The Thanksgiving holiday wouldn’t be complete without copious amounts of pumpkin pie, stretchy sweatpants, hot apple cider, and, of course, a cozy reading list. Whether you need a book for the long plane ride or something that will distract you from the chaos that’s ensuing in the kitchen, we found the best Thanksgiving books that play on all our favorite holiday tropes, including hometown crushes, family drama, and small-town traditions. Which title will you curl up with after the big feast?
RELATED: I'm a Book Editor and These Are the 10 Titles I'm Most Excited to Read This Fall.
1. You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
Penguin Random House
Touted as a modern retelling of When Harry Met Sally (the best fall movie, in our opinion), this slow-burn romance is about two nemeses who form an unlikely friendship amid a painful breakup. Their platonic relationship, packed with late-night phone calls, movie marathons, and city adventures, takes a complicated turn when they cross an unspoken line.
2. The Thanksgiving Hookup by J. Sterling
Inspire Magic
If enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity are two of your favorite romance tropes, then have we found the perfect holiday story for you! In this novella, a happy-go-lucky flight attendant and a pompous airline pilot get stuck spending Thanksgiving together after a threatening snowstorm derails their plans.
3. Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier
Kensington Books
A small town’s annual Turkey Trot 5K goes awry when a woman’s body is found dead in a nearby pond. With a killer on the loose, Lucy Stone won’t rest easy until every runner has crossed the finish line.
If you’re craving more cozy mysteries, check out Meier’s other Thanksgiving titles, including Turkey Day Murder and Gobble, Gobble Murder.
4. Stuffed by Jessica Gadziala
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
The rousing tension between a college student and her childhood crush reaches a boiling point when they’re seated at the same Thanksgiving table in this spicy romance novel. The only problem is that he is her brother’s best friend, which makes him explicitly off-limits, but as if that could stop them…
5. A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau
Jackie Lau Books
In this laugh-out-loud family drama, the Wong siblings travel back home for Thanksgiving only to discover that their parents and grandparents have invited three extra guests. No, scratch that—three blind dates for each of them. As if it couldn't get anymore awkward, Greg’s plus one happens to be his brother’s most recent fling.
