If you’re in need of an atmospheric read that encapsulates the snowy season, here are my top winter book recs!

Note: For time’s sake, this list will not include Christmas books. I may do a recommendations post for those in the future!

Avalanche (Off the Itinerary, #1) by M. Liz Boyle

With a title like this, of course I’m going to recommend my author bestie’s debut novel as a winter book rec! Avalanche is the first book in M. Liz Boyle’s Off the Itinerary series for middle grade and young adult readers, which follows kids from the Stanley and Miles families as they encounter many challenges during their camping/outdoor adventure vacations. Avalanche, as the title suggests, will give you chills as the kids get caught up in an avalanche while hiking in the mountains. If you enjoy adventure books like Hatchet but crave Christian messages, you’ll love this series.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

If you haven’t read this classic gothic romance, you’re in for a treat! I read Jane Eyre for the first time in November/December 2025 and love how both cozy and chaotic this book could be. If you’re not familiar with this book, it follows an orphan named Jane Eyre as she navigates the hardships of life and eventually ends up working as a governess for a little girl at an estate owned by Mr. Rochester. If you love reading period dramas and are looking for something to read during these gloomy winter evenings, this will be a treat!

Becoming Nikki by Ashley Elliott

While I can’t remember if this indie young adult Christian novel takes place in winter, it follows Nikki Scott who is a competitive ice dancer alongside her brother, Alec. When Alec expresses his desire to quit competing and tragedy strikes the Scott family, Nikki worries about what their future will hold. It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I’ve reread it and enjoyed it both times. This will especially be a fun read to pick up during the Winter Olympics!

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

If you were here for my Fall Book Recs post a few months ago, you may remember me hardcore fangirling over Feeney’s other secular thriller, Daisy Darker. I read my second book by Feeney at the end of 2025/beginning of 2026. While I didn’t resonate with it as much as Daisy Darker, it was still a five-star read for me and offered the perfect setting for a winter read! Rock Paper Scissors follows Adam and Amelia Wright as they vacation at a renovated chapel in Scotland in an attempt to save their marriage. What they don’t expect to encounter is a massive snowstorm… and other uncertain threats. The twist in this one surprised me big time! If you’re in search of a winter thriller, put this one at the top of your list!

Content Warning: This book contains sparse foul language (2 F-words, a few B-words and S-words, and there is a mild, skippable scene between a married couple.

The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson

While this clean contemporary romcom has a few scenes set during Christmastime, let’s just call it a winter read because it ends around Valentine’s Day, if I remember correctly. This book follows Cassie and Jett, two singles in their late 20s or early 30s who do not have kids. When they go out on a date, they both end up claiming they don’t want to have kids… and each end up going home that night to find kids dropped on their doorsteps. If that’s not enough to make their heads spin, they continue seeing each other and neither one wants to admit they’re now caretakers. Melissa Ferguson is a favorite clean romcom author of mine, and I absolutely loved watching Cassie and Jett fall in love in this book. The kids were flat out adorable, and the scenes where Cassie and Jett got crash courses in parenting had me laughing so hard! But don’t think this is just a silly, goofy time; there were also times when I teared up, especially when it came to the foster care system. I promise this will be both a fun yet emotional read.

Trigger Warning: While this book is clean and doesn’t contain any foul language, infertility and foster care are mentioned, as well as the emotions surrounding those topics.

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry

Speaking of emotional reads, this one made me downright sob! Set in the 1950s, when the older sister of a little boy with a terminal illness is requested to ask a professor at her school about where the idea for his book’s fictional world came from (meaning THE C.S. Lewis and Narnia!), she makes it her mission to do just that as a Christmas present for him. If that sounds like an interesting premise, that’s literally all you need to know about this book before picking it up. This was such a touching read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks to C.S. Lewis’s childhood and young adulthood. Henry is a talented author, and I cannot wait to pick up more books by her. Once Upon a Wardrobe was easily a five-star read for me. While this book is set around Christmastime, I’d classify it as more of a general historical fiction book.

Content Warning: While this book is clean for the most part, the H-word is used once as in “all h— breaking loose”, and drinking alcohol is shown in a positive light.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

I have a feeling I’m missing a few recommendations I wanted to include, and there were some I didn’t include on this list because it’s been a while since I’ve read them and I don’t know if I’d still recommend them, but maybe these are enough to satisfy your craving for a non-Christmassy winter read!

Do you have any winter book recommendations? Drop them in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