Welcome to another TTT! If you live in the USA, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! Today’s topic highlights cozy reads, but since it’s so cold where I live and I’m fully embracing Christmas already I’ve chosen to narrow it further by sharing cozy wintry reads! When I think of books like this I think of rich, magical fantasies and lots of snow (I’m going to exclude Christmas books from this list because I’ll be doing Christmas books in a few weeks). Of course, there’s always romance to warm things up a little. I LOVE books that give me those cozy vibes, and I’m excited to see what everyone picks for this topic!
1. Frost by Kate Avery Ellison
“In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, compassion might get a person killed, and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone.”
Frost takes place in probably the coldest place ever: The Frost. It’s cold and snowy and windy, with blizzards and fires in the fireplace and short days, with long nights. And the writing is exquisite I loved it!
2. Nocturne by Syrie James
“When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension.”
3. The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye
“Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.”
Pasha’s birthday is coming up, so the Tsar instructs these two enchanters to engage in a magical battle to make Pasha’s birthday something special. The battle begins, and the beauty and opulence that encompasses St. Petersburg as a result of this magic is amazing. I won’t give too much away, but I absolutely must mention the intricate system of fountains and color-changing lights that fill the city’s canal system. That entire scene was beautiful, and is still my favorite in the entire book.
4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
“They open a door and enter a world.”
A world of snow and magic, that is! LOVE the coziness of this story!
5. Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.”
Russia always screams cold weather to me, and this book is so lush you can easily wrap up in it!
6. Hunted by Meagan Spooner
“Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.”
This is a breathtaking Beauty & the Beast retelling, and who doesn’t immediately think eternal winter when thinking of this story?
7. Caraval by Stephanie Garber
“Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.”
8. A Tale of Beauty and Beast by Melanie Cellier
“Alone, and with danger on every side, Sophie must navigate a magical castle and its even more mysterious master to discover the secret to breaking the curse.”
Another B&B retelling that I love!
9. Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier
“Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the region in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies of Anluan’s family and his people. The woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. And Anluan himself has been crippled by a childhood illness.”
Ok, so I didn’t realize until I was writing out my thoughts on these books that I’ve picked three B&B retellings for this topic. lol. Whoops! But this one is so unique that you’d almost miss it. The magic and cozy vibes are definitely there, though.
10. Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle
“As the captain of Field County’s ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise “Lou” Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he’s never felt more alive… even if keeping her safe may just kill him.”
This is a very chilly, snowy romantic suspense about a search and rescue team of ice divers in the remote, wintry Colorado Rockies.
Which cozy, wintry books did you choose to talk about this week?
