Best Books to Read in Winter 2025
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.We’re big fans of reading books that coordinate with the season. It’s getting chilly out, which means we’re ready for snowy books set in winter.
- Best Winter Books to Read by Genre
- Contemporary Fiction Set in the Winter
- Winter-Themed Historical Fiction
- Snowy Magical Realism & Fantasy Novels
- Winter Romances & Rom Coms
- Winter Cozy Mysteries & Thrillers
- Love Reading Seasonally? Join this Challenge!
- Printable Version of this List
- Love Seasonal Reads? Try This!
We curated a list of winter-themed books for 2025, including everything from the best winter books for a book club to lighter novels perfect for a relaxing reading session by the fireplace.
While you’ll find some winter mystery and thriller books on this list, we also have a full list of Winter Thrillers if that’s what you have in mind!
Now, grab your hot cocoa and a warm, soft blanket, and get cozy with these winter novels!
Best Winter Books to Read by Genre
Contemporary Fiction Set in the Winter
Five Winters
Book Summary
This story is a glimpse into Beth’s life over five consecutive winters. She grew up as an extra member of her best friend’s family after losing her own family. Along the way, she fell in love with her friend’s older brother, Mark. However, during Mark’s wedding, Beth realizes she must stop dreaming of a life with Mark and take control of her own destiny.
At 35, Beth hopes to be a mother. The book follows the unexpected twists and turns in her life as she sets out to make that wish come true.
What to Expect in This Book
This book also includes some Christmas scenes, so skip it if you prefer a winter read with no holiday mentions.
A Week in Winter
Book Summary
This novel will transport you to the Western Irish coast, where the main character has decided to take over a castle and turn it into a guest house for those on holiday.
In the first half of this book, you’ll be beside Chicky as she tries to transform the cold castle into an inviting vacation spot. Once she is open for business, each chapter follows a different, often eccentric, guest through Chicky’s first week in business.
About the Author
Beloved Irish author Maeve Binchy is known for her warm-hearted books that make you feel like you know the characters and have been transported to Ireland. This is her final novel, completed shortly before she died in July 2012 and published posthumously later that year. It features all the classic Binchy trademarks, including being set in a small Irish town, centered on a coastal guesthouse, and full of intersecting stories, so it was a very fitting last book.
Beartown
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In the tiny community of Beartown, life revolves around hockey. It provides entertainment and hope for a better future. It’s a story about hockey, small-town life, and much more. When a shocking event occurs, the town quickly takes sides. Who will stand up for the truth, and who will put hockey above humanity? The themes are definitely relevant to the decade.
If you’ve already read Beartown and the sequel Us Against You, this is a great excuse to pick up the final book in the Trilogy, The Winners, which was published in September 2022. It’s set two years after Beartown, so it still sneaks into the 2010s.
Why You Should Pick This Book
Fredrik Backman has a gift with words, melodic phrasing, and unparalleled insight into human motivations. He writes characters that are so well-rounded that even if you disagree with their decisions, you understand what they were thinking. We both gave this one all the stars!
His books are generally best enjoyed at their slower pace, so while it’s often page-turning and you can’t wait to find out what happens next, he doesn’t rush you through the plot.
Bluebird Day
Book Summary
Armchair travel to Zermatt, Switzerland, for this cozy story about the healing of a mother-daughter relationship. Claudine and her daughter, Wiley, were a champion alpine ski duo until former Olympian Claudine had an accident.
This break was the perfect opportunity for Wiley to pursue the art career she had dreamt of, rather than the Olympic career her mom wanted for her. This decision not only led to the breakup of their time together on the slopes but also to the end of their entire relationship. They would both like to be on better terms, but it isn’t easy.
When Wylie’s boyfriend drops out of a fitness competition in Germany, she swallows her pride and asks her mom to be her partner. Claudine agrees, but on the condition that they stop in Switzerland on the way to handle some family business. While there, Mother Nature intervened, and the duo found themselves snowed into the village. An avalanche forces them to finally be honest with each other and confront their fractured relationship.
