Hi guys, I hope you are all well. As you can already tell from the title, today I’m sharing some winter book recommendations. There are some books that are just perfect to read during the winter months and since it’s definitely gotten colder recently I thought it was the best time to share these recommendations. In other news, I’m starting to get into the Christmas spirit now – the tree will be going up soon so then I’ll really start feeling Christmas-y and I think I’ll bake some mince pies sometime this week too. Anyway, onto the book recommendations.
The Winternight trilogy / Katherine Arden / ★★★★
The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch
Genre / Historical fantasy
Publisher / Del Rey
The Winternight trilogy is a adult historical fantasy trilogy set in medieval Russia. It follows a young girl called Vasya as she grows up in a male orientated society within a Russian village. These books suit winter reading so well – the atmosphere is so well done and it’s a great one to curl up with a hot chocolate and sitting next to a fire to read. The characters are well written, the plot is compelling and the world is a vivid one. I highly recommend checking these books out.
Daughter of the Forest / Juliet Marillier / ★★★★★
Genre / Historical fantasy
Publisher / Harper Voyager
Length / 672 pages
Daughter of the Forest is loosely based on the legend of the Children of Lir (Irish mythology) and the Six Swans (German legend). There is something about reading books that are based on folklore or have a folklore/fairytale feel to it, that I personally find perfect to read during the winter months – this book is no exception. This is a fantastic book with great characters and a compelling plot.
Fudoki / Kij Johnson / ★★★★★
Genre / Historical fantasy
Publisher / Tor Books
This book is inspired by Japanese mythology. Set in Japan during the 11th century, it is a dual narrative story; firstly following Harueme, and secondly following a cat turned warrior woman Kagaya-hime. Just like the previous recommendations, I love reading folklore/fairytale books during the winter months and this book is one of my favourites, so of course I’m going to recommend it here.
Pellinor series / Alison Croggon / ★★★★★
Genre / Fantasy
Publisher / Walker Books
The Pellinor series is one of my all time favourites, so I will take any opportunity to recommend it. I think settling down with a fantasy series is perfect for the winter months and this is the one I’ve picked to recommend. The second book, in particular though, is perfect for winter reading since it is partially set in an icy setting. I think this series is so underrated – I don’t see a lot of people talking about it in the book community. I highly recommend checking it out.
His Dark Materials / Philip Pullman / ★★★★★
Genre / Fantasy
Publisher / Scholastic
You guys probably know by now that this is one of my all time favourites and I will take every opportunity to recommend it – really you can read this trilogy any time of the year but I think it’s a great one to read during the winter months. The second season of the TV series is currently airing so it’s the perfect time to read the books before checking out the TV series too.
That’s it for today. I actually realised while writing this post that I haven’t read a whole lot of fantasy books with wintery settings, so I definitely want to read more in the future. If you have any recommendations for me, then let me know in the comments. Have you guys read any of these books? I’d love to know what you thought. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.
Pippa
thelittlebookowl 