Christmas Tree Farm energy: holiday romance books for a Myrtle Beach winter

Winter on the Grand Strand does not do snowdrifts. It does sea breeze, quiet beaches and, at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, candlelight. The garden’s holiday evenings, Nights of a Thousand Candles, are one of the most romantic dates on the coast, and Brookgreen says tickets are sold only through its website and its ticketing company, so plan ahead.

Brookgreen was founded by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, and it holds one of the largest collections of American sculpture in the world, according to the National Park Service. Picture those statues under thousands of small flames. That is “Christmas Tree Farm” energy, and these three holiday romance books bring it home.

Which holiday romance book is about fake dating?

All I Want for Christmas, by Maggie Knox, is the fake-dating holiday book with a soundtrack. Sadie and Max are country singers who cannot stand each other, both competing on a reality show called Starmaker. When duet week makes the fans go wild, the network tells them to stay a couple on stage and off, or go home, according to Penguin Random House.

The fans even ship them as #Saxie. Will the fake romance turn real by the Christmas finale? For a book about two country singers, the Swiftie pick is easy: “Our Song.”

Which holiday romance book is about a trip that changes everything?

A Holly Jolly Diwali, by Sonya Lalli, is for anyone who has ever booked a trip to fix their life. Niki Randhawa, 29, is a practical data analyst who gets laid off and says yes to a friend’s wedding in India. In Mumbai during Diwali, she meets Sam, a free-spirited musician from London, and the trip runs from the festival of lights to the beaches of Goa and ends on Christmas morning, according to Penguin Random House.

A musician from London who makes you rethink everything? The song is “London Boy.”

Which holiday romance book is about a second chance?

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, by Jenny Bayliss, is the cozy second-chance book. Nory Noel runs a secondhand bookshop in London. When two old school friends get married, the whole gang gathers at a castle in the English countryside, and Nory falls for Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has no patience for “snobby prep school kids,” according to Penguin Random House.

A reunion, an old enemy and a choice about what kind of love is worth the risk. Play “Back to December.”

Are these holiday romance books spicy?

These three holiday romance books are sweet and cozy rather than steamy. The fun is in the banter, the fake-dating rules and the slow realization that the person you were supposed to tolerate is the one you want under the mistletoe.

How do you plan a holiday romance night in Myrtle Beach?

Spend the afternoon with one of these books at your rental in Myrtle Beach, then drive south to Murrells Inlet for an evening at Brookgreen. Wear layers, because the coast gets cold after dark, and keep the book in your bag for the drive home. Read the last chapter that night, with the candles still in your eyes.

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