This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
For those of you who are struggling with the dark days, you will be relieved to know winter solstice is nearly upon us. From 21st December, the days stop getting shorter and become longer again. But that still means a few more weeks of getting dark at 4pm (and a few weeks afterwards too!). Don’t let the darkness go to waste. Embrace it. Light a fire, switch on your reading lamp, make a cup of something hot and chocolately, grab a cake and read one of these winter themed books.
1. A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy – Set in a country house hotel on the west coast of Ireland this is, sadly, Maeve Binchy’s final novel.
2. A Winter’s Tale by Trisha Ashley – Sophy Winter is a hard up, single mum, who unexpectedly inherits a crumbly mansion in Lancashire called Winter’s End. But along with inheriting the house, she also inherits an eccentric family and debt. And the attention of Jack Lewis.
3. Winter Wonderland by Belinda Jones – Krista is a travel journalist who finds herself in Quebec to report on the Winter Carnival. For ten days Krista is immersed in ice palaces, husky dog-sledding and maple-syrup. Then the mysterious and handsome Jacques appears on the scene…
4. The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse – Freddie Watson lost loved ones during the Great War and at times, he also lost his mind. He has spent much of his time in a sanatorium, but in 1928 he is traveling through France, still trying to come to terms with his grief. There is a snowstorm and his car spins off the road. He staggers out the car and into a village, where he meets Fabrissa, who has a tragic story of her own too.
5. The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs – Part of the Lakeshore Chronicles series of books by Susan Wiggs. Jenny runs a bakery at Willow Lake. Then one winter she loses everything in a fire. As she sifts through the remains trying to work out what to salvage, she also has the attention of Rourke McKnight, her lifelong crush.
6. A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss – An old-fashioned romance, which sees the beautiful Erienne Fleming sold by her debt ridden father to Lord Saxon. She is devoted to her husband, but yearns for handsome Christopher Seton.
7. The Winter House by Nicci Gerrard – Marnie receives a phone call wrenching her from her ordered London life, and summoning her back to the past and a secluded cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
8. The Winter Folly by Lulu Taylor – Out in January 2014, Alexandra Crewe obediently marries the man her father tells her to. Both she and her husband, Laurence, realise their marriage is a disaster. But real love comes along for Alexandra, taking her from her unhappy life. Yet she knows she’ll pay the price…
9. The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson – Maud Heighton comes to Paris from England to escape. But Paris is expensive and Maud soon falls into poverty. She is dreading another Paris winter, so takes on the job of companion to beautiful Sylvie Morel. Soon, she is soon drawn into secrets and deception.
10. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie – On Christmas Eve, the Lee family reunion turns tragic when Simeon Lee is found with his throat slashed; it’s a good job Hercule is staying in the village. What wintery favourites do you love to curl up with during the long, dark nights?