Around here we are big fans of seasonal reading. (You know we love a good beach read around here, or a summery summer read!) I typically love to match my books to the season I’m in. But when it comes to those extra hot and humid summer days, sometimes what I need is a vicarious way to escape the sweltering heat—and that’s when I find myself reaching for novels set in cold places instead.
I might not want to experience an isolated snowstorm or sub-zero temps but that’s the beauty of literature. I can transport myself to Alaska, Russia, or fictional frigid settings and imagine a time and place (likely only a few months from now) when I won’t feel as hot as I do right now. Will I actually, objectively feel colder by reading these books? Not unless I crank up the air conditioning. But thanks to the power of the readerly imagination, simply reading about these cold settings brings a little bit of relief.
20 novels set in cold places
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Our Favorite Songs: A Moonlighters novella
Moonie’s is the karaoke bar where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. Exception: high school nemeses Aiden and Kai after their mutual best friend Penny interferes. There’s no resisting the magic of karaoke in a queer bar, however, and when a blizzard rolls in just as the bar closes, Aiden and Kai wind up spending the night together. (Open door.) More info →
The Snow Child
I loved this magic-infused story about love, loss, and the wildness of nature, based on a wintery fairytale. It's Alaska, 1920, the night of the first snowfall, which inspires a typically serious couple to indulge in a bit of silliness: they build a child out of snow, just for fun. In the morning, the snow child is gone, but the couple spies a young girl they've never seen before running through the trees. From there, a magical and tender story unfolds. More info →
How High We Go in the Dark
Set in 2030, this debut climate fiction follows scientists in Siberia who discover the preserved remains of a girl. She appears to have died of an ancient virus. A virus that is highly contagious once thawed, unleashing a global Arctic Plague. From there, the story explores the way we respond and adapt to tragedy, as well as the impact on our planet. As some cities and states fall underwater, other areas build funerary skyscrapers and euthanasia amusement parks. Scientists try to create artificial organs for transplant, while others look for a new planet. It is as much about these changes as it is about what ties and connects our humanity to each other. More info →
The Bear and the Nightingale
In this spin on the Baba Yaga stories set in medieval Russia amongst snowy landscapes and magical forests, a young girl with a special gift attempts to save her family from the evil lurking in the woods. When Vasya’s new stepmother forbids the family from honoring the household spirits, the village experiences dangerous repercussions. Vasya will be called to defend those she loves as she learns the story of Frost the winter demon is all too real. More info →
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Epistolary novel fans, take note! Scientist Emily Wilde shares her field notes as she researches fae on a fictional Scandinavian island. Ljosland’s fae are the final piece for the encyclopedia she’s been working on for years and which will put her career on the map. She’s not exactly thrilled when her colleague Wendell appears uninvited. He’s the perfect counterpart to her prickly antisocial self, however. The fact that she’s pretty sure he’s secretly fae doesn’t hurt either. Whether dealing with abduction via a winter king or a changeling-cursed house, you’ll be rooting for Emily and Wendell as each adventure unfolds. More info →
The Terror
Imagine you’re a crew member on the 1845 Franklin Expedition, searching for the legendary Northwest Passage. Now imagine that your ship is fully surrounded by thick, unyielding ice. The men on board the HMS Terror feel trepidation at the thought of a second summer with their ship stuck in the Arctic Circle, hoping for a thaw that will allow them to continue on or go home. As time passes, their supplies dwindle, tensions rise, and the men realize that there’s something out there, a predator that they are unequipped to handle. Desperate, they take to walking across the ice as a last attempt at survival. At 700+ pages, this novel is full of suspense and icy chills. More info →
Before I Let Go
This suspenseful YA mystery explores mental illness and friendship. Corey is about to return home to Lost Creek, Alaska when her best friend Kyra dies by suicide. She’s understandably devastated, and confused by the town’s response to Kyra’s death. Corey is treated like an outsider and the townspeople only get creepier from there. She’s determined to find out what really happened to Kyra, no matter what secrets Lost Creek is trying to keep. More info →
The Hunting Party: A Novel
Sometimes reunions bring out the worst in us. In this tense mystery, a group of nine friends reconvene to celebrate the New Year. But when a blizzard strikes their isolated Scottish lodge, old resentments and toxic patterns bubble to the surface. By New Year’s Day, one of them is dead and one of them did it. Which of the friends is a killer? A great choice for anyone who enjoys locked-room mysteries, especially ones with a strong sense of place. More info →
