Five Books to Cuddle Up With This Winter

Winter is my favorite time of the year to cuddle up with a book! From cozy fantasy, thrilling mysteries, to hallmark style romances, there are so many good reads perfect for the season.

“Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries” – Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde, a curmudgeonly professor of dryadology, goes on an expedition to study a species of faeries that have never been documented. She travels to the gruff village of Hrafnsvik along with her charming academic rival, and she investigates the elusive creatures.

This is the first in a charmingly cozy fantasy trilogy that will make you fall in love with its characters and have you intrigued by its lore.

“Little Thieves” –  Margaret Owen

Vanja Schmidt is the goddaughter of death and fortune with a debt to repay. By day, she masquerades as her former employer, Princess Gisele.

By night, she is the “Pfennigeist”, thieving jewelry from the rich to fund her escape from her godmothers, who demand a price for their care. However, her greed eventually catches up to her, and she is cursed to slowly turn to jewels herself. Vanja has two weeks to find a way to repent before she becomes what she once coveted.

This is a retelling of the classic fairytale “The Goose Girl” by the Brothers Grimm. It gives you the chance to follow the villain rather than the hero, and might cause you to wonder if desperation is sometimes mistaken for evil.

“Murder on the Orient Express” – Agatha Christie

Renowned detective Hercule Poirot is a passenger aboard the Orient Express, a well-known train line. The train unexpectedly gets stalled by a snowdrift in the middle of the night, and by morning, someone is dead. Millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett was stabbed twelve times in his compartment, with his door locked from the inside. Poirot races to discover which of his fellow travelers committed this heinous crime before the killer can strike again.

This mystery is a classic for a reason. Poirot is such a dynamic and charming character, and the way he approaches cases will keep you hooked.

“Lovelight Farms” – B.K. Borison

Owning a Christmas tree farm has always been Stella’s dream. But one disaster after another has the farm strapped for cash.

On a drunken whim, Stella applies for a social media contest with a cash prize that has the potential to save the farm. She says on the application that she runs the farm with her boyfriend, but the problem is, he doesn’t exist… Stella calls in a favor from her best friend Luka, who she may or may not be secretly in love with.

Could this ruse be what finally brings them together?

This book has all the Christmas vibes one could want. If you need a book to get yourself in the spirit, look no further.

“In A Holidaze” – Christina Lauren

Maelyn Jones is stuck in a time loop, forced to relive Christmas over and over again. Every year, Maelyn’s family spends the holiday at a snow cabin in Utah with two other families. But this may be their last year.

She lives with her parents, feels like her job is going nowhere, and has made what may be a major mistake in her love life. As she drives away, she pleads with the universe to show her what will make her happy.

A sudden car crash causes her to blackout, only to wake up back on the plane ride to Utah. Disaster after disaster causes her to be continuously sent back to the plane ride as she struggles to find a way to break the loop.

I read this book a few years back, and I am still charmed by it now. It’s another quick read, perfect for the holiday season.