We know you'll be busy for the rest of the year, but you deserve a nice break for doing everything. So when you get a chance catch your breath from pouring unlimited champagne cocktails and you're warming your toes while taking a break from holiday shopping, unwind with our top 31 winter and Christmas books. And if you're traveling for holidays, be sure to put your latest read in one of your travel tote bags to read during your flight. 😇
The Book Club Hotel
Enter the Maple Sugar Inn with it's idyllic setting. It's picturesque and cozy. but Hattie is officially over it. She's tired from running such a place while being the world's greatest mom. Just when she's about to lose hope, her besties come to time for their book club meetup and they begin to see themselves in each other in a brand new way.
Confessions of a Christmasholic
Confessions of a Christmasholic is for anyone who's looking for a nice surprise during the holidays. It's the perfect mix of one bad mistake and a healthy dose of steamy romance that ends with a renewed love for Christmas.
Dead of Winter
Keep your weighted blanket nearby because you'll want to get extra cozy while reading Dead of Winter. It's all about a couple's winter trip gone horribly wrong before they can truly relax. Someone in their group is playing hide and seek with sharp objects, but it's hard to determine who that might be. It's a read that's sure to keep you on the edge of your bed, so make sure you have a yummy holiday cocktail nearby to soothe your nerves.
The Lost Bookshop
The Lost Bookshop is novel that's determined to make sure Opaline, Martha and Henry part ways with playing second fiddle in life. It helps them find the magic and thrill that's been living within them, setting fire to the ways they've ignored the beauty of things within arm's reach. It's a novel we're sure will make you ponder about your own life, especially as we head into 2024.
A Woman in the Polar Night
Set in the early 1900s, A Woman in the Polar Night takes one woman's expectations and turns them upside down. She quickly finds herself respecting and falling in love with nature the more time she spends in Spitsbergen — something she could've never envisioned. It's a beautiful ode to what happens when we learn to let go and trust that there's freedom to be found in the unexpected.
Keeper of the Enchanted Rooms
This whimsical tale is all about the secrets that lurk within homes and how far they'll go to remain protected from anything they deem to be a threat. When Merritt Fernsby finds that himself the seemingly unlucky inheritor of such a home, he quickly enlists the help of Hulda Larkin and her team to assist him with understanding what the home needs.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Where the Forest Meets the Stars follows Joanna Teale as she comes to terms with grief that finds her unintentionally redefining how she lives life. Over the course of the novel, she forms deep bonds with her next door neighbor and a young girl whose presence changes the course of history
The Enigma of Room 622
Sometimes we find ourselves — and other things — when pain causes us to run away. Joël and the other guests of Hôtel de Verbier find themselves thrust in the middle of a mystery that involves unthinkable crimes from murder to a secret operation. It's filled with sinister twists that'll make you feel glad you're in the comfort of your own home.
The Lioness of Boston
The Lioness of Boston is a fitting name for Isabella Stewart Gardner because she dared to persevere in the midst of being judged by those who thought they were better than her. Also set in the early 1900s, this novel unfolds beautifully as Isabella finds her way and lives a life that's not constrained by rules.
The City of Dreaming Books
This isn't exactly a tale about winter or Christmas, but it's magical components are fitting for someone who's looking for a non-traditional approach to reading. The City of Dreaming Books starts off like a cautionary tale, but it ends with protagonist Yarnspinner rediscovering why reading books is one adventure that's worth many risks.
The Christmas Dress
Moon of the Crusted Snow
Moon of the Crusted Snow shows what happens when a community falls victim to instability caused by a blackout. And when an outsider shows up and begins planting seeds of doubt in the hearts of the citizens, chaos beings to ensue. Only a few brave souls are willing to band together to restore life as they once knew it — even if it comes at a hefty price.
Winterset Hollow
You'll think twice about wishing you could live in the world of your favorite book after reading Winterset Hollow. A group of friends realize this only after they've stepped into the world of a book they once loved. When Barley Day arrives, they're unprepared and have to face things that threaten reality.
