Trivia question, think fast! Name three fiction books you love that are set in a snowy environment. If you can’t think of three, don’t panic — because, oddly enough, the amount of stories with consistent winter-inspired settings is quite low. However, to celebrate the season’s approach, here are five incredible books of various genres in which winter plays a major role. Would you recommend any others?
Trigger Warning: The mention of child abuse, World War 2-era violence, death, and missing persons may be triggering for some readers. Please exercise personal care when reading.
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
In 1970s small-town Alaska, secrets never stay buried for long. For Ruth, sharing a home with her devout Catholic grandmother, her secret could cost her the love of her family. For Dora, haunted by memories of her abusive father, her secret remains locked far in her mind. For Alyce, torn between who she’s expected to be and the life she wants, her secret is a dream she worries would disappoint those she cares for. For Henry, escaping home with both his brothers, his secret is what exactly he’s running from.
Hitchcock’s historical YA fiction debut revolves around chosen families, intertwining the complex lives of four teenagers who unintentionally save each other. Through gorgeous, deeply sensory language, The Smell of Other People’s Houses follows four plotlines of love and tragedy — and is the perfect read to curl up with amid winter.
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier
For high school dropout Sophie Spark, interning at a grand hotel in the Swiss Alps is about to become a lot more than what she signed up for. Every year, visitors from around the world arrive for the renowned New Year’s Eve Ball, but this winter’s guests seem to have brought more secrets than baggage with them. Before she knows it, Sophie tumbles headfirst into a web of mystery she has no business knowing about — as well as two potential romances that might just break her heart.
Gier’s cozy mystery has it all — danger, a love triangle, and a wild cast of characters all stuck together in a picturesque hotel. A Castle in the Clouds is the ideal book to go along with your fuzzy blankets and hot cocoa and is sure to leave your heart feeling warm.
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Before she was Lady Death, Mila Pavlichenko was a mother. However, Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union shatters her plans to graduate from university and provide for her son, and Mila enlists in the Red Army to save him. With her impeccable shooting skills, Mila soon becomes a deadly sniper, and her 300th Nazi kill awards her a goodwill tour of Washington, D.C., and a powerful, unexpected ally. Briefly, it seems like she may have found peace — but neither war nor Mila’s past plan to vanish so easily.
Though Quinn’s novel is a work of historical fiction, Lyudmila Pavlichenko’s heroism in the Second World War was utterly real. Credited with taking down over 300 enemy soldiers on her own, Pavlichenko helped transform the course of history and decimate the Nazi regime, and the memoirs she wrote later in life serve as the inspiration for this novel. Through its incredible characterization and atmosphere, The Diamond Eye does not allow you to forget how the people Mila cares for really existed and is a winter read that will both break your heart and heal it.
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
When the winter solstice meets a solar eclipse, a god will return to the city of Tova. To Serapio, a young man raised to fulfill a lethal and merciless destiny, this means getting to Tova before the eclipse does, but time isn’t a patient foe. To Xiala, the sole, strange passenger on her ship is a greater concern, but she has enough trouble chasing her from the past to indulge in more. To Naranpa, the high priest of the holy city, the return of a god means insurrection and potential death. But the sky, the sun, and the stars have no intention of waiting.
Roanhorse’s adult SFF novel, inspired by the cultures of the Pre-Columbian Americas, is an immersive expanse of political intrigue and a vast magic world all in one. Black Sun is a fantastic book to sink into on a long winter night — so you might as well stay snowed in with it.
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
West Hall, Vermont, is a town marked by disappearances and death. In 1908, only months apart, Sara and her young daughter are found dead near their farmhouse home, and their story remains a legend and a cautionary tale over 100 years thereafter. In the present day, Ruthie lives with her mother and younger sister in the same home — until she comes back late to discover that her mother has vanished. When Ruthie finds Sara’s diary tucked under the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom, odd coincidences transform into a pattern, and the town’s haunting past begins to repeat itself.
McMahon’s eerie horror novel is rife with chilling plot twists and vivid imagery, balancing a dual timeline with ease. Set in a mysterious, quiet stretch of snowy land, The Winter People is ideal for losing track of time when it’s too cold to step outside.
Get cozy near the windows with your new favorite books — the five above, of course — and watch the first snowfall. Winter is coming, but there’s so much more to be found within it than just the cold.
If winter is your favorite season, check out Bookstagrammers’ Favorite Comfort Reads for a Snowy Day!
Find even more book recommendations on Bookstr’s Bookshop.
