The Night Before Christmas

On the night before Christmas, Aria Smith believes she is living the life she built with love, sacrifice, and quiet resilience. Married for eight years, a devoted mother to her eight-year-old daughter, and the primary provider in her household, Aria has learned to carry responsibility with grace. Her marriage may not be glamorous, but it is steady—or so she thinks. One dinner. One toast. One familiar promise. That is all it takes for her world to feel complete. Until a single message dismantles everything. What begins as an anonymous warning becomes undeniable proof that her husband has been living a double life, one funded by her success, hidden behind her trust, and thriving in the shadows of her marriage. As the truth unfolds through videos, transactions, and names she has never heard before, Aria is forced to confront a devastating reality: the man she loved is a stranger, and the life she believed in was built on a lie. With Christmas morning approaching and her daughter watching closely, Aria must decide what comes next: silence or confrontation, survival or transformation. But as the night deepens, it becomes clear that this betrayal is only the beginning, and the choices she makes now will change everything. The Night Before Christmas is a gripping emotional drama about marriage, deception, and the moment a woman realises her strength was never in question, only delayed.

As Christmas drew near, my little sister claimed she’d seen Santa Claus in the house. “He had four legs, real long, like dead branches. He crawled on the floor like a dog. His mouth was full of teeth, and I saw him with my own eyes, climbing out of the chimney. His bones were making this clicking, clacking sound.” The Santa she described was nothing like the legends. My parents and I thought it was just her imagination. Until I posted about it online. A user named “NocturneNotes” insisted my sister wasn’t lying, and that the thing was dangerous. Panicked, I asked him what we should do. He gave me three rules: “On Christmas Eve, from 11:30 PM to 2:00 AM, the entire family must ‘sleep’ by the Christmas tree.” “You can’t actually fall asleep, or you’ll die in your sleep.” “No matter what you hear or feel, you absolutely cannot open your eyes or stop pretending to be asleep. Once it hits 2:00 AM, it will leave on its own.”

Can Christmas magic help her hear the music again? Melody Murphy shared her love of music with her father, but after tragically loosing him on Christmas Eve two years ago, she no longer has any interest in music or Christmas. She returns to her hometown of Charles Town, West Virginia, to help her mother save the family antique business, content to stay focused on her work. However, when a chance encounter with an adorable five-year-old leads her to befriend an attractive single dad, Melody begins to realize she's been putting her life on hold, something her father would've never wished for her. Will she learn to hear the song in the falling snow again? Reid has recently moved to Charles Town to start over after his wife walked out, leaving him alone to raise their son, Michael. When Michael decides he needs Melody Murphy in his life, Reid needs to find out what it is that has his son drawn to the young woman like a magnet. The closer he gets to Melody, the more he begins to believe he might get a second chance at love after all. This is a sweet contemporary romance with Christian themes, perfect for holiday reading.

Holly has always loved Christmas, but this year is different. As a school teacher, she’s worried about her students, her dad, and her entire town. All of them are poised for a terrible Christmas, and there’s nothing she can do about it. The only bright spot in her life is the mysterious man she meets at the holiday party. Nathan has always hated Christmas, but this year is different. As a billionaire, he’s excited about his new plans for his company, but as always, it’s all about the money. When he meets the bubbly woman who doesn’t care about his wealth, love blossoms under the mistletoe. It almost seems like magic. But their lives are more intertwined than either of them originally thought. It turns out that Nathan’s plan for the future of his company is the very thing that’s destroying Holly’s community. Holly begins to understand why everyone refers to Nathan as a Scrooge, and she thinks that the wonderful man she shared a passionate weekend with was nothing more than a lie. Will Nathan be able to prove that she saw the real him? Will Christmas magic prevail, or will their love vanish like a kiss under the mistletoe? NYT Bestseller Krista Lakes brings you this brand new heartwarming holiday romance. This standalone novel will convince you that love can make the magic of Christmas real.

On Christmas Eve, our three-year-old daughter, Noelle Gilder, who has cancer, takes a turn for the worse. All she wants is for her mother, Ivana Lance, to dress as Santarina and bring her a gift. I frantically call Ivana, but she impatiently yells into the phone, saying, "Why are you calling me nonstop? I am helping Charles look for Bubbles! Do you really have to make a scene over this? If Bubbles is gone, Charles will be so heartbroken that he will not be able to sleep for days!" Bubbles? So she was looking for the dog of her first love, Charles Larsson! Suppressing my anger, I tell her that Noelle might not survive the night. She laughs disbelievingly, "Mr. Gilder, do not think for a second that I'm not aware that you've spoiled Noelle rotten! If she had not suddenly kicked Bubbles, he would not have run away. Make Noelle apologize to Charles tomorrow." After hanging up, I accompany Noelle as she spends her final Christmas Eve with tears in my eyes. The next day, Ivana publishes a post on Instagram, still looking for the dog. Meanwhile, my post is Noelle's obituary. Ten years of marriage melt away into nothingness like snow.

It all started with two paper Christmas angels and the Company’s Christmas tree… These were Siel Camden’s only hope for her three-year-old twins to have a happy holiday. But when all her dreams fall apart because of a dreadful boss and an abusive ex-husband, someone else finds those paper angels and makes her children’s wishes come true. But is she ready to find out Vincent Reigel’s real reasons for fulfilling her kids’ Christmas wishes?