Charming Christmas Novels Set in Europe

Book Summary

Kit is a controversial champion surfer. He was involved in an accident with devastating consequences for his bitter rival, but he’s never spoken about what really happened that fateful day. Now, he’s shifted his focus to training as a snowboarder.

Award-winning director Clover Phillips has been covering the story and is determined to find out the truth. She travels to the snowy Austrian Alps and begins to dive deeper into the story. Kit blames her for the negative way he’s been portrayed and how it’s changed his life.

As Christmas draws nearer, Clover is surprised to find herself drawn to Kit. At the same time, however, she’s more convinced than ever that he’s hiding something.

Book Summary

Olivia’s husband left her on Christmas Eve. Heartbroken, Olivia’s world has been closing in around her ever since, to the point that sometimes it’s hard for her to even force herself to go into town. So when her beloved Aunt Grace passes away and requests that she travel to Prague to deliver a message to Grace’s long-lost love, Marek, it’s hard for Olivia to muster the courage to travel alone to another country. But she knows that she must go on this adventure, if for no other reason than to honor Grace.

Soon, however, snowy Prague begins to work its magic on Olivia, and she feels herself slowly coming back to life. As Marek’s nephew, Tomas, shows her around the Christmas markets, she realizes that she might just get the second chance at romance that Grace never had.

Book Summary

Darcy recently broke up with a cheating boyfriend, and her friends are determined to set her up with a perfect blind date. But she’s too busy pursuing her PhD in Copenhagen and determined not to be distracted by a broken heart.

When an unknown portrait by Denmark’s greatest painter is discovered beneath another masterpiece, Darcy is tasked with uncovering the identity of the woman in the painting. Her research brings her into contact with some of the most powerful figures in the art world, including Max – the blind date.

She can’t deny the instant attraction, but she’s determined to keep things professional. Then, a discovery threatens to put her and Max on opposite sides forever.

Book Summary

As a child actress, Charlotte starred in a classic Christmas movie, and her fans won’t let her forget it. Now, word is out that she’s the reason that plans for a reboot aren’t happening, and she needs a place to hide away.

She flees to London to spend the weeks leading up to the holiday with her sister. She goes to Eden Priory to view the extraordinary Christmas decorations, only to discover that it was also a filming location from her iconic movie. When a fan spots her, she needs a ride back to London from the owner’s son, Graham.

Charlotte’s current career as an illustrator leads her to accept a commission to illustrate iconic holiday movie scenes from around London. Graham offers to escort her from site to site, as long as she agrees to host an art workshop at Eden Priory. He knows that a visit from a holiday star would help them raise much-needed funds to keep their historic house running.

Book Summary

In 1952, when Princess Elizabeth was only 25 years old, she unexpectedly became the Queen of England. That December, she knows she must continue her grandfather and father’s traditional Christmas Day radio broadcast.

As the family and staff prepare for Christmas at Sandringham House, two old friends—Jack and Olive—find themselves reunited. Olive is a single mother, typist at the BBC, and aspiring reporter who is thrilled by the opportunity to cover the events. Jack is a widowed chef from New Orleans who is surprised to run into Olive after he accepts a last-minute chance to cook in the royal kitchens.

Over the next five Christmases, Jack and Olive continue to run into each other, but Olive has a heavy secret. On Christmas Day, 1957, Queen Elizabeth prepares for the first televised Christmas address as Olive prepares to tell Jack her shocking truth.

Book Summary

Viola Smith plays the viola (what are the chances?) in the orchestra of the London Metropolitan Opera, but her newest challenge can’t be solved by her musical talents alone. This year, she’s been tasked with organizing the nativity play for a school in Notting Hill as part of an outreach program.

Nate Williams isn’t looking forward to Christmas, but when his young daughter is cast in a starring role in the nativity, the single father has to set aside his grinchy ways.

Nate steps up to volunteer with Viola, and soon, sparks are flying between them.

Book Summary

This is the second book in the Borrow a Bookshop series, which transports readers to a fictional British bookshop that vacationing literature lovers can “own” for a fortnight. It can be easily read as a stand-alone for Christmas before reading book one.

