Holiday romances can feel like a guilty pleasure — like a cheesy Hallmark movie we watch every year, even though we know every line. Unlike our Hallmark movies, none of these stories fade to black. These novels sparkle with forbidden kisses, sultry secrets, and mistletoe moments that will leave you craving more than cocoa.
Small Town
Small town romance tropes are perfect for the festive season, with their close-knit communities and cozy atmospheres. These slower-paced stories often feature a main character returning home, as in A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart, allowing readers to relate on a more emotional level to the overarching healing.
Not to mention, the handful of micro-tropes within small town romance. For instance, the gingerbread competition in Her Pretend Christmas Date, nosy neighbors, or a town festival in Mountain Man’s Christmas Star, all of which readers swoon over in our holiday romance books. Whether you’re in it for the setting or the quirky side characters, like the matchmakers in A Man for Mrs. Claus, small town romances offer a foundation in familiarity that gives readers a comfort blanket warm enough for a cold winter’s night.
Her Pretend Christmas Date by Jackie Lau
Tropes: One Bed, Fake Relationship, Opposites Attract
Mountain Man’s Christmas Star by Lilah Hart
Tropes: Age Gap, Insta-Love, Curvy FMC
A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart by Morgan Lockhart
Tropes: Second Chances, Slow Burn, Rivals to Lovers
A Man for Mrs. Claus by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Curvy FMC, Men in Uniform
Forced Proximity
The ideal forced proximity romance trope forces our main characters to interact in close quarters while creating tension within the story. Some holiday romances take this to the next level with the ever-popular snowed-in trope featured in Just a Taste and Snowed In with the Mountain Doctor.
Outside of the winter season, these tropes can include workplace romances, like in A Merry Little Meet Cute, locked in a building for the weekend, or when someone’s family member forces a temporary roommate into your arms, which happens in Wilde & Shore: A Miller’s Pointe Christmas. Holiday romances are a great setting for the forced proximity trope to emerge, with a multitude of variations for readers to enjoy.
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Tropes: Bisexuality, Friends to Lovers, Curvy FMC
Mangoes and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera
Tropes: FF Romance, One Bed, Opposites Attract
Snowed In with the Mountain Doctor by Ellie Masters
Tropes: Snowed In, Insta-Love, Small Town
Nuttin’ For Christmas by Ashantay Keys
Tropes: Sibling’s Best Friend, Nerd Hero, Take Charge Heroine
Just a Taste by Anise Starre
Tropes: Snowed In, Grinch, Slow Burn
Wilde & Shore: A Miller’s Pointe Christmas by K. C. Mills
Tropes: Cowboy Hero, Opposites Attract, Insta-love
Sports Romance
While a sports romance might seem superficial at first, these tropes offer readers the adrenaline rush that comes with competitive sports entwined with a romance that feels realistic and exhilarating. With dedicated athletes and a heart-warming team dynamic that leads to more than one teammate to lovers, stories like Wedlocked: A Westbrook Elite Novel grant readers the triumphant ending synonymous with sports romance novels.
Other popular micro-tropes for a sports romance include injured athletes, such as in All You Need Is Gloves, team rivals, and faking a relationship for publicity. In the case of Merry Little Kissmas, this trope transforms for the holiday season when Rowan needs a date for the hockey team’s holiday gala. In a spicy holiday romance, hockey, snowboarding, and skiing fit right in.
Wedlocked: A Westbrook Elite Novel by Cambria Hebert
Tropes: Forced Proximity, Age Gap, Found Family
Merry Little Kissmas by Lauren Blakely
Tropes: Brother’s Best Friend, Fake Relationship, Grumpy/Sunshine
All You Need Is Gloves by Kanitha P.
