Frigid storms, heaps of snow and subzero temperatures are not exactly pleasant to live through, but winter weather can make for an irresistible setting for a book. From the cool surface of a frozen lake to the dizzying frenzy of a white-out squall, the dead of winter offers countless evocative and extreme conditions that conjure magic, channel heartbreak and push characters to their limits. The long nights and biting cold also make easy grist for atmosphere: Even in the coziest of reading nooks, the wintry chill can seem to leap from the very best winter books’ pages, making you clutch your mug of tea a little closer.
As we slog through the January doldrums and temperatures in much of the United States dip to polar levels, it can help to embrace the spirit of the season. Here are 10 books that feel ice-cold from the first page.
The Overnight Guest
By Heather Gudenkauf
When the true crime writer Wylie Lark discovers an unconscious child outside her remote cabin in rural Iowa, she becomes embroiled in a mystery worthy of one of her macabre books. But the real terror comes from the elements, as an unrelenting winter storm traps Lark and the child inside. Gudenkauf weaves together three stories across three time periods in this unsettling and sometimes brutal thriller. As the threads converge, you can practically feel the bitter winds lashing against the cabin walls.
Read our review.
Spinning Silver
By Naomi Novik
“I could see nothing but winter, all around,” Miryem, one of the narrators of Novik’s glorious fantasy novel observes as she is swept into the icy kingdom of the powerful, fae-like Staryk. Billed as a retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin,” this Hugo Award nominee is in fact an uncanny blend of several Eastern European fairy tales, myths and legends, remixed in a style that feels wholly original. In this novel, it isn’t just the weather that can turn cold: “Thrice you shall turn silver to gold for me,” the Staryk king threatens Miryem, “or be changed to ice yourself.”
Read our review.