Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books Set in Snowy Places
This list has a variety of books. It has many of my favorite fantasy stories and snowed-in romances. I'm a sucker for stories where the couple gets snowed-in together. Love the forced proximity it causes.
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
- This is the first book that came to mind with the prompt for this week. The Chronicles of Narnia was the first series I ever read in full and it still to this day is one of my favorites. It is what introduced me to portal fantasies, which is one of my favorite elements in books. The visuals of the lampost and Mr. Tumnus walking through the snow are probably the most recognizable from the entire series.
2. Tic-Tac-Mistletoe by N. R. Walker
- The Hartbridge Christmas series is one of my favorites. I love continuing with it every year. The first book in the series deals with one of the main characters, Hamish, coming to Hartbridge, Montana from Australia and driving right into a blizzard. He doesn't have a clue about driving in snow, never even seeing it before and runs his car off the road. One of the residents of the town, Ren finds him in front of his property and takes him home. It follows their romance. Each book in the series follows a new couple but I love that Hanish and Ren continue to be part of the series along the new couples introduced.
3. Letters From Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien
- For 23 years, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote letters to his children from Father Christmas and created a world and adventures for Father Christmas, the elves, and the North Polar Bear in them. He also created stunning illustrations to go along with them. This is definitely a wonderful book to read to celebrate the holiday season.
4. Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen
- This is one of the strangest romances I have ever read and I loved every minute of it. This was an emotionally packed story about two men finding comfort in each other in the most inopportune moment, after one of them passes away. Roland is a Hollywood A-Lister, who is known for his good looks and charisma. Adam is an ex-Mormon, who wrote a memoir revealing his sexual identity to the world, becoming almost famous. Now, down on his luck, Adam decides to take a job as a ghostwriter for Roland Rogers. Little does he know that the job is going to entail much more than writing.
When he arrives at Roland's house, Adam finds out that Roland has died in a skiing accident. Roland is still able to communicate if he focuses really hard and wants to get his life story written before anyone else finds out he's dead. He wants to finally come out to the world and believes Adam is the perfect person to write his story. Sparks fly as both men grow closer and reveal so much about themselves to each other. This was a heartwarming story with heavy topics such as coming out, religious trauma, fame and homophobia. Samantha Allen does a great job of balancing these elements along with her humor.
5. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
- Another book that instantly came to mind for books set in snowy places. The story takes place in the Russian wilderness where winter lasts most of the year. Katherine Arden did a wonderful job creating a beautiful wintery atmosphere that draws the reader in from the very beginning of the book. It is a mix of Russian folklore stories and characters. Arden has a mesmerizing writing style.
6. Home Between Homes by Flynn Woods
- This story follows two men, Noah and Jack as they get snowed in together for a week and the bond they form. Noah takes a job as a dog and house sitter to get away from his life. There he meets Jack, who he knows from college. They keep running into each other in the town and at the house Noah is watching because Jack is the housekeeper. Then they get snowed in. This is sweet romance that I highly enjoyed last year. I definitely am going to pick up the other book in the series sometime soon.
7. Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar
- Midnight in Everwood is a beautiful retelling of The Nutcracker set in a magical world that I would enjoy reading more from. It is a great book to read during the holiday season/winter.
8. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
- I read the Emily Wilde series earlier this year and fell in love with the world that Heather Fawcett created. The story is told through Emily's journal entries as she depicts the events of the story. Along with the entries, Emily gives stories of the fae and other various creatures she has come across in her research. The setting is richly described throughout the entire book and plays a big role in the story especially the village of Hrafnsvik.
9. Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
- Another book dealing with the fae on this list. Wintersmith is the 35th book in the Discworld series and the 3rd book in the Tiffany Aching subseries. The Tiffany Aching books are some of the only young adult books in the Discworld series and follow a young witch named Tiffany who is coming into her powers. She is being taught by many of the other witches in the series including Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. In this book, Tiffany meets the personification of winter named the Wintersmith.
10. The Ghost in the Mirror by John Bellairs and completed by Brad Strickland
- The fourth book in the Lewis Barnavelt series that started with the book: The House with a Clock in Its Walls. It follows one of the other main characters in the series Rose Rita, who is a friend of Lewis. She goes on a two week summer vacation with her friend Mrs. Zimmerman and they somehow go back in time to 1828 to a snowbound Pennsylvania Dutch Country. This is definitely one of my favorites in the series other than the first book. I love this time travel adventure.
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