Best New 2026 Christmas Books: Cozy Mysteries, Feel-Good Reads, & Romances (Sweet to Steamy)

A billionaire’s grandson and the housekeeper’s daughter square off in this cat-and-mouse holiday romance-mystery.

Ella Chambers didn’t kill Liam Montgomery. If she had, she certainly wouldn’t have done it outside his family’s mansion during the Christmas party of the year. But now Liam is missing, leaving nothing but a bloody spot on the drive and a host of unanswered questions.

Liam Montgomery didn’t want to die. But it turns out, when you’re the sole heir to a billionaire, someone might want you dead. Luckily for Liam, being dead works for him.

Ella has to prove he’s still alive to clear her name. But as the storm of the century blows in, every step brings these two childhood rivals closer to a killer, and each other.

🌶️ According to readers, this is another fun holiday mystery with a slow burn, low-spice Ally Carter romance full of humor and festive vibes.

Another installment in the long-running Lucy Stone Mystery series, this cozy Christmas murder mystery is easily read as a standalone book. 

Feeling lonely in the weeks approaching Christmas, reporter Lucy Stone decides to do what she does best: get involved. An all-out Thanksgiving dinner party, a role in the upcoming Dickens Christmas play, plus all the other feverish holiday preparations don’t keep her from investigating a rash of public doxing happening in her town. When one of the victims of the slanderous posts turns up dead, Lucy doesn’t buy the “suicide” verdict, and begins her own search for answers. Turning up a surprising history of motives, secrets, and family connections that stink like rotten plum pudding, she finds herself in a life-threatening situation that would definitely spoil Christmas — permanently.

🌶️ According to reader reviews, this is a no-spice read.

This year, nothing about Christmas is going to plan in this festively chaotic feel-good novel.

I adored this novel full of friendship, love, forgiveness, and family — the kind you’re born into and the kind you’re lucky enough to find. Mabel Miller is a reclusive author, pretending she is content to spend another Christmas alone with her cats. But the snowstorm of the century not only brings havoc to the roads, it also brings a family of four from England and two co-workers with a past to Mabel’s door.

Stranded together for the holiday, these strangers work their way into each other’s hearts one cup of tea and one treasured old book at a time. Between Mabel’s secrets, a mother’s desire for a perfect holiday for her family, and a guarded young woman afraid to be loved, there is plenty of room for festive cheer to either falter or flourish.

🌶️🌶️ If you like feel-good fiction about new beginnings and friendship with a cozy festive feel, you need to pick this one up. One closed door scene.

A laugh-out-loud novel brimming with beloved tropes from grumpy-sunshine to found family and filled with festive joy.

Feel-good novel? Holiday romance? Low spice or steamy?? The truth is, I don’t know! After reading multiple reviews on every site I could find, I still have no clear answer except that people generally love this book and describe it as a joyous and witty celebration of found family and finding love when you least expect it. My kind of book, so I bought it. 🤷‍♀️

When Henrietta Whitaker moves from New Jersey to the beautiful cobbled streets of Chelsea, it is with one goal: to find the Englishman of her dreams and live out her very own rom-com. In her local café, Henrietta sets eyes on Albert – outrageously dapper and irresistibly charming – and knows that her dreams are coming true. But before she has the chance to sweep Albert off his feet, in lopes a gruff American man – from New Jersey, no less – who seems intent on stealing all of her attention and throwing her rulebook for the perfect romance right out the window.

❓🌶️🌶️❓I found no direct mentions of the spice level, so I’m guessing it is low-moderate, but I’m leaving it unrated. (Will update once I’ve read it.)

Bring on the holiday cheer in this delightful collection of three feel-good, low-spice romance novellas perfect for the festive season.

Tis the season to fall in love, and within these stories, you’ll not only find romance, but also:
– The worst Christmas dinner imaginable
– A granny determined to dismantle the patriarchy
– Matching Christmas sweaters (by accident!)
– A Mission Impossible-style cat rescue (with a saxophone)
– Mouthwatering recipes from Abby for dishes like Disco Pancakes
– Full-page illustrations throughout

Because this year, you deserve the perfect holiday gift (and this one-time limited edition deluxe printing won’t last forever!)

