12 Days of Christmas Romance: A Naughty & Nice List

12 Days of Christmas Romance: A Naughty & Nice List

Naughty or Nice, Christmas Romance Reads for the Whole Advent Season

Whether you are all sugar or all spice, I’ve got a Christmas holiday romance list for you. Or read both lists for a full Advent calendar of book recommendations.

Christmas Romance Books With Spice

Naughty list has varying degrees of spice from cozy snickerdoodles to the whole peppermint stick (or three), sure to help you dissociate from whatever holiday madness this season throws at you. These spicy Christmas romances are marked “naughty” in red. 🎁 
Jump to the Naughty List

Christmas Romance Books Without Spice

Nice list is low to no spice and focuses on sweet stories that set the tone for a romantic holiday season. These sweet Christmas romances are marked “nice” in green. 🎄Jump to the Nice List

Free Christmas Romance Books
(well, free with a subscription)

Get many of these Christmas romances free when you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Get the most bang for your buck–especially this time of year!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to the Naughty List, spicy holiday vixen!

Here’s what was keeping the Christmas fires cracklin’ on my Kindle over the past few holiday seasons. Presented to you in no particular order–The Naughty Christmas Romance Reads List:

Naughty

An Irish Rockstar for Christmas

Julie Saman (2022)

A delayed flight leads to a steamy encounter with a famous rockstar, who pretends to be the protagonist’s boyfriend to ward off an ex during a chaotic Christmas.

Naughty

My Fake Bad Boyfriend

Sara Whitney (2023)

A woman hires the worst fake boyfriend to appease her family, but their chemistry becomes dangerously real during the holidays.

Naughty

Holiday Fling

Julie Saman (2024)

A woman who wants to escape her cheating boyfriend goes to a Christmas rental in Wyoming and meets a rock star who is also hiding out. They start a fake relationship to help his image and make her ex jealous, but it turns into something more.

Naughty

Holiday Star

Melissa Dymond (2024)

Forced to share a house for a month, a grumpy celebrity and an ordinary doctor find themselves drawn to each other, sparking an enemies-to-lovers romance filled with chemistry and angst.

Naughty

A Kiss for Christmas

Melody Grace (2013)

A Holiday Collection. Celebrate the holidays with this special festive romance bundle from New York Times bestselling author, Melody Grace! UNWRAPPED. HOLIDAY KISSES. UNEXPECTEDLY YOURS.

Naughty

Stranded in the Snow

Noelle Adams (2018)

An unexpected snowstorm. The man she hates the most. One very hot night.Olivia Holiday does not expect to spend the weekend stranded in a romantic cottage during a snowstorm with the one man she resents the most.

Naughty

Tis the Season for Revenge

Morgan Elizabeth (2022)

After being dumped for not being serious enough, Abbie plots revenge by dating her ex’s boss. Her casual relationship with the grumpy law firm partner turns unexpectedly meaningful during Christmas season. Spicy romance.

Naughty

A Rogues & Gentlemen Christmas

Emma V Leech (2021)

A Compilation of THREE Christmas tales from the Rogues & Gentlemen Series…Winter’s Wild Melody. The Christmas Rose. The Winter Bride.

Naughty

A Roguish Christmas

Georgette Brown (2020)

Make it a steamy holiday season with three Christmas Regency Romances from Georgette Brown. A DECEMBER TRYST. TEMPTING A MARQUESS FOR CHRISTMAS. A ROGUISH CHRISTMAS WISH. 

Naughty

Enchanted Christmas Collection

Wendy Vella (2020)

An enchanting set of Regency Christmas romances from USA Today bestseller, Wendy Vella. CHRISTMAS WISHES. THE EARL FROM CHRISTMAS PAST. MISTLETOE AND THE MARQUESS.

Naughty

A Festive Feud

Maren Moore (2023)

Two feuding families are forced to plan a joint Christmas party after their representatives end up in jail. sparks fly between the organizers despite their mutual animosity. Spicy romance.

Naughty

My Christmas Kink

Mika Lane (2021)

This naughty why choose romance features a plucky main character with multiple love interests. If you like to indulge your secret bad-girl side, this is the book for you.

Welcome to the Nice List, sweet snow bunny!

