Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Wintry Reads Perfect for Reading in Front of a Roaring Fire

op Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is a freebie so I thought it would be fun to revisit a post I did a few years ago about wintry reads perfect to cozy up with by the fireplace.  Reading snuggled up by the fire is one of my favorite things to do in the winter time and although any book will do, there’s just something a little magical about reading a book that’s actually set during the winter, particularly if it’s a snowy setting.  Here’s a link to my original post and below are some mostly newer titles to add to it. I tried to add a pretty good variety of genres so hopefully there’s a little something for everyone. 🙂

10 Wintry Reads Perfect to Read in Front of a Roaring Fire

1. ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware How about a murder mystery set in the mountains of France in a remote ski chalet that becomes buried by an avalanche? “Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?”

2. BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman  – A hockey story set in a small town in Sweden that packs an incredible emotional punch. “People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain.”

3. A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT by Sarah J. Maas – A festive interlude in the ACOTAR fantasy series that celebrates the Winter Solstice.  “Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and, with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated—scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court. Narrated by Feyre and Rhysand, this wondrous tale of hope and promise picks up after A Court of Wings and Ruin and sets the stage for the thrilling events in the future books..“

4. MIRACLE ON 5TH AVENUE by Sarah Morgan  – “It will take a Christmas miracle for two very different souls to find each other in this perfectly festive fairy tale of New York! Hopeless romantic Eva Jordan loves everything about Christmas. She might be spending the holidays alone this year, but when she’s given an opportunity to house-sit a spectacular penthouse on Fifth Avenue, she leaps at the chance. What better place to celebrate than in snow-kissed Manhattan? What she didn’t expect was to find the penthouse still occupied by its gorgeous—and mysterious—owner. Bestselling crime writer Lucas Blade is having the nightmare before Christmas. With a deadline and the anniversary of his wife’s death looming, he’s isolated himself in his penthouse with only his grief for company. He wants no interruptions, no decorations and he certainly doesn’t appreciate being distracted by his beautiful, bubbly new housekeeper. But when the blizzard of the century leaves Eva snowbound in his apartment, Lucas starts to open up to the magic she brings…This Christmas, is Lucas finally ready to trust that happily-ever-afters do exist?”

5. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Agatha Christie  – Although Ruth Ware does a great job writing locked door mysteries, Agatha Christie is truly the Queen of them.  This one features a murder mystery set on a luxury train that is stalled on the tracks because of an avalanche.  What do you do when you’re stuck on a stranded train in the middle of nowhere with a killer in your midst?

6. LOVE AND LET BARK by Alanna Martin  – I actually just reviewed this book on my blog yesterday.  It’s a feel good, second chance romance that is set in snowy Alaska and that also feature a century-old family feud and a couple of scene-stealing adorable husky pups.

7. THE SECRET OF SNOW by Viola Shipman  – “A promise of heartfelt family traditions, humorously real experience, and the enduring power of love and friendship. Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist who knows only sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is being replaced by an AI meteorologist, which the youthful station manager reasons “will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract.” The only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is one in a famously nontropical place—her northern Michigan hometown.  Unearthing her carefully laid California roots, Sonny returns home and reacclimates to the painfully long, dark winters dominated by a Michigan phenomenon known as lake-effect snow. But beyond the complete physical shock to her system, she’s also forced to confront her past: her new boss, a former journalism classmate and mortal frenemy; more keenly, the death of a younger sister who loved the snow; and the mother who caused Sonny to leave. To distract herself from the unwelcome memories, Sonny decides to throw herself headfirst into all things winter to woo viewers and reclaim her success. From sledding and ice fishing to skiing and winter festivals, the merrymaking culminates with the town’s famed Winter Ice Sculpture Contest. Running the events is a widowed father and chamber of commerce director, whose genuine love of Michigan, winter and Sonny just might thaw her heart and restart her life in a way she never could have predicted.”

8. THE SIMPLE WILD by K.A. Tucker  – I was late to the party on this contemporary romance, but The Simple Wild (and the other two books in the series) definitely live up to the hype. There’s a very atmospheric remote small town Alaska setting and the book is filled with evolving relationships, especially Calla and Jonah as well as Calla and her estranged father. It’s the perfect blend of romance and family drama to keep you glued to the pages.

9. WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah  – If you like a good tearjerker, Hannah’s books are always good choices.  The Great Alone made my list last time, so this time it’s Winter Garden, “a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past.  Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.“

10. IN THE MIDST OF WINTER by Isabel Allende  – “In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident—which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster—a 60-year-old human rights scholar—hits the car of Evelyn Ortega—a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala—in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor’s house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz—a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile—for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia.”

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Question:  Do you enjoy reading by the fire?  Have you read any of these yet?