Welcome to Xmas in July

Hello, faithful smut readers. It’s hot as balls here, and we’re dreaming of the cold. 

So we figured: why not spend the dog days of summer reading some delicious wintry smut? We’re looking for two people snowed-in at that cute lodge. We’re looking for snowshoeing. We’re looking for snowball fights, and red noses, and catching snowflakes on your tongue. We’re looking for snuggling together under a cozy blanket next to a roaring fire. We’re looking for sex on the rug in front of that same roaring fire. We’re looking for hot chocolate and hot toddies. 

While we’re calling this month of winter fun times “Xmas in July,” please note that we won’t just be reading Christmas romances. We’re especially looking forward to some wintertime reads that aren’t Holiday Specials—and to Holiday Specials that feature some *other* winter holidays. Like Hannukah. Or Valentine’s Day. Or Chinese New Year. (We’re also keeping an eye out for those books that put the XXX in Xmas, if ya know what I mean…)

But about Christmas. A few years ago, we had a discussion about Christmas Specials in particular, and why they don’t work for us. And maybe, just maybe, it’s because reading these stories about how the right decorations and some joy in your heart make everything better while you’re stressed out about visiting family and preparing a turkey and and and is just not helpful. So this is also an experiment. Maybe we’ll like these stories a lot more if we read them while we’re sweating by the pool and cleaning up popsicle messes and having watermelon seed spitting contests. (Yes, Holly still buys watermelons with seeds sometimes for precisely this purpose. And has some volunteer watermelon plants in her herb garden this year. Coincidence? Probably.) 

Want to join us in our summer reading adventure? Let us know about your favorite cold and wintry romance. Or pick one of the ones we’re reading, and read along with us! 

Here are some of the books that we’re hoping to get to this month:

• Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis
• Gifting Me to His Best Friend by Katee Robert
• The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs
• The Longest Night by E.E. Ottoman
• Winter’s Heat by Denise Domning (heyo, throwback medieval romance from the 1990s!)
• Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler