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 Books to Read Now - November 2019

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!

Welcome to the Best Books to Read Now Book Club! My (hopefully) monthly blog featuring my reading list, my TBR pile and the books I think you and your best friends should be reading. 

If you’re not sure whether you’ll agree with  my recommendations, check out my blog post on My Reader Wheels and my podcast, Women With Books . Those should help you decide if you’re going to be into my recommendations.

The best book club recommendations for you and your friends!

Oh man. I’m sorry. I knew it had been a minute since I’d done one of these posts but I didn’t realize I’d skipped TWO MONTHS!

What have I been reading?

Well, a lot. And not a lot.

I’ll explain. I finished writing a book, editing it, and then editing it again. And then I had to do some work to get THE ROYAL BODYGUARD ready for its release. And honestly, I’ve started reading A LOT of books, but these are the only ones I’ve finished. I’ll go into more detail in my newsletter about why I didn’t finish reading more books in the last few months (spoiler: It’s a combination of DNF’s and my writing process). But in the meantime, let’s look at what I finished AND enjoyed!

Love on Lexington Avenue - Lauren Layne
Amazon || Apple Books

This one came out in September I think? And it’s the second in a trilogy that I love sooooooooooooo much. I call it Sex and the City for the Hallmark Channel. Three women who are brought together by one lying, cheating jerk become friends at his funeral and promise to help each other navigate dating and relationships. I can’t WAIT for the third book, in January, too!

My Fake Rake - Eva Leigh
Amazon || Apple Books

Y’all. Eva Leigh has become one of my favorite historical romance authors this year. This book comes out on November 26th and is a slow burn, friends to lovers, fake relationship delicious story with two scholarly main characters.

It Had To Be You - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Amazon || Apple Books

I already wrote about this in my Best Football Romances post but yes, for real, I had to re-read this first book in SEP’s Chicago Stars series. Like I said, at this point it qualifies as an “old school” romance but the development of the relationship between Phoebe and Dan is a masterclass, IMO.

A Wedding in December - Sarah Morgan
Amazon || Apple Books

If you want a holiday book that is basically a luxurious winter getaway in paper form, grab this book. The story centers around a Christmas wedding at a luxury resort in Aspen and if you’re anything like me, you’ll fall for the descriptions of the accommodations, the food, the shopping trips and the scenery as much as the multi-generational stories of romance, second chances and family.

What you need to do when you get this Sarah Morgan book.

And like I said, there were some books I did not love this month…. I’ll be talking more about those and why I think they didn’t connect with me in my newsletter this month.

Do you like books on sale?
Make sure you’re following me on Facebook because that’s where I post great books on sale!

And what about you?
I’d love to hear what you’ve read and loved lately or what you’re looking forward to reading next!  If you want these book recommendations (and a sneak peek at my TBR list and advanced reading copies) sent straight to your inbox, remember to sign up for my newsletter where I’ll be including all the best book club recommendations throughout 2019!

And one more book!

Like I mentioned, my latest release, THE ROYAL BODYGUARD came out last week! It’s also a Best Book To Read Now, if I may say so.

Claim your copy here:

• APPLE BOOKS

• AMAZON

• KOBO

• BARNES AND NOBLE

• BOOK DEPOSITORY

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!

URGENT PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DRIEDEN

Per the Palace’s instructions, please do not go to these sites and support the amazing author of this scandalous piece of fiction:

Amazon || BN.Com || Apple || Amazon UK || Kobo US || Amazon CA || Waterstones || Blackwells || WH Smith

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!

THE ROYAL BODYGUARD - COVER REVEAL (The Sequel)

I am one lucky, lucky author.

I have a book releasing.

It’s the second in a series.

And it has TWO covers already.

Earlier in the summer, when I released the new UK/ World English covers, I was overcome by all the positive responses. But the number 1 question I got was, “Well, that’s great for all your British fans, but what about the Americans and Canadians who also want to order THE ROYAL BODYGUARD???”

I can now announce that all the information you want can be found here: The Royals of Drieden Series

Y’all.

I can’t.

