Planning what I want to read during winter is always a little tricky. I read the majority of my festive books throughout the year (for review purposes) and also, December is the first month of winter. It would be weird to read a festive book during February. So, what would constitute a winter-y read? Anything set during winter I suppose.
Checking It Twice by Kendall Ryan
*I was given an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review*
My aim is to listen to this audiobook before Christmas but who knows if that will happen – I definitely don’t. I have a few audio ARCs to listen to in the next few weeks that I keep forgetting about.
I look like I’m obsessed with hockey romances but that’s purely because they are the most common sports romance books you will find. Also, they are pretty fun. I’ve read five now I think and most of them have been great. I especially love the fake dating ones, so I’m excited to check this one out!
Synopsis: Fake dating a hockey player for Christmas wasn’t on my bingo card.
Clare Johnson’s job is handling PR for the Dallas Stampede—not getting tangled up with one of the players. But when Mitchell Drake—charming forward, fan favorite, and very off-limits—asks her to pose as his girlfriend for one week in small-town Minnesota, she reluctantly agrees. What’s the worst that could happen?
Mitchell’s had six months to get over his very public broken engagement, and his family is done waiting. The last thing he needs is pitying smiles and whispered gossip. Clare is smart, sharp, and strong enough to hold her own with both fans and family—the perfect fake girlfriend.
But holiday lights and snowy nights have a way of blurring the line between pretend and real. Clare fits too easily into his world—bonding with his grandma, winning at pond hockey, and looking unfairly good in his flannel. The more time they spend together, the less fake it feels.
Full of small-town holiday magic, meddling relatives, and sizzling chemistry, Checking It Twice is a hockey romance about second chances and falling in love when you least expect it. Perfect for fans of fake dating, one-bed tension, forced proximity, and happily-ever-afters wrapped in Christmas lights.
Because sometimes the best gifts aren’t under the tree—they’re standing right in front of you.
Unspeakable Magic by Iris Beaglehole
Coincidentally, I’m picking up this series again at the perfect time. This instalment is set during the winter solstice and could potentially have some festive goings on. I will admit I’ve already started reading this book before this post is going out, I may even finish it. I’m not sure about it so far. The writing seems a little disjointed again and the chapters end very abruptly. I am determined to finish this series though as there are only two books left.
Synopsis: As the winter solstice approaches in Myrtlewood, the Yuletide festivities are in underway, but the cheer is overshadowed by mysterious winter deaths.
Athena and Rosemary must embark on a perilous journey to the Underworld. Along the way, they uncover clues about a prophecy and encounter allies and adversaries in the dreamrealm. But as they get closer to their goal, they face unexpected challenges and true motives are revealed.
Can they unravel the mysteries of the past before it’s too late? The fate of the future hangs in the balance in this magical tale of fae, gods, and ancient prophecies.
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
It’s been almost five years since I read book one in this series and I’m finally planning to continue reading it. Weirdly, I actually remember almost everything that happens in book one, so I feel like I’m in a good position to continue the series.
I’m also ready for more Selwyn in my life. I loved him in book one!
Synopsis: The shadows have risen, and the line is law.
All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:
A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.
But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.
Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.
When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.
If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: Yours for the Season by Emily Stone