3 'cozy' reads to delight in this holiday season
Canada Reads producer Lucy Mann shares her favourite feel-good novels
As the holiday season quickly approaches, readers might be searching for a book that makes them feel safe and homey as they curl up and watch the snow fall.
CBC Books producer Lucy Mann is no different — and she loves finding "cozy" stories for the holidays, especially feel-good rom-coms.
"Since I was a kid, reading for me has been about comfort," said Mann in a conversation with The Next Chapter contributor Mirian Njoh. "It's been about escape. You know, that feeling of, it doesn't matter where I am as long as I've got a book in my bag."
To get ready for the cold winter months ahead, Mann discussed three of her favourite reads that bring joy and optimism to the forefront.
Three Holidays and A Wedding by Marissa Stapley & Uzma Jalaluddin
Three Holidays and a Wedding is a multi-faith holiday rom-com about the love that occurs when Christmas, Ramadan and Hanukkah all fall at the same time. The story follows two strangers-turned-friends, Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson, who are snowbound in the small, charming town of Snow Falls after meeting on a plane to Toronto — along with the cast and crew of a holiday romance movie, nosy family members and a lifelong crush.
"I will say that although both Anna and Maryam are navigating romance and romantic feelings during this novel, what stayed with me afterwards was the friendship that these two women have," said Mann.
"They find themselves on this plane together. They don't have a lot in common initially. They're not too sure about each other. But actually, as they go through this intense experience of being snowed in together, they really figure out who each other is. And that supportive and kind friendship is just really lovely to read."
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
The Mistletoe Mystery is a holiday novella featuring Molly the maid from Nita Prose's earlier blockbuster books The Maid and The Mystery Guest. When Molly and her boyfriend, Juan Manuel, are part of a secret Santa exchange that makes her question her relationship, she's thrown into solving her most personal mystery yet.
"This novella, to me, leans more as a romance than a mystery," said Mann. "There is a mystery, but I'd say the mystery is a bit more of a mystery for Molly, not as much as a mystery for the reader. But you really feel for Molly as she tries to kind of navigate this personal mystery and unpack Juan's unusual behaviour."
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
In Kiss Her Once for Me, Ellie can't stop thinking about her bookshop meet-cute from last Christmas Eve. A whirlwind one night romance with the woman of her dreams, Jack, ended with a betrayal, and the loss of her dream job in animation. As the holiday season rolls around again, she's been working at a coffee shop and feeling down.
"The shop's landlord, Andrew, proposes a marriage of convenience to her," said Mann. "He's been given an inheritance, but he's not able to access it unless he gets married. And then Ellie really needs the money, so she decides to agree because he says he's going to give her $200,000 if she goes through with this."
The only caveat: she must join his family's Christmas festivities. But when she gets there, she is enveloped by Andrew's eclectic and charming family — and realizes that Andrew's sister is the woman from last year's bookstore meet-cute.
"They're just very well-written, fun characters," said Mann. "And Ellie's never really had a family. And so suddenly she finds herself in this family and which makes it even harder for her to keep up this notion of lying to them. And of course, the person who it's most difficult to lie to is Jack, who she is still very much in love with."