Thoughts On This Book
If you love reading about the personal growth of characters within a family drama, we think you’ll enjoy this one! And it definitely brings all the winter vibes as you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to Switzerland.
The Snowbirds
Book Summary
Midwestern couple Kim and Grant have been together for thirty years and are finding new challenges at this rocky phase in their relationship. The bitter cold isn’t helping, so they head to Palm Springs in hopes of escaping their problems.
They’ve booked a stay at Le Desert, a quirky and tight-knit condo community. While Kim quickly embraces new friends and adventures, Grant struggles in their new environment. When he disappears during a hike, Kim has to consider two possibilities. Is he really missing, or did he leave her on purpose?
What to Expect in This Book
We included this book on the list for those who, like the Grants, want to escape the cold this winter.
This book covers deeper topics than the fun cover implies, including suicide. If you love character-driven stories and don’t mind unlikable characters and some mystery in your contemporary fiction, this could be a great pick.
A Quiet Life
Book Summary
Chuck finds himself at a loss months after the death of his wife, Cat. How can he pack for their annual winter trip to Hilton Head alone? And what should he do with her favorite towel and her sketchbooks?
Elle delivers newspapers in the morning and works in a bridal shop in the afternoon, but her mind isn’t on either job as she awaits news about her missing daughter.
Kirsten had big plans for veterinary school, but after her father’s sudden death, she finds herself at a new crossroads.
Thoughts On This Book
This moving novel is told in three parallel narratives, which overlap in unexpected ways. All three characters are experiencing different forms of grief, but are pressing onward in life. Despite the book’s main theme of grief, it is described as infused with hope and as celebrating humanity.
Winter-Themed Historical Fiction
The Frozen River
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In the late 1700s, women were expected to be seen and not heard. But midwife Martha puts what is right over society’s expectations. When the Kennebec River freezes, a man is entombed in the ice. Martha is called to determine the cause of death.
Months earlier, the man had been accused of rape, and Martha believes he has now been murdered. But the local physician disagrees and declares the death an accident.
Over the winter, Martha continues to investigate every angle as the trial approaches. The diary she uses to log every birth and death becomes a key component and soon implicates those she loves, leaving Martha with an impossible decision.
Historical Context
This GMA Book Club Pick and NPR Book of the Year is based on the real diary of midwife Martha Ballard, who defied the legal system.
In Our Readers’ Words
Our readers voted this one of their favorite books of 2024. Here’s what two readers had to say:
“This was the most compelling mystery I’ve read in ages. The book covers several genres: historical fiction, mystery, and romance….what could be better? The characters were fascinating, maddening, good, and bad. The plot was complicated, and the suspense was palpable. I could not put this down until I reached the end. Based on the life of 18th-century midwife, Martha Ballard, this story touches on all the women’s rights issues we are still battling today. 5 stars!” -Linda R.
“Beautifully written historical fiction- I could visualize that river and the characters so vividly. It had a little bit of everything – murder, mystery, misogyny, good, evil, a beautiful love story, and an unforgettable midwife upon whom the story is based.” -MaryLou C.
The Magnolia Palace
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
99% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Lillian was one of the most sought-after artist models in New York City, with statues of her figure gracing famous landmarks throughout the city, from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. After losing her mother to the Spanish Flu outbreak, however, Lillian feels lost in the world.
Her work has mostly dried up, so when she’s offered a job as a personal secretary at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian is eager to accept the opportunity. Working closely with Helen Frick, daughter of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, pulls Lillian into a privileged world and a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that might prove life-or-death.
Five decades later, in the 1960s, Veronica, an English model, is working in the former Frick residence, which has since been converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. After being dismissed from a Vogue shoot, she finds herself snowed in at the mansion. When she and a young art curator stumble upon a series of hidden messages in the museum, they might discover the truth behind a decades-old murder.
