I love Christmas – It’s just the most wonderful time of the year. Chocolates, gin, sparkling lights, decorating the Christmas tree, wrapping presents, Christmas movies, and being with the ones that are most important to us.
But as much as I love Chrismas, I adore Jolabokaflod! My wife and I took part in this Icelandic tradition last year where we both gifted each other a book.
Jolabokaflod is one of the most unique and charming Iceland Christmas traditions. Jolabokaflod translates into “Christmas Book Flood.” During the festive season, gifts are opened on 24 December and, by tradition, everyone reads the books they have been given straight away, often while drinking hot chocolate or alcohol-free Christmas ale called jólabland. My wife Angie, however, misread the alcohol-free bit and poured herself a large pink gin!
You can also listen to your favourite Sapphic Christmas Books on Audible
Audible
Soak in the sun with storytelling that speaks to you. Build a library of your favorite audio content and explore the world of audio entertainment.
If you are in the mood for some lesbian Christmas must-reads then this list of the 21 Best Sapphic Christmas Books 2023 is just for you. And let me know which books you gift on Jolabokaflod! So put your Christmas jumpers on, open the wine, and get your favourite chocolates ready…
Honeymoon For One by Rachel Bowdler
A cancelled engagement. A non-refundable honeymoon. A Christmas Robin will never forget.
Robin Ellis has had a year she’d like to forget. She’s tired, overworked and most definitely not ready to spend the holidays with her rowdy family in Manchester. So when she discovers she forgot to cancel her honeymoon she sees this as the perfect opportunity to get away; it’s time to relax and embrace adventure!
The last thing she expects is to clash with standoffish ski instructor Neve. But despite their rocky start these two unlikely people can’t help but fall for each other under the starry Canadian skies.
They know that holiday romances don’t last, and Robin has had her heart broken one too many times before, but can they overcome the distance between them and find a happily ever after together?
Her Christmas Escape by Frankie Duncan & Jo Cox
Have you ever wanted to escape Christmas and all the expectations that come with it?
Lexie knows exactly how you feel. Convinced she’s worked through every available woman in the city of Jersey and not wanting to endure another ‘single’ Christmas, she hits on the perfect solution—a women loving women Christmas cruise. Days of unbridled sex surrounded by Scandinavian blondes in bubbling hot tubs awaits her… or does it? Having travelled 3,500 miles, Joss thinks she’s found the perfect distraction from Christmas in the form of the tantalising, tall, tux wearing French siren, Esmée. She’d do just about anything to get under that body, but perhaps not the one thing she’d need to. Both women find out that not everything is quite what it seems in this hilarious, fast-paced Christmas adventure. Passionate, funny, and steamy; get on board for a surprising and uplifting—not to mention sizzling—seasonal romance.
Life In Bits by Harper Bliss & T.B. Markinson
Can a Christmas romance mend a life that’s broken to pieces?
Eileen Makenna is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who has traveled the world for over two decades, chasing the next big story. She returns home for the holidays shattered by a life-altering event and facing the terrifying prospect she’ll never be able to work again.
When Eileen meets Naomi Weaver, a small-town girl who dedicates her free time to helping those in need, Eileen is entranced by Naomi’s zest for life. Can Eileen overcome her inner demons and troubled family relationships to let Naomi in?
Trust In Truth by Emily Banting
Spend Christmas in Nunswick with TRUST IN TRUTH, the enthralling follow-up to LOST IN LOVE.
After the events of the summer, Katherine and Anna are looking forward to spending a quiet, cosy Christmas together before hosting a New Year’s Eve party at Nunswick Abbey.
When a romantic weekend away for Anna’s birthday doesn’t go to plan, it proves to be the beginning of their Christmas woes, and as workplace pleasantries grow too friendly, a cloud of jealousy and suspicion forms.
As Anna plans the most important party of her career, can she convince Katherine their co-worker has more than pub lunches on the brain? Can Katherine keep her composure as the tension rises at Abbey House?
As they count down to the New Year, will Anna and Katherine’s relationship survive the calamitous Christmas season?
Special Delivery by Sue Still
Christmas Eve Night. A cottage in Wales. A strange woman in a Santa outfit.
Samantha Cole wakes in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to the sound of thumps, bumps, and bangs.
To her horror, she finds a strange woman in her house, dressed in a saucy Santa costume.
The woman insists she is Santa’s granddaughter, Holly, and is there for a special delivery to that address.
Holly is tall, Amazonian looking, and sexy as hell. Sam’s instantly attracted to her, but she doesn’t trust her. Or anyone.
Everything Holly represents rubs Sam up the wrong way. Brings out her defences and shrouds her in disbelief.
Especially Holly’s flirty nature and the insistence that she’s there to leave the present.
Sam lives alone in her little Welsh cottage and the nearest police station is over an hour away.