Whiteout
YA authors Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon offer a collection of stories set during a massive snowstorm in Atlanta. After Stevie breaks her girlfriend’s heart, she asks her friends to help her pull off an epic apology. The city whiteout throws an unexpected wrench into their plans, leaving room for each to experience their own romance or deal with relationship woes. More info →
The Secrets We Kept
Lara Prescott has always loved the book Dr Zhivago, and was stunned—along with the rest of the world—when the CIA declassified documents revealing that it had played a role in the book's covert publication and distribution in Russia during the Cold War. This is Prescott's imagining of how those covert operations may actually have been executed. The story moves between the East, where the focus is on Pasternak and his muse and mistress Olga Ivinskaya, and the West, where readers get to know the female spies of the OSS. Between experienced spy Sally, new recruit and Russian emigré Irina, and the communal voice of the CIA typing pool, the reader learns all about the American plot to infiltrate Russia with literature, and the personal secrets these women were also called to keep. There’s no need to be familiar with Dr Zhivago but Pasternak’s snow-laden tale of love and tragedy during the Russian Revolution is a classic for a reason. More info →
Snow Country
In this classic 1968 short novel, wealthy Shimamura travels to the desolate snowy mountains in western Japan, where strong winds from the nearby sea blanket the region in snow so deep that it sometimes makes travel between the small towns and villages impossible. While there, Shimamura meets Komako. Nothing can come of their affair as she is a geisha but feelings arise nonetheless. With its moving storyline and palpable sadness, this Nobel winner is widely considered to be Kawabata’s masterpiece. More info →
Whiteout (Survival Instincts)
Chef Angel and neurodiverse glaciologist Ford have to flee for their lives across frozen remote land after their Antarctic research station is attacked. The sun is about to go down for the season and all hope will be lost if they’re still out in the elements. With a grumpy-sunshine pairing and only one tent, this is high stakes romantic suspense at its best. (Open door.) More info →
Ethan Frome
A portrait of a man trapped by his circumstances. Edith Wharton’s short classic introduces readers to beleaguered farmer Ethan Frome who returned to Starkfield, Massachusetts after his parents became ill and subsequently died. He married his mother’s caregiver Zeena but she is not well suited for living on a farm. Ethan’s plans for his life struggle to come to fruition, as both the farm and his marriage prove to be difficult. Zeena is a hypochondriac and believes she is on her deathbed. When her young cousin Mattie comes to care for her, Ethan finds himself developing feelings for Mattie and fixated on the happiness she represents against his humdrum existence. The dilemma comes to a head during the bleak winter. More info →
Girls Made of Snow and Glass
I love a good fairytale retelling. This spin on the classic Snow White story features two young women, destined to be rivals. Mina's magician father cut her heart out and replaced it with glass when she was little; though her heart literally beats for no one, she sets her sights on marrying the king and falling in love the storybook way. She becomes a stepmother in the bargain, to a young girl named Lynet who was crafted out of snow in her mother's image. When the king pits Mina and Lynet against one another, they must decide whether their rivalry, their territory, or their complex relationship is most important of all. More info →
Migrations
In the near future, most wildlife has become extinct. Franny Stone arrives in Greenland to follow the last Arctic terns on their likely final migration to Antarctica. She finagles a spot on a fishing boat and develops a found family with the oddball crew. As they set sail, Franny learns there’s no hiding from her past—including a love affair and a crime. The story alternates between her quest and her history, exploring climate change, redemption, and the persistence of hope. More info →
Spinning Silver
This ambitious Rumpelstiltskin retelling works in other recognizable elements from Eastern European folklore while building a beautifully unique world and tackling timely themes like antisemitism. Novik presents a tale of ice and fire kingdoms, an impossible challenge, a peasant girl, and a high-stakes quest. With six different narrators, it may take you a few chapters to get acclimated, but your patience will be rewarded. More info →
Burial Rites
Set in the deep winter of 1829 Iceland, Agnes is accused of murder and sent to live with a family on an isolated farm while she waits to be executed. At first, only the priest tries to understand her but the farmers eventually question whether there’s another side of the story. A haunting and atmospheric character-driven tale, based on a true story. More info →
Wintersong
