Kissing for Christmas
Amy Mara
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: Nov. 5, 2026
Genre: Holiday Romance
He’s had his eye on his best friend’s younger sister since she moved back home and now she needs a fake boyfriend this Christmas.
Archer Lange, the general manager at Crystal Peak Resort in the quaint town of Winchester, Vermont, has thrown himself into work since his almost fiancé left him years ago.
Remi Sutton is his best friend’s younger sister and has been painfully single since moving back to their hometown. She’s been heading up the local chamber of commerce after hightailing it out of Boston when she caught her ex cheating last Christmas, marring the holiday she had always loved.
Now she needs a boyfriend for a holiday work project and he’s under pressure to boost ticket sales this Christmas. When Remi’s brother suggests that they be each other’s plus ones for the holidays, neither one of them imagines that their fake relationship could be more.
But, suddenly kissing under the mistletoe and getting snowed in for the night pushes them over the line into experiencing real feelings. Can kissing just for Christmas be more than fake?
My thoughts…
I really enjoyed this fake dating/holiday romance/best friend’s sister romance. This checked a lot of boxes for me as far as tropes go.
This book is told from both Archer and Remi’s points of view, so we get to see both of their inner thoughts as they navigate the fake dating arrangement. Remi thinks her brother’s best friend is a safe option when she’s presented with the obstacle of needing a “partner” for photo ops that a magazine is doing around town. What she doesn’t realize is that Archer has had a crush on her for a very long time. Watching Remi fail to pick up on Archer’s cues while Archer stresses over how to show his interest without freaking her out is what made this story so good. It was just so hard not to root for Archer as he tried to push boundaries while falling back on the excuse of “it’s for the magazine” whenever Remi got spooked.
Due to Remi’s past relationship, which was emotionally and verbally abusive, she has a lot of baggage. She second-guesses everything with Archer, right up until the very end. She slowly starts to trust him and open up to him, but you can tell that a lot of those past experiences are deeply ingrained in her. Watching her become more comfortable with Archer and confident enough to tell him when something makes her uncomfortable was really rewarding. I especially enjoyed seeing her grow more confident throughout the story.
This entire book is centered around Christmas. From hosting holiday events at the ski resort to the town’s tree lighting, there’s not a moment in this book when you forget it’s December. Between the small-town feel, the family bonds, and the budding romance, this was a solid holiday romance.
