Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
I can 100% see this book being adapted by a streaming service – which is obviously a positive as I wouldn’t include it in this post if not, and also, I love a trashy Netflix Christmas film. This was one of my favourite festive reads in 2022 and Catherine Walsh has remained a favourite festive romance author of mine since.
In my review of this book I said the chemistry between the main characters, Molly and Andrew, was undeniable. For this reason, if this was ever adapted it would need to be well casted. I can’t remember the exact descriptions of the characters, not that they really matter in this instance, but I’d love to see Danielle Galligan as either Molly or her sister, who is a side character in both books.
This book is also pretty fast-paced so it would really suit being a film. Production studios really should consider adapting the many, many festive books in the world as, let’s be honest, there have been some absolutely awful original Christmas films in the past. I also feel like Netflix were making multiple Christmas films a year at one point and I couldn’t even tell you if they’ve made one this year.
Synopsis: She’s meant to be catching flights, not catching feelings…
Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.
Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.
Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.
The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.
What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own…
We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey
Now this book actually was my favourite festive read of 2024. It’s not often I actually remember sitting down to read a book, but I remember almost every moment of reading We Three Kings.
I adored all four of the main characters. They had such a wonderful dynamic together and it gave me strong The IT Crowd vibes – which I love.
I feel like this quote from my review almost perfectly explains why this book would make an incredible adaptation: “There are so many hilarious moments in this book that I couldn’t talk about them all without this review being thousands of words long. Maggie is a stronger woman than I because I would have died of embarrassment more than once if I went through some of the antics she did. Her hiding behind the curtain when people came into her room, pretending to be a bird so they wouldn’t know she was there and then having to reveal herself gave me second hand embarrassment in the best possible way. I was cringing and laughing the whole time.”
A lot happens in this book and the fact that Maggie does something Christassy with each of her ‘kings’ would give it a Love Actually type of feel. Which isn’t my favourite Christmas film by far but we can all agree it’s a classic (despite how badly it’s aged).
Synopsis: Maggie Field was looking forward to a solo Christmas in her cosy London flat – before her three workmates decided to liven things up for her.
Maggie loves her job as head of IT at a financial firm, and her three geeky but lovable work buddies. And when they invite her to stay with each of them for the holidays, she can’t resist the chance to get to know them better.
But then her boss tells her she has to make one of her beloved team redundant, and Maggie is distraught. Frank’s work is his world, Jasper’s sarcastic humour is everything, and Leo…well, he’s talented, professional, confusingly attractive, dependable, and funny… Maggie definitely doesn’t want to lose him.
With her career and her heart on the line, Maggie sets off on the Christmas adventure of a lifetime, from playing fake girlfriend at a lavish wedding, to rescuing baby foxes on a posh country estate, to chasing a very confused donkey on Christmas Day in the Lake District. She can’t ignore the sparks between her and Leo – but she also can’t avoid her dilemma.
Can she find a way to keep her work family together, and maybe even find true love under the mistletoe?
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: Every Christmas Eve by Emma Heatherington