Historical Inspiration
Fiona Davis based the character of Lillian Carter on the real-life figure model Audrey Munson. Munson, America’s “first supermodel,” was a famous early-20th-century artist’s model who earned the nickname “Miss Manhattan” because so many statues of her adorned the New York City skyline.
Today, Munson’s likeness still appears in at least a dozen major monuments around Manhattan, with many more smaller sculptures of her across the city. You can spot her on the Pulizer Fountain, atop the Manhattan Municipal Building, on the USS Maine Menorial in Columbus Circle, on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge, and in the pediment of the Frick Collection building. Davis has said she was fascinated by this real model who was everywhere in stone, and yet seemingly vanished from public memory.
Fun Fact: Book Girl Angela’s husband is a musical theater actor and has been helping to workshop a new musical about the life of Audrey Munson titled Miss Manhattan.
Blackberry Winter
Book Summary
In May 1933, Seattle was blanketed by a surprise late snow. When single mother Vera returns from her night shift at the local hotel, she discovers that her three-year-old son Daniel has disappeared into the icy weather. While his teddy bear is found on the streets, new snow has covered any other tracks or clues.
Nearly 80 years later, in 2010, another shocking May snowstorm hits Seattle. Reporter Claire is assigned to write about the parallels to the 1933 “Blackberry Winter” storm. When she uncovers the story of Daniel’s disappearance, she refocuses her story on his case. The book alternates perspectives between Vera in 1933 & Claire in 2010.
Why This Book Made the List
Although this dual-timeline novel is set in May 1933 and May 2010, we are including it on this winter reading list because late-season snowstorms drive the plot.
“Blackberry winter” is a folk term for an odd cold snap that happens late in the spring, usually right around the time blackberry bushes are blooming. So even though it’s supposed to be warming up, you suddenly get a few chilly days (sometimes frost), and people call it a “blackberry winter” because it lines up with the blackberry blossoms.
Book Summary
This novel is set in Norilsk, the northernmost city of Siberia, where the brutal weather mirrors the sacrifices of young Russian gymnasts competing for their country. When Anya was 8, she was selected for the famed USSR gymnastics program. Her father is thrilled, but she can’t share the news with her mother, who disappeared years earlier.
Anya’s only confidant is her neighbor, Vera, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her ten years in a Gulag camp. While Anya doesn’t know this, Vera was also her mom’s confidant and may be able to help solve the mystery of her disappearance.
Historical Context
The character of Elena is based on the real gymnast Elena Mukhina, who was paralyzed performing a now-banned move (the Thomas Salto).
Between Shades of Gray
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Lina is a typical 15-year-old Lithuanian girl who loves painting, drawing, and boys. But one night in 1941, Soviet officers burst into her home, tearing her family away from their comfortable life. She, her mother, and her brother are forced onto a train with no idea where they are headed.
Under Stalin’s orders, they are sent to a work camp under the cruelest and coldest conditions. Just getting to the camp requires crossing the Arctic Circle, but somehow, Lina finds comfort in her drawings. She depicts the scenes she witnesses daily in hopes that they’ll provide proof of all they are forced to endure.
Thoughts On This Book
This young adult novel deals with the very grim realities of a Gulag and will introduce you to a side of WWII that you’ve probably learned little about. Some readers didn’t enjoy the audio version of this book as much as the printed version.
The Children’s Blizzard
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Based on an actual event and oral history from the survivors, The Children’s Blizzard takes us to the 1888 Great Plains. Just before school was let out for the day, an unexpected and extreme blizzard overtook the Dakota Territory. That morning, it had been warm enough that most went to school without their coats.
Schoolteachers, often as young as 16, had the children’s lives in their hands and were forced to make life-altering decisions. Two of the teachers, sisters Raina and Gerda, came out of the storm with very different outcomes. One was a hero, and one was ostracized. The book tells their stories, along with the story of a young servant girl and her miraculous survival.
