When the nights are long and cold, there are few things better than cozying up with a good book, and with the holiday season upon us, I have some festive (or not) recommendations to while away the dark winter days.
If you want that adventure vibe, give Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore a try. Orphaned Sylvi has chipped out a niche for herself on Layce, an island cursed by eternal winter. She takes comfort in the solitude of the roads and the favor of Winter, a spirit who has protected her since she was a child. When her best friend, Lenore, runs off with the rebels, Sylvi must make a haul too late in the season for a smuggler she wouldn’t normally work with. To save her friend, Sylvi will have to choose: safety, anonymity, and the favor of Winter or the future of the island that she calls home.
What would the holiday season be without some romantic options?
Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds is peak stuck-together trope goodness. Shira is on a mission to find the perfect boyfriend over Hanukkah, but after getting snowed in on Nantucket with her nemesis-slash-former-crush her plans begin to go off the rails.
If you love a Hallmark movie, you can’t go wrong with The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park. As long as they can remember, high school juniors Chloe Kwon and Peter Li have been told to stay far away from one another. For more than a decade, their families have been sworn enemies in a feud of mysterious origin. When Chloe and Peter discover a plan for the impending sale and demolition of the mall and their families’ businesses, they might just need a Christmas miracle.
A romance less fluffy, but still winter-themed, is Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei. Mickey James III loves hockey, but the steep expectations of starting college at the school where his father and grandfather were hockey stars and the next NHL hockey draft weigh on him. Even so, Mickey can’t help noticing how attractive Jaysen “Cauler” Caulfield, his teammate and prickly rival for first pick, is. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he’s willing to risk for it.
A romance with a twist, Whiteout is written by six YA authors in alternating viewpoints. Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon explain in the authors’ note why they decided to take on this challenge, with clues pointing to which author wrote which characters. Atlanta, Georgia, is preparing for an unexpected snowstorm that threatens to ground planes and shut down roads but cannot stop love. Stevie is dumped by her girlfriend, but with one last shot at forgiveness, Stevie enlists her friends to help pull off an extraordinarily grand gesture of love. While coordinating the declaration in less-than-ideal circumstances in snowy Atlanta, Stevie’s friends also find love along the way.
And if you’re like me and prefer the darker, spookier parts of the season, I’ve got something for you. In Starlings by Amanda
Linsmeier, Kit’s father had always told her he had no family, but his sudden death revealed the truth. Now she has a grandmother and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown for the holidays. Rosemont is picture perfect with eternal roses that bloom year-round and a downtown straight out of the 1950s. When Kit’s mother suddenly disappears under strange circumstances and her grandmother seems more preoccupied with an upcoming New Year’s town festival, Kit knows something is not right.