It is all too much. Besides, Sam doesn’t do Christmas.
Sam lost her beloved mother on Christmas day when she was little. Since then, she has closed herself off, shut the door, and cancelled Christmas for good.
Enter Sam’s world today.
Christmas In Heaven by Lise Gold
Helen works for Heaven, a high-end matchmaking company with a tailored and personal approach. As their number one matchmaker, there’s no way she can turn up at the company Christmas party solo, but she struggles to find a date.
Matilda is a corporate party planner hired by Helen to organise Heaven’s Christmas party. At the busiest time of year, she has her hands full with work, but she finds herself distracted by the beautiful matchmaker who has a terribly unromantic approach to finding love.
According to Helen, they’re a match made in hell, and she sternly holds on to her belief that long-lasting love can only be found through a long compatibility questionnaire. But perhaps her complex formula is missing that one crucial ingredient: a sprinkling of festive magic.
Home For Christmas by A.J. Marchant
For the first time in ten years, Lucy is going home for Christmas…
A corporate lawyer at a high-powered firm, Lucy’s days are spent fixing problems, brokering deals and making other people rich. Little does she know that going back to her small coastal village will be nothing like she expects and that the corporate world has already beaten her there.
Ange, a generational ocean fisher and Lucy’s ex, challenges Lucy’s way of living and working, immersing her back into the slow coastal life, giving them a second chance at becoming something, and reminding Lucy why she wanted to be a lawyer.
On her very first day back, Lucy finds out a large corporation threatens to alter the very heart and soul of the close knit community. Like always, she jumps into action, looking for a way for the villagers to fight back. Will it work? Or will their efforts be thwarted? And will Lucy and Ange get their second chance, or will history get in the way?
Home For Christmas is a romance about two driven women and their tight-knit group of friends who never really grew up. Set in an Australian coastal village, there are Santa races, Christmas lights and festive sand castles, a beloved lawn bowls club, a strong old broad named Nanna Ray, and so much more. It’s a comedy, it’s a drama, it’s a romance. It’s a story about finding and fighting for the things you thought you’d lost a long time ago.
Christmas And Other Things I Hate by Elizabeth McGivern
Jane McMahon hates Christmas and this year is no different.
After losing her dream job, Jane reluctantly heads home to face her family for the holiday season.
She is determined to make it through the holidays with as little drama as possible, especially as she has to face her newly engaged, ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done as his bride-to-be happens to be Jane’s younger sister.
When Jane offers to swap seats with Helen Childers on their flight, neither of them could predict just where this simple act of kindness would lead them.
Helen is in a rush to get home and spend the holidays with her mother but with her plans shrouded in secrecy, things may not be as simple as they seem.
The women agree to accompany each other on their journeys home and soon realise that’s there’s more than just the warmth of Christmas spirit between them. On their trip, sparks begin to fly and an unexpected connection is struck; resulting in an unforgettable road trip, filled with enough mayhem and magic to make this a Christmas that neither of them will ever forget.
Will Jane get her Christmas wish make it through the holidays in peace? Find out in a laugh-out-loud journey of self-discovery, family drama and unexpected love. A must read for fans of zany romance with small town charm.
A Girl On The Plane by Maggie Mcintrye
Ice-queen accountant Alana Byrne and her aid-worker girlfriend, Steph Hunter have been together for three years. They love each other.The sex, when they have time to make it happen, is fantastic, and they share a comfortable London flat and a decent income.
But as Alana sees it, their life together is in crisis, and they might even be about to break up. She is lonely, frustrated, and heartbroken as Steph’s continual long absences on assignments round the world erode their relationship.
Steph, meanwhile is haunted by memories of betrayal and buried fears of commitment and being trapped. When she finally comes home to Alana for Christmas, it’s time to face and resolve their problems, once and for all.
But then, on a flight from Africa, Steph meets a mysterious girl who asks her for help and knows she has to respond. As what could be their last Christmas together unfolds, Alana and Steph work together to find the girl, and even save her life. But will they be able to save their own future as well?
This fast-paced lesbian novel of contemporary love, and friendship is set in December 2019 and exposes the harsh world of modern-day slavery. But mainly it explores the love between two caring and sensitive women who hold each other’s hearts in their hands.
Jingle Around The Block by Serena Kirsch
The first encounter between Charlie and Rachel ended Charlie’s marriage.
CHARLOTTE NORRIS is used to the comforts of suburbia. She knows Rachel from neighborhood block parties, and not in a good way. After the fateful day where Rachel exposed Charlie’s husband as a cheater, Charlie has to throw the neighborhood Christmas party alone, and the pressure’s on.
