A Queer & Cozy December Recommendation List
If Post 1 was all soft blankets and tender looks across a snow-dusted room, today’s list is… not that.
This is the messy middle of December energy.
The why are we sharing ONE bed in this tiny cabin? energy.
The we were doing fine until you walked back into my life wearing a ridiculous holiday sweater and looking unfairly cute energy.
These WLW holiday romances bring tension, chaos, banter, and just the right amount of spice to keep you warm while the world outside freezes over. If you love a little drama with your cocoa, this is your list.
Let’s unwrap the holiday shenanigans.
✨ Breakup Buddies — JJ Arias & Bryce Oakley
A sapphic romcom joyride full of banter, big feelings, and “what are we doing?” energy. When heartbreak and holiday travel collide, these two characters discover that sometimes the best rebound is… well, maybe not a rebound at all. Arias and Oakley balance humor with heart in a way that feels effortless and deeply queer.
✨ Fighting Feelings and a Christmas Truce — Sally Brooks
If you love tension, this book has it in spades.
When Ruth goes to a gig and spends a night of passion with singer Sienna, she doesn’t expect it to go anywhere. As a grieving widow and busy hospital CEO, Ruth enjoys their moment but doesn’t want a relationship.
Ruth doesn’t expect to see Sienna again. But when protestors gather at her hospital to stop a merger she approved, she spots Sienna through the December snow, waving a placard.
On opposing sides of the debate, the women clash, with 28-year-old Sienna using her legal knowledge to make life harder for 45-year-old Ruth.
Sienna gets under Ruth’s skin, but is it more than annoyance? Maybe Ruth’s being too Scrooge-like. Before long it’s difficult to deny their growing chemistry, despite clashing over an emotive issue that affects them both personally.
✨ On Track for Love — Elizabeth Andre
Forty-something Zoe Hawkins has sworn off romance just in time for the most romantic season of the year. All she wants is her annual Christmas escape—several days of twinkling lights and snowy vistas on the rails from Chicago to San Francisco with her train enthusiast club. No complications. No falling for anyone.
Especially not Samantha “Sam” Borchard.
The librarian with strawberry blond hair peaking out of her Santa hat landed the AV position Zoe wanted, and now they’re stuck working side-by-side. Sam is nursing a broken heart—her ex just got engaged—and bristling every time Zoe tries to help (which may have something to do with Zoe stepping on her ankle during boarding).
But as the train chugs through the winter landscape, something shifts. There’s the way Sam’s breath catches when Zoe leans in close, the electricity when their fingers brush, and the heat in Sam’s gaze when she thinks Zoe isn’t looking.
✨ She Came Upon a Midnight Clear — Eden Bradley
Sultry, moody, and atmospheric, this is the “pour a drink and turn down the lights” kind of holiday romance. Bradley blends spice with emotional vulnerability, giving us a WLW story that’s as seductive as it is heartfelt. Ideal if you’re looking for something sexier this season.
Evie
She was my biggest crush. Completely off-limits. But here we are six years later, and all I can remember is that one devastating kiss under the mistletoe. The kiss I can never forget. Because Dru Fiori is everything I’ve ever wanted, and everything I couldn’t have.
Dru
When Evie Taylor shows up at my dog rescue for our annual Christmas party, I can barely hold it together. She’s the woman I’ve always wanted, the one I couldn’t have. But this time, even if it takes a Christmas miracle, she won’t be the one who got away.
✨ Yours for the Night — Breigh Parker
Lily Lewis isn’t looking for love.
Avoiding the small, rural town she grew up in at all costs, Lily reluctantly agrees to spend the holidays with her family in their nearby lake house. Old memories of people she’d rather forget resurface, leading her to seek out a stress relieving one-night stand.
After their steamy night together, Lily is shocked to see Harlow—her mom’s newest mentee—walk through her family’s kitchen door. Neither woman is looking for a relationship. But they can’t deny their sizzling chemistry or the sexual tension crackling between them, and they agree to secretly hook up.
✨ A Wish on Willow Way — Caroline Lane
Sienna Rivers never quite fit in.
As the half-human daughter of The Fairy Godmother, Sienna fled the fae realm with its hierarchies and machinations as soon as she could. When she settled in Haven’s Hill and found her friends, her job, and her cozy little apartment, she thought she’d finally built the simple life of her dreams.
But nothing stays simple when fae politics are at play. And when ghosts of the past show up on Sienna’s doorstep with a contract betrothing her to a prince she’s never met, her life is turned upside down once again. Worse still, the bodyguard assigned to make sure she doesn’t cut and run before her wedding is another specter that’s haunted her dreams: Amaias Wintervale, sibling of her betrothed, her mother’s guard captain, and Sienna’s first kiss.
As Sienna navigates the Yule season in Haven’s Hill, she searches desperately for a way out of the marriage while fighting her growing feelings for Amaias. But when those feelings bubble over, will Sienna and Amaias choose love…or duty?
✨ Final Thoughts
If the holiday season has you craving a little chaos and a lot of chemistry, this list has you covered. These WLW romances bring spice, tension, banter, and deeply satisfying emotional arcs — the perfect mix for long nights and glowing lights.
Want even more queer recs and cozy community vibes? Join us over in the Year of Queer Lit Discord, where we chat books, share chaos, and celebrate queer stories all season long.
And don’t forget to follow @YearOfQueerLit everywhere to keep up with our Queer & Cozy December series and all the recs still to come.
Next up: M/M Holiday Romance: Soft Boys, Chaos Goblins & Warm Lights, dropping Sunday.
Year of Queer Lit 
Leave a comment