Magnús is from Iceland and is a former bookseller trying to fix his sadness by surrounding himself with books again. Alexandra is in Clove Lore, trying to heal heartbreak in the quirky community. 

When a flood on Christmas Eve devastates the village, Magnús and Alex have to work together to save it. This is the perfect time to introduce an Icelandic tradition—jólabókaflóð (Yule book flood). Will bringing the village together to exchange books and read together bring back the Christmas spirit?

Book Summary

This festive, funny, and heartwarming Christmas novel is the perfect Hallmark-style armchair travel read that balances friendship and romance! Chloe, Jules, and Lucy met on vacation as kids and have been best friends ever since despite living on three different continents.

Twenty-two years later, they decide to swap homes for Christmas… Lucy travels to snowy Breckenridge, Colorado; Jules escapes down under for a summery Christmas in Melbourne, Australia; and Chloe travels halfway around the world for a quiet holiday in a quaint English village.

Book Summary

Christa’s life has been turned upside down – her marriage ended and she lost her Michelin-starred restaurant. She never expected to be single and job hunting right before Christmas. Thankfully, her best friend has recommended her for a gig as a private chef for the holidays. She doesn’t know what to expect, but it turns out that her new employer is a grumpy billionaire with two rambunctious twin sons living on a beautiful but dreary country estate.

When she arrives at Pudding Hall she’s determined to make the holidays a little cheerier for this family of three, and she might just get her own life back on track in the process.

Book Summary

When Anais receives a rundown Paris hotel as part of a divorce settlement, she initially plans to clean it up just enough to sell it as fast as possible. But when selling proves impossible, she devises a new plan. She envisions it as the perfect boutique bookish retreat, but the only way to make it financially feasible is to open it by Christmas.

Anais didn’t count on the grumpy American bar owner next door interfering at every step of the way. Nor did she expect to discover a mysterious room that holds the key to a 100-year-old secret. But as the first snowflakes begin to fall over the City of Lights, she knows that no matter what, this Christmas in Paris will be one to remember.

Book Summary

If you’re looking for a Christmas book set in a warmer environment to counteract any real-life cold in your hometown, you can travel to the French Riviera in this Christmas novel!

Twenty-four-year-old Elodie was abandoned by her mother at a young age and left in the care of her French grandmother, Gabriella. With her 70th birthday approaching, Gabriella tells Elodie that she wants to spend Christmas and her birthday in her hometown of Juan-les-pins in the South of France. It’s a magical place during the holidays, filled with lights, decorations, and festive traditions.

Elodie is thrilled about the trip, but her grandmother hasn’t told her the whole story. Gabriella has an ulterior motive for wanting to return home for the first time in 40 years. When Elodie learns that her long-absent mother, whom she still has a lot of anger toward, might be joining them, she tries to feign indifference.

Will the magic of Christmas on the Riviera be able to work its magic on these three women?

Book Summary

Fliss and her sisters are shocked to inherit a French chateau from their late grandfather. Together, they travel to Normandy to visit the beautiful but aging home.

They excitedly begin making plans over crepes and cider in the nearby town, but soon discover that the chateau needs more work than they can afford due to the huge tax bill. The sisters don’t receive a warm welcome, but nonetheless, Fliss decides to stay on to try to win over the locals so she can sell the property.

Book Summary

Spanning four Christmas from 1914-1918, you’ll meet Evie, her brother Will, and his best friend Thomas. The boys are soon facing the front lines of World War 1, while Evie tries to help the effort from home. The compelling novel is told in epistolary form (through letters).

Book Summary

Connie is a single mother who has suffered one online dating disaster after another. She’s been hurt in the past, but now that her son is off to college, she’s cautiously looking for love again. Recently, she’s been talking with a lovely man who runs a bakery in Germany.

One of the beloved residents passes away at the retirement home where Connie works in the UK; her final request is that her ashes be scattered at the German Christmas market that she loved so much as a child.

Eager for an excuse to travel to Germany to see if her new love interest is as great in person as he seems to be online, Connie agrees to drive a group of elderly residents to Germany in a minibus.

