To Be Read: Winter 2024

Technically Winter is in both 2023 and 2024 but I didn’t know how to incorporate that into the title without it looking weird. Also, winter officially begins on the 21st which is why I’m posting this so far into December.

Anyway, I usually choose my ‘seasonal’ reads based on whether they have that season’s vibe, however, I’ve already read about 16 festive books and I’ve had enough quite honestly. So, these are just going to be a couple of books I’m planning to read over the next few months.

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

I’ve owned this book since it came out and I keep putting it off. Why you ask? Well, The Folk of the Air is one of my all-time favourite series and I’m worried this won’t live up to it. I have heard great things about it though, so I’m going to set aside some time in my Christmas holiday to read it.

Synopsis: A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.

Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. But in the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel. There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do her bidding and exact her revenge.

Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother, fled to the human world. There, she lives feral in the woods. Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides her time by releasing mortals from foolish bargains. She believes herself forgotten until the storm hag, Bogdana chases her through the night streets. Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once promised in marriage and who she has resented for years.

Now seventeen, Oak is charming, beautiful, and manipulative. He’s on a mission that will lead him into the north, and he wants Suren’s help. But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and a prince she cannot trust, as well as confronting all the horrors she thought she left behind.

The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang

I know nothing about this book other than that it’s marketed as cosy. Which seems perfect for winter. It’s a random find on Kindle Unlimited so I have no idea how good this will be, but either way I’ll be reviewing, so you’ll find out eventually.

Synopsis: Running from strife in her homeland, Maribella Waters becomes the new owner of the fabled Cozy Quill. After finding squatters on her property, she employs Asteria Helsdottir, a giant, barbarian warrior woman more accustomed to swinging an axe than opening a book. Together, the odd couple must make a success out of the bookshop—and survive a dizzying procession of seasonal festivals.

But the local evil noblewoman has other plans in mind. Threatened with being run off the land, Maribella and Asteria must use their wits to outsmart Lady Malicent and keep their business open. Along the way, the whole town lends a hand, friendships are forged, and mysteries are revealed.