Secret Saints, Snowbound Angels, and a Gold Watch on a Fencepost

by Jessie Gussman

Sleigh Bell Dreams has a town buzzing about a Secret Saint, plus a doctor who comes home to take over the retiring physician's practice and ends up sharing a duplex with the quiet, mysterious Judd Landis. That shared-wall setup is pure cozy romance catnip. It's sitting at 4.55 with over 1,700 ratings, so a lot of people have already fallen for Mistletoe Meadows.

by Heidi Gray McGill

Desire of My Heart is historical, set in 1858 Missouri, with Rachel clinging to the promise that joy comes in the morning even when her circumstances are dark. If you like your inspirational fiction with some weight to it, this is the one. It has the highest rating of the bunch at 4.61 from nearly 1,400 readers, which tells me the faith element lands for people.

by Hendricks, Jenna

Finding Love in Montana is a prequel to the Triple J Ranch books, built on the ugly duckling idea. Mimi Bensen spent high school ignored or snubbed and still thinks of herself that way, even though everything about her has changed. It's the lowest rated here at 4.28 with around 500 ratings, but that's still solid. Good pick if you want a sweet, low-stakes glow-up story.

by Inge

This is the odd one out, a straight-up mystery. Gwynn Reznick's best friend and coworker at Wilton Oil & Gas dies in a car crash, and when a private investigator named Ruben Dordi shows up, her doubts about the accident get real. One reviewer said they'd read the author before and found this one great, and another enjoyed the suspense enough to give it a 4. It's at 4.06 with 85 written reviews, so there's plenty of feedback to skim before you commit.

“I read a book by this author earlier this year. It was good, this one is great. Gwynn is a likable character and it does not take long for the reader to get invested in her life. Her love, her safety. The story is not a short read, nor particularly fast...at 248 pages it is a full length novel. So...”

by Bertie Stein

Angels in the Snow pairs Dex Forrester, who lost his faith on a mountain in Afghanistan, with Holly, who has spent her life seeing angels, and then drops them into the deadliest Christmas of their lives. One reviewer loved that Dex hears an angel telling him Holly will rescue him, which is a great hook. It holds a 4.6 across 236 ratings, and it's book one of a trilogy if you end up wanting more.

“This was an excellent story. One man not believing in anything since Afganistan and then he heard an angel telling him Holly would rescue him. They both belived in angels and their goal was rescuing 5 children that were being trafficked. They found out it was a huge operation and they just went one...”

by Kay DiBianca

Kathryn Frasier is 27 and training for a marathon in a deserted winter park when she finds a gold watch on a fencepost that feels deliberately left for her. I like a mystery that starts with an object, and the readers do too. One reviewer admitted she was hesitant at first, then ended up jumping up and down over a newly discovered author. It sits at 4.29 with over 300 ratings, and I'd say it's the sleeper pick of the week.

“Y’all, this book was SO GOOD. Some of you have probably heard that I was really hesitant to read this story at first. I have a tendency to judge books by their covers- if a book has a really pixelated / low quality cover, it really turns me off, because cheap book cover = cheap writing and amazing...”