Book Summary

Rachel is stuck in a rut, and her life in London feels like it’s going nowhere. So when her company, Snug, asks her to oversee the opening of their new store in Iceland, she jumps at the chance, eager for a change of scenery.

As her Icelandic guide, Jonas, shows her around Reykjavik, she remembers that the world is wide open with possibilities. As she falls in love with Iceland, she also begins to realign her priorities and wonders if the life she left behind is really the life she wants after all.

Book Summary

Lucy is suffering from a broken heart and a crashed career, so she jumps at the opportunity to move from the UK to Iceland to manage the Northern Lights Lodge. Despite romance being the last thing she wants for herself, she’s determined to make the hotel a top romantic destination in Iceland.

Her new life is full of quirky characters who become her new family away from home. Dreamy Scottish barman, Alex, makes her question whether it’s time to reopen her heart to love. But will his secret impact their future?

Book Summary

When Cassie’s sassy Irish grandma passes away, Cassie decides to use her inheritance to travel from New York to a quaint country village in Northern Ireland. She envisions a cozy cottage, steak-and-ale pie, and Christmas cheer. What she didn’t expect was two handsome men competing for her attention.

There’s Charles, a dashing English aristocrat, with his manor house and heart of gold. And there’s also Ryan, the curly-haired Irish handyman whose accent makes Cassie weak in the knees.

Charles enlists Cassie’s event-planning expertise to save his family’s estate, which leads Cassie to work side by side with Ryan to breathe new life into the old home.

Along the way, Cassie uncovers some secrets about her grandmother’s past.

Book Summary

The O’Sullivan brood has gone off to West Cork to spend the holidays with brother James’s fiancee Elise’s family, including her grandfather, the famous orchestral conductor Enda Elliot. Holiday spirits are crushed when the cantankerous conductor is discovered under a ninety-pound harp in a local concert hall.

As both families are snowed into a lavish cliffside farmhouse, Siobhan must figure out who is to blame for Enda’s death before there is another victim.

Book Summary

Ever since she left her finance, Isaac, at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city, Megan has avoided going back to her hometown for the holidays. This year, she can’t get out of it, and she’s dreading it more than ever because Isaac is engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian doesn’t mind being single, but he really hates that his family pities him for being alone at the holidays.

When Megan and Christian bump into each other at a Dublin pub, they hatch a fake dating plan to get them both through the holidays. They draw up a contract on a wine-stained napkin and agree to accompany each other’s family gatherings. What they don’t factor in is getting snowed in at a cabin.

Book Summary

Emily was not expecting to be single for the holidays. When she suddenly finds herself without plans, she decides to accept an offer to travel to Italy even though it requires her to interview a smug self-help guru that she despises.

Blaze Smith (aka Dr. Love) is supposed to be a relationship expert, but who will buy his book after he’s been publicly dumped? His manager wants him to fake a relationship in order to save his European book tour, but Blaze refuses. At least until he meets Emily at the airport, suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Pretending to be in love is easy. But having real feelings for your fake date is much more complicated. There’s a lot at stake for both of them, and neither can afford to break the rules.

Book Summary

Holly has been estranged from her family ever since a tragic New Year’s Eve car accident three years ago. During those years, she’s been part of a lonely-hearts holiday letter–writing club. Each December, Holly writes to a stranger who is also spending Christmas alone, and she receives a letter from another lonely person in return.

The letters are meant to be anonymous, allowing the sender to write anything on their heart. But this year, the letter Holly receives has clues that lead her to believe she can track down the author and maybe even reunite her with the grandson, Jack, whom she misses so dearly.

When Holly finds Jack, she realizes that she’s actually met him once before. There’s an immediate spark between the two of them, just like there was the first time. She’s determined to fix his family, and maybe even her own, but time is running out.

Book Summary

Frankie and her high school friends, Amy, Rachael, and Nina, are all spending the Christmas season in Italy, each on a quest of their own. Amy has always wanted to see the David statue in Florence, Nina is seeking career inspiration, and Rachael hopes to meet handsome and eligible Italian men. Frankie is here to help her boyfriend uncover Santa’s Secret.

