Cozy Up: Pretti Talk’s 2025 Holiday Reading Round-Up

 

“Girl… Wait ‘Til You Read This Book.”  

The holidays are here, the cocoa is heating, and Black women authors have once again said, “Let me give you something to scream-text your best friend about.”

Romance, drama, healing, spice. Baby, it’s all on the menu.

So settle in, sis. These books will have you up way past bedtime whispering, “okay… but WHY was this so good?”

Not in the Christmas Plan by Etta Easton

Girl. Eve Matthews had her entire holiday mapped out like a Pinterest board… until Grant Simmons walked in and blew her little itinerary to shreds.

If you love slow-building tension, grown-folks romance, and a heroine who deserved a soft December? This is your one.

Available on Amazon 

A Night with Ms. Grinch by Lauren Lacey

Kandi Cane hates Christmas. Like… capital H hates it.
But getting snowed in with her fine coffee-shop crush? Suddenly Miss Grinch is feeling very Ho Ho Ho and not in the PG way.

This novella is spicy, fast, and sooo easy to binge. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Available on Amazon (Kindle)

Mistletoe Blues by Bella Jay

It all started with a dare — a little holiday game to make things interesting. When Joie Pickett rolls the dice and whispers her deepest wish to a mall Santa, she doesn’t expect for his velvet-suited mystery man to show up under the December lights again. But Theo Blue? He’s not just playing dress-up. He’s a man with a plan: to unwrap the truth, see what’s behind the suit — and maybe unwrap Joie’s heart at the same time.

Available on Amazon

Santa’s Little Pleasers — Ladii Neesha

Listen… if you like your holiday books with a side of mess, this is your Christmas cookie.

Ladii Neesha brings the drama, the spice, the “wait, WHAT just happened?” twists and she does it unapologetically.

This is the one you read with a glass of wine.

Available on Amazon 

Holiday’s with the Carter’s — Ladii Neesha

Because what is Christmas without family drama?
The Carters argue, love, make up, fall apart, and come together again — all before the ham is carved.
It’s giving: “I’m just staying for 20 minutes,” but you’re still there two hours later.

A holiday saga that feels like home… if home is loud.

Browse it on Good Reads:

A Senful Holiday — BriAnn Danae

A baby on the way. A family who means well (kinda). A man finding his grown man voice. A woman choosing her heart and her peace.

BriAnn Danae always gives emotional depth, and this novella hits especially hard during the holidays.
Keep tissues nearby. And maybe a snack.

Buy it today on Amazon:

Because nobody captures: the family who “wasn’t coming but still showed up,” the cousin who brought drama and the best dessert, the quiet healing that happens in December, the romance that sneaks up on us when we finally slow down, or the joy that lives in our traditions quite like Black authors.

Black family holidays are nuanced. Lively. Tender. Bold. Sacred. Messy. Hilarious. And every one of these books holds space for that.

This season, gift yourself a story where Black women get love, peace, softness, and happily-ever-afters — the way we deserve.