Thoughts On This Book
We had nearly 100 of our readers select this book for the Decades Reading Challenge last year. Common themes among the reviews were how well-researched and descriptive this novel is, and that it is heartbreaking yet hopeful.
Snow Falling on Cedars
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
When a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, a Japanese American is charged with his murder. Haunted by the memories of the Japanese internment camps during WWII, just a decade before, events during the trial make it clear that much more is at stake in this community than one man’s guilt or innocence.
Thoughts On This Book
This book is on the longer side at 460 pages, but some readers say it feels longer because it’s a slower-paced, descriptive read. This novel was also adapted into a 1999 film of the same title starring Ethan Hawke.
Snowy Magical Realism & Fantasy Novels
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
99% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In The Snow Child, you’ll be transported to remote 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel are nearing 50 when they decide to move to Alaska. As newcomers to the harsh environment, they struggle. Between the intense physical labor required and the even more extreme loneliness, they’re not sure they’ve made the right decision in moving.
Then, during the first snowfall of the year, they decide to have some fun and build a child out of snow. In the morning, the snow child is gone, but they see a young girl running through the trees with the items they had used to dress the snow child. Is she real, or are they hallucinating and dreaming of the child they’ve always wanted?
Why We Think You’ll Love It
Melissa thought the fairytale-like qualities of this book were phenomenal in both the writing and the storytelling. The book also fully transports you to the isolation of an Alaskan homestead, making the harshness of the environment and the preparation required to survive very clear.
If you enjoy historical fiction set in the late 1800s, To the Bright Edge of the World, also by Eowyn Ivey, would also be a good winter read. And if you like the Alaskan setting, check out our full list of books set in Alaska.
Once Upon a Wardrobe
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Promising physics student Megs is attending Oxford in 1950 and prefers facts to creativity. However, her beloved but critically ill, 8-year-old brother is obsessed with a world created in a book – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When he asks her to find out where Narnia came from, she can’t refuse his plea.
When she tracks down the Lewis brothers, who are also at Oxford, they graciously invite her for tea. While they fill her with stories she can pass along to her brother, she doesn’t understand why he won’t answer her most important question about the origins of Narnia.
Thoughts On This Book
While there are sad moments, this book is also described as filled with hope and warmth. Just what we all need on a cold winter night!
The Fox Wife
Book Summary
This enchanting tale is told through alternating narrators. Bao is an investigator, and Snow is a mysterious woman trying to avenge the death of her child.
Since childhood, Bao has been fascinated by fox gods, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. But they’ve always been out of his reach.
Then, he crosses paths with Snow, a creature of many secrets. In her quest to avenge her child’s death, she follows the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.
Thoughts On This Book
This would be a great choice for those who love the folklore elements.
Some struggle to get into the book initially because it’s a slow-paced read. However, they don’t regret sticking with it and feel the second half is faster-paced.
The Bear and the Nightingale
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
87% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Set in medieval times at the edge of the Russian Arctic wilderness, this magical fantasy tale draws on the history of Russian fairytales.
Vasilisa spends the long, cold winter nights around the fire with her siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales, and her favorite is that of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. The nurse teaches them to honor the spirits of the house, yard, and forest to protect their homes from evil.
When Vasilisa’s mom dies, her husband remarries a woman from Moscow who forbids the children from honoring the household spirits. Soon, signs of evil are all around – crops are failing, and misfortune strikes the village. Vasilisa must defy the people she loves and call on her hidden, dangerous gifts to protect her family from a threat as frightening as any in her nurse’s fairy tales.
The Book Girls Say…
This book specifically appeals to those who enjoy both folklore and the fantasy genre. Be sure to consult the glossary at the back of the book, which will help you follow the story.
