Reading with a Side of Life

(Because nothing pairs better with holiday chaos than fictional chaos.)

If you’ve ever stared at your overflowing TBR stack and thought, “Yes-I know I have all of these books to read… but which of these books screams ‘family dysfunction and pie to get me in the Thanksgiving mood?” — congratulations, babe. You’ve arrived at the BookTok Thanksgiving Hit List, where we’re serving up 22 delicious, drama-stuffed, seasonally spicy stories perfect for your cozy fall reading binges.

Most of these books are novella’s which is perfect while everyone is watching football or arguing over politics over the dinner table. These books have been trending, talked about, thirsted over, or memed into immortality on BookTok — and they all give Thanksgiving energy one way or another. Some literally take place during the holiday. Others just radiate “I will fight my whole family at dinner” vibes.

Warm up the oven. Chill the wine. Open a book.
Let’s feast.

1. Penelope in Retrograde- Brooke Abrams

Big Three Energy: Astrology chaos • Holiday homecoming • Slow-burn swoon

Let’s start with my number one Thanksgiving recommendation. The book I’ve been screaming about since the moment I finished it. This rom-com is pure “your life is in Mercury’s microwave” energy. I do not quite know what makes this book live rent free in my head, but it does! I think it must be the Smut Coven or the granny growing Mary Jane out back. Who knows? And I also do not know why this is not on every Thanksgiving list that I pondered on BookTok.

Penelope Banks returns home for Thanksgiving, where she must face her perfectionist family, rekindle old dreams, and deal with the universe lovingly throwing bricks at her by her sister and her sister’s wife that tries to support but not get in between the chaos. This book has a wonderful self-reinvention arc, the fake-dating cameo, the cozy-but-chaotic family scenes, and an audiobook performance so good I snort-laughed on a plane. It’s heartfelt, funny, and as comforting as mashed potatoes with extra butter.

2. Maple Sugar Crush- Beth LaBonte

Vibes: Wholesome • Small town • Cozy holiday romance

Set in a Hallmark-ready New England town, this MFC is the side character from Pumpkin Everything who gets her moment to shine — and oh does she sparkle. I love a queen being discovered coming into her own. After winning the lottery and getting very icked-out by how people treat her, she retreats home to find normalcy again. but THENNNNN– this douche canoe who she is with for TWO YEARS ends up betraying her in the most messed up way.

This one is pure “heartwarming Thanksgiving movie” energy:

• community dinner
• cautious new romance
• healing from betrayal
• small-town charm that smells like maple syrup and cinnamon

You will want hot cider after this…maybe with a bit of rum.

3. Pumpkin Everything- Beth LaBonte

Vibes: Autumncore • Small-town rekindling • Cinnamon & nostalgia

Before Maple Sugar Crush, there was this MFC returning to her hometown to care for her pumpkin-obsessed grandfather. It’s packed with nostalgia, second-chance romance, and the wholesome fall feelings that BookTok devours every fall. While not strictly Thanksgiving-centered, it’s required reading for the seasonal girlies. I put this one in for the pumpkin spice latte girlies who just crave those fall vibes. I personally do not like pumpkin but I love those who love what they love. And you will love this cute book.

4. Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance- Jessica Gadziala

Vibes: Feel-good spice • Short & addicting • Brother’s-best-friend romance

If you want your Thanksgiving reads with a side of spice, here’s your appetizer. It’s a quick, funny, swoony story about Callie, the MFC, returning home after six years and accidentally falling into something both steamy and sweet with her brother’s best friend.

Readers call it:

“Cute, cozy, and just spicy enough to make you glad your family isn’t reading over your shoulder.”

and why? Quote:

“I felt his fingertips glide over my cheekbone then down my neck as he tucked my hair behind my ear. “Don’t give you something you’ve been thinking about since you were a teenage?”

(guess what he gives her;D) and this was just a milder….taste.

Perfect for an afternoon binge.

5. You Can Thank Me Later- Kelly Harms

Vibes: Tender • Reflective • Grief, healing & holiday warmth

This novella explores the complicated, bittersweet emotions of grieving a best friend 15 years later. Do not be fooled by this sweet cover because I wanted an audiobook that I thought would be full of Thanksgiving fun and boy was I…so not ready for this book. Through Thanksgiving traditions, one woman and the two brothers she’s connected to begin to unravel their shared past.

It’s short, emotional, and ideal for readers who prefer their holiday stories with depth and quiet healing instead of chaos and comedy.

6. Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice — Becky Monson

Vibes: 2000’s rom-com movie meets Gilmore Girls • Adorable chaos • Light & cozy

A certified BookTok comfort read. It’s small-town, sweet-but-sassy, and full of fall charm. Think cozy sweaters, pumpkin patches, and a heroine who keeps stumbling into mishaps with heart and humor. A perfect mix of feel-good romance + small-town gossip. This book doesn’t have the spice that some of the other Thanksgiving reads contain but just like a Thanksgiving table-this book is placed on this list because there has to be a side dish for everyone sitting at the table.