This deliciously dark retelling draws inspiration from many well-known fairy tales. Liesl grew up hearing about the Goblin King who goes out riding in search of his bride. When the Goblin King steals her sister, she has no choice but to go after her. Liesl decides to make the ultimate sacrifice: her life for her sister’s. She’ll stay Underground and marry the Goblin King instead. It’s not long before she discovers it’s not the sacrifice she thought it would be and that there’s more to the Goblin King than she realized. More info →
The Blackhouse
My friend Mel read this while we were in Scotland together, and described it as a dark police procedural with MAJOR content warnings but with a detective so compelling that she tore through it. I'm a scaredy cat in my reading life, but the setting on the isolated Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides almost convinces me to give it a shot! Edinburgh detective Fin Macleod grew up on the isolated isle and couldn't wait to leave it behind forever, but he's called back to the hardscrabble Scottish community to investigate a brutal murder. Everyone in the tight-knit community knows everyone else's business, yet no one knows—or will say—who might be responsible for the crime. The one thing the detective knows is that something sinister lurks beneath the surface, as the investigation brings Fin dangerously close to the past he tried to leave behind. More info →
Snow Falling on Cedars
This lyrical and heartbreaking novel is set in an isolated, snow-covered Washington State island town in the 1950s, where a Japanese man stands trial for murdering a white fisherman. The trial brings the town's painful history and many citizen's long-submerged sense of guilt and shame sharply to the surface; Guterson skillfully unfolds both the history of the town and that of two star-crossed lovers layer by layer. More info →
P.S. Take a trip to the icy Arctic with these 8 awe-inspiring nonfiction books.
How do you feel about seasonal reading? Do you have recommendations for novels set in cold places? Please tell us in the comments section!
56 comments
Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg would be right at home on this list. I read it and Migrations back-to-back one summer in Maine and they made a good pairing.
Peter Høeg’s ‘Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow’ is a must read!
Thanks for the addition!
It’s one of my all time recommendations. So happy that others thought of it too
I also came here to recommend Smilla! Love some of the other recommendations. The Bear and the Nightingale and Spinning Silver are two of my most frequently recommended books for people who aren’t sure if they like fantasy. There’s just a smidge. It’s a great gateway. Also, How High We Go in the Dark was one of my 5 star reads last year but it is in fact DARK in many places. Be careful of your content sensitivities.
I also loved Smilla and enjoyed the movie as well. However, the latter may be a bit dated now….
Spinning Silver is one of my favorite fantasy/fairytale/folklore stories ever. It holds up for rereading and is beautiful, clever, imaginative, creative and deeply satisfying. I wish more people knew about it 🙂
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguinn. Only part of it happens in ice cold landscape, but the whole book is such a great read.
I’d forgotten about that ice cold landscape—thank you!
My only 5 star read this year and it’s snowy and cold: The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller. It’s funny, excellent prose and amazing setting of all the cold arctic places. Deals with heavy things, but I always felt hopeful and it always felt humorous.
This one is new to me; thank you!
I would also suggest Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, takes place in Alaska and the winter and summer struggles, with a bit taking place in the Pacific Northwest.
It’s perfect for this list!
The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin, Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (set in a frozen Quebec City), The Birchbark House Triology by Louise Erdrich (A children’s book following a young Ojibwe girl through all 4 seasons in northern Minnesota. All are excellent and really nail a Minnesota winter), and of course, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Nothing captures winter on the prairie and makes you appreciate hot and humid quite like it!
Great additions!
Two Old Women: an Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis is a beautiful classic book.
This title is new to me. Thank you for sharing!
Love this list and the comments! I must recommend The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, which I first read during a heat wave when I lived in Texas during the early 80s. The setting is oh so cold and the mystery is chilling!
Thank you for the recommendation!
The Children’s Blizzard
I’ve been meaning to read this one!
Winter Solstice by Rosamund Piltcher is one of my favorites- great setting, wonderful characters, cold winter nights, warm heart.
I was thinking of this book as well. And it isn’t scary or depressing – both of which seem kind of heavy on this list – LOL!
Yes!!!
I love that book!
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
Perfect choice!
Such a good addition!
Don’t forget the classics–any Jack London book will make you shiver!
So true!