Frankie’s boyfriend, Giovanni, runs an Italian restaurant in Manhattan with his brother, Marco, where they serve beloved family recipes. However, they covet one specific recipe, and their mom refuses to divulge the secret ingredient. She says it’s “Santa’s Secret,” and this year, Giovanni and Marco are determined to uncover the secret of their mother’s delicious panettone.

Book Summary

Lee first came to Amsterdam five years ago with a newborn baby and a secret. Years later, her life feels much more stable. She has a successful career as a photographer, her son is happy and healthy, and she has a tight circle of friends that she enjoys spending time with during the lead-up to the holidays.

One morning, Lee finds a book in the basket of her bike, and scrawled inside is a desperate message. But who left it for her, and why? Feeling compelled to help, she begins by tracking down Sam, the author of the book. They have an instant and undeniable connection.

For the first time in a long time, Lee envisions a future for herself that might include long-term romance. But then her past comes calling, and the secret she’s been keeping is revealed. Christmas is a time for togetherness, but what if the truth means Lee ends up alone?

Book Summary

Bo and her partner Zac live a life of wanderlust, traveling the globe while sharing their adventures with their millions of social media fans.

They are spending Christmas 2018 in the Norwegian fjords on a farm owned by an enigmatic mountain guide and his fierce grandmother, Signy. Surrounded by picturesque snowy peaks and frozen falls, it’s easy for them to convince their followers that everything is perfect, but the life they portray online is diverging further and further from the truth. Bo can’t quite put her finger on what is wrong, but Anders is the only person who will listen.

Signy was just 14 when, in the summer of 1936, she and her sister and village friends were sent to work as milkmaids in the pastures. Protecting the goat herd is the key to sustaining the farm through the long, cold winter months. But away from the safety of their homes and families, they discover threats lurking behind friendly faces.

Bo is learning that the mountains keep secrets, which Signy knows better than anyone. Like the old woman before her, Bo is now forced to question who is friend and who is foe.

Book Summary

Rose didn’t expect to be spending the holiday season working in a pop-up Christmas shop, but the one thing she expected even less was to be offered an event planning job by a brooding Scotsman.

Ever since his wife left him and his daughter one Christmas Eve, Alistair hates Christmas. So he is not thrilled to learn that his extended family plans to visit his Scottish estate for the holidays this year. He knows he will need help with the planning if he’s to pull it off. When he meets Rose at a shop selling tinsel and baubles, he offers her the job.

Rose gets to work right away, Christmas tree shopping and party planning. Soon, Alistair can hardly recognize his estate amid the mass of ribbons and twinkling lights. Even the family goat is in on the festive spirit.

The more time Rose spends with Alistair’s family – especially his 12-year-old daughter – the more she melts the ice around his heart.

Book Summary

Friends Shelley, Lena, and Pearl are tired of all the holiday preparations falling to them. Each of them has hit her limit, so they decide to escape for the five days before Christmas. It’s time for their families to take up the grocery shopping, cooking, and prepping. Meanwhile, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Scottish Highlands.

It was the perfect plan, right up until the moment they got snowed in 500 miles from home. Realizing they might not make it back in time for Christmas makes each woman face the truth about her reasons for needing to escape. For one, it’s a fiance with an obnoxious family, for another, it’s a son’s new girlfriend taking over the house, and for the third, it’s simply feeling taken for granted all year round.

Book Summary

When Izzy inherits a castle in the Scottish Highlands, she knows the castle will have to make money to be sustainable. It would make a great B&B after some much-needed TLC. But before they can do any work, her eccentric mom has promised the rental to a famous author. 

They must race to get the castle guest-ready before their big holiday arrival.

Book Summary

Scottish legend says that wishes made at the standing stones during Christmas come true, but Maisie Barron doesn’t buy it. Nonetheless, this small-town girl makes a wish out of frustration. Little does she know it will lead to a catastrophic event threatening the upcoming Christmas Book Festival.

Weston Smith is a burnt-out American professor desperately in need of a vacation to relax and recharge. After planning a trip to Scotland, he finds himself on a real-life mission to woo the girl of his dreams, thanks to the enthusiastic meddling of a group of elderly book club members.

Snowed in and with an undeniable attraction, can Maisie and Weston save the book festival?