Whether we live in New York City, through the snow-dusted wintery days of December, cozied up in the warm winterwear beside a toasty fireplace, with the delectable whiff of hot chocolate wafting all around the known cafes or reside along a warm coastal side with pleasant evenings as the winter winds shift to a slightly chilly temperature, enjoying every bit of the refreshing time of the year before the summer comes rushing in, we know that winter is a special time of the year. There is a whimsical beauty to the season in itself. It is the season of holidays, celebration, sweets, events, and it is the showstopper of seasons. We love the rich woolen clothes, the flavorful treats in the nearest bakeries, the advent calendars, and most importantly, the books that whisk you away to a world of their own amidst the mood set by the elegant month of December. Let’s snuggle up under the covers as we unravel a list of selections just for winter lovers.
1. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan
Winter simply means more chocolates and when there’s a book with the finest Parisian chocolates involved in it, oh yeah! Anna Trent a supervisor in a chocolate factory in England is met with a horrific accident in the factory. Her whole life presents itself as a humongous question mark after the accident and her recent breakup. She felt like she was at no crossroads but a dead end. Physiotherapy was all she could look at and nothing beyond it. But life always has its surprises and just like that Anna meets her French teacher, Claire, who just so happens to become a good friend, catching up on some French that Anna missed during her classes. She reaches out to Anna about a wonderful job all the way in Paris. Even though Anna is a little nervous about ‘fitting in’ in the city of love, she was filled with excitement in every way possible about the new journey she was going to embark on. Travel along with Anna as she finds her way through her new Parisian life in the delicious world of gourmet chocolates and chocolatiers authored by the one and only Jenny Colgan. (Ps: There might be a recipe or two of chocolates in the back of the book.
2. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Set in 1920 at the edge of all things warm and light, in Alaska, the desolate couple Jack and Mabel struggle to push through each day as they get desperate for a child, a blessing the nature has deprived them of. On the first snowfall of the season, to lift the spirit for themselves they build a child from snow. Little did they know that the next morning, the snow child was gone and all they saw running through the trees in the distance was a glimpse of a blonde-haired girl. This little girl calls herself Faina, who hunts with a fox along her side and amusingly survives all by herself through the harsh conditions of the Alaskan weather. Jack and Mabel follow this fairytale spawn into a world of adventure. They embrace her as their own but forget not that everything is not as it seems. Make yourself a warm cup of whatever settles your cold jitters as you are thrust into the freezing Alaskan adventure written by Eowyn Ivey.
3. The Mountain Song by Lucy Fuggle
Are you someone who needs to be left alone with your thoughts, in a place of calmness and absolute tranquility, where you can live and do as you wish, with nothing holding you back whatsoever and no one to judge you in your most passionate moments? Then this is the book for you. Fuggle writes about her one true wish to get away from the noisy apartment life in England to anywhere quaint and quiet with a terrific nature view where you can sit and read for as long as you please, to be able to witness the changing colors of the sky at the horizon, to live and cherish all the little things that go unnoticed and most importantly to live on her own terms boundlessly. Stride along a magical journey to the Swiss Alps, nestled amidst the boulders with beautiful and descriptive views of the scenery brought to us by Lucy Fuggle.
4. Murder on Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Breaking through the icy tracks of the Balkan Mountains, as the glorious Orient Express steams through the night and into the inevitable dawn, the passenger-buzzing train is one passenger fewer. A mysterious tragedy befalls the exalting Orient Express but not in vain. With Hercule Poirot aboard, nothing goes unsolved, especially the death of an American tycoon, stabbed many times with his doors locked from the inside. Investigate alongside Hercule Poirot as he uncovers the mystery of the tragedy with a list of suspects and a halted Express in the middle of the Balkan Mountains. A gripping murder mystery written by the one only, Agatha Christie.
5. One Day in December by Josie Silver
Just like any girl who has lost all hope of love at first sight, Laurie spends her life believing love at first sight doesn’t exist until one snowy night in December where she is immediately fixated on a stranger through the misty bus windows. Their eyes meet and everything slows down for a very short moment where every single particle in the air seems to be little specs of pure magic buzzing ecstatically. In that moment, Laurie knew that he was the one. The bus moves on and so does her life but not a single day goes by without her looking back to that one mystifying moment where all her senses seemed to only focus on all the little details about him. She would spend a whole year keeping her eyes on the lookout around all the bus stops hoping to meet him, but obviously, fate never does as you expect. Instead, she is completely caught off-guard when she is introduced to him at a Christmas party by her friend Sarah. Her delight soon descends into heartache as Jack turns out to be Sarah’s boyfriend. Laurie, Jack, and Sarah have a life full of all sorts of surprises and heartaches ahead of them. Let yourself get lost in a heartwarming and tender where fate has its plans for a joyous story sketched out, by none other than Josie Silver.
6. The Bear and The Nightingale by Catherine Arden
Through the wilderness of Russia, where the snowdrifts pile up taller than the homes, lived a girl by the name of Vasilisa. She found her solace and happiness in her family and the mystifying tales her nurse would whisper. One of her favorite stories is the chilling tale of the blue-eyed winter demon that lurks beyond the shadows of the woods, waiting to claim unwary souls. Given her gift for seeing spirits and creatures, unlike the others, her curiosity seems to always wander back to the tales her nurse tells her. Her life seems picture-perfect until her mother perishes. Her father gets married to another woman from the city who has her plans, plans that might stir things up. Chaos and turmoil bubble in their household, spreading through to the whole village all because Vasilisa won’t abide by her deceitful stepmother. As danger closes ranks on her, Vasilisa knows she must defy even her loved ones. She invokes upon her long-concealed gift to shield her family from a threat that seems to have stepped right out of her nurse’s most frightening tales. Emerse yourself in a thrilling tale as Vasilisa does everything in her power to protect her family, authored by Catherine Arden.