Tropes: Best Friend’s Brother, Slow Burn, Secret Relationship
Grumpy/Sunshine
The grumpy/sunshine trope can be played out in myriad ways, making it well-loved by readers, no matter the genre. One character has a happy-go-lucky and exuberant personality, while the other is cynical and pessimistic. The cynical character tends to have their reasons, usually stemming from a failed relationship of their own, such as Emmett in Such a Naughty Girl.
The trope is about what happens when opposing emotional survival strategies fall in love, usually after a meet-cute, like the coffee shop scene in Everything Santa Isn’t. For holiday romances, this can also appear as a holiday-lover/grinch featured in A Little Holiday Fling. No matter how the grumpy/sunshine comes to be, these romances are almost always about loving someone for who they are.
Such a Naughty Girl by Effie Campbell
Tropes: Dark Romance, Age Gap, Snowed In
Trigger Warning: The mention of consensual non-consent may be triggering for some readers. Please read the author’s notes prior to purchasing.
Everything Santa Isn’t by West Greene
Tropes: MM Romance, Age Gap, Insta-love
Trigger Warning: The mention of stalking may be triggering for some readers. Please read the author’s notes prior to purchasing.
A Little Holiday Fling by Farah Heron
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Found Family
Sci-Fi, Paranormal, and Fantasy
Sci-Fi, Paranormal, and Fantasy romances have plenty of genre-related tropes of their own. These stories speak to readers who long for a forbidden love, and if there are sacrifices made in the name of love, all the better. Featured in Mistletoe Mishaps and Good Spirits, fated mates is a popular trope in Sci-Fi and Paranormal genres, where the couple is destined to be together, often accompanied by a supernatural bond.
Another popular trope in Paranormal and Fantasy romance is the ice queen, where the FMC keeps her heart frozen solid to avoid heartbreak, as seen in Scrooged for the Holidays and Mistletoe from the Monsters of the Nexus series.
Mistletoe Mishaps: A Science Fiction Alien Holiday Romance by Melody Beckett
Tropes: Fated Mates, Tall Heroine, Futuristic
Scrooged for the Holidays by Kayla Grosse
Tropes: Polyamory, Forced Proximity, Shapeshifters
Mistletoe by Nancey Cummings
Tropes: Non-Human MC, Slow Burn, Found Family
Good Spirits by B. K. Borison
Tropes: Grumpy Sunshine, Fated Mates, Slow Burn
A Mannequin for Christmas by Timothy Janovsky
Tropes: MM Romance, Wish Gone Awry, Forced Proximity
Enemies to Lovers
Whether you love enemies-to-lovers or have a specific set of qualifications for the trope, it’s hard to deny the allure it has on readers. These romances often pit business competitors, such as the dueling Christmas tree farms in Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal, or the debt collector versus the debtor’s hot daughter, as seen in Yours for the Holiday, or childhood enemies against each other.
Other times, the main character has animosity for the situation they’re in, like Ruby in Knot Beneath the Mistletoe, who is irritated that she even had to date these three men to begin with. No matter why these characters initially dislike each other, they evolve throughout the story, and with a few steamy exchanges, they ultimately embrace change for a happily ever after.
Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal by Meghan Quinn
Tropes: Slow Burn, Cinnamon Roll MMC, Small Town
Yours for the Holiday by K. Nicole
Tropes: Grumpy Sunshine, Forbidden Love, Height Difference
Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch
Tropes: MM Romance, Slow Burn, Found Family
Knot Beneath the Mistletoe by Harley Knight
Tropes: Why Choose, Small Town, Possessive Hero
Whether you’ve fallen for a brooding billionaire in a Christmas cabin or a devilish elf with an attitude, one thing’s certain: This year’s festive fantasies will keep your nights sizzling bright. With enough tropes to satisfy almost any romance lover, we hope you found a book or two to keep you warm this winter.
For more spicy holiday romance, check out A Crazy Krampus Romance: Festively Hot Fantasy Books!
Explore our Holiday Romances Perfect for Sparking Magical Connections bookshelf on Bookshop.org for more fantastic recommendations.