Here’s what has kept the Christmas the Holiday Spirit alive on my Kindle over the past few holiday seasons. Presented to you in no particular order–The Nice Christmas Romance Reads List:

Nice

The Charm Bracelet

Melissa Hill (2022)

Holly O’Neill knows this better than most. Many years ago she was sent a bracelet with just a single charm attached. Other charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life…
Now adapted as a holiday movie A Little Christmas Charm.

Nice

Scrooge & the Girls Next Door

Melanie Jacobson (2022)

A single mom and her daughter try to bring Christmas cheer to their grumpy neighbor, but end up falling for him instead.

Nice

A Special Kind of Advent

S J Crabb (2018)

A Festive, Feel Good, Christmas Romance. Two rivals must work together to complete challenges and win their company, but their mutual hatred threatens to derail their progress.

Nice

The Clause in Christmas

Rachael Bloome (2020)

A woman inherits a cottage and must complete festive tasks to inherit it, overseen by a lawyer with whom she falls in love.

Nice

Merry Me

Amanda Siegrist (2020)

He never knew a simple gift left on his porch step would mend his wounded heart. Hiding his dislike for the holidays isn’t easy, especially when Chief Elliot Duncan meets a woman who captures his attention with one sweet smile. Lynn Carpenter is beautiful, strong-willed, and hardworking, and he doesn’t know how to return her gift that was left on his porch by mistake.

Nice

We'll have a wonderful Cornish Christmas

CP Ward (2019)

Unlucky-in-love and long-term loner Lucy Drake can find no excuse not to join her parents on a Christmas trip to the Cornish coastal town of Tintagel, not when her father’s company is sponsoring the inaugural Christmas Extravaganza.

Nice

A Holly Jolly Grumpy Christmas

Addison Moore (2024)

It’s time for three Ho-Ho-Ho-Holiday romances! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It’s time to roll out the holly jolly grumps with hilarious Christmas Romantic Comedies! Each can be read as a standalone novel. So grab some cocoa, get cozy under the mistletoe, and dive on in!

Nice

A Lighthouse Café Christmas

Jennifer Faye (2021)

When Santa’s sleigh crashes into The Lighthouse Café, Bluestar’s beloved waitress is reunited with the one man who broke her heart.

Nice

Mistletoe at Moonglow

Deborah Garner (2015)

At the Timberton Hotel in Montana, chef and artist Mist works holiday magic through food and companionship, helping guests transform their worries into hope during their Christmas stay.

Nice

A Bramble House Christmas

CJ Carmichael (2015)

Finn Knightly a.k.a. Finn Conrad wants to know why his recently deceased father left his nurse fifty thousand dollars after knowing her a mere six weeks. So he travels to Bramble House B&B in Marietta, Montana to find answers.

Nice

A Christmas Wish

Leeanna Morgan (2022)

After a tragic accident, Megan Stevenson is determined to give Nora, her five-year-old niece, a loving and stable home. With her fantasy cake business thriving and her niece’s nightmares finally over, her life is more settled than it’s been in a long time–until a stranger knocks on her door.

Nice

A Holiday By Gaslight

Mimi Matthews (2018)

A Victorian Christmas Novella. A young woman considers ending her courtship with a stoic merchant, but unexpected events give their relationship one last chance at love.

Which ones are you planning to read? What else would you add to the list? Tell me in the comments!

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.
Happy Reading!
Lacey Signature

Last Updated: September 2025

13 Witchy Spells to Enchant Your Spooky Season TBR

13 Witchy Spells to Enchant Your Spooky Season TBR

Open your grimoires to page 94...

Welcome, bookish coven, to a list designed to enchant your spooky season TBR with 13 curated reads devoted to witches and other practitioners of magic. Peruse the list for inspiration, or download the printable as an Autumn reading challenge.

Jump to Download

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Witchy Reads for Every Energy from Cozy Charms to Full Moon Chaos

  • Fiction
  • Non-Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Dual Timelines
  • Historical Fiction
  • Fairytale Retellings

Which witch book casts a spell on you? Find your match below, or try them all.

* I have read many, though not all of these books. Some are still haunting my TBR. 

🪄 Spell of Forbidden Knowledge

A Discovery of Witches 🧙‍♀️

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

All Souls Series book 1 of 4.
Adapted to Netflix Drama.

