That time o' the year...

Is it just me or has Christmas been coming earlier and earlier every year? Maybe it's because our office is in midtown--the center of New York's Christmas wonderland--but, for the past two weeks, we've been surrounded by Christmas trees and Christmas garlands and Christmas flashing lights and Christmas-decorated fancy windows and Christmas Salvation Army bell ringers and Christmas Tourists and everything else you could possibly associate with the holiday.

Not that I'm complaining (except about the tourists...I'm totally complaining about them) because I love this time of year. You want to know why? The Christmas books. I'm a sucker for all of those great books that come out around this time.

I love to curl up with romances about kisses under the mistletoe and in front of the beautifully decorated tree and with mysteries where the murderer is dressed as Santa. I look forward to the Christmas books all year.

I sometimes wonder if my love for these festively-themed books is a by-product of the fact that I don't actually celebrate the holiday myself...

My favorite Christmas book this year? Eloisa James' AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I absolutely love Eloisa's new Desperate Duchesses series and Poppy and Fletch are a hero and heroine that you will not be able to forget. Add a little holiday magic and you get one of the best books I've read in a very long time.

Do you have a favorite holiday romance??