RACHEL NELSON can’t seem to find any luck in love, especially not in winter, where romance goes to die. She’s bitter about moving back to Lake Ridge, the suburban hometown that spat her lesbian ass out the second she turned 18, and she can hardly even afford the rental house from which she streams video games for side cash.
When fate puts the two women together again, things could get explosive—especially as Rachel is a target of gossip to the other Lake Ridge housewives. Charlie’s determined to get Rachel into the in group, though, even if it means forcing her to come to their very opinionated book club…
Their luck may be about to change.
Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
After the year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party. A no-strings-attached kiss with a stranger under the mistletoe is just what she needs.
But by the next day, rumours have spread. Everyone believes she and Christopher are madly in love and spending the festive season with his family in the English countryside. To save her new friend from embarrassment – and with no better plans of her own – Haf agrees to go along with the ruse.
Until she meets Kit: Christopher’s mysterious, magnetic and utterly irresistible sister.
She can’t possibly fall for her fake boyfriend’s sister this Christmas . . . can she?
All Wrapped Up In You by T.B. Markinson & Adrian J. Smith
A saboteur. A bookstore in trouble. A writer on the verge of ruin.
After a painful divorce, Mathilda “Mat” Kincaide has one clear vision. Ascend the throne of her family’s cherished chain of bookstores. Yet a mysterious troublemaker lurks in the heart of her store, intent on derailing Mat’s every ambition. She can’t be distracted, even if the new hire with her sizzling librarian appearance and saucy glances tempts Mat to bend her no relationship rule.
Camdyn Stone is a gifted writer. Or at least she was. With a looming deadline, Camdyn must complete a manuscript before Christmas or face financial ruin. Working at Kincaide Books is a refuge for this self-doubting one-hit-wonder. If only Camdyn could find inspiration for her next book in someone other than her sexy new boss.
In a whimsical bookstore, with eccentric patrons and a snarky cat, Mat and Camdyn must work together to save the Kincaide legacy.
But will they find love along the way?
Join Mat and Camdyn on a heartfelt journey where love unfolds, passions flare, hearts collide, and the quest for true love takes root in the most unexpected of places. In this captivating sapphic romance novel, love weaves a tale with an intensity that transcends all boundaries.
Love Beneath The Christmas Tree by Jae
Three short stories that follow the lives of Rachel Lewis, self-confessed Christmas Grump, and Lillian Coleman, the woman who makes her believe in the magic of Christmas again.
***The Christmas Grump***
For Rachel Lewis, a security guard at the mall, the Christmas holiday season is one big headache. She wants nothing to do with the celebration of love, peace, and family harmony. Her disenchantment with the holiday slowly begins to change when she meets seven-year-old Tyler and his mother.
***Kissing Ms. Santa Claus***
Rachel is counting the days until she and Lillian celebrate their first Christmas together as a couple. She is filled with longing for only one thing to make her holiday complete: a long-term commitment from Lillian. She sets out to find the perfect gift that will reflect her love and devotion.
***The Christmas Elf***
After her home state finally recognizes same-sex marriages, Rachel wants to propose to Lillian. Rachel is confident she has it all covered. She plans to take a second job as the mall Santa Claus to earn the money for Lillian’s ring. But luck is not on her side, so Rachel finds herself with bells on her toes, playing a Christmas Elf.
Ebenezer by Joselle Vanderhooft
It’s Christmas Eve in the city that never sleeps, but Ebenezer doesn’t feel like celebrating. Her girlfriend of ten years has just left her, her job as a debt collector is slowly killing her, and worst of all, she hasn’t truly acted in years.
But when three spirits representing the places and ambitions closest to her heart pay her a visit, Ebenezer just might find a reason to end her life—or a reason to keep going.
Set during the global recession, this retelling of Charles Dickens’s immortal classic A Christmas Carol explores the vagaries of growing up and exchanging old dreams for new meaning.
Holiday Treatment by Elle Spencer
By day, Holly Hudson’s a story editor for Wifetime Network. By night, she’s the writer for the network’s very cheesy, very straight holiday romance series—Christmas in Evermore. Holly took the job to accomplish exactly one thing: a gay Christmas movie. She’s been shot down before, but things start to look up when Meredith Drake unexpectedly moves into the network’s holiday division.
On the heels of a brief (but totally hot) fling, Holly and Meredith agree to keep things professional now that they’ll be working together. Especially since the network has a strict policy about workplace relationships. Instead, they vow to channel their passion into a pitch for the network’s first Christmas movie to feature two female leads.
In this contemporary romance, Holly and Meredith work to make the Yuletide gayer while discovering that happy endings aren’t only for the movies.
All I Want For Christmas by Georgia Beers, Maggie Cummings & Fiona Riley
In Triple Dog Dare by Georgia Beers, Sasha Wolfe has been talking up her new girlfriend to her overbearing mother for months, and when her skeptical sister dares her to invite this new squeeze over for family Christmas, Sasha accepts the challenge. After all, how hard can it be to bring your nonexistent girlfriend home for the holidays?