Winter Romances & Rom Coms
The Favorites
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Katarina didn’t have the family support or funding usually required to make it to the Olympics, but she knew becoming an Olympic figure skater was her destiny. When she has an instant connection with Heath, who was in the foster system, their chemistry and determination make them a formidable duo on the ice. Skating is the perfect escape from their difficult lives. The childhood sweethearts turn into crowd-favorite champions in the cut-throat world of ice dancing.
Their story takes a terrible turn after a shocking incident at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ten years later, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Kat and Heath and promises to uncover the truth about their final skate. Kat initially wants nothing to do with the documentary, but more than that, she doesn’t want anyone else to tell her story. It’s finally time to share everything, and the truth may be even more shocking than her fans anticipate.
Reading Format Recommendation
We highly recommend the audio version of this book, as the story is told in interview format by a full cast, including real Olympian Johnny Weir. The excellent narration makes this page-turning story even more compelling.
Book Summary
Sebastian, a former boy band member, needs a ghostwriter for his memoir. The job comes with a penthouse at a luxurious resort in Vermont, so Alix jumps at the opportunity to escape her cramped apartment.
She’s also the perfect person for the job because, as a music journalist, she was the last person to interview the band’s lead singer before he disappeared.
As she digs through her client’s notes for the memoir, she also hopes to uncover the truth about the disappearance. However, she’s going to have some fun along the way as she begins ski lessons at the resort. Her instructor is the swoon-worthy Tyler, and soon they are connecting on and off the slopes.
Thoughts On This Book
Readers report this is a low spice book, so if you love romance without steamy scenes, this is for you!
Winter in Paradise
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Do you need an escape from the frigid temps without leaving the season? Head to the Caribbean with Irene. She received a shocking late-night phone call that her husband had been found dead on the island of St. John, far from their suburban life.
When she travels to St. John to figure out what happened to her husband, Irene discovers much more than she expected – including his entire double life.
About the Series
This is the first in a 3-book series, and it ends on a cliffhanger. All three have been released, so you won’t have to wait for publishing, but before picking it up, make sure you are prepared to read all three in order to reach a satisfying conclusion!
About the Setting
If you have Elin Hilderbrand’s books set in Nantucket as much as we do, consider heading to the Caribbean with her. She is a bit of a local celebrity on St. John. Within this story, she drops the names of many local business owners, bar dwellers, and locations that you may recognize if you’ve traveled to this US Virgin Island. Although, as she says in her author’s notes, some of these businesses did not survive Hurricane Irma.
The Little Swiss Ski Chalet
Book Summary
Mina is a food technician who believes that chocolate can solve any problem. And chocolate is exactly what she turns to when her latest relationship mishap goes viral. She packs her bags and runs away to her godmother’s Swiss chalet so that she can drown her sorrows in the best hot chocolate the world has to offer.
The one thing she’s definitely not looking for in Switzerland is romance. A run-in with a gorgeous, mysterious stranger on a train leaves her wanting more, but they don’t exchange info, and she expects she’ll never see him again…
About the Series
We’ve both read and enjoyed other books in Julie Caplin’s Romantic Escapes series. The books in the series stand alone with no need to read them in any particular order.
Other wintery titles in this series include The Little Cafe in Copenhagen, The Northern Lights Lodge, and A Little Place in Prague. You can also look forward to armchair traveling to many more destinations throughout the seasons, including Paris, Japan, Ireland, Croatia, and France.
Faux Beau
Book Summary
When Milly’s sister died, her wish was for Milly to start chasing happiness. This promise led her to accept a dare to kiss a stranger in a bar. Except the man picked doesn’t look like a stranger; he looks like Milly’s childhood crush. When the kiss turns into a one-night stand, Milly discovers that it isn’t Lucas after all. It was his notorious Playboy twin brother, Jaxon.