Caption

🌀 Curse of the Eternal Flame

A Witch in Time 🕰

A young woman in Belle Epoque France is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist.

Caption

🕯 Séance for the Skeptical Mind

The Witch of Napoli 👻

Inspired by the true-life story of controversial Italian medium Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918), The Witch of Napoli masterfully resurrects the bitter,19th-century battle between Science and religion over the possibility of an afterlife.

Stand Alone.
Historical Fiction, but make it Witchy

Caption

⚖ Hex of Historical Reckoning

American Witches 📚

Entertainingly readable and rich in amazing details often left out of today’s texts, American Witches casts a flickering torchlight into the dark corners of American history.

Stand Alone.
Witches in American History. Non-Fiction.

Caption

🪻 Cottagecore Cloak of Secrets

The Secret of Thistle Cottage 🏡

Tess is intrigued by the shadowy stories of witchcraft surrounding the mother and daughter who lived in the cottage centuries ago. But she quickly discovers modern-day witch hunts can be just as vicious: someone in town knows her secret – and they won’t let Tess forget it…

Stand Alone.
Dual Timeline Witchhunt Victims.

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💫 Retail Hex for the Heartbroken

The Hocus Pocus Magic Shop 🪙

When chemist Grace O’Leary finds a book of magic spells hidden in her Aunt Lucy’s run-down magic shop, the scientist in her itches to try them out. She mixes up a batch of love potions as a joke, and has to face the consequences when they actually seem to work.

The Southside Stories book 2 of 4.
Cozy, withcy, rom-com.

Caption

🎃 Enchantment of the Hollow

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel 🌙

In Alyssa Palombo’s The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won’t erase.

Stand Alone. Legend of Sleepy Hollow retelling through Katrinas POV. Love. Friendship. Supernatural. 

Caption

🩸 Ancestral Blood Binding

The Witch’s Daughter 🌲

Fresh, compelling take on the magical, yet dangerous world of Witches. Readers will long remember the fiercely independent heroine who survives plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality to remain true to herself, and protect the protégé she comes to love.

Book 1 of 2.
Historical Romance x Modern Fantasy.

Caption

🧪 Potion of Misunderstood Villains

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West 🧤

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

The Wicked Years Book 1 of 4.
Source Material for the Broadway Show & Movie

Caption

🌹 Love Charm with a Warning Label

Practical Magic 🥣

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman.

4 Book Series.
Inspired 1993 Comic Fantasy of the same name.

Caption

🐺 Winter Ward for the Wildbound

The Bear and the Nightingale ❄️

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

Book 1 of 3. Winternight Trilogy.
A haunting fairytale.

Caption

🗣 Incantation of Revolutionary Voices

The Once and Future Witches 📖

In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in this powerful novel of magic, family, and the suffragette movement.

Stand Alone.
Witchcraft for a Cause.

Caption

🫖 Brew of Found Family

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches 🌊

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life.

Stand Alone.
Quirky, Cozy, Witchy.

Caption

Get your FREE printable copy of  13 Spells for a Witchy Reading Season: A Magical Reading Challenge from Lacey in the Library

Which of these witch tales have you read? What others would you recommend? Tell us in the comments!

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.
Happy Reading!
Lacey Signature
18 Women Who Won the Nobel Prize for Literature

18 Women Who Won the Nobel Prize for Literature

Female Authors with a Nobel Prize in Literature

When I read Never Let Me Go by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, I became interested in the Nobel Prize for Literature. I thought I’d write a little primer on it and highlight some winners for your consideration. However, the number of authors seems too many for this blog. If you are interested, check out the full list.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Nobel Prize for Literature Quick Facts

  • According to NobelPrize.org, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 117 times to 121 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2024.
  • The prize is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm to people they deem to have made “outstanding contributions to literature.”
  • The literature prize is one of five Nobel Prizes created by Alfred Nobel’s will when he passed in 1895.
  • Nominees are submitted by qualified individuals, including members of the Swedish Academy and other experts, and are considered by the Academy.
  • Each laureate receives a medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize.
  • The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded on December 10th each year, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

Women Awarded Nobel Laureates in Literature

Of the 121 Nobel Laureates in Literature, only 18 women have been awarded. This tidbit piqued my interest, so without further ado, let’s dive in. The 18 female Nobel Laureates, the year they won, and what they were awarded for, along with a book by that author.

