A Novel Christmas

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Synopsis

A prominent romance author has a slump in her love life and book sales, but a chance encounter with a hot firefighter helps her ignite her muse in this swoony holiday romance, perfect for book romantics.

Saira Wright is a prominent black romance author signed to the most prestigious publisher of African American works, Brownstone Literature. Her career has been successful for the past five years, however, right now, she’s in a slump, and so are her sales and reviews. The romance she has been known for seems to be zapped out of her stories and her love life.

Eager to get Saira back on top of the charts, her editor has given her an ultimatum–write a chart-topping holiday romance or be dropped from the publishing house. There’s only one problem: Saira strongly opposes penning holiday books. To her, they are cliché and off-brand, but with her career on the line, she’s forced to give it a shot. To capture the spirit of the holidays, she books a vacation in the most “Christmasy” town she can find.

Sharing the other side of her rented duplex is the owner, Dorian Black, a volunteer firefighter and the town’s little league football coach. He’s also Mr. December in the firefighter’s annual fundraising calendar and every woman’s dream. Years ago, Dorian was happily married to the love of his life until cancer took her away from him. Still coping with the loss, a romantic relationship is the furthest thing from his mind. When he encounters his new tenant for the holiday, sparks fly and a fire is ignited that not even he can extinguish.

As the two navigate through a series of encounters, holiday festivities, and a snowstorm, will the magic of Christmas help them rediscover a long-awaited connection?

Synopsis source: The StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Holiday Romance, Contemporary
HB&W Rating: 4 stars | 4 flames
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble | Amazon

This was my pick for my 2025 Book Challenge for December: Holiday Theme. For more recommended reads, see my blog post here.

A Novel Christmas by Charity Shane was such a cute read. Easy, funny, sweet… and spicy—so spicy (4 flames)! I connected to this story in more ways than I expected.

The book takes place in Santa Claus, Indiana (yes, that’s a real town), home of Holiday World. As someone who grew up in Indiana but has somehow never been there, I couldn’t stop wondering how many of the landmarks and events were real. That curiosity added an extra layer of charm for me—even if it’s beside the point.

Dorian is an absolute cinnamon roll of a hero, but he’s also carrying the weight of grief after losing his wife to breast cancer. If you’ve followed along for a bit, you might know I’m a breast cancer survivor, so that aspect of the story really touched my heart and felt especially meaningful.

I loved the characters across the board. Saira is kind-hearted but takes no nonsense, and I adored that about her. The side characters were a blast too—Keith and Crystal, in particular, completely stole the show whenever they appeared.

Is this a deep, literary, think-about-it-for-days kind of book? No—but it’s not trying to be. It’s festive, heartfelt, romantic, and exactly what a holiday romance should be. If you’re looking for something cozy, fun, and full of Christmas vibes (with a generous dash of spice), this one definitely delivers.

Until next time,

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