Cozy Winter Book Recommendations
As winter begins, we’re gearing up for a season of staying in, reading and enjoying the art of time spent indoors. With that in mind, we’d like to share a list of cozy winter reads for your enjoyment compiled by Nicole, a librarian at the Moorhead Public Library.
Home for the Holidays by Sara Richardson (Book, eAudiobook)
“Sisters Rose, Magnolia, and Dahlia are each at a crossroads in their lives. When their Aunt Sassy invites them all to stay at her Bristlecone Inn for the Christmas season, it seems the perfect escape. When they arrive, however, they realize the home of their treasured holiday memories has changed. The cottages are run-down, and Sassy has volunteered them for the inn’s annual Christmas Extravaganza, turning their timeout into a race to recreate the Christmas magic of their childhood before the big event. In their beloved Bristlecone Inn, they start to question what they really want for their lives and rediscover their dreams in the bonds of sisterhood”-Publisher description
A Princess For Christmas by Jenny Holiday (Book, eBook)
“Leo Ricci’s already handling all he can, between taking care of his little sister Gabby, driving a cab, and being the super of his apartment building in the Bronx. But when Gabby spots a ‘princess’ in a gown outside of the UN trying to hail a cab, she begs her brother to stop and help. Before he knows it, he’s got a real-life damsel in distress in the backseat of his car. Princess Marie of Eldovia shouldn’t be hailing a cab, or even be out and about. But after her mother’s death, her father has plunged into a devastating depression and the fate of her small Alpine country has fallen on Marie’s shoulders. She’s taken aback by the gruff but devastatingly handsome driver who shows her more kindness than she’s seen in a long time.”–Publisher description.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss (Book, eBook)
“When it comes to relationships, thirty-four-year-old Kate Turner is ready to say “Bah, humbug.” The sleepy town of Blexford, England, isn’t exactly brimming with prospects, and anyway, Kate’s found fulfillment in her career as a designer, and in her delicious side job baking for her old friend Matt’s neighborhood café. But then her best friend signs her up for a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. Twenty-three days until Christmas. Twelve dates with twelve different men. The odds must finally be in her favor… right? Yet with each new date more disastrous than the one before–and the whole town keeping tabs on her misadventures–Kate must remind herself that sometimes love, like mistletoe, shows up where it’s least expected. And maybe, just maybe, it’s been right under her nose all along…”-Publisher description.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (Book, eBook)
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. … With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.:-Publisher Description
Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler (Book, eBook)
“How the moose (almost) stole Christmas. Lana Montgomery is everything the quirky small town of Moose Springs, Alaska, can’t stand: a rich socialite with dreams of changing things for the better. But Lana’s determined to prove that she belongs even if it means trading her stilettos for snow boots and tracking one of the town’s hairiest Christmas mysteries: the Santa Moose, an antlered Grinch hell-bent on destroying every bit of holiday cheer (and tinsel) it can sink its teeth into.”-Publisher Description
Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella (Book, Large Print Book, eBook)
“Call Ava romantic, but she thinks love should be found in the real world, not on apps that filter men by height, job, or astrological sign. She believes in feelings, not algorithms. So after a recent breakup and dating app debacle, she decides to put love on hold and escapes to a remote writers’ retreat in coastal Italy. At the retreat, she’s not allowed to use her real name or reveal any personal information. When the neighboring martial arts retreat is canceled and a few of its attendees join their small writing community, Ava, now going by “Aria,” meets “Dutch,” a man who seems too good to be true. The two embark on a baggage-free, whirlwind love affair. Things seem to be perfect for Aria and Dutch. But then their real identities–Ava and Matt–must return to London. As one mishap follows another, it seems while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they reconcile their differences to find one life together?””-Publisher Description
A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos (Book, eBook, eAudiobook)
“Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world”-Publisher Description
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (Book, eBook, eAudiobook)
“Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasya and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. When a harsh stepmother enters Vasya’s life and as the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales.”-Publisher Description
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Book, eBook, eAudiobook)
“Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father is not a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. But when an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same again. For words have power, and the fate of a kingdom will be forever altered by the challenge she is issued. Channeling the heart of the classic fairy tale, Novik deftly interweaves six distinct narrative voices–each learning valuable lessons about sacrifice, power and love–into a rich, multilayered fantasy that readers will want to return to again and again””-Publisher Description