7. Boyfriend — Sarina Bowen

Vibes: Fake dating • Hockey romance • Thanksgiving awkwardness

This book offers a MMC that of course is a Hockey star who tends to offers to be a fake boyfriend for Thanksgiving to random women so he doesn’t have to go home. And in true rom-com fashion, he ends up becoming the emergency date for the waitress he’s been crushing on. Before long, they’re doing the holiday two-step:

• Her Thanksgiving
• His Christmas
• Secret mutual pining the whole time

Soft, spicy, and full of “we’re pretending but we’re terrible at pretending.” This one also makes you wish to get sick just to see if your surprised in the same way as he surprises her.

8. A Match Made for Thanksgiving — Jackie Lau

Vibes: Enemies-to-lovers • Holiday matchmaking • Family meddling

This novella is fun, flirty, and perfectly seasonal. Set over Canadian Thanksgiving (same vibes, sweeter pastries), two opposites get shoved together by their matchmaking families and experience the chef’s kiss of holiday chemistry.

Funny, fast-paced, and perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey or Jasmine Guillory.

9. Sweet Tea Witches: Southern Magic Thanksgiving — Amy Boyles

Vibes: Witchy • Cozy mystery • 2000’s sitcom energy

If you want something festive without the romance, this is pure magical comfort. Southern charm, family spells, magical hijinks, and a Thanksgiving-themed paranormal mystery..thriller? The actual genre is also questionable but either way in these books someone is always dead in these books and the witches have to solve the murder. The narrator doesn’t make me cringe from her Southern accent-so that is something to give this book props too.

Bring the sweet tea and your pointy hat.

10. The Corrections — Jonathan Franzen

Vibes: Literary • Dysfunctional family • Dark humor

This is the pinnacle of “my family needs therapy” Thanksgiving fiction. This book follows three adult siblings returning home for a holiday dinner full of tension, regret, and emotional warfare. I couldn’t tell if these siblings loved, once loved but no longer love, or always hated each other. I have found that male readers tend to relate and like this book more than female readers but I think it is just more of a masculine voice used. I found it very entertaining personally. I think Oprah liked this one as well-so take it for what it is.

• Unlikable characters? Yes.
• Deep themes? Absolutely.
• Will you feel seen in uncomfortable ways? Probably.

If you want something heavier and brilliantly written, this is your turkey-day trauma pick.

11. The Night We Lost Him — Laura Dave

Vibes: Mystery • Family secrets • Slow-burning tension

This is an holiday-adjacent emotional mystery…or thriller? Not quite sure why sometimes I find it under the “thriller category” but either way. After their father’s death, estranged siblings Nora and Sam start uncovering pieces of a life they didn’t know he lived. Their is guilt is real and you really get the feeling that maybe out children will actually never know who we are as parents?

I did like that the POV came from the father’s point of view verses jut the kids with the dad looking back as a weird-ass time traveling ghost (not actually but the dad is dead so how are we hearing his story?)

So dual timelines, layered secrets, and the aching realization that we don’t always know the people closest to us.

12. The Accidental Tourist — Anne Tyler

Vibes: Literary comfort • Quiet melancholy • Reflective holiday moments

Beloved by BookTok (not sure why TBH) and book clubs alike, this is a warm, introspective, slow-moving novel about grief, rediscovery, and unexpected love. This book was on every single Thanksgiving TBR list that I was able to find while researching holiday read’s and… I had get the audio book because I was falling asleep trying to read the book. Then I had to listen to the book at an exhilarated speed. It was just interesting enough to continue to read but not enough to not finish. I just could not relate to the over thinking emotionally stunted characters and all the women seem….odd in a way I can not explain.

Even if it’s not your favorite read, it’s undeniably a Thanksgiving classic because it is on every list I found and loved on Goodreads.

13. A Perfect Stuffing — Danielle Allen

Vibes: Friendsgiving • Meet-cute • College reunion

Short, sweet, and heartwarming, this novella follows a college grad returning home for Friendsgiving and she just happens to meet a hottie while doing a pit stop before meeting up with her friends. Then low-and-behold the hottie is also invited to dinner. *silent screams into the pantry while looking for the mac-n-cheese* I love a good book that has the MFC unexpectedly stumbling into a romance that feels like comfort food.

Perfect for readers who love friends-to-lovers with a seasonal twist.

14. Feast — Tanzania Glover

Vibes: Dark romance • Emotional intensity • Healing & connection

Content warnings apply with this baddie.
Our MFC grew up in the system and has been through it. She was placed with her best friend who became her lifeline, and fell for her twin brother in a slow-burn, off-limits way that follows them into adulthood. It’s raw, heartfelt, steamy, and powerful. The audiobook narrator? Phenomenal. I also love how this book is written in verbiage that sounds like it comes out of my own mouth.

Not a traditional Thanksgiving read — but the emotional honesty fits the holiday perfectly. And the amount of tupperware needed for this feast is…fitting.

15. Stuffed — Cassie Donoghue

Vibes: Extremely short • Extremely spicy • No backstory, just vibes

If you want a five-minute Thanksgiving smut snack, this is it. That’s the whole description. It’s chaotic and unapologetically spicy. There is not much else I can say about this book without giving away any spoilers but I can promise you that I am smiling and laughing maniacally the inside suggesting this book.