🌶️ All the reviews I found said this is a sweet and no/low-spice collection of stories.

This season, sparks will fly in this no-spice YA novel when the son and daughter of two rival families fall in love.

Jasmine Costa’s family has one sworn enemy: the snobby Moreno family who live next door. But when Jasmine and Ryan Moreno get thrown together during a holiday party, they discover that they have undeniable (and inconvenient) chemistry.

As a secret romance blossoms amid the snow and the tinsel, Jasmine will have to make a choice. Can she stay loyal to her loved ones while falling for the one boy who’s off-limits?

🌶️ Readers give this a no-spice rating and encourage anyone who’s ever had a crush to read it, regardless of their age.

FESTIVE, FEEL-GOOD, no/low-SPICE Hallmark Vibes

Noémi Blanc loves happy endings. In fact, she runs a cozy bookshop brimming with them. Following a friend’s tragic accident, Noémi is sworn off adventures, and even refuses to bake her mouth-watering, crowd-attracting cookies.

Shay Cassidy craves adventures. When he opens a pop-up business next to the bookshop, stealing Noémi’s footfall, his quirky activities and rival cookies quickly capture the interest of the small town. With the bookshop’s success hinging on a festive event and Shay’s lease almost up, Noémi must decide if she’ll open her heart to a chance at happiness and save the bookshop in time for Christmas.

At the time of this writing, this book isn’t available on Bookshop.org, so check your library or indie bookshop or get the audiobook from Libro.FM.

🌶️ Readers give this one a sweet, Hallmark-y rating with low spice.

Christmas in Shelter Springs is the season of twinkling lights, open hearts and unexpected second chances.

You can count on RaeAnne Thayne to deliver a sweet and cozy Christmas with every December visit to Shelter Springs, and this one is no exception. You’ll meet the characters you’ve met in other Shelter Springs novels, but this is a standalone novel that brings hard events and deep feelings together in a gentle way. If you enjoy heartwarming stories and happy endings during the festive season, check this one out. 

When Hannah’s dear friend Morgan desperately needs her help, Hannah temporarily steps in to care for Morgan’s children. It’s what friends do, and suddenly the full life she has built is overflowing. But then Wes Kenner shows up.

Returning to Shelter Springs — where he fell in love with Hannah, and where tragedy changed his family forever — is the last thing K9 law enforcement officer Wes Kenner ever wanted. But when his grandfather needs a helping hand, he can’t say no.

Hannah still represents all of the joy and light Wes pushed out of his life, and he realizes that even after all this time, all he wants is her.

🌶️ Another kisses only Shelter Springs festive romance.

A heartwarming holiday romance full of family, love, and a little bit of intrigue.

Jordan Frost had to do it. Her family was simply too perfectly eccentric not to put in a novel about an oddball family’s holiday adventures. Now as Christmas is approaching, she’s desperately hoping she can keep her pseudonym a secret so she can stay in her family’s good graces.

Charles Pine, her high school friend/wanna be boyfriend, recognizes her the moment he unpacks her book at his bookstore. Hoping to make her see him as boyfriend material, he’s determined to get her through the season with her secret intact. 

🌶️ From the reviews I read, this sounds like a great choice for fans of family hijinks, no-spice second chance romance, and cozy winter stories full of nostalgia and tradition.

Romance blooms when an unlikely couple plans to surprise a child in need of some Christmas magic in this sparkling holiday romance.

Sage Madison, single and career oriented, doesn’t really go all out for Christmas. But when her sister needs her help, Sage volunteers to care for her five-year-old nephew, Ricky. Determined to make the season special for him, she enlists the help of her friend Ethan.

Sharing the holiday season with Ethan brings unexpected joy and a prospect of romance. But when her old life threatens to interfere with the festivities, Sage must decide what she truly wants before the season’s magic slips away.

🌶️ Readers often describe this as a sweet Hallmark-vibey family story with no explicit content.

Come feel the festive magic for yourself with this charming no/low-spice romance full of emotional connection and a touch of magical realism.

