a wonderfully festive story.

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Christmas at the Island Hotel
Jenny Colgan

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MENTIONED IN:

10 Joyful Holiday Books to Fuel Your Hallmark Movie Obsession

By Karen Bellovich | November 19, 2020

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Photo credit: iStock / Dziggyfoto

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