Best Books to Read in Winter 2025

Book Summary

Theodora (Theo) meet her wealthy fiance 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 text messages 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.

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, it is a struggle for them. Between the intense physical labor required and the even more extreme loneliness, they’re not sure they’ve made the right decision with the move.

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?

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 clients 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.

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 needs to stop dreaming about a life with Mark and take control of her destiny.

Beth is 35 during the first portion of the book, and she 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.

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 dreamt of instead of the Olympic career her mom wanted for her. This decision led to the breakup of not only their skiing time together, but 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 intervenes, and the duo finds themselves snowed into the village. An avalanche forces them to finally be honest with each other and confront their fractured relationship.

Book Summary

Lillian was one of the most sought-after artist models in New York City, with statues based on 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 to be 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 into 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.

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.

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?

Book Summary

The year of 1625 was especially rough in the Franconian village of Eisbach. There has been disease, famine, heinous crimes, and now, a merciless winter. Reverend Zacharias Engel has been appointed by Rome 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 is a commoner named Katarin, who finds herself 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.

Book Summary

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. A Week in Winter is her last novel. In it, she takes us 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.

Book Summary

In 1891, Butte, Montana, was a small copper mining town of Irish immigrants. The residents, including the main character Tom Rourke, enjoy many vices. He’s feeling unsure about his future when Polly arrives in town. She’s the new bride in an arranged marriage to the devout mining captain Long Anthony Harrington.

Polly quickly realizes her arranged marriage is not going to work, and just as quickly, an affair sparks with Tom. The duo heads west on a stolen horse, embracing their wild romance. However, they are being pursued by gunmen, and the choice they make next will haunt them forever.

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.

Book Summary

When a Vietnam POW returns home, he carries new anger and impulsiveness. Determined to stand by her husband, his wife agrees with his plan to move his family to Alaska to live off the grid. Soon after arriving, the harsh reality of rural Alaska sets in for 13-year-old Leni and her mom.

For a while, things were better with her dad as they spent the fall season preparing for their first Alaskan winter, but she feared his more balanced self was only temporary.

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.

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 has 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.

This is book #1 in 3 book series, which means it ends without a fully satisfying ending and you’ll have to keep reading. All three have been released, so you won’t have to wait for publishing, but we wanted to make sure you knew what you were in for!

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 the sudden death of her father, she finds herself at a new crossroads.

Book Summary

When Milliy’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.

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 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.

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 and her mother and 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.

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.

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 origin of Narnia.

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.

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 and dangerous gifts to protect her family from a threat as frightening as any in her nurse’s fairytales.