Three years ago, Casey declined her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in a moment that went viral. Casey now leads a quiet life hiding from the online backlash until she meets the Spirit of Christmas Present, Margo, who has chosen to sit this holiday out.

Margo offers Casey a bargain: She will use her powers to erase the video that made Casey notorious. There’s just one catch. Casey must witness five of her alternate realities, and if after all five she still wants it wiped, Margo will grant her wish. While glimpses into other lifetimes are fascinating, the question remains: What if everything Casey wants is waiting for her in the life she already has?

🌶️🌶️ I love a Jenny Baylis book and can’t wait to read this Christmas Carol-esqe novel that readers say has very little spice.

Return to Austenland at Christmastime in this delightfully charming romance by bestselling author Shannon Hale.

Kestrel Klein has always been too much — for her mother, for her boyfriend, for everyone. Itching for a big change, Kestrel enters a contest and wins a vacation to Pembrook Park, an immersive Austen experience. Bonus: it’s during Christmas, the one holiday where being too much is the whole point.

Once inside Austenland, Kestrel feels . . . dare she say, happy? She’s always worried that unless she can tamp down her too-muchness, she’ll never find that found family she craves. When an unexpected visitor disrupts the holiday celebrations, Kestrel needs to find out what her heart really wants.

🌶️ 🌶️ Readers mention mild swearing and a few closed door scenes, but nothing explicit on the page.

a bittersweet Christmas countdown opens the door to healing, hope . . . and maybe even love.

Ali has always loved Christmas, but this year she doesn’t think she’ll make it through. Christmas was always her and her best friend Robyn’s holiday. Every year, they exchanged Advent calendars filled with big and small challenges. But this Christmas, Robyn is gone. There is one last calendar, though, given to Ali before Robyn died, with a promise to open it in December.

When one of the challenges leads her co-workers to think she’s dating her boss Leo, things get complicated. To save her embarrassment, Leo agrees to play along. As Ali spends more time with him, she realizes that he’s grieving, too. And as he helps her complete Robyn’s challenges, she starts to wonder if their fake relationship could become something real. But the truth behind Leo’s grief could bring them closer . . . or tear them apart for good.

🌶️🌶️(🌶️) I am a huge fan of Emily Stone, and this one is on my December reading list. Early readers rate the spiciness level as mild to slightly moderate.

Count down to Christmas Day with 24 sealed chapters in this festive and heartwarming enemies-to-lovers “Advent Calendar” Style novel.

Anna’s dying brother left one final gift for her: an Adventy-style series of daily adventures for her to complete with his best friend, Luke, leading up to December 25th. Each day brings an unexpected and delightful surprise to this unlikely pair. And as the Christmas spirit slowly warms Anna and Luke’s initial icy feelings towards one another, it seems like the holiday season has one more gift to give…

With a unique Advent calendar format, this book contains twenty-four chapters sealed with an individual sticker. Readers open each chapter as they follow the love story day-by-day in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ I’ve not read this one yet, but readers generally rate this book as “moderately spicy.”

Count down to Christmas with this advent calendar of twelve sealed holiday love stories by beloved romance authors.

The Twelve Loves of Christmas is a short story collection about finding love during the most magical time of the year. Including a playful forced proximity romance featuring a woman and her older brother’s grinchy (yet unexpectedly endearing) best friend, a tender love story of two neighbors who decide to skip Christmas together, a second-chance spark reignited between exes stranded at the airport, and many more festive love stories, there’s a little holiday magic waiting for every reader.

Open one sealed story each day in the lead-up to Christmas to unwrap a season full of love, warmth, and happily-ever-afters.

🌶️🌶️… 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ I’ve not read this one yet, but it is getting lots of buzz. Keep in mind that it’s written by twelve different authors so the topics and spice level will vary.

A yearly New Year’s Eve game pushes two lifelong best friends to change their lives forever in this gorgeously sweeping romance, told through past and present timelines.

Childhood neighbors and best friends Florence Parker and Tom Sinclair made a pact in college they hoped would link them forever: On New Year’s Eve, they’d each write five secret predictions about the other’s year ahead. Whoever got the most guesses correct would make one big life decision for the other. So it went for nearly a decade, until one letter shattered their friendship.

