Ah winter, the best time to grab a cozy blanket, a warm cup of tea or coffee, and dive into a really good book. While I’m not a big fan of the cold weather winter brings, I do like to romanticize the season by reading books and watching TV shows set in winter. I’ve never really liked snow but I can still appreciate it on TV and in the books I read. If you’re like me and winter is not really your thing but you still want to make the most out of the season, the books in this post are perfect for you.
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So let’s jump into it, shall we?
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Veil of Winter by Melanie Dickerson
Deep in the snowy mountains of France, Princess Elyce is being forced to marry to form an alliance that will enslave her kingdom. In order to save her people and herself, she flees to Prague to beg King Wenceslaus to help her. Meanwhile, a young knight named Sir Gerard receives a vision from God that instructs him to find the princess and to help her on her quest. When their paths finally cross, he finds her on the brink of death, but manages to revive her. Now the two of them must brave the deadly elements of winter as their quest takes them through the mountains and into King Wenceslaus’ territory. But no one said the journey would be easy. Can Princess Elyce and Sir Gerard save her kingdom before it’s too late? You’ll just have to read this book and find out.
A Winter by the Sea by Julie Klassen
The next book is actually the second book in Julie Klassen’s On Devonshire Shores series. It follows the 3 Summers sisters as they are called to host in their home 3 male servants of the Duke and Duchess of Kent who are renting Woolbrook Cottage nearby. While one of the sisters (Emily) has ambitions of becoming a published author, a local publisher offers her a book deal if she can write a guidebook of their little village, Sidmouth. With the help of the Duke of Kent’s private secretary, Emily begins researching the area, but everything changes when a surprise visitor from her past shows up unexpectedly. Now Emily is faced with more choices than she ever dreamed.
This next book is set in cold, 1920s Alaska and it centers around a couple that struggle with infertility. Jack and Mabel long for a child and in a moment of much-needed levity they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone but they catch glimpses of a little girl with blonde hair darting through the trees. Named Faina, this child is unlike any other. She hunts with a red fox by her side and mysteriously survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel grow to love Faina as their own they begin to realize that maybe there’s more to Faina’s origin that meets the eye. This novel reminds me of the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green, so if you’re a fan of that film, you should also enjoy this book.
Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
This next book is for all the fairytale lovers out there. This beautifully illustrated book is about two sisters, Snow and Rose, who once lived in a beautiful house with servants and a gorgeous garden. Once they had a mom and dad who loved them with all of their hearts. Everything is good and everyone is happy . . . until their father goes missing into the woods and their mother disappears into her sorrow and grief. In an attempt to find their father and help their mother, the two sisters brave the enchanted forest that surrounds their home. Can they survive the strange spells that inhibit the forest and find their father before all is lost? While this book is technically for children, I think the illustrations and story are so beautiful that it’s definitely a book not to be missed.
Ivory and Bone & Obsidian and Stars by Julie Eshbaugh
Ok, so the next two books on this list are a duology set in the 10,000 BC time and while neither book takes place predominantly in winter, they are both two of the most atmospheric books you’ll ever read. They follow a 17 year old boy named Kol who has to hunt and gather to keep his family fed and safe. He’s content with this way of life . . . that is until a mysterious girl named Mya enters his camp from the south. As Kol gets to know Mya he learns of a feud that exists between Mya’s clan and a new clan that settles close to Kol’s camp. Can Kol help Mya discover the truth before a war breaks out between the clans? And will he ever truly gain her trust? The sequel takes an even darker turn so I highly recommend purchasing both books together, because this is a story you don’t want to miss.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This particular book captured my heart when I was a little girl but I still recommend it now because it’s perfect to curl up with in the winter. It’s about a little girl named Sara Crewe, who seemingly has it all. She has a father who loves her, a large fortune, and everyone’s love and adoration. But Sara’s world is completely changed when her father sends her to an all girls’ boarding school in England. At first Sara is accepted and easily makes friends and the headmistress, Miss Munchin, is more than thrilled to accept Captain Crewe’s generous donations to the school. But when Sara receives news that her father is dead and her fortune is gone, she’s forced to become a servant at the school in order to pay her debts. Filled with descriptive writing and beautiful illustrations, Sara’s story is sure to capture your heart the way it captured mine.
Landry Park & Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen
This next duology is a dystopian series that I like to think of as the Hunger Games meets Gone With the Wind. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I think winter is the perfect time to read it because of its cold atmosphere. The story follows 16 year old Madeline Landry and her family who live the glamorous life of the upper class. Her ancestor discovered a way to replace electricity with nuclear energy and now it’s the job of the lower class to make sure there’s enough nuclear energy harvested to run the elite’s houses – even if the job leads to deadly illness. When Madeline uncovers the danger the less fortunate are in because of the Gentry lifestyle, she begins to question everything she’s been told. With the help of mysterious David Dana, Madeline realizes that maybe what she’s been taught is wrong and maybe she’ll have to choose between what is right and what is comfortable. This second book picks up right where the first one leaves off. I really enjoyed this series because the author does an excellent job of making you stop and think.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
If you like the Dark Academia aesthetic, this is the book for you. Set at a New England university, we follow Richard Papen as he navigates college life far away from his dysfunctional family. When he surprisingly is chosen to join a reclusive professor’s classics class, life as he knows it is forever changed. He meets a group of clever (yet very strange) misfits and quickly becomes friends with them. But the closer Richard gets to this group the more he begins to see that people are not always as friendly as they appear. They’re hiding some very sinister secrets. And those secrets will be the end of everything Richard thought he knew. While this book does take place during winter the entire time, there’s a scene where Richard nearly freezes to death and let me just say – I still get cold when I think about it.
Anastasia’s Secret by Susanne Dunlap
In this historical reimagining of the Romanov family we meet Anastasia after she and her family have been exiled to Siberia to escape the revolution. With death on the horizon, Anastasia befriends and falls in love with a young guard named Sasha who promises to keep her family safe. But will Anastasia and Sasha’s love be enough for them to overcome the threats that the Romanov family face? I found this book to be very entertaining, sweet, and romantic. It’s not a historical account – it’s historical fiction and paints the picture of what could have happened. If you like to think that the princess Anastasia fell in love and got a “happily ever after,” this is the book you should pick up.
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What books do you like to read in the winter? Have you read any of the books on this list?
Verse of the Day: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
