A Christmas Reading List

By Cardyn Brooks

Christmas, Festivus, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice, whichever is being observed, the inhabitants of Romancelandia and its overlapping genre territories invite readers to celebrate love stories ranging from sweet warmth to Habanero combustion during the season of winter holidays. Exciting new releases, established favorites, comforting rereads, and long-overdue #OwnVoices love stories entertain, amuse, inspire, and challenge readers to support everyone's right to love and the HTN or HEA of their dreams.

Here is an assortment of noteworthy titles—quick reading snacks to full-course installments from binge-able series, newest releases first. Contemporary, historical, speculative; literary, commercial or mass market, mostly holiday-themed fiction, all deliver the joy of reading a tale well told.

Samplers/Anthologies:

Eight Kisses, Eight All-New Tales of Holiday Romance

Mindy Klasky, Lou Ann Bailey, et al

Peabridge Press, 2019

Holiday Smut, An Anthology of Sexy Christmas Stories

Lori Perkins, ed.

Riverdale Avenue Books, 2014

Lauriat, A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology

Charles A. Tan, ed.

Lethe Press, 2012

Brown Sugar, A Collection of Erotic Black Fiction, Vol. 1

Carol Taylor, ed.

Plume, 2001

Snacks/Novellas:

Calluna, A Christmas Present for Klaus (Silver Springs Spell Library Bonus)

Jewels Arthur

Paranormal romance & horror

December 23, 2020

American Christmas, A Multicultural Christmas Romance (Dreamers #5)

Adriana Herrera

Contemporary romance

Carina Press, November 2020

Can't Escape Love (Reluctant Royals Novella)

Alyssa Cole

Contemporary romance

Avon Impulse, 2019

The Christmas Rivalry

Beverly Jenkins

Contemporary romance

Harlequin, 2019

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy (Reluctant Royals Novella)

Alyssa Cole

Contemporary romance

Avon Impulse, 2019

Wrapped, A FIT Adjacent Christmas Novella (FIT trilogy #4)

Rebekah Weatherspoon—author & publisher, 2017

Contemporary romance

A Christmas at Seaside Inn

Susan Donovan

Contemporary romance

Intermix, 2016

Naughty Little Wishes (Birthday Dare #2)

Nina Crespo

Contemporary romance

Entangled Brazen, 2015

A Scarlet Christmas—A FemDomme Christmas Carol

D. L. King

Contemporary erotica

Riverdale Avenue Books, 2015

Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas (Perfect Fit Holiday Novella)

Sugar Jamison

Contemporary romance

St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2013

A Kiss for Midwinter (Duchess War #1.5)

Courtney Milan—author & publisher, 2012

Historical romance

Main Courses/Novels:

The Persistence of Memory Book 4: W.I.S.E. Men

Karen Janowsky

Speculative

Mill City Press, December 15, 2020

Red Hunter (Red August #3)

H. L. Brooks

Supernatural romance

Weatherhill.pub, October 2020

Finding Her, An LGBT Prose/Poetry Romance for Women Who Love Women

Kamari Talley—author & publisher, 2019

Puppy Christmas (Forever Home #2)

Lucy Gilmore

Contemporary romance

Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2019

Royal Holiday

Jasmine Guillory

Contemporary romance

Berkley, 2019

If I Were Your Girl

Meredith Russo

Contemporary YA romance

Flatiron Books, 2018

The Kiss Quotient

Helen Hoang

Contemporary romance

Berkley, 2018

Relations

Pamela D. Beverly—author & publisher, 2018

Contemporary romance

Bourbon Chase (SanFrancisco Mystery #1)

Alexi Venice

Contemporary romance thriller

eBookIt.com, 2017

A Christmas Carl, A Gay Retelling of A Christmas Carol

Ryan Field

Contemporary romance

Riverdale Avenue Books, 2016

Silent Night (Lady Julia Grey #6)

Deanna Raybourn

Historical mystery romance

Mira, 2015

A Christmas Tail, Book Four of the Masters of Cats Series

Trinity Blacio

Paranormal romance

Riverdale Avenue Books, 2014

Her Land, Her Love

Evangeline Parsons Yazzie

Historical fiction

Salina Bookshelf, Inc., 2014

Eternal Lovers (Sekhmet's Guardian #1)

V. S. Nelson—author & publisher, 2013

Speculative

Pride and Joi

Gay G. Gunn

Contemporary (circa 1990s) romance

Different Drummer, 2013

Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight (Windham #6)

Grace Burrowes

Historical romance

Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2012

An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses #2)

Eloisa James

Historical romance

Avon, 2009

Buying Time (Dre Thomas and Angela Evans #1)

Pamela Samuels Young

Contemporary suspense

Goldman House Publishing, 2009

Death's Favorite Child (Lizzie Stuart Mystery #1)

Frankie Y. Bailey

Contemporary romantic suspense

Overmountain Press, 2000; Speaking Volumes, 2017

The Color of Love

Sandra Kitt

Contemporary romance

Signet, 1995; Open Road Media Romance, 2013

Comix:

(H)afrocentric Comic Book Vol. 1-4

Juliana “Jewels" Smith with Foreword by Kiese Laymon; Ronald Nelson, illustrator; Mike Hampton, colorist

2016-present

Faith's Winter Wonderland Special #1

Marguerite Sauvage, author & cover artist; Francis Portela & M. J. Kim, artists; Paulina Ganucheau, Sibylline Meynet & David Lafuente, cover artists

Valiant Entertainment, 2017

Year-round Gifts of Pleasure:

Ultimate Guide to Sex After 50, How to Maintain—or Regain—a Spicy, Satisfying Sex Life

Joan Price

Cleis Press, 2015

Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability, For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain, and Illness

Miriam Kaufman, Cory Silverberg, Fran Odette

Cleis Press, 2007