As we head into winter all I want to do is read books about Christmas or books set in the winter. I want to read about snow! And, I’m secretly praying for it to start snowing soon so I can sit at home and read all day without feeling guilty.
Here are a bunch of books that you should read this winter!
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
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In this classic thriller by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot is on the famous Orient Express train when it is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift as it travels through the balkans.
By morning, a passenger is dead. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment. He has been stabbed a dozen times and his door is locked from the inside.
This is a classic locked room mystery that follows the iconic Poirot as he investigates this crime on a train that is far busier than expected for the time of year. He must figure out who the killer is before they decide to strike again.
A Merry Little Meet Cute – Julie Murphy + Sierra Simone
Genre: Romance
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In this Christmas romance book, Bee Hobbes is a successful plus-size adult film star who has a pretty large following. But, her favourite producer has just cast her in a squeaky clean Christmas movie and her career begins to take a more family-friendly turn.
However, she’s forced to keep her work a secret which turns out to be harder than expected when her co-star ends up being Nolan Shaw, an ex-boyband member that Bee was obsessed with. And, it turns out he’s a fan of her work as well.
This book is set in a really cute Christmas-themed town where the movie is being set. It is an adult spicy romance so please keep that in mind!
The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
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In this thriller from Lucy Foley, a group of thirty-something year old friends from Oxford meet in the Scottish Highlands to celebrate the New Year together, a tradition they began years ago as students.
They arrive on 30th December just before a historic blizzard cuts them off from the outside world.
A trip that started nicely quickly descends into chaos as secret resentments built up over 10 years start to come out.
Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead and it soon becomes clear that another one of them did it.
For the Wolf – Hannah F. Whitten
Genre: Fantasy
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For the Wolf is the first book in a fantasy duology. It follows Red who is the only second born royal daughter born in centuries and she has always known that she has one purpose – to be sacrificed to the wolf in the woods in the hopes that he will return the world’s captured gods.
The first born is for the throne, the second born is for the wolf.
But Red is almost relieved to go – she is plagued by a dangerous power that she can’t control and she’s scared of hurting those that she loves.
But it turns out the legends have lied. The wolf is not a monster, but a man, and Red’s magic is a calling not a curse.
It is inspired by a few different classic fairy tales – Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast.
Faking Under the Mistletoe – Ashley Shepherd
Genre: Romance
Buy the book: AMAZON
In this super-fun Christmas book, Olivia Langley is the human embodiment of Christmas cheer so she’s put in charge of organising the Christmas events at the company she interns at. Only problem is that her boss is the grinchiest man she has ever met.
But one day at the Christmas Tree lighting, they bump into his ex-girlfriend and Olivia kisses him to make her jealous. And, now she’s ended up in a fake relationship with her boss.
Eileen – Ottessa Moshfegh
Genre: Literary Fiction
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In Ottessa Moshfegh’s debut novel, we follow Eileen Dunlop, a 24-year-old woman who works at a prison for teenage boys, stalks her co-worker, and lives with her drunk, abusive father. When a new woman begins working at the prison, Eileen is enchanted and quickly becomes obsessed.
Just before Christmas, Eileen will disappear from her small town, never to be seen again. This is the story of what happened in the week leading up to her disappearance.
Three Holidays and a Wedding – Uzma Jalaluddin + Marissa Stapley
Genre: Romance
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This one is a romance book but is a little bit different. Instead of just focusing on Christmas, it’s set during the year 2000, when Christmas, Ramadan and Hanakkuh all fall within a few days of each other. A few days before, strangers Maryam and Anna are flying to Toronto when severe turbulence scares them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to each other.
An emergency landing forces them to stay at a quirky small town inn where Maryam is forced to open her heart to a childhood friend, whilst Anna meets the star of her favourite Christmas movie.
The Christmas Murder Game – Alexandra Benedict
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
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Every Christmas, the Armitage family hosts a game at their grand family home. This year’s prize is to die for – the deed to the house. Lily hasn’t been back to the house since her mother died 21 years ago and has no intention of returning for the game. Until she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game’s riddles will lead her to answers about the identity of her mother’s murderer.
Now Lily must compete for the prize over 12 days with her estranged cousins. But when the snow becomes too thick for them to leave, the phone lines go down, and no one is getting out, Lily must keep her wits about her because no one is playing fair and there’s no telling how many of them will die before the winner is declared.
This is a really fun murder mystery set in an isolated and snowy setting.
Stay Another Day – Juno Dawson
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
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In this young adult novel from Juno Dawson, we follow 3 siblings as they all head home for Christmas. It’s not long before secrets threaten to ruin their family Christmas.
Fern is bringing home her boyfriend.
Rowan would rather go out than spend time with his family.
And Willow is terrified of Christmas Day.
