The Bright Side of Christmas by Morgan Elizabeth

Stats

Format: Paperback (plain edges)

Pages: 296

Published: October 23, 2025

Estimated spice: Smokin'

Goodreads rating: 3.9+

Fable rating: 3.5+

Publisher description

From #1 Amazon best-selling author of Tis the Season for Revenge comes a new steamy, small-town grumpy sunshine romance!

What to expect:

• Grumpy sunshine dynamic and banter
• Feuding neighbors
• She's the outgoing town sweetheart who helps everyone
• He's the grumpy songwriter who moved to the small town to disappear
• He hates Christmas, she's the head of the decorating committee

Wren King is the one person in town everyone can rely on: need someone to watch your kids? She's got it, you deserve a night off! Want a five dozen cookies for a bake sale? Call up Wren; she loves to bake. As the small town of Holly Ridge's sweetheart, she's always available to help, even if it leaves little time for herself along the way.

But this holiday season, it's ramped up to the next level. As her first year as the head of the decorating committee, a title she inherited after her grandmother passed away, she's determined to make it the best and brightest year Holly Ridge has ever seen. A bigger festival, decorations on every possible inch of town, and, of course, more lights. Who cares if she's tired and worn down? She can sleep in January. Christmas only comes but once a year, after all.

Adam Porter moved to Holly Ridge in search of peace and quiet. As a well-known songwriter with writer's block, he's hoping a sleepy small town will be the perfect place to find his inspiration and write again. The problem? He hates Christmas. This year, he's hoping to hide away in the small town, avoid Christmas completely, and write the next big hit by the New Year.

Unfortunately, when he tells his new next-door neighbor, Wren, that he has no plans to decorate his home and thus threatens to break a sixty-year tradition in the town, a battle of decor ensues. As the season progresses and Wren becomes increasingly determined, Adam remains steadfast in his conviction that nothing will make him enjoy the holidays.

Definitely not his sunshiny neighbor, who is convinced she has enough holiday cheer for the two of them.