Now Tom and Florence are home for the holidays and haven’t spoken in a year. Hidden in the tense silences and charged interactions is a wealth of history and feelings they’ve never spoken aloud. It’s their last opportunity to make amends before Florence moves away, but are they willing to take a chance on a future they can’t predict?

This one is on my library holds list, and early readers love the beautiful writing and the slow burn romance that focuses more on the emotional rather than physical connection. It publishes December 1, 2026, and the New Year’s setting makes it an excellent choice for the “dead week” between the 25th and the 1st.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Some advance readers note this as moderately spicy, containing some suggestive dialogue throughout and open door scenes (chapters 22 and 26 were specifically noted).

In this third (but standalone) book in the Melody Bittersweet series, a ghostbuster and her motley crew face the ghosts of Christmas — and the exes of Christmas past — in this haunted holiday rom-com with mild-to-moderate spice.

When Lucy Libertine unexpectedly dies, her beloved department store, Libertines, goes to her deceased sister’s three children: twins Francis and Tom who want to sell the store, and their younger sister Fleur who wants to save it.

The twins hold all the cards until Lucy Libertine herself decides to even the playing field, haunting the twins out of house and home (and department store). Melody and her ghost-hunting ex are hired by the two sides, the tensions are running high, and Melody has only two months to save the store or Libertines will close its doors on Christmas Eve forever.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Most readers consider this hauntingly festive romcom to be mildly to moderately spicy.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like fake fiancés, family pressure, and accidentally falling for your ex’s brother.

Nolan never met a spotlight he didn’t like, and he has the ego and bad-boy persona to go with his major league baseball player status.

Taran, on the other hand, is so committed to making everyone else happy that she’s somehow agreed to a fake wedding with her ex — who just happens to be Nolan’s brother — just to keep her family’s holiday from imploding. But Nolan knows Taran deserves better than pretending her way through life, and he’d really like “better” to be him. This holiday season is about to get messy.

If you’re an audiobook reader, check your library for this one because it’s not available at Libro.FM at the time of this writing.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Readers say this is a spicy one, so if you like your festive reads steamy, check it out.

Long time nemeses and rival neighbors butt heads in a fierce competition for first place in their neighborhood’s Christmas house-decorating competition in this high-spirited holiday romance.

Nisa Ansari’s husband and Kerr Murdoch’s girlfriend have found a new love — each other. To distract themselves, Nisa and Kerr each enter their small highland town’s Christmas house-decorating competition. Secretly blaming Kerr for “letting” his girlfriend steal her husband, Nisa is determined to win this competition and get on Kerr’s last nerve in the process. 

When their decorations end up nearly identical, all-out war ensues with too many gaudy wreaths and reindeer to count. But could some of those twinkle lights start to reveal that Kerr may be someone worth getting to know…and that Nisa’s chances at love aren’t all behind her?

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ This is another steamy read according to readers.

A Christmas-hating recluse goes head-to-head with her holiday-obsessed neighbour in this spicy, clever, and laugh-out-loud romcom.

It’s the most perilous time of the year… After too many Christmas-time catastrophes, Devra is convinced her family is cursed and decides to opt out of the holiday. When Bradley, “Mr. Christmas” himself, moves in next door, with every twinkling and blaring decoration imaginable, she’s convinced it’s an end to her quiet life.

Bradley, one year sober and excited to be in his new home, is excited to celebrate his fresh start with extravagant holiday decorating, but has unknowingly provoked his prickly new neighbor into a feud that just might end in attempted snowman murder. 

Except somewhere along the way, their over-the-fence antics spark something deeper: feelings. 

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ A spicy romcom for those who love steamy and funny festive reads.

A small-town spicy holiday romance about a guarded cowboy veterinarian and a Christmas-loving optimist who team up for a town holiday pageant.

Dr. Noah Lennox lives by three holiday rules: avoid his hometown, cheerful people, and Christmas itself. But when his beloved grandfather decides to retire, Noah is forced home to try to save the family’s cherished sleigh-ride farm. 

