2025 The Christmas Songs Book Tag 🎄🎶

 This tag was created by The Artsy Reader Girl on her blog. 

She created this tag in 2015 and does it on her blog every year. I decided to answer these questions based on the books that I read in 2025. You can do this or answer them with any books. Whichever you prefer. 

1. “All I Want for Christmas Is You”: Favorite bookish couple. 

🎄 Benny and Río from When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley-  One of my favorite romances of the year. I absolutely adored the relationship between Benny and Río. 

2. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”: Name a book where a character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.).

🎶 Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery- I read this book in November and I absolutely adored it. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series next year. 

 

3. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Name your favorite “little” book (children’s book, short story, novella, etc.).

🕯️ Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan- This book focuses on the aftermath of the myth of Icarus and Daedalus and how it affects on everyone. It is a brilliant retelling. One of my favorite aspects of a retelling is seeing the directions that a writer chooses to take such a well-known story. Seamus Sullivan did a wonderful job breathing new life into a myth I have loved most of my life. Utterly brilliant novella.

4. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town“: What book(s) do you hope Santa brings you this year?

☃️ The Collected Poems of J. R. R. Tolkien Box Set- I have been wanting this box set ever since it first came out last year. It has all of Tolkien's poems that span almost a 70 year time period. 

 

5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”: Which book turned your nose red (made you cry)?

🌟 The South Wind (The Four Winds #3) by Alexandria Warwick- This book had a lot of family trauma in it and made me emotional. I did not expect that it was going to make me cry. 

6. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: Your favorite book/kind of book to read during the holidays.

🎅 Hogfather (Discworld #20) by Terry Pratchett- It has become a tradition for me to reread this book each year at Christmastime. Terry's writing always brings me such joy, especially this story. I will be reading this today for my birthday. Cannot wait!

7. “We Three Kings”: Your favorite trilogy/book from a trilogy (or feel free to fudge it and pick a book from a series).

❄️ Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen (Little Thieves #3) - The third and final book in the Little Thieves trilogy came out earlier this year and I adored it. It is one of the best trilogies I have ever read. Vanya became a favorite character of mine from her first introduction in Little Thieves many years ago. It has been a joy to see her growth throughout this trilogy. 

Some of my favorite parts of these books are the little stories Vanja tells throughout and her relationship with Emeric. It was great to see them begrudgingly having to work together in this book. Their banter is my favorite and I will never get enough of it. Emeric is such a sweetheart. Their romance is everything to me. 

I cannot recommend this series enough. It would definitely get six stars out of five from me. Perfect in every single way. Including Margaret's beautiful illustrations and the wonderful narration from Saskia Maarleveld. She has done a wonderful job narrating Vanya's world and her voice. 

8. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow”: A character you would love to be snowed in with.

🔔 Hoid/Wit from the Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson- I would love to have Hoid/Wit telling me stories while we are snowed in together. He is my favorite character that I read about this year, just like last year. 

9. “Last Christmas”: A book that seriously let you down.

🎁 Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire- I went into this book believing I would absolutely adore it, but it just wasn't what I thought it would be. The interesting premise drew me in. Isabella is a protagonist who kept me invested in her story throughout the entire book, along with her grimalkin companion. 

I just wish it would have solely focused on her learning magic instead of the goblin side plot. Also, I did not enjoy reading from the perspective of Mr. Nagg in the slightest. I'm not a fan of reading about men hating their wives so vehemently. He was just terrible to read about. 

10. “White Christmas”: An upcoming release you’re dreaming about.

🦌 Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar- One of the many 2026 releases that I have been dreaming about is Amal El-Mohtar's story collection Seasons of Glass and Iron. I read her novella: The River Has Roots this year and highly enjoyed it. This short story collection sounds like it is going to be perfect.  

Books Set in Snowy Places ☃️

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Books Set in Snowy Places

This list has a variety of books. It has many of my favorite fantasy stories and snowed-in romances. I'm a sucker for stories where the couple gets snowed-in together. Love the forced proximity it causes. 

