THE CHRISTMAS period is typically the time when people are in the mood to settle down with a good book.
But when the Christmas lights are on and snow is falling outside, you would rather not be reading about holidaying in sunnier climes or true crime.
So here are five books to get you in the festive mood.
A Winter’s Dream by Sophie Claire
Liberty has never been a risk-taker. She loves the routine of her quiet life in the charming village of Willowbrook, with her Labrador, Charlie.
But the arrival of a mysterious gift prompts Liberty to make some changes – starting with a daily challenge to say yes to everything for the month of December. Fearless and independent, Alex could hardly be a less obvious fit for peaceful village life.
But after an accident cuts short his promising motorcycling career, he finds himself in Willowbrook in search of new direction.
When the pair become unlikely housemates, sparks fly at Damselfly Cottage. Will living together prove impossible – especially when the first snow falls?
Or, cut off from the outside world, can they help each other find what it takes to be brave this Christmas?
Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
It is Christmas Eve and, as well as the snowflakes from the worst blizzard in 50 years, which have blanketed Gracetown, love is in the air.
Who would have thought a freezing hike from a stranded train would end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger?
Or that a trip to the Waffle House through 4ft of snow could lead to romance with an old friend?
Or that the path to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks?
Touching, hilarious and filled with festive cheer, the magic of the holiday season shines on these three interconnected tales of love, romance and breathtaking kisses.
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love – and life – she has been looking for.
When Iris decides to move to New York and restart her culinary career, she realises she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is.
All the nostalgic, New York-set movies she had watched with her mum while eating their special secret-recipe ice cream did not quite do it justice. And after spending the last few years in a relationship with a man who kept her world as small as possible, she’s feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.
Wandering the streets at a famous food festival, Iris feels like she is living in a movie.
Then she stumbles upon a gelateria that looks strangely familiar.
Inside, she meets Gio – a perfect leading man with an irresistible smile – and a crisis of his own.
As fate would have it, Iris is the one person with the answer to his problem. She just can’t tell him that . . .
Can Iris finally let go of the past and let herself fall in love?
Winter by Ali Smith
Emerging from and responding to the tumult of 2017, the second in Smith’s seasonal quartet – which started in autumn – is a shape-shifting tour de force that echoes A Christmas Carol.
The book, shortlisted for The Orwell Prize 2018, matches up to the toughest of the seasons.
Smith’s shape-shifting quartet of novels casts a merry eye over a bleak post-truth era with a story rooted in history, memory and warmth, its taproot deep in the evergreens: art, love, laughter. It’s the season that teaches us survival.
Here comes Winter.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
If you have not read it yet, what could be more festive than the ultimate fairytale?
Four adventurous siblings-Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie- step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch.
But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
This, the second in CS Lewis’ fantasy series, has drawn in readers of all ages for more than 60 years.
