'Tis the Season of the Frazzled Woman

Cameron CapelloDecember 5, 2023

With December quickly approaching, I am desperate to begin watching my annual Christmas movies. “Love, Actually.” “Bridget Jones Diary.”“Little Women.”“The Holiday.” As I gathered my list of the best Christmas romance movies of all time, there seemed to be a trend between the titles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3mJrSA1x5s

What unites these films?

Each featured an eccentric (usually British) woman who wears colorful scarves, a worn-out duster coat, and the most outrageous hats you’ve ever seen. They are always late, out of breath, and can’t help but say the wrong thing all the time. Looking back, perhaps it was comforting to see women who didn’t have anything together be the heroine of the story. It didn’t matter that they spilled their coffee down their blouse, cursed in front of the Prime Minister, or ran their fingers through their crush’s hair. They persevered!

Books with a frazzled woman vibe

It only seems fitting that I recommend some books with the same vibe in honor of the frazzled woman.

“Snowed In” by Catherine Walsh

A swoonworthy and utterly gorgeous romantic comedy about two people who keep running into each other at a Dublin bar and eventually make a pact to see them through the holiday season: They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other ever.

“Kiss Her Once For Me” by Alison Cochrun

A queer holiday rom-com that’s perfected the fake dating trope. Elle is down-on-her-luck when suddenly the landlord of the coffee shop she works at proposes a marriage of convenience for him to get his inheritance. She’llget a load of cash for playing her part. However, when she goes home with him for the holidays, she soon discovers his sister is the mystery woman she fell for last Christmas Eve.

“Wreck the Halls” by Tessa Bailey

Would it be a true Christmas romance list if I didn’t include Tessa Bailey? I’ve mentioned “Window Shopping” before, but am so excited about her newest book, “Wreck the Halls,” featuring the adult children of two former rock stars who team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert. They’re enemies. They’re potentially lovers. A decade-long scandal stands in between them. But will this one last hurrah be enough to bring them together at last? type: embedded-entry-inline id: 3Cj1jkuJy6YfZ0PkdiHPn9

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