Not many books can bring me to my knees, but The Christmas You Found Me had me sobbing in the middle of the night the day before my birthday.

This is by far the most depressing Christmas  romance book I’ve ever read and I need you to read it.

🎄 Sienna’s divorce finalizes and her best friend posts an ad in the paper to celebrate: Husband for Hire. Intended as a joke, she mills around town as she gathers supplies for the ranch she runs and fields offers from her long-time neighbors. What she doesn’t expect is an applicant. In walks Guy, who is new to town and in desperate need of the benefits offered in the ad. His four year old daughter Emma is sick and needs a new kidney. He’s going to get bumped from the transplant list if he doesn’t prove stability and it’s difficult to be financially stable as a single father with a very sick child. Unfortunately, the ad was a joke…🎄

My favorite Christmas books don’t depend on the holiday. If you can grab the plot and place it in the spring, I will probably love it. Sarah Morgenthaler weaves together such a powerful story and sets it with a festive backdrop for us to enjoy.

Warning: this isn’t a fluffy romance (there are content warnings to alert you of this).

I fucking cried. Hard.

This is an amazingly crafted story about a woman who is trying to find herself after a divorce, a man who is willing to do anything for his daughter, and an amazingly strong child. It’s about hope, the holiday season, being grateful for the things you have, and loving the people around you.

I always read the acknowledgments. I grabbed tissues, cleaned my face, and was ready to read some stereotypical thank yous… the first few lines had me in tears again damn it. I find Sarah Morgenthaler’s strength to write a story after losing her husband incredible. 

I’ve had writers block since losing my first husband and it’ll be seven years next month. (I’m happily remarried and loving life again, but there are always hard days.)

Anyway, I highly recommend this book if you want to read something festive, but meaningful. Just grab some tissues.