A NOVEL CHRISTMAS YOUR HOLIDAY BINGE-READING GUIDE FALL 2019 SAMPLER FINDING CHRISTMAS by Karen Schaler From the writer of the Netflix sensation,A Christmas Prince, comes a heartwarming new Christmas story showing how sometimes the detour in your journey is the path to true love. This year, Emmie can’t wait to share her favorite Christmas traditions with her boyfriend, Grant. She thinks he’s “the one.” So when Grant’s hectic work schedule has him more “Bah Humbug” than “Ho, Ho, Ho,” Emmie creates a holiday-themed scavenger hunt to help him find his Christmas spirit. But Emmie’s plan back- fires when a mix-up has the wrong guy following her clues! When Sam arrives at Christmas Point and finds the stunned Emmie, he immediately feels she’s someone special, but she can’t see beyond the fact that the wrong guy has shown up. Inspired by the small, charming town, Sam decides to stay and convinces Emmie to join him in a little holiday fun while she waits for Grant. When Grant finally shows up, Emmie is disappointed to discover he’s not enjoying the activities she planned and can’t help wonder if he’s really the one for her. She also can’t get Sam out of her mind and all the great times they had together… THE MISTLETOE MATCHMAKER by Felicity Hayes-McCoy As Cassie Fitzgerald, fresh from Toronto, is about to discover, there’s more to the holidays on the west coast of Ireland than mistletoe and mince pies. Enchanted by the small town where her dad was born, Cassie makes friends and joins local librarian Hanna Casey’s writing group in Lissbeg Library. But the more she’s drawn into the festivities leading up to her first Irish Christmas, the more questions she wants to ask. Why does her sweet-tempered grandmother Pat find it so hard to express her feelings? What’s going on between Pat and her miserly husband Ger? What happened in the past between the Fitzgeralds and Hanna’s redoubtable mother Mary Casey? And what about Shay: handsome, funny, smart, and intent on making Cassie’s stay as exciting as he can. Could he be the one for her? As Christmas Eve approaches, it’s Cassie, the outsider, who reminds Lissbeg’s locals that love, family, and friendship bring 2 true magic to the season. But will her own, fractured family redis- cover the joys of coming home? WE MET IN DECEMBER by Rosie Curtis Two people. One house. A year that changes everything. Two people. One house. A year that changes everything. Twenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house- share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together. But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Chris has started dating someone else—beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his. THE CHRISTMAS PROMISE by Sue Moorcroft On a snowy December evening, Sam Jermyn steps into the life of bespoke hat maker Ava. Sparks fly, and not necessarily the good ones. Times are tough for Ava – she’s struggling to make ends meet, her ex-boyfriend is a bully, and worst of all, it’s nearly Christmas. So when Sam commissions Ava to make a hat for someone special, she makes a promise that will change her life. She just doesn’t know it yet… SNOW ON THE COBBLES by Maggie Sullivan The prefect seasonal gift full of nostalgia and charm, perfect for fans of Coronation Street. When Lizzie moves with her mother and her brothers to No.13 Coronation Street at the end of the Second World War, it’s a new start for all of them after the 3 loses and heartache they’ve endured. Their new neighbour, Elsie Tanner, tells them that the house is said to have bad luck, but things look up for Lizzie when she lands a job as a barmaid in a local pub, the Pride of Weatherfield. There she makes friends with the young and giddy Hilda Ogden, still waiting for her wayward husband, Stan, to come home from the war. It isn’t long before they realize that the place isn’t quite it seems, but Lizzie has been keeping secrets too and as winter draws in, there are a few surprises in store for Coronation Street… A WEDDING IN DECEMBER by Sarah Morgan In the snowy perfection of Aspen, the White family are gathering for a winter wedding. Their much- loved younger daughter Rosie is getting married to her childhood sweetheart Dan, but as guest start to arrive emotions are running high. First to arrive are the bride’s parents, Maggie and Tom. They are here to celebrate their daughter’s wedding and are hiding the fact that they have been living apart for the past three months. They have agreed to divorce, but plan not to say anything until after the wedding. The last thing they need is to be trapped together in a winter wonderland. Rosie’s older sister Katie is also dreading this wedding. She’s had some life changing news that she isn’t ready to share. She intends to spend time in the snowy wilderness figuring out her next move in life, but the best man Jordan seems to think it’s part of his role to watch out for her. Rosie is having second thoughts about getting married but doesn’t know how to tell her family. Everyone is here to celebrate her wedding. The dress has been delivered. The cake is made. How can she tell Dan she doesn’t want to go ahead? With Maggie and Tom faking togetherness, Katie faking civility and Rosie faking being in love, this is one White family Christmas none of them will ever forget. 4 CONTENTS Finding Christmas ������������������������������������������������7 The Mistletoe Matchmaker ��������������������������������42 We Met in December ����������������������������������������59 The Christmas Promise ��������������������������������������97 Snow on the Cobbles ��������������������������������������143 A Wedding in December ���������������������������������179 Karen Schaler FINDING CHRISTMAS On Sale October 15th, 2019 CHAPTER ONE Emmie Sanders one true love was…Christmas. Christmas was something she could always count on, it never let her down, it gave her joy, and always filled her heart with happiness and hope. At Christmas Emmie felt like she was the best version of herself and she knew she could thank her parents for that. They had taught her that Christmas wasn’t about things, that it was about spending time with the people you loved most, making memories, and helping others. Looking back Emmie could hardly remem- ber the presents she got underneath the tree, because her favor- ite presents were always all the holiday activities they had done together as a family. Christmas had always been her mom and dad’s favorite time of year. So now, for Emmie, celebrating all things Christmas was her way to stay connected to her parents, honoring their memory the best way she knew how. The fact that her friends had nicknamed her “Miss Christmas” was something she was proud of. Even when they teased her about sometimes going a little over-the-top with all her decorations and non-stop Christmas activities, she would just cheerfully counter with the fact that you could never have too much Christmas. And when it came to Christmas decorations there was one in particular that always stole her heart. White twinkling Christmas lights. She loved them the most. She was prisoner to their magic and charm. The way they glittered and shimmered, drawing her in, casting a dreamlike spell over her, commanding a complete Christmas surrender. It was the kind of surrender that often trig- gered holiday decorating, shopping, movie watching, and baking binges. It was a good thing that Christmas was the one and only thing she didn’t mind surrendering to. One of her favorite holiday activities she was doing right now, walking along the Seattle waterfront on a gorgeous, clear, crisp winter day, admiring all the boats decked out, from bow to stern, with Christmas decorations. She loved how the sailboats had glit- tering lights all the way to the top of their masts. Every year, she looked for one of her favorites, a sixty-foot sailboat with its mast 8 FINDING CHRISTMAS decorated with green lights to look like a Christmas tree with a big silver star on top. In addition to all the boats, the charming boutique water- front shops were also beautifully decorated for Christmas, often embracing a nautical theme. They all had Christmas trees out front that were covered with things like stars, shells, starfish, sand dollars, and little boat ornaments. As Emmie made her way to one of the shops her smile grew. It was a perfect example of how the white twinkle lights were winning. Seascape Floral was in an exquisite Victorian home that was painted blue with white gingerbread trim that was covered with sparkling white Christmas lights, giving it a fairytale feel. How could she resist? As she picked up her pace, she wrapped her emerald green scarf a little tighter around her neck to combat the wind that had just kicked up, while cheerfully humming one of her many favorite Christmas songs, Deck the Halls.