* I should preface this by noting that I have NOT read ANY of these books. I chose which books to feature based on a combination of the aesthetic of the cover and the star ratings on Amazon.com.

1909

AWARDED FOR:

“In appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings”

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

1926

AWARDED FOR:

“for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general”

Chiaroscuro

1928

AWARDED FOR:

“principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages”

Kristin Lavransdatter 1: The Wreath

1938

AWARDED FOR:

“for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces”

The Good Earth Trilogy

1945

AWARDED FOR:

“for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world”

Madwomen

1966

AWARDED FOR:

“for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel’s destiny with touching strength”

Flight and Metamorphosis

1991

AWARDED FOR:

“who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity”

Jump and Other Stories

1993

AWARDED FOR:

“who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality”

Beloved

1996

AWARDED FOR:

“for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality”

MAP Collected and Last Poems

2004

AWARDED FOR:

“for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society’s clichés and their subjugating power”

The Piano Teacher

2007

AWARDED FOR:

“that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny”

The Grass Is Singing

2009

AWARDED FOR:

“who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed”

The Land of Green Plums

2013

AWARDED FOR:

“master of the contemporary short story”

Lives of Girls and Women

2015

AWARDED FOR:

“for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”

The Unwomanly Face of War

2018

AWARDED FOR:

“for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life”

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead

2020

AWARDED FOR:

“for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”

The Wild Iris

2022

AWARDED FOR:

“for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”

The Years

2024

AWARDED FOR:

“for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”

Human Acts

Which of these have you read and how did you like them?

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.
Happy Reading!
Lacey Signature
What to Gift at a Housewarming?  Books!

What to Gift at a Housewarming? Books!

Books To Give As Housewarming Gifts

Housewarmings are one of those difficult occasions on which you know you are expected to bring a gift, but you have no idea what the happy new homeowners might want or need. As any bookish person might, I suggest giving the gift of reading. A well-chosen book can be beautiful and useful, adding to the joy of home ownership for years to come.

Coffee table with stack of books, tea cup, bouquet of yellow flowers, and a golden pineapple.

In December 2024, I moved into my 6th (or 7th if you count the overseas rental) house (my husband is retired military, so we’ve moved around a lot), and I can personally attest that every house needs some love to feel like a home. At this point, I feel like I am semi-pro at moving out and moving in, but I only had a housewarming for the first.

Way back then, we received as a housewarming gift the book Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. This book has reference material for how to take care of almost anything homekeeping can throw at you.

  • How to maintain your dishwasher ✅
  • How to treat stains ✅
  • How to clean your baseboards ✅

Having this resource of tried and true ways to care for my home has saved me from scouring the internet for questionable solutions time and again. Highly Recommend!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home

“Encyclopedic yet friendly, Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook is a seminal work–a must-have for everyone who wants a well-cared-for home that will endure for generations.”

In the same vein, I think having a book about basic home repairs is also a welcome addition to any new home owners library.

Book cover of How Your House Works by Charlie Wing

How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding & Maintaining Your Home

Book cover of Pretty Good House A Guide To Creating Better Homes

Pretty Good House offers a refreshing approach to building and renovating high-performance homes.

Book cover of Family Handyman Whole House Repair Guide

Family Handyman Whole House Repair Guide: Over 300 Step-by-Step Repairs

Of course, there are myriad choices in home decorating books that might help your friends nail down their style, make their home more welcoming, or increase their comfort.

Find Your Style

Book cover of HouseBeautiful Style Secrets What Every Room Needs by Sophie Donelson

From the country’s most popular interior design magazine comes a stylish, in-depth look at what it takes to make any room beautiful.

Book cover of The Romance of Home Houses By Motion Interiors by Marcus Mohon

The chic, soulful, livable spaces of Texas-based interior designer Marcus Mohon exert a universal appeal with their air of timeless serenity.

The House That Pinterest Built by Diane Keaton

The House that Pinterest Built

“If you want to explore. If you love to see. If you’re looking to look; this book is an example of a home made from the gifts of other people’s addictive yearnings for the perfect home, with the perfect landscape and the perfect interior. It illustrates my choices of your choices.” – Diane Keaton

Book cover of The Art of Home by Shea McGee

The long-awaited design book from Shea McGee, beautifully showcasing all that is possible for every room of your home.

