2023 Holiday Reading Guide
To celebrate the holidays this year, library staff have curated a list of new titles in our system sure to delight readers of all ages and foster lots of festive cheer. Even more of our recent favourites can be found on our online catalogue.
Feel-Good Hallmark Holiday Vibes
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another or that they will get snow stayed in the cutest little Canadian small town over Ramadan, Hanukkah and Christmas.
It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin
A charming and rollicking holiday rom-com about a big-city film director who must convince the dreamy, yet grumpy, mayor of a small Quebec town to give her the permit to shoot her Christmas movie in his idyllic hometown. Perfect for fans of Hallmark holiday movies.
The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan
A heartfelt exploration of change, the power of books to heal, and the enduring strength of female friendship. Three long-time friends reunite for the holidays for their annual girls’ book club vacation, landing at a picturesque Vermont inn that’s owned by a single mother and recent widow. Full of family secrets and lots of drama this delivers on all the feels.
Hallmark After Dark Vibes
Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger
Coupling a picturesque, cozy setting with a deeply unsettling suspenseful plot, Christmas Presents is a chilling seasonal novella about a true crime podcaster who is determined to solve a cold case and the woman who’s trying to keep the past in the past.
Murder Most Royal by S.J. Bennett
Agatha Christie meets The Crown in this much-anticipated third book of the ‘Her Majesty The Queen Investigates’ mystery series. It is December 2016 and when the Queen comes across a severed hand she is able to quickly identify the victim, finding the killer however, proves much more complicated. Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin.
The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle
In this 17th installment of the Bibliophile cozy mystery series, San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her hunky security-expert husband, Derek Stone, face a locked-room murder mystery during their holidays in Scotland. Asked to help solve the disappearance of twelve rare books, things get deadly fast when one of the other guests is poisoned and another is shot through the heart with an arrow.
Young Adult Fiction
Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel
From the author of My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding comes this hilarious, smart, and swoon-worthy rom-com about two teens traveling to Dubai for Diwali
Juvenile Fiction
Very Bad Holiday by Kate Howard
When Christmas is unexpectedly cancelled, thwarting their city-wide holiday heist, the Bad Guys must do the unthinkable: reignite the city’s holiday spirit by giving instead of taking.
Picture Books
Peas on Earth written by Huw Lewis Jones; illustrated by Ben Sanders
In this bitingly refreshing picture book, Bad Apple faces his greatest challenge: festive cheer. It’s Christmas day and everyone is just so . . . jolly . Granny Smith has kick-started the caroling, and the Cheese family’s merriness is grating to say the least. But it’s the arrival of Pea and his extended family that really puts Bad Apple’s goodwill to the test. Sure to entertain the whole family, Peas on Earth serves up a refreshingly bitter counterbalance to sickly sweet Christmas books, without sacrificing its goodwill message.
Santa’s Gotta Go! written by Derrick Barnes; illustrated by Courtney Lovett
The number one thing on Monte and Mabel’s Christmas wish list is the chance to hang out with Santa Claus. So when his sleigh breaks down in their yard as he’s finishing up his last delivery, they couldn’t be more delighted–Santa’s gonna stay with them while he waits for spare parts to be delivered! It’s a dream come true . . . or is it? It turns out Santa doesn’t have a lot of experience being a houseguest, and likes to rock out late at night and swigs spaghetti sauce from the jar. But when he messes with Dad’s motorcycle and Mabel’s computer tablet, he’s gone a step too far and the whole family agrees–Santa’s gotta go! Readers will get a kick out of this hilarious holiday tale about being careful what you wish for.
