We had snow here in Nashville last week — real snow that kept me in my house for a week because this girl does not drive in the snow. All I wanted to do was curl up with a good book and read for hours. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you want to look at it) I had to work all week, so I didn’t get to have a traditional snow day, but it did make me want to create this list of books to curl up with on a snow day. Let’s get started!
one | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Monique lives in modern-day New York and is writing about the life of the 50s movie starlet Evelyn Hugo. Evelyn chronicles her life to Monique, so much of the story actually taking place in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. As Evelyn tells Monique about the trials and tribulations she faced as a woman trying to reach stardom, and about her seven husbands throughout her lifetime, Monique gains a new sense of confidence in her own life because of the stories Evelyn is telling her, and she learns a terrible secret along the way.
two | One Day in December by Josie Silver
Laurie spots him from the bus window. He’s waiting outside, and she wills him to come on board, but the universe has other plans. She spends a whole year looking for him, only to find him at her very home, as her roommate and best friend’s boyfriend. What ensues is nearly ten years of near misses and a topsy-turvy love triangle you can’t help but root for.
three | The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Addie LaRue made a deal with the devil 300 years ago, and no one has been able to remember her since. She has survived wars, the invention of planes, famines, and so much more without anyone remembering her name. Until she runs into a boy in a bookshop one day and everything changes. He remembers her. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is beautiful and, of course, heartbreaking. It reminds readers to live every day as if it were their last and to never be afraid to stand in the storm.
four | The Dreamers by Karen Walker Thompson
Santa Lora — a small college town — is put under lockdown when kids at the college start falling asleep and not waking up. The disease is contained in the town by taking extreme measures like the National Guard and police officers stationed at the borders of the town ensuring nobody can leave. Thompson follows five or six main characters as they experience the virus in vastly different ways.
five | My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede is called in time and time again to save her sister from herself. Korede’s sister keeps killing her boyfriends. Korede struggles with turning her sister in to the Nigerian police, but ultimately, she decides family is more important than anything else. That is, until Korede’s sister starts dating the doctor Korede has been madly in love with for some time. Korede must choose between saving the man she loves from the inevitable or protecting her sister.
six | Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Alex is the First Son of the United States — his mom is the President — and Henry is the Prince of England. They are sworn enemies, until one day, they have to pretend to be best friends to save face after toppling a wedding cake at the royal wedding. What originally starts as a forced friendship, blossoms into a full-on love affair. This was a wonderful young adult romance that helped highlight other types of love stories for teens to look up to.
seven | The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Evelyn Hardcastle is going to be murdered. Aiden Bishop must figure out by whom. Each day, he wakes up in a different person’s body whose perspective should help him put the pieces together. He’s racing against other participants to figure out the murder suspect so he can finally escape Blackheath. All the twists and turns along the way are worth every page turn and late-night spent reading.
eight | Verity by Colleen Hoover
Verity is an author of a best-selling series who has lost two daughters to tragic accidents. She herself is comatose after a car accident, and therefore, her husband, Jeremy, has gone about hiring a ghost-writer to finish her book series. The lucky ghost-writer just so happens to be Lowen, the woman Jeremy gave the shirt off his back to after they both witnessed a man get run over by a truck in New York minutes before they were supposed to be meeting about the book deal. Jeremy and Lowen immediately have chemistry, and that is only heightened when Lowen has to spend a few days at his house looking through Verity’s notes to continue her books. But strange things are happening in the house. Lowen swears Verity keeps staring at her, and she can’t seem to figure out why the TV keeps turning itself off when she knows the nurse looking after Verity said she left it on. The book is eerie and creepy, and I recommend reading it during daylight hours.
nine |The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
Vianne and Isabelle are trapped in France during World War II, and each sister must serve their country in the best way they know how. For Vianne, this means being strong for her children while her husband fights on the front-lines and a German soldier moves into her home. On the other hand, Isabelle serves as a spy against the Germans. Each sister’s journey is full of bravery and tells the heartbreaking story of what war can do to families and countries.
ten | Normal People by Sally Rooney
Connell and Marianne don’t really know each other, at least, they pretend they don’t at school. When their paths cross in Marianne’s home when Connell is waiting for his mother to finish her duties, he makes pleasant conversation, but Marianne is weird and he wouldn’t want anyone to know they are kind of, sort of friends. When they end up at the same university, the tables are turned. Marianne is the popular girl while Connell is lost, trying to find his way. Somehow, their paths always cross, and their relationship explores the complexities of first love, the importance of communication, and the complexity of family and community relationships.
Happy reading,
Kimberly
