Since we have officially entered the month of December, I decided to make a post recommending some winter themed books. None of these are in any particular order.
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1. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
Wintersong is a book about Liesl who's heard tales of the Goblin King all her life and he's inspired many of her musical compositions. However, now that she's eighteen and helping to run her family's inn, her childhood dreams are slipping away. Then when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, she has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. This book revolves around winter a lot and it just reminds me of a cozy winter night.
2. Hunted by Meagan Spooner
Hunted is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the majority of the book is set in the winter time in Russia. This follows Yeva, the youngest of three sisters. She's a hunter, just like her father, and finds her calling in the woods. After losing his fortune, her father sells everything and moves them to a cabin in the woods. Soon, her father goes missing in the woods and Yeva sets her sights on the beast that she's been tracking just before his disappearance.
3. Carols and Chaos by Cindy Anstey
Carols and Chaos is a cute Christmas YA regency romance. This is a companion novel to Suitors and Sabotage but you don't have to read that one to understand this one. This is set in December 1817 where a houseparty is being hosted. Kate Darby is a lady's maid who is eager to welcome along with her mistress' guests, a valet named Matt Harlow. It is a super cute romance that includes many traditions that the characters participate in during Yuletide.
4. Winterspell by Claire Legrand
Winterspell is a retelling of The Nutcracker that was a lot darker than the original. This follows a teenage girl named Clara who lives in 1899 and then on Christmas Eve she gets transported to the magical world of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince named Nicholas (who is supposed to be the Nutcracker prince) who is under a curse. This book is set in a sort of wintery world and it's also set around Christmas which is why it made this list.
5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone is very atmospheric and I always think of winter when I look at it. Even the cover looks dark and reminds me of winter. Also the entire aesthetic of the book includes snow and dark colors which remind me of winter.
6. Stork by Wendy Delsol
Stork is about a girl who just moved from her home in Los Angeles to Minnesota and feels very out of place at her new school. Soon she finds out she's a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women with a very unique duty. She also meets Jack, a gorgeous farm boy and editor of the school paper and discovers that a secret from her past binds her fate to his. This has Norse lore, aspects of The Snow Queen, and Icelandic customs and is all set in a frozen midwest.
7. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking
Frostfire is about the Kanine which is a troll tribe. Bryn is an outcast among them as she is half Kanine (Earth troll) and then half Skojare (which is basically a water troll) and she is treated as inferior because she looks different. She wants to be a part of the King's Guard but all her plans are put on hold when someone begins kidnapping changelings and she's sent to stop him. This is on this list because it is set in a sort of winter wonderland.
8. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a retelling of A Christmas Carol and it's Christmas theme is the main reason it's on this list. It's about a girl named Holly who dies after she refuses to mend her ways and she is then stuck in the afterlife working for the super secret Project Scrooge as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past. Every year, they save another grouch and every year, Holly is stuck at the age of seventeen while her family and friends go on without her and she's miserable until this year. It's a cute and emotional book about the spirit of Christmas.
9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Bear and the Nightingale is an atmospheric fairytale set in Russia. This is about Vasilisa Petrovna who is the youngest child of a wealthy boyar and heir to ancient magic and she has lived with the burden of being able to see spirits and the creatures that surround and protect her town and people. When her father brings home a new bride who fears the spirits that Vasya can see and forbids Vasya from communicating with them and not long after, a young and arrogant priest is sent to her village and uses the rumors about demons to turn the people away from their old ways. Vasya tries to keep the magical protections in place from falling through and if that wasn't hard enough, the Winter King who lives in the woods wants her for himself. This is a very eery and atmospheric book set in the Russian wilderness which makes it the perfect wintery themed book.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to?