BookTok girlies read it “for holiday meal inspiration.”

16. Full Sack — Layla Fae

Vibes: Monster-ish romance • Thanksgiving with… surprises • Unhinged (in the best way)

Featuring:

• Raccoon shifter…you must read to really understand this sentence
• A heroine whose cat ate the turkey
• A family Thanksgiving full of absurdity
• He has magical balls and… creative holiday outcomes

This is not your grandmother’s holiday romance — but it is unforgettable. I could absolutely not stop laughing. It is a short read but one of the most memorable reads that I read getting ready for this Thanksgiving list.

17. Home for the Holidays — Lee Jacquot

Vibes: Taboo • Step-siblings • Forced proximity • Dual POV

Okay..so trigger warning may be needed for this one as well. The FMC and the MMC both had had crushes on each other in high school, but then they became step-siblings when their parents married, then were torn apart again after the divorce. Now, stuck together over the holiday season, all that tension has feelings written all over it. If you don’t like the step-…anything trope then this book is NOT for you. But if your a little morally gray…this may be your book of choice.

Kinky, emotional, and very BookTok novella-approved.

18. Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth

Vibes: Revenge-Turn-to-Love• Latino-Heat• Holiday Hijinks

If your holiday season needs a little petty, a little spicy, and a LOT of “I am reclaiming my power,” but also makes you think…”does that really make sense?”well-you may want to pick up this surprisingly spicy read. Don’t let the cartoon cover fool ya. After a brutal Halloween breakup by a total a-hole our MFC decides there is only one reasonable solution:

Date her ex’s boss.

Not just any boss — the powerful, intimidating, grumpy-in-a-suit attorney that her now-ex despises. One bestie loves the idea. The other not-so-much. This book was much spicier than I thought it would be but, it was quite pleasant to read. I was not totally in love with the FMC but I also think that maybe the MMC was far too forgiving for her…emotional intelligence. Its technically a Christmas book but the Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s chaotic house totally qualifies this book.

19. Her Naughty Holiday — Tiffany Reisz

Vibes: Hot Older Daddy• Body Acceptance• Teenage Wiccan Intelligence

If Thanksgiving with your family requires emotional armor, a flask, and a fake date to survive… this one will speak to your SOUL.

This book is a smart, funny, and gloriously spicy novella about the FMC damn near botanist, who is dreading a judgment-packed holiday with her overbearing relatives who really are complete jerks. Enter the MMC, the sexy single dad of her favorite teen-age employee who agrees to pose as her fake boyfriend — and suddenly Thanksgiving goes from “please make it stop” to “oh hello, blessings.”

• Actually funny, not “rom-com trying too hard” funny.
• Fake dating + forced proximity + holiday tension = chef’s kiss.
• Eric (the MMC) is the kind of hero BookTok calls: “Dad of the Year, Zaddy of the Season.”

A quick, steamy, comfort-read perfect for sneaking between courses or hiding from your aunt who wants to know why you’re still single.

20. Thankful for Her — Alexa Riley

Vibes: Possessive Hero• Instant Obsession• Cozy holiday vibes with just enough plot to hold the spice

If you want something short, sweet, and unapologetically filthy? This book delivers due to the zero-angst and maximum-spice Thanksgiving novella. It’s one of those “I know exactly what I’m here for” reads — fast, fun, and designed to be consumed faster than pumpkin pie. BookTok calls it a guilty-pleasure holiday staple, especially for romance readers who want heat without heart

21. Imperfect Chemistry — Mary Frame

Vibes: Meet-Cute Nerd Love• Quirky-Awkward FMC• Forced Proximity Attraction

Looking for a Thanksgiving read that’s quirky, funny, and low-key heartfelt? This read gives cozy academia + sunshine nerd romance + emotional growth, all wrapped in a warm fall vibe. Our amazing MFC that is a socially awkward genius who starts studying emotions like a science experiment. Unfortunately for her, emotions get messy — especially when the MMC, her next-door neighbor, becomes part of her research.

BookTok readers adore its sweetness, banter, and neurodivergent-coded main character who feels comforting and relatable. YYAASSS please.

22. Apples Should Be Red — Penny Watson

Vibes: Late-in-Life Romance• Hidden Gem• Taking Back the Power

A cozy-quirky Thanksgiving romance? At just over 100 pages, this one holiday novella with:

• grumpy x grumpy instead of grumpy x sunshine
• a feisty widow + a grouchy, set-in-his-ways hero
• cooking, bickering, bonding, and a surprisingly emotional undercurrent

This is the: Thanksgiving rom-com your grandma would love — but also you, because it’s cute AF.

It’s charming, funny, and quietly life-affirming. A perfect palate cleanser between heavier reads

Final Bite: Which Thanksgiving Read Is Your Flavor?

Whether you’re craving romance, chaos, nostalgia, spice, or straight-up literary trauma, these 22 BookTok Thanksgiving hits will absolutely season your November with drama, comfort, and a whole lot of cozy chaos.

See you next time! Happy Thanksgiving!!