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Winter is coming. Yeah, I said it. It is almost that time of year where more people begin to turn to books. The weather is either too cold and snowy or too wet to be outside. Activities become limited, so we will all be turning to books on the couch to pass the time.
Welcome to my life year-round!
If you aren’t an avid reader, it can be completely overwhelming to walk in a bookstore (while wearing a mask, of course) or peruse a website looking for a book. Never fear! I am here to help you with this list of perfect winter book recommendations!
Romance/Chick-Lit Winter Books
We Met In December by Rosie Curtis
Jess is almost thirty and decides to completely uproot her life by changing careers and moving to London. She moves in to a house with four other tenants and begins a friendship with Alex, a former lawyer who decided to go back to school to become a nurse. The two begin to take walks in London together, as Alex is helping Jess learn the city. The book follows them over the course of a year as they deal with career changes, financial woes, and dating fiascos.
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Laurie spots a man at the bus stop, and their eyes meet. It is love at first sight, but then Laurie’s bus drives away before the man can get on the bus to talk to her. Laurie is heartbroken and enlists her roommate and best friend, Sarah, in her quest to find the mysterious man from the bus. Several months later, Sarah wants Laurie to meet her boyfriend, Jack. Laurie is devastated when she realizes Jack is the man from the bus stop! The next ten years unfold as the tangled web between Laurie, Sarah, and Jack continues and they navigate life trying to find happiness.
Young Adult Winter Books
Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
Mira is on her way home to visit her mom for the holidays. She accepts a ride from a group of college students after her flight is canceled. As the drive continues, the road conditions worsen, and Mira soon realizes the group doesn’t actually know one another. Someone in the car wants the ride to end in deadly disaster.
The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube
Marianne’s life has been turned upside down. Her parents are divorcing, her mom has checked herself in to a hospital, and she is staying with her aunt during all of this chaos. Suddenly, strange and unexplainable things are happening around her. Someone or something is following Marianne, and she will go to extreme lengths to discover the truth.
Mystery/Thriller Winter Books
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Five strangers are stranded together at the rest stop in Colorado during a terrible blizzard. Darby is desperate to get home and goes outside to find a cell signal. What she finds sets off a chilling game of cat-and-mouse that take place over the next 12 hours.
Related: Book Review | No Exit by Taylor Adams
One by One by Ruth Ware
A company skiing retreat turns deadly as the party becomes stranded at their chalet after an avalanche. One by one, members of the group begin to die or disappear as conditions worsen outside with no sign of help coming for them.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Fiona is a journalist whose sister was killed when she was a teenager. Her sister was found on the property of the Idlewood Hall boarding school for girls. The school had long been closed, and Fiona discovers that someone has decided to reopen the school. Fiona decides to investigate why the school is being reopened and gets more than she bargained for when there is a mysterious discovery during the renovation of the school.
Related: Book Review | The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Horror Winter Books
The Shining by Stephen King
Jack Torrance accepts a job at the Overlook Hotel to give his family a fresh start. He will be the caretaker of the property during the harsh winter off-season. As winter goes on, the hotel begins to feel more isolated by the day, and Jack’s son, Danny, seems to be the only one who sees the horrifying things happening in the hotel.
The Terror by Dan Simmons
This chilling horror novel is loosely based on the 1845 Franklin Expedition, where two ships attempted to find the Northwest Passage. The two ships become stranded in the Arctic Circle and must abandon their ships to continue the voyage on foot. But something is lurking outside in the cold darkness.
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
In the small town of West Hall, Vermont, people often go missing without an explanation. In 1908 after the death of her daughter, Gertie, Sara Harrison Shea is found dead behind her house. Now Ruthie is living in Sara’s old house with her mother, Alice, who has gone missing. Ruthie discovers Sara’s diary in the house, and begins to wonder if history is repeating itself.
Fantasy Winter Books
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
In Vasilisa’s world, winter last a whole year and she gathers with her siblings around a fire each night to listen to her father’s fairytales. Her favorite story is about Frost, a blue eyed winter demon that most Russians fear. Vasya’s father remarries and brings home his new bride who is fiercely religious and forbids the family from honoring their household spirits. Soon, Vasya’s village is plagued with misfortune, and she must use her dangerous gifts to protect her family.
The Northern Ligths (or The Golden Compass) by Philip Pullman
Lyra’s friend Roger has been taken to the cold North where it is rumored an organization experiments on kidnapped children. The North is a place where witches and armored bears rules-and where Lyra’s uncle is building a bridge to a parallel universe.
Contemporary Winter Books
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Beartown is a small town obsessed with ice hockey, and the local junior ice hockey team has qualified for the semifinals. The town has put an enormous amount of pressure on the young athletes, believing that a win will restore the town to it’s former glory. But the tension leads to a violent act against a local teen girl, and soon the town is dividing over what and who to believe.
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
Irene’s life is turned upside down when she receives a call that her husband has been found dead. Before Irene can begin to process the news, she must first come to terms with the fact he was found on St. John Island, a tropical paradise far from their suburban neighborhood. Irene flies to St. John Island to investigate her husband’s mysterious death and is shocked to discover he had a secret family on the island.
I hope you found this list of winter book recommendations helpful! Let me know if you have read any of these (or plan to!) in the comments.
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