The Wishing Game
Like so many of us who enjoy reading good books, Lucy Hart has always been comforted by them — especially if they're written by Jack Masterson. Faced with her own childhood trauma, she meets young Christopher and wants nothing more than to give him a home filled with love. The Wishing Game takes readers on a wild ride that includes a contest held by Masterson himself, but not before he shocks contestants with something shocking. Dive in to find out if Lucy and Christopher are able to build a new life together or not.
The Forest of Wool and Steel
A Winter in New York
A Winter in New York is a tale of love and secrets set in the Big Apple. Iris learns to love the vastness of New York and even discovers there may be more to her mother's story than she originally thought — thanks to a family-owned dessert shop that serves a famous gelato she's made before.
Haunted: An Epic Christmas Ghost Story
This gripping tale features a married couple who are looking for anything that'll help them save their marriage. It's the only reason they agreed to happily take on such a gorgeous property, but things quickly take a turn for the worse. As if their marriage woes weren't enough, something much deadlier lurks in the shadows and it's waiting for its chance to strike.
Who knew there could be so many thriller Christmas stories?
Three Holidays and a Wedding
The Moonshiner's Daughter: A Southern Coming-of-Age Saga of Family and Loyalty
Southern reads are like chicken soup for the soul and The Moonshiner's Daughter is no different. Jessie Sasser is the last person who wants anything to do with her family's moonshine business, but doesn't seem to understand she's been slowly destroying her life in a way that doesn't have anything to do with liquor. However, she finds herself uncovering things from the past and is forced to contend with who she is in the midst of her family's legacy.
The Resort
The Resort follows another couple's decision to travel during winter to a wedding — except they don't quite make it. Instead, a storm forces them to seek refuge in a place that has danger written all over it. Will Mila be able to uncover her husband's disappearance before she ends up missing too?
A Winter's Rime
A Winter's Rime follows Mallory as she comes to term with her childhood and pattern of choosing abusive situations. Thanks to a young girl named Shay, she realizes there are some things not worth running from anymore
In the Night Wood
The Winter of the Witch
Court of Winter (Faw of Snow & Ice)
Court of Winter (Fae of Snow & Ice) is the perfect winter read for those who love the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. It's fully of mystical elements and love that'll make you want to binge watch True Blood or The Game of Thrones during your holiday break. You'll leap at the chance to add this to your collection of fantasy books.
Christmas Presents
Madeline Martin's life feels harder than it should. On one hand, she's a successful bookshop owner who's carved out a space for book lovers. Yet, she can't seem to shake the murderous past of her relative Evan Hardy. She's forced to reckon with the trauma of that when the killings start again during the heart of winter and it's going to take everything she has not to lose it on the search for the truth.
Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop
If you're looking for a lighter bookshop tale, you'll love reading Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop. Although it's set during summertime, this novel paints a beautiful picture of what happens when we open ourselves to endless possibilities. Between McCredie and Carmen — the bookshop's owner and manager — they find there may be something magical about the saying "Christmas in July."
The Santa Suit
There's something about inheriting homes during the holidays that seem to add a touch of magic or horror to one's life. In Ivy's case, she ends up connecting with people in a way she hasn't wanted to in a long time. She gets to solve a mystery, find a beloved community, and even open herself to love. It's a beautiful tale of patience and redemption wrapped in one pretty bow.
Snowed In
The Echo of Old Books
At this point, our winter and Christmas books list is turning into an informal book club because we can't stay away tales involving bookshops or those who love books. The Echo of Old Books revolves around book dealer Ashlyn's determination to figure out what happened between authors Hemi and Belle. The more she invests in the love they once shared, the more she begins putting together the giant puzzle of her own life.
All The Quiet Places
All the Quiet Places follows young Eddie as he tries to make sense of a life that's suddenly impacted by a horror no one could have predicted. He grows into a teen who becomes more sure of himself and begins finding joy in life again. However, everything is threatened when more tragedy strikes again. This leaves him to make sense of his culture and how things beyond his control affect the life he has.
Winter Counts
Virgil doesn't offer mercy to those who commit crimes that go unpunished. He's known for being merciless when circumstances call for it, but he suddenly finds himself motivated to do more when drugs infiltrates the reservation he lives at. When someone on the reservation's council seems like they're giving into greed, he embarks on a long journey that helps him answer what it means to be Native American.
Which winter and Christmas books will you spend the holidays reading?
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Lead images via Amazon