Eloise Langston loves the holidays, but needs a win to land her dream job with a tourism bureau. Her plan? Turn the broody grump into a festive front-runner to help the town’s Mr. Holiday competition draw record crowds.

Soon, Noah and Eloise steam up the page in a tangle of twinkle lights, fake kisses, and one very real attraction. But with the farm’s future at stake and Eloise’s career on the line, there’s a blizzard of reasons to put their feelings on ice.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Okay, fans of the spicy cowboy romance, readers say this is your festive read.

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas. This is the laugh out loud holiday “romystery” that you’ve been waiting for!

I was soooo far down the library holds list for this book last season, I gave up and canceled it in January. The good news: there’s no wait for Christmas books in October! And now I know what all the hubbub was about. 

🌶️ This was a fun, smart, no-spice read that never veered into the overly-sugary category. If you like a closed door romcom that doesn’t tip into the saccharine-y side of sweet, this is a great option.

A witty, no-spice holiday romance about grief, healing, and second chances.

The new year barely began when Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses. Now, nearly a year later, the first holiday season since their “Great and Terrible Sadnesses” approaches. Although their mothers scheme to matchmake the two surviving spouses, it’s clear that neither is ready to date again. Yet no one understands what they’re going through better than each other, and a delicate friendship is born.

This holiday book was one of my few five star books of 2025 (and that’s unusual for a Christmas read!).

🌶️ There is occasional profanity, including some uses of the “F” bomb, but no spice.

A clean holiday romance about grief, healing, and rediscovering Christmas magic.

In this heartwarming, feel-good holiday novel, one woman needs a little inspiration in the 25 days leading up to Christmas to help her remember the magic of the season.

Kate Potter used to love Christmas. But that was before her husband left for the army and never came home. She knows that her son, Jack, needs a Christmas to remember, so she creates an advent calendar of activities to keep their festive spirits bright.  As Kate’s advent countdown to the best Christmas ever begins, she soon realizes that even with the best-laid plans, you can’t plan for the unexpected.

🌶️ It’s been a year since I read this one, but I remember it as a sweet romance with very little (if any) spice.

She went to sleep and woke up in a hallmark-esque movie. this could be either really good, or really, really bad.

Jill Jacobs is most certainly not a Christmas person, not since her hometown love broke her heart on Christmas Eve three years ago. For the first time since, she’s back in drab, suburban Illinois for the holidays. After one very hazy night, Jill wakes up to a hometown that’s filled with jolly neighbors, covered in pristine white snow, and seasoned with the smell of peppermint. She realizes that this is more than just a bad hangover… she’s stuck in a Heartfelt movie. One set in her town, starring real people from her life, including her family, her high school crush (uber perfect, owns a bakery, and definitely a Christmas Person), and of course, her ex — handsome as ever and now exclusively clad in plaid flannel.

The only way out of this bizarro world is to complete the plot of the movie, and Jill must act out a picture-perfect holiday romance with the one that got away, all while her ex watches on. Fa la la la freaking la….

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Readers say there is one open door scene in this book, and most rate the spice level as moderate.

Clara Davenport wants to solve Fraser Falls’s biggest problem. According to Jack Kelly, Clara is Fraser Falls’s biggest problem.

When Clara Davenport’s family toy business is accused of stealing a doll design from an independent toy maker, Davenport Innovation Creative finds itself in a flurry of bad publicity. Clara is tasked with charming the locals of the small town to solve the PR nightmare, but Jack Kelly never wants to hear the name Davenport again. Less than a year after a guy in a fancy suit appeared on his doorstep with a sleigh-full of promises, the company that once falsely claimed they wanted to sign him to their small business program has copied his design. 

So when Clara prances into town hoping to convince Fraser Falls that her company is not the enemy, Jack is determined not to be fooled by Davenport twice. As Clara works to win over the community, she begins to realize that beneath Jack’s frosty demeanor lies the key to the town’s heart — and maybe her own.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Readers describe this as a cozy but high-spice read — think “Hallmark decides to tell all.”