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6 min read
With winter in full swing and freezing temperatures keeping us inside, take some time for yourself and curl up with one of these engrossing, cosy winter reads
We’re in the depths of winter, Christmas is around the corner, and you’re not sure if the evenings are ever going to be light again. You’ve already pushed all of your meetings into the new year, and your mind is on the 100 things you’ve still yet to do, like wrap presents and do the dreaded Christmas food shop.
The festive period can undoubtedly be the most socially demanding of all, so it’s important to take a moment’s peace for ourselves. This season is perfect for grabbing your favourite hot drink (a white hot chocolate, please), curling up in your comfiest seat and picking up a cosy book that’ll keep you turning the page.
There’s something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a novel full of festive charm, a plot-twisting thriller or one of the classics. These are our favourite books to snuggle up with over the festive season that deserve to jump to the top of your to-be-read pile.
The Echoes Of Us by Emma Steele
Robbie and Jenn reunite after eight months apart, but this time it’s forever. On their way home, a truck hits their car and Robbie sees life flash before his eyes, but it’s not his life – it’s Jenn’s. As a spectator of her most important moments, Robbie discovers more than he bargained for and needs to find a way to change the present to save their future.
This is a beautifully written, epic love story for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Shop The Echoes Of Us by Emma Steele on Bookshop.org, £18.99
The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan
Set at the Maple Sugar Inn, three friends reunite for their annual book club holiday. Hattie, the inn’s owner and a single mother, is determined to give her guests the perfect holiday this Christmas. As she gets closer to the group of women and their book club, she realises that they’re keeping secrets from one another and soon enough, her story intertwines with theirs.
Sarah Morgan is truly the queen of cosy Christmas books, and this is a charming read with beautifully festive settings and an important story about friendships.
Shop The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan at Bookshop.org, £9.99
The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Winter lasts most of the year in the Russian wilderness. Vasya spends nights around the fire listening to stories of folklore that teach her to honour the spirits that protect her home from evil, but she knows these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the spirits that guard her home and must defy everyone to protect her family from a threat that’s stepped right out of a frightening fairytale.
The first instalment of The Winternight Trilogy is a truly captivating story for lovers of fantasy and historical fiction.
Shop The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden at Bookshop.org, £9.99
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Adam and Amelia win a mystery weekend away in cold, snowy Scotland, and it’s just what their marriage needs. As is tradition, each anniversary they exchange gifts – paper, cotton, tin – and Adam’s wife writes a letter that her husband isn’t allowed to read… until now. A secluded chapel, a snowstorm and a web of lies unfurl as they realise winning this holiday wasn’t random at all.
The perfect story for crime and suspense lovers, this is a page-turner with a killer twist you won’t see coming.
Shop Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney at Bookshop.org, £9.99
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary
It’s Christmas, the Forest Manor Hotel is falling apart and Izzy and Lucas are the only two people who can save it. There’s just one problem… they’re bitter enemies. Their rivalry quickly becomes complicated as they work to save the hotel, their jobs and even their hearts.
A great book for fans of enemies-to-lovers romances with laugh-out-loud moments and Love Actually references aplenty.
Shop The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary at Bookshop.org, £9.99
A Christmas Carol And Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. But it all changes as he’s visited by the ghost of his long-dead business partner, followed by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Scrooge must change his ways before it’s too late.
With countless remakes on the screen, it’s no surprise this story made the cut, and nothing beats reading the classic morality tale. This edition even features extra material on A Christmas Carol and more.
Shop A Christmas Carol And Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens at Bookshop.org, £16.99
How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
A senior citizens social club, the daycare next door, a teenage father and a geriatric dog all collide in this tale of the unexpected as they strive to save their beloved community centre building from being sold, all with some strange and unconventional ideas that might work as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.
Although this isn’t a typical winter read, Pooley’s stories are filled with such joy and warmth. This is an unforgettable story with loveable characters you truly won’t want to leave behind.
Shop How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley at Bookshop.org, £14.99
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Bee is a successful plus-size adult film star, but when she’s cast in a Christmas movie for the family-friendly Hope Channel, she’s forced to keep her real profession under wraps. Her childhood crush, Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member, is hired as her co-star. Nolan knows who Bee really is, and things heat up as their on-screen romance quickly leads off-screen too.
A book that’s guaranteed to make you blush and feel hot this winter, with representation of sex work and body positivity, this is a perfect read for those who were convinced their favourite boy band member was going to fall in love with them as a teen.
Shop A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone at Bookshop.org, £9.99
Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift for the night. The train is full, but by the morning, it has one fewer passenger. Detective Hercule Poirot is on holiday, but with the train isolated and a killer on board, he must do what he does best and find the murderer.
A classic from Agatha Christie to cuddle up with this winter. If you’re after something a bit more festive try Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, another Christie classic.
Shop Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie at Bookshop.org, £9.99
The Little Book Of Hygge by Meik Wiking
This is the definitive book about hygge, the Scandinavian concept of feeling cosy. Written by Meik Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, it’s full of advice on how to experience hygge for yourself and create a life you love.
If you’re looking for warmth, comfort and cosiness this winter, this book is packed with beautiful photographs, ideas and recipes.
Shop The Little Book Of Hygge by Meik Wiking at Bookshop.org, £14.99
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
A group of friends meet up to welcome in the new year together, something they’ve done every year since they were students. This year, they’ve chosen a hunting lodge in the Scottish wilderness as the perfect place to get away. A freak blizzard leaves them snowed in and cut off from the outside world, and two days later, one of them is dead.
An Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery, which follows the point of view of multiple characters and dual timelines, Foley’s writing is chilling, atmospheric and addictive.
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Narnia is a secret land that is frozen in an everlasting winter waiting beyond the wardrobe door. Lucy is the first to find the wardrobe and her siblings don’t believe her tale of fawns and forests, but when they all step through the wardrobe, they find out the truth and join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch’s sinister spell.
It might be billed as a children’s book, but this classic tale is full of important, pressing themes.
Shop The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis at Bookshop.org, £7.99
Images: courtesy of publishers
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