1.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

    - This is the first book that came to mind with the prompt for this week. The Chronicles of Narnia was the first series I ever read in full and it still to this day is one of my favorites. It is what introduced me to portal fantasies, which is one of my favorite elements in books. The visuals of the lampost and Mr. Tumnus walking through the snow are probably the most recognizable from the entire series. 

2. Tic-Tac-Mistletoe by N. R. Walker

    -  The Hartbridge Christmas series is one of my favorites. I love continuing with it every year. The first book in the series deals with one of the main characters, Hamish, coming to Hartbridge, Montana from Australia and driving right into a blizzard. He doesn't have a clue about driving in snow, never even seeing it before and runs his car off the road. One of the residents of the town, Ren finds him in front of his property and takes him home. It follows their romance. Each book in the series follows a new couple but I love that Hanish and Ren continue to be part of the series along the new couples introduced. 

3. Letters From Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien

    - For 23 years, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote letters to his children from Father Christmas and created a world and adventures for Father Christmas, the elves, and the North Polar Bear in them. He also created stunning illustrations to go along with them. This is definitely a wonderful book to read to celebrate the holiday season. 

4. Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen

    - This is one of the strangest romances I have ever read and I loved every minute of it. This was an emotionally packed story about two men finding comfort in each other in the most inopportune moment, after one of them passes away. Roland is a Hollywood A-Lister, who is known for his good looks and charisma. Adam is an ex-Mormon, who wrote a memoir revealing his sexual identity to the world, becoming almost famous. Now, down on his luck, Adam decides to take a job as a ghostwriter for Roland Rogers. Little does he know that the job is going to entail much more than writing.

When he arrives at Roland's house, Adam finds out that Roland has died in a skiing accident. Roland is still able to communicate if he focuses really hard and wants to get his life story written before anyone else finds out he's dead. He wants to finally come out to the world and believes Adam is the perfect person to write his story. Sparks fly as both men grow closer and reveal so much about themselves to each other. This was a heartwarming story with heavy topics such as coming out, religious trauma, fame and homophobia. Samantha Allen does a great job of balancing these elements along with her humor.

 

5. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

    - Another book that instantly came to mind for books set in snowy places. The story takes place in the Russian wilderness where winter lasts most of the year. Katherine Arden did a wonderful job creating a beautiful wintery atmosphere that draws the reader in from the very beginning of the book. It is a mix of Russian folklore stories and characters. Arden has a mesmerizing writing style. 

6. Home Between Homes by Flynn Woods

    - This story follows two men, Noah and Jack as they get snowed in together for a week and the bond they form. Noah takes a job as a dog and house sitter to get away from his life. There he meets Jack, who he knows from college. They keep running into each other in the town and at the house Noah is watching because Jack is the housekeeper. Then they get snowed in. This is sweet romance that I highly enjoyed last year. I definitely am going to pick up the other book in the series sometime soon. 

 

7. Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar

   - Midnight in Everwood is a beautiful retelling of The Nutcracker set in a magical world that I would enjoy reading more from. It is a great book to read during the holiday season/winter. 

 

8. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

   -  I read the Emily Wilde series earlier this year and fell in love with the world that Heather Fawcett created. The story is told through Emily's journal entries as she depicts the events of the story. Along with the entries, Emily gives stories of the fae and other various creatures she has come across in her research. The setting is richly described throughout the entire book and plays a big role in the story especially the village of Hrafnsvik. 

 

9. Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

   - Another book dealing with the fae on this list. Wintersmith is the 35th book in the Discworld series and the 3rd book in the Tiffany Aching subseries. The Tiffany Aching books are some of the only young adult books in the Discworld series and follow a young witch named Tiffany who is coming into her powers. She is being taught by many of the other witches in the series including Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. In this book, Tiffany meets the personification of winter named the Wintersmith. 

10. The Ghost in the Mirror by John Bellairs and completed by Brad Strickland

   - The fourth book in the Lewis Barnavelt series that started with the book: The House with a Clock in Its Walls. It follows one of the other main characters in the series Rose Rita, who is a friend of Lewis. She goes on a two week summer vacation with her friend Mrs. Zimmerman and they somehow go back in time to 1828 to a snowbound Pennsylvania Dutch Country. This is definitely one of my favorites in the series other than the first book. I love this time travel adventure.