Explore Interior Design

Book cover of Home At Last Enduring Design for the New American Home by Gil Schafer III

Bestselling author and popular American architect Gil Schafer returns with the final installment in his trilogy on the rewards of living in the American house.

Book cover of House Rules 100 Ways To Feel At Home by Emma Beryl Kemper

We all want a home that is as much tailored to our lives as it is inviting (and impressive) to guests. House Rules helps you achieve both, encouraging you to develop and elevate your personal style, putting it into practice with the tenets of interior design.

Book cover of The Interior Design Handbook by Frida Ramstedt

The new comprehensive bible of interior design, from a home styling guru who has coached an entire Scandinavian generation in the art of creating a harmonious home.

Embrace Color
Book cover of HouseBeautiful Live Colorfully

An inspiring, accessible collection of the colorful interiors at the heart of the House Beautiful.

Book cover of The Well Loved House by Ashley Whittacker

In her first book, Elle Decor A-List decorator Ashley Whittaker shares the secrets of her colorful, pattern-filled classic rooms.

Book cover of House Dressing Interiors For Colorful Living by Janie Molster

From acclaimed Southern designer Janie Molster comes this lively collection of vibrant interiors and insightful advice for colorful living.

Book cover of 70s House by Estelle Bilson

A loud-and-proud gift-style interiors guide crammed full of 70s maximalist inspiration that epitomizes the freewheeling, more-is-more energy of the era.

Book cover of House Of Joy Playful Homes and Cheerful Living by gestalten

House of Joy takes stock of the undercurrents that are shaping the spaces in which we live and work – particularly those that make us smile.

Make Your Home More Welcoming

Book cover of Home Stories Design Ideas For Making A House A Home by Kim Leggett

In Home Stories, learn how to create rooms filled with warmth, meaning, and your own unique story of home from an award-winning interior designer.

Book cover of The Welcoming House by Jane Schwab and Cindy Smith

The owners of the acclaimed stores and decorating firm Circa Interiors present eight stylish, beautiful homes blending comfort, beauty, and function with classic Southern hospitality.

Book cover of Call It Home The Details That Matter by Amber Lewis

Through gorgeous photography and heartfelt essays, the interior designer and author of Made for Living reveals her detail-oriented approach to renovating, decorating, and building a beautiful home.

Increase Your Comfort

Book cover of House + Love = Home Creating Warm, Intentional Spaces for a Beautiful Life by Jenny Mars

The hosts of HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous welcome you into their home, sharing personal stories and gorgeous photos of their restored farmhouse, their delightful kids, and many of the beautiful, inviting spaces they’ve transformed over the years

Book cover of How To Make A House A Home by Ariel Kaye

More than just a stylish design book: The founder of Parachute Home teaches you how to design a home that’s not only beautiful but mindful, functional, and uniquely you.

Book cover of Hygge Simplified A Guide to Coziness, Comfort & Conviviality

With Hygge Simplified, learn how to find happiness with this essential Scandinavian mindset!

Book cover of Housewarming A Guide To Creating A Home You Adore by Beau Ciolino and Matt Armato

From Matt Armato and Beau Ciolino—the powerhouse couple behind the blog Probably This and #YourGayUncles—a comprehensive guide to living comfortably and beautifully on the cheap by and for millennials

Book Cover of Curate Inspiration For An Individual Home by Lynda Gardener and Ali Heath

An inspirational guide to home decorating with the perennially popular elements of a neutral palette, natural ingredients and a carefully curated mix of vintage and modern pieces.

Book cover of Life Styled Your Guide to a More Organized & Intentional Life by Shira Gill

Ever wish a home organizing expert could help you tidy up your brain too? That’s exactly what the author does with this guide to implementing better habits, setting boundaries, and simplifying your routines.

Other Ideas

Other ideas include books on houseplants, homesteading, gardening, or cooking.

Bonus points for choosing a book that is pretty enough to be a coffee table book.

Take your gifts up a notch by pairing your book gift with another token – flowers, wine, food, dessert and instantly add to the homey-ness of their new abode.

Do you have a go-to housewarming gift? Something that every home should have? 

Let me know in the comments.

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.
Happy Reading!
Lacey Signature
Index