And when you read this book, you’ll understand how perfect this cover is. And I loved how both my publishers got it soooo right. You can maybe guess what some of the main themes are…

THE ROYAL BODYGUARD has:

• a princess in hiding

• a grumpy bodyguard

• explosions

• thousand-year old secrets

• luxurious European residences

• a king in a car park

• pesky paparazzi

• banter

• a grandmother with a sword

• kissing

Basically, it’s…

I’m In.

I heard you say that. ^^^^

For the full info on the book, please click to this page: The Royal Series.

If you’re American or Canadian, you can reserve your copy of The Royal Bodyguard here or at your preferred retailers:

• Amazon US

• Amazon CA

• Barnes & Noble

• Kobo

• Apple Books

If you’re British, Irish, Australian, etc., you can reserve your copy of The Royal Bodyguard here or at your preferred retailers:

• Waterstones

• Amazon UK

• Blackwells

• WH Smith

• Apple Books

• Kobo

And I’ll be dropping more hints, clues and sneak peeks on my Facebook, my Instagram (make sure you’re checking my Instagram Stories!! I have some fun stuff planned over the next few weeks) and my newsletter. Sign up and follow now to get all the scoop (like who I dedicated the book to and why they made me rewrite the whole darn thing.)

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!

The Best Football Romance Novels to Read this Fall

The Best Football Romance Novels

It’s that time of year – the constant roar of the crowd is now my background meditation (cough) every weekend. Pretty much as soon as the first round of Monday Night Football opened up, I got the irrepressible urge to re-read a football romance.

Which one?

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

I’ve read this one so many times, at least once a year.

And as I pressed the button on my Kindle, I thought I’d recommend some more of my favorite football romances to the rest of the world!

(Before I get started, here’s the usual caveat. Y’all. There are SO MANY football romance novels. Hundreds, if not thousands. I know there are a few that I’ve left out, so please feel free to recommend your favorites to me!)

Here we go.

As I mentioned, you probably need to read the Chicago Stars series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’ve read most of them (I think?) but my top 2 are the stories of Molly and Phoebe Sommerville; It Had to Be You (Book #1) and This Heart of Mine (Book #5) .  This is a series where you can definitely jump around but I think it’s really nice to read #1 and then #5 back to back, since the heroines are sisters.

I have a special fondness for Nobody’s Baby but Mine (Book #3), too, mostly because of the side characters and the second half of the book.

Of the three of these, It Had to Be You is definitely VERY football focused, the other two much less so.

(Second Caveat: These books are over twenty years old, on average. Let me tell you how old the first book is – Donald Trump is mentioned  - FONDLY! - and it’s pre-Apprentice. I still enjoy them but I’ve noticed that some of the attitudes and references have not aged well. In addition, there are some sex scenes that are old-school-esque borderline-consensual/ non-consensual. FYI.)

Another romance that is football adjacent is Changing the Play by Julia Blake. The heroine is a sports agent and the hero is a reporter but football obviously plays a big role in the book.

Next recommendation! Sidelined by Suzanne Baltzar! I recommended this here and I’ve also had the hankering to re-read this during football season. Seriously, people. This is such a good book. Go grab it. (Hear me talk to Suzanne on Women With Books here.) This one is about a female high school football coach and her offensive coordinator. If you are psyched up about #equalpay then this is the book that will have you sighing and fist bumping your pals.

Also full of football players and the women who show them the score? Alexa Martin’s Playbook series! Start with Intercepted (Book #1) and you’ll fall in love with Marlee’s voice and wit. (And bonus points! Alexa is a former professional football wife herself! Hear my chat with her on Women With Books here!)

And speaking of WAGS, Naima Simone’s WAGS series should be required reading for anyone who loves a seriously swoony football hero. Start with Scoring With The Wrong Twin and enjoy the sexy, witty, sweet ride.

And uh…  While I was making up this list I kept remembering one more book… and I realized, it was mine!

Yeah, my debut novel has some football-related shenanigans in it: Know When to Hold Him. So, you know. Read it!

Or, pick up my NEXT book, which is definitely NOT football related but it’s just as good.

The Royal Bodyguard!

More info coming VERY soon on that! I can’t wait to share it with you!!!

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!