Ruth Ware’s thriller One by One fits this list completely! Set in a mountain top resort in the Alps in the middle of an epic snowstorm, this locked door mystery with dual narrators is chilling in both senses of the word. I couldn’t put it down when I read it last week in the middle of a California heat wave.
That sounds perfect!
For a lighter, Alaska-setting read, I enjoyed Sarah Morgenthaler’s Moose Springs, Alaska, series. They’re light-hearted and fun. Perfect for summer!
Such a good addition to this list!
I just finished a horror novel called The Road of Bones by Christopher Golden. It’s set in Siberia, and it’s perfect for this list.
The cold in the novel is central to the plot, and one could argue that it’s a character.
Sounds intriguing!
I’m saving this list for the winter (or whenever I start getting tired of this heat ;)! The Great Alone is another one I think would be a great one to include on this list.
The Great Alone is such a good title for this list!
Ethan Frome is INCREDIBLE! I was blown away by this story and it’s conclusion. I mean, knocked in the head!! Everyone should read it, especially young people. Think about consequences….
I highly recommend the John Cardinal and Lise Delorme series by Giles Blunt starting with Forty Words for Sorrow. They are set in a small Canadian town, mostly in winter. Brrr! So good.
Although it’s a child’s book, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder is an amazing account of survival during the winter of 1880-1881. I distinctly remember reading it over the summer when I was in grade school. I was so immersed in the story that, when I took a break from my reading and looked outside, I was shocked: there was neither grey sky nor snow blocking the view from the windows. Instead, I was greeted by bright blue Kansas skies, blinding summer sun, and suburban yards attempting to survive 100+ degree weather. I re-read it with my book club several years ago and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The Great Alone made me think I wanted to visit Alaska, but soon after finishing I remembered I hate being cold! Two other books set in cold places – Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and One by One by Ruth Ware.
The Break by Katherena Vermette and Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso are both excellent.
Very Cold People isn’t entirely set in a cold climate but if you went to grade school in the 70s/80s, it’s very evocative.
How about ‘White Heat’ by M.J. McGrath? Edie Kiglatuk is an interesting and flawed character. There is a whole series.
Insomnia by Robert Westbrook – murder mystery in Alaska.
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy – charming, set in Ireland
I loved A Week In Winter. Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors
I am loving THE RESORT by Sarah Goodwin. Snowy mountains, a stalled car, an abandoned ski resort, a sudden disappearance. I’m halfway through and utterly chilled for more than one reason. 🙂
This is a middle grades book, but – The Greenglass House. So atmospheric of winter!
I really enjoyed the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow. These are set in Alaska-with a strong independent native American detective. Plenty of cold weather!
I have The Snow Child on my stack of books to read for July. It’s been sitting on my shelves for awhile now. I thought a hot summer month would be a good time to read it.
You will never complain about Winter after you’ve read “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage “ by Alfred Lansing. A true story, it is up there as of the greatest adventures stories of all time.
Dana Stabenow has two mystery series set in Alaska that I have enjoyed — the Kate Shugak a inuit and one featuring Liam Campbell an Alaska State Policeman and Sue Henry who has a mystery series and a team of sled dogs.
Those are wonderful recommendations for this list, thank you!
I love this post so much, especially after one of my doctors warned me not to sit in the sun because of one of my medications. But, like, the joke is on her, because I don’t really sit in the sun at all. I am not a fan of the outdoors generally. Anyway. I LOVE THIS POST. The idea you shared about reading stories set in colder settings when it’s way too hot where you are? YES. I will use this concept. Thank you! I am going to start with a reread of a Maggie Stiefvater book so I can make my way through the Shiver trilogy (The Wolves of Mercy Falls series). I will start with Shiver.
I love the descriptions you included but I was especially excited to see books I have been hoping to read: Girls Made of Snow and Wintersong. I am determined to watch Labyrinth first though before I read Wintersong because I know nothing about the Goblin King and I hear he shows up in that movie.
Genius idea for a post. You made my day. 🙂 Now I can start looking through my shelves to spot more cold books for me to read.
I also loved Stef Penney’s The Tenderness of Wolves, Ruta Septys’ Between Shades of Gray, & Danielle Girard’s White Out.
It’s not my favorite Jasper Fforde book, but this prompt immediately made me think of his Early Riser, a science fiction/alternate history thriller that involves humanity needing to hibernate during the winter because of the extreme cold.