2022 Winter Must-Reads

Let’s be honest, winter is the one time of year where we all want to be trapped inside, and there’s no better way to enjoy that then to dive into a good book. If you can’t decide what’s next on your TBR we’ve put together a list of some of this cozy-season’s most intriguing reads. Whether you’re looking to curl up with a loved one by the fire or imagine yourself in a land far away to escape the mountain of snow outside your window, there is sure to be something here for you.

Somebody’s Home by Kaira Rouda 

After leaving a suffocating relationship, Julie took her daughter and moved to a new Oceanside home in hopes of a fresh start. But when they find out that the previous owners left their stubborn son Tom behind, it turns out that Julie’s dream life might just become her worst nightmare. The clock is ticking, and in three days someone must leave. Little does Julie know, Tom is ready for a fight, and someone is going to get exactly what they deserve.

 

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

Taking place in 1925 London, England, The Christie Affair takes a dive into the eleven days of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. Miss Nan O’Dea wants Archie Christie, and she’ll do whatever it takes to have him… even become his mistress. In the 11 days that Agatha Christie is missing, questions rise to the surface: why adultery? Why murder? And what did Miss Nan O’Dea have to do with it? A heated tale of star-crossed lovers and betrayal, Nina de Gramont has penned the perfect fireside mystery.

 

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez 

A wedding planner for Manhattan’s elite and a congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx Brooklyn neighborhood respectively, Olga and her brother Pedro seem to live the perfect lives on paper. But just on paper. Their mother, Blanca, abandoned them for a radical cause, and suddenly here she is tumbling back into their lives amid the winds of hurricane season in Puerto Rico. On top of that, Olga can plan a wedding, but can’t write her own love story to save her life –– until she meets Matteo. But the trouble is that he wants her to confront her family’s past, and Olga isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to do that. 

 

Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton 

Sometimes, we all need a book that leaves us speechless, and Julie Carrick Dalton’s stunning debut, Waiting for the Night Song, does just that. We’ve all made a pact with our best friend before, and Cadie Kessler takes them very seriously. When an urgent message from her former best friend Daniela brings her back to her childhood hometown, the two are forced to face everything –– including the summer that changed their lives and effectively ended their friendship all in one fell swoop. Now Cadie must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to protect the people and forest she loves.

 

Cheat Day by Liv Stratman 

Kit and David have been together for years. Happily married, but somehow, stuck in a rut, Kit has quit her job and is working at her sister’s bakery in search of something new, while David’s career continues to flourish. In her frustration, the only thing left for Kit to fixate on is extreme dieting (and an obsession with the bakery’s most handsome new employee). A sexy and funny novel, Stratman tells a story of self-control, love, and the grey areas of marriage.

 

Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson

Day of the Dead means something to everyone, and for Ramón and Julieta it just became about first kisses. But when the pair find out that their families are in a standoff over a stolen recipe, all their underlying tension might just go up in flames. Torn (and saddled with Ramón as a landlord), Julieta is forced to rely on him to keep her family’s restaurant alive. But what she doesn’t expect is falling in love with him along the way.

 

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi 

Tahereh Mafi is back with another breathtaking fantasy to kick off a brand-new trilogy. The Jinn kingdom is on the verge of toppling, and after a prophecy foretells the king’s death, prince Kamran feels powerless. Kamran then becomes fixated on a servant girl named, Alizeh, but he will soon learn that she’s meant for much more than he ever could have imagined—she’s the rightful heir to his throne.

 

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman 

In Akshaya Raman’s intricate and Indian inspired first installment of the Ivory Key duology, we dive into the plentiful land of Ashoka, where magic is their most valuable resource. But like all natural resources, magic is dying out, and the only thing that can save Ashoka is The Ivory Key. Four estranged siblings, Vira, Ronak, Kaleb and Riya, must come together to find it. They each have something to lose but along the way they might even realize that the only thing they truly need is each other. 

 

Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler 

Tam and Tony are in the process of adopting a boy from China when Tony is suddenly killed in a car accident with his estranged cousin, Mia, just two days before Tam receives the adoption acceptance letter. With no other family around Tam takes in Mia’s five-year-old daughter who she hasn’t seen in years. Overwhelmed with mourning her partner and becoming the guardian of Angela, Tam must now decide whether she will move forward with the boy’s adoption on her own.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing