Best Books to Read Now - December 2025

The Best Books to Read Now - the December 2025 picks of the Women With Books Book Club

Looking to find exciting, enchanting, intriguing fiction this month?

Here are the best fiction recommendations for your book club… Including THREE great Christmas holiday books

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter Amazon || Bookshop.org

Pick Me by Victoria Schade Amazon || Bookshop.org

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant Amazon

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson Amazon || Bookshop.org

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett Amazon || Bookshop.org

The Matchmaking Christmas Spirit by Lindsay Emory — - -ON SALE! Amazon

What Books To Read this Christmas Holiday Season!

What Holiday Book Should I read?

It’s that time of year! Time to curl up in a front of a fire – or go to bed early – with a lovely, cozy holiday book.

But there are so many! How can you choose?

I developed the Lindsay Emory Holiday Book Quiz to help you pick the perfect read this Christmas.

Get a piece of paper and a pen and answer this easy 6 question quiz!

1.       My favorite holiday recipes come from …

a.   Great Grandma Margaret’s time tested recipe books

b.      Pinterest

c.      Hallmark Home & Family

d.      Nigella Lawson

2.       My feelings about Emma Thompson…

a.       She was iconic in Sense & Sensibility

b.      She’s ruined Christmas with Last Christmas

c.       Oh! She married her cute coworker, right? That actor?

d.      I just love her British accent. It sounds so posh.

3.       My perfect holiday season isn’t complete without…

a.       Traditions like Christmas crackers, stockings & caroling

b.      A re-watch of Love, Actually

c.       A marathon of Hallmark movies & baking cookies

d.      A charcuterie board & champagne

4.       My Spotify holiday playlist includes…

a.      Carols and Celtic music

b.      Last Christmas by Wham!

c.       All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey

d.      Classics by Michael Buble and Tony Bennett

5.       My must-have holiday wardrobe accessory…

a.      A hand-knitted Scottish wool scarf

b.      A red Starbucks cup

c.      A fun Christmas sweatshirt & holiday leggings

d.      A French linen apron & Loro Piana sweater

6.       The holiday recipe I most want to try to make:

a.       A traditional figgy pudding

b.      Hot chocolate spiked with Peppermint Schnapps and Godiva liqueur

c.       Stuffed Caramel Pretzel Skillet Cookie (from Hallmark Channel Home & Family)

d.      Martha Stewart’s classic eggnog with fresh grated nutmeg

Now review all your answers… Did you get…

Mostly A’s? You will LOVE a historical romance!

Carriages, long walks in the country and yule logs make you swoon like a debutante at a Christmas ball.

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong – Cecilia Grant (FREE!)

The Swan – Piper Huguley

How the Dukes Stole Christmas – Tessa Dare, Joanna Shupe, Sophie Jordan and Sarah MacLean

Mostly B’s? You’re a Rom Com Fan (Who’s Probably Pissed about that Last Christmas Plot Twist)

Mix meet cutes with a little banter and add a whole lot of romantic tension and that’s your recipe for a perfect holiday read…

The Island Christmas Spirit – Lindsay Emory

Royal Holiday – Jasmine Guillory

One Day in December – Josie Silver

UPDATED FOR 2020: Try the Christmas Actually anthology! 11 short holiday romantic comedies!

Mostly C’s? You’re a Tried and True Hallmark Addict

You know exactly what you want to read about - a reindeer farm, a baking contest, a small town inn. Lucky for you, I have the best Hallmark movies in book form picked out for you…

The Secret Ingredient – Nancy Naigle

Sleighbell Sweethearts – Teri Wilson

A Gingerbread Romance – Lacey Baker

Mostly D’s? You Will LOVE yourself some Designer Destination Holiday Porn

How does Christmas in Cornwall, Colorado, Nantucket, or Wales sound? You’re sure to love a literary trip to a beautiful spot where breathtaking views, charming villages and decadent dinners await…

Christmas with the Duke – Katrina Cudmore

Named of the Dragon – Susanna Kearsley

A Perfect Cornish Christmas – Phillipa Ashley

A Wedding in December – Sarah Morgan

Let it Snow – Nancy Thayer

Did I get it right? Or just mostly right? I can’t wait to hear what you’re reading and loving this season!

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!

Best Swoony Historical Romance Books!

Updated for 2025!

In honor of V-Day, I am bound by the ancient romance author code to recommend romance books.  Of course, it’s hard to narrow that down. Romance is a huge genre and has been around since Helen of Troy’s face inspired a slightly emo love triangle.

So I sat down and really thought about what I would like to read on a day devoted to eternal passion and devotion (and chocolate hearts!) and the answers came rather quickly. Passionate, swoony historical romances!  It’s one of my favorite sub-genres and I have re-read all of these at least three or four times.

*UPDATED with my new favorites for 2025*

Want to know what to read after Bridgerton on Netflix? Keep Reading!
***

Almost a Scandal – Elizabeth Essex

Amazon || Apple Books

All of Elizabeth’s heroines are intrepid and all of her heroes are masculine yet not jackhole-y so you could start anywhere in her backlist but this is the one that I got started with and the one that I recommend to anyone who likes a bit of spying, naval warfare and adventure on the high seas with their swoons.

As You Desire – Connie Brockway

Amazon

I’ve re-read this 4 or five times. The way that Harry loves Desdemona…. The literal definition of S W O O N. This book gets my heart every time but there’s also an Egyptian archaeology sub-plot that will scratch your adventure/ The Mummy itch.

If you’re young and haven’t seen The Mummy yet, it’s on Netflix and why haven’t you?!?

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished – Sarah MacLean 
Amazon || Apple Books

Everyone has a favorite Sarah MacLean and this one must be mine because I’ve re-read it several times (and not just because of the ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  If you’re new to the series, please start with the 1st (A Rogue by Any Other Name) and then work your way to this one, the third. TRUST ME. I know that’s mean of me to suggest the 3rd book and then tell you to start two books back, but… it’s Valentine’s Day. Treat yourself. (Check out my interview with Sarah on the Women With Books podcast here.)

Treat yo self to 3 (or 4) Sarah MacLean novels!

A Lady by Midnight – Tessa Dare
Amazon || Apple Books

I have lots of favorite Tessa Dare books too, but this one is the most swoony IMO. Take a grumpy war veteran with PTSD, a sweet puppy, a quirky cast of characters in Spindle Cove and you have a perfect chocolate box of romance. (Check out my interview with Tessa on the Women With Books podcast here.)

Ignore the improbably bold naked chest pose and look at Diana Gabaldon’s cover quote! She is RIGHT about this book (and all things, probably.)

The Spymaster’s Lady – Joanna Bourne

Amazon || Apple Books

This is the only book on the list that I have NOT re-read, which I just realized makes me a liar but I couldn’t NOT include one of the best historical romances I read last year. Yes, I just got to this classic last year but OMG. It sent me into a bit of a depression, honestly, because I wasn’t sure if I could ever write a love story like this. It’s got an unforgettable voice, twists, a lot of spying and a heroine who is lovably stubborn and imperfect and who has to be dragged kicking and screaming (literally – but for good reasons) into love. (And it’s pretty obvious by now I like spying in my books…isn’t it?)

Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
Amazon || Apple Books

The first book in this series fits as a historical romance, IMO, even if Ms. Gabaldon doesn’t agree.  If you’ve been living blindfolded under a rock in the middle of a desert island and have not read this book and if you like time travel, hot Scottish men and  plucky modern heroines… well… Happy Valentine’s Day.

Lord of Scoundrels - Loretta Chase
Amazon || Apple Books

What can I say about Jess and Dain and this book that hasn’t been said 1000 times already? This is a romance classic, one where you can instantly find a kindred spirit by just saying the words, “the glove scene!” Or, “the naughty watch!” Or, “then she shoots him!!!”

Crap. I’m going to have to go re-read this now. I love it so much.

A Lady Awakened - Cecilia Grant
Amazon || Apple Books

This is such a unique one, but a delicious, delicate, deliberate exploration of two people falling love. Another classic, it’s a fantastic example of a slow burn romance even though the two main characters have a deal to get the woman pregnant as soon as possible. The fact that Cecilia Grant can put all that together…

Mr. Impossible - Loretta Chase
Amazon || Apple Books

Yes! Another Loretta Chase book! Another book set in Egypt with strong The Mummy vibes. What can I say? I have a type! And I know what I like!

Destiny’s Captive - Beverly Jenkins
Amazon || Apple Books

I’ll never forget the first time I saw this cover (RWA San Antonio). I gasped, loudly. Also… pirates! Rebels! Smugglers! And this tag line: “She stole his ship… and his heart.” I enjoy everything Beverly Jenkins writes because I really love American-historical romances but this one has that adventure and that nautical spirit that I also love (if you can’t tell by now…)

Unclaimed - Courtney Milan
Amazon || Apple Books

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read this one by Courtney Milan. Like the rest of these authors (Sarah Maclean, Tessa Dare, Beverly Jenkins) she’s so prolific and everyone has a favorite and this one is mine. It features a chaste hero and a courtesan heroine and the slow burn… (there’s that phrase again… wow. My reader wheels are fully evident, aren’t they?)

A Wicked Kind of Husband - Mia Vincy
Amazon || Apple Books

I think I gushed enough about this book throughout 2019 that it deserves to be put on this list. It’s funny, it’s fresh, it made me sob. What more can you want from a romance? Find more about the book (and Mia Vincy!) here: Women With Books Interview.

Bringing Down the Duke - Evie Dunmore
Amazon || Apple Books

If you are a historical romance reader, do not let this cover confuse you or stop you from picking it up. This is a terrific Victorian romance set amongst the suffrage movement that also made me have all feels and I cannot WAIT until the next one comes out later this year (HINT HINT ARC GODDESSES…)

And for more book recommendations, follow my Best Books tag here!

Best Books to Read Now - January 2018

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

In the last WOMEN WITH BOOKS episode of 2017, I asked author Alexis Anne about her reading resolutions for 2018. Do you make any reading- related resolutions? I’ve decided to read from my TBR pile. It’s not from any sense of Puritanical guilt, but rather I started looking through my TBR lists and realized there were REALLY GOOD BOOKS in there that I really wanted to read, but I keep getting distracted by oh-shiny new books.

So in 2018, you might see some older books featured in this blog. But as I said in that same WOMEN WITH BOOKS episode, I think in this day and age, release dates aren’t as important to readers (now as an author, I must disagree, but that’s a long blog post in itself). What matters is when we discover a book as you’ll see….

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong – Cecilia Grant

Amazon || iBooks

Yes, it’s a Christmas book. But look, consider your Christmas 2018 book shopping done already. This free novella was a sweet, beautiful holiday read. I read and adored Cecilia Grant’s A Lady Awakened last year (and wrote about it here) but I hadn’t heard about this holiday prequel for that series until some authors on Twitter decided to do a read along. If you’re interested in more commentary, do a search for #ACGPW on Twitter.

Wilde in Love – Eloisa James

Amazon || iBooks

I mentioned this as one of my most memorable books on the last episode of Women With Books, but this was (maybe? I think?) the first Eloisa James book I’ve read. I know. It’s pretty unbelievable. But I really enjoyed the effortlessness of this historical romance, along with the humor and characters. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series featuring the Wilde family

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight– Darynda Jones

Amazon || iBooks

We’re looking down the barrel at the end of the Charley Davidson series but this book was perfect for the holidays for me. Like an old, impossibly snarky friend.  I’ll probably try to dive into Book 12 in January and then it will be a little bit of a wait until book 13 is released later this year.

