Let’s face it, for those of us who are living in chillier regions, by the time the holiday season is finished, we are craving summer. There’s a limit to trekking through gray melted snow until we decide this is no longer fun. By the end of January, thoughts of warm beach days and summer cookouts start to creep into our minds.
Until the temperatures start climbing and we get to feel that heat on our skin again, we have gathered up some novels to nurture your frozen souls while we wait in the months ahead.
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Beginning the exhilarating Perez Family series, this split-time narrative transverses the years between 1958 and 2017. Following the death of her cherished grandmother, Marisol Ferrera sets out on a thrilling path to uncover more of the late Elisa Perez’s adventurous tales of romance and political upheaval against the backdrop of the Cuban revolution. After Marisol’s journey drops her into Elisa’s birthplace of Havana, Marisol also finds herself in a heated narrative in the tropical paradise.
Ana María and the Fox by Liana De La Rosa
Two star-crossed enemies-turned-to-lovers are at the heart of this historical romance set between Mexico and London, as both of their journeys depict the battles against colonialism. Escaping both the French occupation of Mexico and her father’s oppressive control, Ana María Luna Valdés, along with her sisters, seek refuge in London. While navigating the social customs of the Victorian ballrooms, Ana María crosses paths with Gideon Fox. There’s more than meets the eye to Gideon — as he sits on the British Parliament fighting for the abolishment of the Atlantic slave trade.
Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago
Weaving between different intergenerational traumas, this novel flips between 1975 Puerto Rico and 2017 Bronx. Initially, we are introduced to Luz, an outsider in her dance academy, who later suffers through a tragic accident that leaves her disabled and her parents killed. Fortunately, she is adopted by a group of close-knit girls and forms Las Madres. Years later, Luz’s daughter Marysol is living in the Bronx and doesn’t understand her mother due to the miscommunications between the two due to her mother’s disability. But a fateful trip to Puerto Rico gives Marysol a better understanding of her mother’s identity.
Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Set in the tropical paradise of Cyprus, two teenagers meet and fall in love. As their forbidden love unfolds, a fig tree takes root and starts to grow, as does their love. The tree bears witness to the tragic events of war and the separation of the two lovers. Years later, Kostas returns to Cyprus, as a botanist, while secretly looking for his lost love.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
This historical romance begins in the coastal Italian village of Porto Vergogna in 1962. The romance stretches on years later in backlots of Hollywood and continues at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It details the dramatic rollercoaster of life and the people we meet along the way.
While winter is nice and cozy, these sunny reads have us yearning for summertime and brighter days.
If you need some more spice to your winter nights, check out our article 10 Romance Books To Spice Up Your Summer.
And if you are looking for even more romance recommendations, we got you covered with our picks on Love is in the Air: Contemporary Romance!