In Hustle & Bustle by Maggie Cummings, Hannah Monroe is ready to dazzle customers with her pop-up shop at NYC’s winter holiday market. NYPD beat cop Toby Beckett, who just wants to protect and serve, barely notices the spirit of the season until events keep pushing her into Hannah’s path.
In A Christmas Miracle by Fiona Riley, Mira Donahue’s bar, Mirage, is the hottest Christmas party venue in Boston, despite Mira’s secret: she hates Christmas. When self-described Queen of Carols Courtney Rivers books Mirage for her company’s holiday party, she clashes with Mira over the plans. Then a freak storm strands them in the bar, and more than miracles abound.
Ticket 1207 by Robin Alexander
Shawn Masterson has spent a year trying to work up the courage to ask out the woman of her dreams. She gets a little help from the owner of Theo Brasseaux’s Shop of Voodoo. Shawn puts more faith in Theo’s abilities than she’s willing to admit, even to herself.
Jill Searcy has lost her belief in love and magic, and she even despises Christmas. Two women come into her life and make her question everything she thought she knew. She gets more for Christmas than she ever dreamed.
Robin Alexander has crafted a novelette to warm your heart and put a chuckle in your New Year.
A Christmas To Remember by Harper Bliss, Cheyenne Blue, Erzabet Bishop, Laila Blake & Lucy Felthouse
From the obligatory office party to a cabin in the woods, Christmas celebrations come in all shapes and sizes.
The ladies in this Christmas anthology like to keep it original though, and get their festive groove on in bed shops and the Australian outback, not to mention the ‘Mermaids and Mistletoe Masquerade Ball’…
A Christmas to Remember contains five lesbian erotica stories that will make your Christmas merry AND hot.
Humbug by Amanda Radley
Ellie Pearce adores Christmas so much she celebrates all year round, earning herself the nickname Christmas Girl. If only she liked her job as much as eggnog lattes and mistletoe. Stuck as a marketing analyst for London-based recruitment company Caldwell & Atkinson, Ellie is desperate for a career change but afraid to take a chance.
CEO Rosalind Caldwell needs a new personal assistant after the last one quit, putting the extremely important corporate Christmas party in jeopardy. Christmas Girl is just the holiday miracle Rosalind needs, and Ellie is quickly promoted to the top floor of the Canary Wharf skyscraper.
Ellie isn’t a PA, has never planned a party in her life, and is terrified of heights. If things weren’t bad enough, she then goes and develops a ridiculous crush on her totally intimidating new boss. With the festive season fast approaching, what could possibly go wrong?
Forever Yours by Melissa Tereze
A second chance, age gap winter romance that will have you cheering them on, crying for them…while a whole lot of love settles in your heart.
Paisley Healy was never supposed to fall in love with her boss. Her superior. The woman she looked up to. Working at the best law firm in the city was supposed to be cut and dry. The night she confessed her love to the woman she was falling for should have been magical, so why was she alone three years on, unanswered questions continuously plaguing her mind?
Georgina Weaver’s dream had always centred around her business. Love wasn’t everything to her—she wasn’t sure it could compete with the demands of her job—but her assistant had quickly blown that out of the water. With the words ‘I love you’ spoken with such beauty and honesty, Georgina was prepared to give her entire universe to Paisley.
One night would change everything. One moment would crush their dream.
When Georgina walks back through the doors of Weaver & Associates—interrupting the annual Christmas party and Paisley’s life—both of them must make choices. While Georgina learns of some powerful news, Paisley believes their past is better left buried.
Evergreen by Ruby Scott
‘If this novel doesn’t get you in the mood for Christmas, I don’t know what will!’
Full of festive cheer, heartwarming romance for those cold winters nights.
‘Tis the season to fall in love’
The year is 2045.
Alex Galbraith is a developer, a visionary, and a marketing genius. She also happens to be a beautiful woman with a gift for seeing the potential in others, so when she comes across architect Zoe McGuire, she makes her an offer she can’t refuse… or can she?
In an effort to persuade Zoe her future is with Alex’s company and with Christmas approaching, she takes the young Architect to visit their flagship community in rural Sweden. But much more is revealed than either of them ever imagined. In this tale of love, hope, and community, prepare to have your faith renewed.
The world really is an amazing place.
I hope you enjoy reading my 21 best Christmas lesbian book recommendations.
Join my Facebook Group to keep up to date with the antics I get up to.
Don’t forget to sign up for Ruby’s newsletter.
Receive a free copy of Hot Response, a sapphic medical romance novella, plus bonus short stories. You’ll also be kept up to date on Ruby’s new releases, news, and giveaways.