Sweet Tea & Sympathy – Molly Harper

Amazon || iBooks

In sum, I really hate Molly Harper now. I mean. That cover. That title. That series name. I'm desperately jealous of all of that and I want to live in this book all the time. It’s a romance/ family drama / women’s fiction blend type of book that will be the new trend of 2018 (you heard it here first…) that can make you laugh and cry and fist bump. I’m basically obsessed and totally not stalking Molly Harper at all.

A real life picture of Molly Harper and me (not) behind her.

Speaking of (not) stalking… in case you didn’t know, I have a podcast! It’s called Women With Books and we discuss genre fiction that’s for, by and about women.

Check it out at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher app. And here at womenwithbooks.com

I’d love for you to join the book club!

And if you want some free reading this year, I’ll be putting a chapter a month of my next Mistletoe Key novella, LOVE IN THE TIME OF HYGGE in my monthly newsletters!  Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/b5t7Uj

Keep reading!

Best Books to Read Now - January 2017

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

As is often the case, my reading plans for the past couple of months didn't quite go as planned. I had a stack of books I intended to curl up with over the holidays and then I found myself reading something else. Fortunately for me (and for you?) the novels I picked were totally engrossing and perfect for lazy winter sick days (Yeah, I was struck down by the Great Cruddy Cold of Christmas 2016 - anyone else?).

If You Only Knew - Kristan Higgins

When Kristan Higgins' If You Only Knew was released, readers and her fellow authors alike raised a brow. A women's fiction novel from one of the queens of contemporary romance?

I am happy to report that there's still plenty of romance in this book, but also a fascinating story about three women who try to put their lives back together after heartbreak, betrayal and loss.  There's something in this book for romance fans and women's fiction fans.

The Hating Game - Sally Thorne

Speaking of the blend of romance and women's fiction, The Hating Game was on so many "best of" lists of 2016, including NPR's. This is packaged as a women's fiction or chick lit book but in my opinion, it is a straight up romance/ romantic comedy about how hate and love are two sides of the same coin.  I couldn't put it down.

A Promise of Fire - Amanda Bouchet

I first heard about A Promise of Fire on Smart Bitches Trashy Books but then, suddenly, it was every-freaking-where.  This was another book that got a lot of end-of-year accolades and for good reason.  It's a totally unique fantasy romance and I didn't really know what I was reading for the first 20 pages. It was a pseudo-Greek mythological world. People have magic, there are lands and kingdoms, Game of Thrones-style and a romance that sort of reminded me of Curran and Kate in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series (one of my all-time faves.)

I will make one caveat/ warning that I've noticed in a lot of the reviews. For a good portion of the book, the heroine is literally tied to the hero after being kidnapped by him. Yes, it's a magic rope. Yes, he's a benevolent captor. Yes, she can make herself invisible. Still, if such things would bother you, I wanted you to be aware.

Now is a good time to grab this because Breath of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles), Book 2 has just been released  and the third book is supposed to be released later this year, I believe.

A Lady Awakened - Cecilia Grant

This is another book that someone mentioned in a SBTB podcast (I think? I can't remember and I can't find the episode) and I kept seeing it on people's "OMG Favorite Historical Romance" lists. To continue my trend of atypical historical romances, this is a tale of a widow who essentially hires a playboy neighbor to try to impregnate her so that she can inherit her late husband's estate and save it from her late husband's brother's evil clutches... got that?  Even though the plot sounds bananas and over the top, I can't remember the last time a romance  felt so intimate and so small.  The hero and heroine truly develop and mature through the book. There are (gasp!) conversations, there are real feelings and true, sweet intimacy.  If you're tired of wham, bam thank you ma'am stories this one might be a breath of fresh air for you.

So... as always, I'd love to hear what you've read or are reading. Throw those suggestions at me down below or keep in touch on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.  And are you subscribed to my newsletter?

If not, WHY NOT?  My newsletter subscribers get all the news about new books, sales and contests, FIRST - sign up here and keep in touch in 2017!