Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Winter 2024-25 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a tag hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's prompt is "Books on My Winter 2024-2025 To-read List". 

There were three books from my fall list that I didn't manage to read at all: Splintered, The Wrath and the Dawn, and Peter Darling. I'm currently reading Tress of the Emerald Sea. All in all, I did better than I thought! 

Half of the books on my winter TBR are Christmas/winter-themed, and there are only two fantasies on the entire list! All covers are linked to Goodreads. Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Three Holidays and a Wedding, by Uzma Jalaluddin & Melissa Stapley

Genre: Romance

"As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another. At least they’ll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam’s life, Saif, wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops. An emergency landing finds Anna, Saif, Maryam, and her sister’s entire bridal party snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town, where fate has Anna’s actor-crush filming a holiday romance. As Maryam finds the courage to open her heart to Saif, and Anna feels the magic of being snowbound with an unexpected new love—both women soon realize there’s no place they’d rather be for the holidays." (From Goodreads)

I think I saw this on someone's Top Ten Tuesday list last week, and I've been looking for some light and fluffy holiday romances. I'm trying to get through a couple books I got from the library before this one, but it's sitting on my shelf waiting to be read!

2. The Holiday Honeymoon Switch, by Julia McKay

Genre: Romance

"When doppelgänger best friends trade one’s cabin Christmas vacation for the other’s Hawaiian would’ve-been-honeymoon, both might just find love they weren’t expecting." (From Goodreads)

I'm excited to read this one! I feel like I saw it being talked about on a lot of blogs a couple months ago.

3. The Thirteenth Gift, by Charlene Costanzo

Genre: Short Story

"While on assignment in Eastern Europe, Claire, a U.S. journalist, learns of a local legend. The deceptively simple fable about the thirteenth gift has a profound effect on Claire, which soon transforms her marriage, her work, and the way she sees the world. The Thirteenth Gift is both a cautionary tale and an inspirational fable as it shows a way through the perilous consequences of greed, arrogance, and abuse of power to an uplifted state of consciousness and community. The Thirteenth Gift invites readers to renew their own sense of wonderment, which can lead to freedom from fear and a greater experience of hope, beauty, and joy in daily life." (From Goodreads)

To be honest, I'm not really looking forward to reading this, but it's for my January book club meeting. The reviews on Goodreads are less than stellar.

4. The Winners, by Fredrik Backman

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

"Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. ... As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink. So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?" (From Goodreads)

I can't wait to read this! I've read Beartown and Us Against You, and I asked for The Winners for Christmas. This series is great to read during the winter, because winter is such a huge part of the setting.

5. Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice

Genre: Thriller

"With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision. Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn." (From Goodreads)

I was going to try to read this for Native American Heritage Month in November, but I didn't get around to it. I'll try again before winter is over!

6. The Republic of Salt, by Ariel Kaplan

Genre: Fantasy

"In this riveting sequel to The Pomegranate Gate, Toba, Naftaly, and their allies must defend a city under siege—while the desperate deals they’ve made begin to unravel around them." (From Goodreads)

The Pomegranate Gate was sooooo good!! I'm still waiting for my library to get this, but once it does, I'll be reading it ASAP. And look at how gorgeous the cover is!!

7. The Third Gilmore Girl, by Kelly Bishop

Genre: Memoir

"'Come for the Gilmore Girls anecdotes, stay for the revealing truths about what it takes to build a lifelong career in and out of Hollywood' (The A.V. Club) in this candid and captivating memoir from award-winning and beloved actress Kelly Bishop, spanning her six decades in show business from A Chorus Line, Dirty Dancing, Gilmore Girls, and much more." (From Goodreads)

I love Gilmore Girls, and I love memoirs, and this memoir is the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Readers' Favorite Memoir! What's not to love? I have this on hold at the library.

8. Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Genre: Horror

"When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival." (From Goodreads)

I have a friend from my writers group who's writing a (very good) Dracula fan fiction, and it's made me want to read Dracula. This is a classic, which I always feel more like reading in the wintertime, and it just seems like the sort of book you should read in the winter anyway.

9. The Blood Spell, by C.J. Redwine

Genre: Fantasy

"A dark and romantic epic fantasy retelling of the Cinderella story, about a girl who must team up with the prince she despises to defeat an evil creature threatening their kingdom. The fourth standalone novel in the New York Times bestselling Ravenspire series by C. J. Redwine." (From Goodreads)

Y'all know I can't resist a fairytale retelling, especially a retelling of Cinderella! And I mean, the cover looks kind of wintry, doesn't it?

10. Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Idol, by Lauren Sherman

Genre: Nonfiction

"The story of how Victoria’s Secret skyrocketed from a tiny chain of boutiques to a retail phenomenon with more than $8 billion in annual sales at its peak—all while defining an impossible beauty standard for generations of American women—before the brand’s tight grip on the industry finally slipped." (From Goodreads)

This is on my TBR mostly because of the song "Victoria's Secret" by Jax. (It's really good, you should go listen to it.) Plus, I just think it's a topic that needs to be explored more!

There we go! Are any of these on your TBR? What kinds of books do you feel like reading in the winter? If you're a fellow book blogger, drop the link to your TTT in the comments! I'd love to see your list.