Hallmark Holidays and Mysteries Display
It's an annual debate between the people who love Hallmark holiday movies and the people who hate Hallmark holiday movies: are these movies magical or are they terrible? Well, as the resident CPL Romance Expert (a self-bestowed title), I am firmly in the magical camp. So maybe this display is more for me than it is anyone else... At any rate, since I know not everyone loves the holiday romance feels, I've also included some holiday mysteries, if you're more into the "'tis the season for murder" vibe. Either way, if you're looking to get into the holiday spirit, check out one of these titles today!
Now, I still have a couple of weeks left to declare a winner, but I think that "Make the Season Bright" by Ashley Herring Blake will be my favorite holiday romance of 2024. It features two exes stuck in the same home for Christmas. "It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she's doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado-it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet's upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane's sister Adele also brought a friend home-and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas-and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she's stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers-which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele's mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won't talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together-Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin-and it all feels painfully familiar. But it's all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts...right?" I absolutely LOVED this one!
"Love You a Latke" by Amanda Elliot is a great Hanukkah romance. "Love comes home for the challah-days in this sparkling romance. Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don't understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes. Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one other: Seth. As it turns out, Seth's parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he'll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart." Put this one on your holds list right away!
On the mystery front, you can't go wrong with "The Christmas Guest" by Peter Swanson. "When a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall for the holidays, Ashley Smith, an American art student in London, discovers this seemingly charming English village's grim history when a local girl is brutally murdered and Emma's brother is linked to the crime. Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma's aloof and handsome brother. But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she'd ever imagined? Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later." I read this one on a winter afternoon last year--curled up under a blanket with a lit candle and a hot cup of tea.
Mia Manansala, author of the hugely popular "Arsenic and Adobo," brings us a holiday mystery with her title "Blackmail and Bibingka." It's Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, The Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she's taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend, Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he's back on his feet and ready to give back to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows. She's soon proven right when Ronnie is accused of murder, and secrets and rumors surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin's innocence. He may be a jerk, but he's still family. And there's no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer...right?"
You’ll find these titles and lots more in our “Hallmark Holidays and Mysteries” display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
