Mini Reviews: Holiday Edition (II)

The holidays will be here before you know it, but there's still time to curl up with a festive read. Today I'm sharing two new reviews that would be perfect additions to your holiday.  

 

 

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan 

Pages: 320

Genre: Adult Fiction/Holiday

Pub. Date: October 14, 2025

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: The Cafe by the Sea,

The Christmas Bookshop, and  

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McPherson, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McPherson family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.

But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.

Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time."

 

Mirren Sutherland is an antique book hunter thrown into a new job set in Scotland. She is tasked with helping Jamie McKinnon, a laird of a Highland clan, find his grandfather's rare book. His grandfather, a known hoarder and book collector, has been known to hide things and leave puzzles behind, and that's the case with this rare book. Jamie needs it as it should be worth a lot of money, which will help repair his family's estate as it is in a state of disrepair. Mirren is all about this task, until Theo Palliser, another known book hunter and rival, shows up on the train enroute to Scotland. This isn't a coincidence; Theo always shows up when there's treasure to be found. All three of them find themselves hunkered down in the Scottish estate during a snowstorm, looking for the rare book. Fans of Jenny Colgan and literary mysteries will especially appreciate The Secret Christmas Library.
 
It's not the holidays without reading Jenny Colgan's latest festive novel, and what is better than reading a book set during a snowstorm over the holidays in Scotland, all while searching a crumbling estate for treasure? Sounds like the perfect setting for a compelling literary mystery. My only gripe is that I wish there were some more holiday vibes, as it seemed very light in this department; however, the setting made up for it in the end. The Secret Christmas Library is a delightful holiday read for booklovers; the kind that is perfect for curling up by the fire.

 

 

 

The Mistletoe Kisser by Lucy Score

Pages: 336

Genre: Romance/Holiday

Pub. Date: October 21, 2026

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Source: Personal Copy

Other Books By Author: Things We Never Got Over

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

Goodreads says, "Ryan Sosa, grumpy former corporate accountant, has had it up to here with surprises. He didn’t see getting fired coming. And he certainly didn’t anticipate flying across the country to the world’s hippie-est, happiest, most annoying town to save his great-uncle from some mysterious emergency.

Not only is there actual snow on the ground, but the town of Blue Moon appears to have decked its halls with elves on psychedelics. But he doesn’t have time to be snarky about the impending Winter Solstice and Multicultural Holiday Celebration—whatever the hell that is. Not when he’s got a farm to save, a free-range sheep that he may or may not have nudged with his stupid microscopic rental car, and some small-town veterinarian telling him she can’t take the animal off his hands.

Dr. Sammy Ames has a practice to manage and a fundraising crisis to attend to. She doesn’t have time to deal with a big-city grouch who doesn’t remember being her first kiss ever. Especially not since he wants to dump a sheep named Stan on her. So not happening. No matter how cute—and naked—Ryan is when he’s drunk.

Besides, as soon as he solves his uncle’s problem, he’ll be on the first flight out of Blue Moon, never to return again.

It will take a Winter Solstice Miracle or perhaps some matchmaking interference from the Beautification Committee to get these two to see eye-to-eye under the mistletoe…unless they got the Wrong Ryan after all.

 

 

Dr. Sammy Ames lives in the idyllic town of Blue Moon, and she is the beloved town vet. When Ryan Sosa enters her practice with an injured sheep, things start to get interesting this holiday season. Ryan is in town as his great-uncle called to ask him for help with an "emergency." Ryan, a corporate accountant who just got fired, decides to pick up and head to Blue Moon, despite not really wanting to set foot back into the "hippie" town. Ryan's uncle owns a farm, and he is in a financial bind. Who better to help him than Ryan, then? Ryan thinks he may have injured a sheep, which is why he finds himself at the vet, but Sammy can't believe that Ryan doesn't remember that they shared a first kiss many years ago! Even if they become friendly again, Ryan plans to hightail it out of Blue Moon the first chance he can, so why even entertain a possible relationship? But despite their best efforts, these two opposites share an undeniable chemistry in Lucy Score's holiday rom-com, The Mistletoe Kisser.
 
Who doesn't enjoy a grump/sunshine trope, especially during the holidays? I really enjoyed Score's portrayal of Sammy and Ryan's relationship and the witty banter. Plus, the adorable small town of Blue Moon was just wonderful and a perfect setting for a holiday story. It reminded me of Virgin River in that everyone knows everyone, and it's a bit rural in the best way possible. The Mistletoe Kisser took me by surprise this holiday. I really, really enjoyed it; it was the perfect rom-com to curl up with this holiday season if you like your romances to be a bit spicy and not closed-door. I enjoyed it so much that I am considering checking out book one in the Blue Moon series. 

 

Have you read The Secret Christmas Library or The Mistletoe Kisser? Let me know in the comments below.