20 novels set in cold places Archives

The Bear and the Nightingale

by Katherine Arden

A trip to Moscow left such an impression on Katherine Arden that when she sat down to write her book, "Russia came pouring back out." In this reimagined fairy tale, 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. This spin on the Baba Yaga stories reminded me of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, and anything Neil Gaiman.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

by Heather Fawcett

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.

The Terror

by Dan Simmons

Imagine yourself 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, the men take to walking across the ice as a last attempt at survival. At 700+ pages, this novel is full of suspense and icy chills.

Before I Let Go

by Marieke Nijkamp

A suspenseful YA mystery that 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.

The Hunting Party: A Novel

by Lucy Foley

Sometimes reunions bring out the worst in us. A group of nine college friends reunite annually to celebrate the New Year. But when a blizzard strikes while they’re stuck in an isolated lodge in Scotland, old resentments and toxic patterns emerge. 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.

Whiteout

by Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Dhonielle Clayton, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, Tiffany D. Jackson

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.

The Secrets We Kept

by Lara Prescott

The story behind this historical thriller could launch its own novel. 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 what that might have looked like. The story moves between East, where the focus is on Pasternak and his muse/mistress, and West, where readers get to know the female spies of the OSS. The book has the feel of Kate Quinn’s The Huntress, with some of the storytelling flavor of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, or Brit Bennet’s The Mothers.

Snow Country

by Yasunari Kawabata

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.

Whiteout (Survival Instincts)

by Adriana Anders

High stakes romantic suspense by Adriana Anders set in Antarctica that will have your heart in your throat while you read.

Ethan Frome

by Edith Wharton

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.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass

by Melissa Bashardoust

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.

Migrations

by Charlotte McConaghy

McConaghy's U.S. debut is set in the near future, when 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.

Spinning Silver

by Naomi Novik

This ambitious fairy tale tackles antisemitism and builds a beautifully unique world, while threading the original Rumpelstiltskin tale through the story. With six different narrators, it may take you a few chapters to get acclimated, but patience is rewarded with a tale of two kingdoms, an impossible challenge, a peasant girl, and a high-stakes quest. Novik manages to tackle timely themes in a completely enchanting fairy tale. I love my magical reads with a dose of realism, and this one delivers.

Burial Rites

by Hannah Kent

Set in 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.

Wintersong

by S. Jae-Jones

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.

The Blackhouse

by Peter May

Detective Inspector Fin Macleod heads to the Isle of Lewis to investigate a brutal murder. It’s the tiny isolated island in the Outer Hebrides where he grew up and couldn’t wait to flee. Everyone there knows everyone’s business but something sinister lurks and the investigation brings Fin dangerously closer to the past he tried to leave behind. My friend Mel read this while we were in Scotland and reports it’s a dark police procedural with major content warnings but the detective is so compelling that she tore through the trilogy.

Snow Falling on Cedars

by David Guterson

This lyrical and heartbreaking first 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.

Our Favorite Songs: A Moonlighters novella

by Anita Kelly

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.)

The Snow Child

by Eowyn Ivey

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, in a way that eerily mirrors a much-loved fairy tale, the couple spies a young girl they've never seen before running through the trees. I loved this magic-infused story about love, loss, and the wildness of nature.

How High We Go in the Dark

by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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.

20 novels set in cold places