December is one of my favorite months, full of time with family and friends, activities, and lots of delicious food. However, all the hustle and bustle of the month can make me long to find some quiet time to curl up on the couch with a good book. If you find yourself in a similar boat, check out this list of ice-cold reads, perfect for a cozy night in on a chilly December night.
In Moon of the Crusted Snow, a small northern Anishinaabe community becomes known as one of the last bastions of safety after an apocalypse destroys modern society. In this post-apocalyptic world, the villagers return to ancestral Anishinaabe ways of living, only to have their lives destabilized as outsiders make their way to the village seeking refuge. Tensions run high as winter falls, and lives hang in the balance as unexpected leaders offer clashing visions on how to ensure the community’s survival.
Heat up your winter reading list with this spicy BookTok favorite… Abducted by aliens and stranded on a remote ice planet, a group of human women find that they are the fated mates of the planet’s inhabitants. If this becomes a new favorite, good news– it’s the first book in a 21 (!) book series, and there are plenty more ice planet barbarians to love.
If Nordic noir is your thing, consider adding Snowblind to your list. Rookie policeman Ari Thor is called to a remote fishing village in northern Iceland after a young woman is attacked and an elderly writer falls to his death. Convinced that there is more to these crimes than meets the eye, he seeks out the truth, only to be met with hostility from local residents who close ranks and insist they were merely accidents. Ari must delve into this quiet village's dark secrets and find the killer before they strike again.
On Angel Smith’s last day working as a chef on a remote Antarctic scientific research base, a band of criminals attack the base, leaving no survivors except Angel and handsome glaciologist Ford Cooper. Angel and Ford must join forces to make it off the continent and out of the murderers’ clutches. But with dwindling supplies, no contact with the outside world, and a coming storm, their race against the clock may have deadly consequences…
Looking for a modern homage to And Then There Were None? In One by One, a group of London tech executives travel to the French Alps for a corporate retreat, only to find themselves stranded in their chalet by a blizzard and avalanche. As the group's isolation sets in, the retreat quickly becomes a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse as members of the group keep disappearing, one by one. The survivors must discover the killer in their midst, before it’s too late.