This is far from Jaxon’s first one-night stand, and he has plans for his normal quick exit, but then Milly’s parents appear. Before he can escape, Milly introduces him as Lucas and says he is her boyfriend! He’s horrified but then realizes he could use this arrangement for his benefit as well. If Milly helps plan the snowboarding competition he is supposed to be arranging, he will pretend to be her boyfriend until her parents leave town.
Thoughts On This Book
This one is spicy, funny, and sweet with a fast-paced format.
If you enjoy reading about snowboarding and skiing, you might also want to check out our Winter Olympics reading list.
Winter Cottage
Book Summary
If you’re looking for a light read, consider this cozy romance that will transport you right to winter in the Scottish Highlands. Rilla is not close to her father, but she still leaves her New England home to sort out his affairs in the little Scottish village of Applemore. Can the time at his cottage re-open her guarded heart?
Lachlan has been left a grand, but crumbling, estate and isn’t thrilled about it. He’s not sure why his sisters love it so much, and the battle over what to do with the house is sure to be intense. When old friend Rilla walks back into their life after 15 years away, the Highland winter begins to work its magic on everyone.
Winter Cozy Mysteries & Thrillers
An Age of Winters
Book Summary
The year 1625 is especially rough in the Franconian village of Eisbach. There has been disease, famine, heinous crimes, and now, a merciless winter. Rome has appointed Reverend Zacharias Engel to cure the village of suspected diabolism.
Before long, Zacharias finds his first witch, bringing a sense of more peace to the village. His maidservant, Katarin, is a commoner who becomes infatuated with him. However, she has a rival for his attention, a midwife named Margaretha. Before either can win him over, a great tragedy sets the town fully on edge.
Thoughts On This Book
While this historical fiction does include a murder mystery, some reviewers say it’s a slower read than they anticipated. It’s also pretty dark throughout, so don’t pick it up if you need something fast-paced or uplifting.
The Ocean in Winter
Book Summary
In coastal Massachusetts, a March storm is raging. Alex is alone in a farmhouse with no electricity when there is a knock on her door. She’s shocked to find her estranged younger sister, Riley, outside. How did Riley find Alex, and how did she make it through the impassable roads? And why did she disappear back into the night as mysteriously as she arrived?
Decades earlier, the sisters had a traumatic childhood, with Alex taking over the mother role of both Riley and Colleen at the young age of 11 after her mother’s suicide. Now, each sister has their own struggles, but Alex and Colleen are determined to find Riley and reconcile their past.
Thoughts On This Book
This book is very character-driven, meaning it’s a slower read without a page-turning plot. However, for those who love character-driven reads, we think you’ll enjoy this family drama, told from all three sisters’ points of view.
Book Summary
Theodora (Theo) met her wealthy fiancé only six months ago and instantly fell in love with him. Now, she’s headed to his family’s isolated lodge retreat, Idlewood, in hopes of winning over all his relatives after their whirlwind romance and engagement.
But there are some problems. First, she keeps getting texts telling her to stay away from Connor. Then, when they arrive at Idlewood, she has the strangest sensation that she’s been there before. This becomes impossible to ignore when she finds a photo of herself as a child, taken at Idlewood, in one of the cabins that isn’t normally used. Someone has a big secret, and Theo’s life is in danger as she tries to unravel a past that the family wants to keep hidden.
More Winter Thriller Recommendations
Don’t miss our entire list of thriller novels set in the winter, which contains another 20+ chilling options!
Love Reading Seasonally? Join this Challenge!
Our free three-prompt mini-reading challenge is perfect for anyone who enjoys reading seasonally. Each prompt comes with a list of recommended books for you to choose from, making it a fun and easy way to enhance your winter reading.
Printable Version of this List
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Love Seasonal Reads? Try This!
Our free mini-reading challenge is perfect for anyone who enjoys reading seasonally. Each prompt comes with a list of recommended books for you to choose from, making it a fun and easy way to enhance your winter reading.
Wonderful group of reads, many of which I have read and enjoyed.