
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!
This week’s theme is a seasonable freebie, so today I thought I’d share some fantasy books that make for ideal winter reading!
I actually struggled a bit with my list this week, and it’s because I noticed something: I am not a summer person, I hate being hot and I love the autumn and winter, but I am much more drawn to desert fantasy novels than polar fantasy novels. I’d never really noticed that about my reading before, but it turns out I don’t actually read that much fantasy set in cold climates…

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: I can never pass up a chance to mention my all-time favourite novel. Weirdly I associate this novel with the summer because I first read it in August 2015, but it is set over winter and is such a cosy novel to curl up by the fire with.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: This historical fantasy set in medieval Russia has one of the most immersive settings I have ever encountered. If you’re in the mood for a wintry book, this is the one you need!
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: This is another one of my all-time favourite novels and it’s snowy, wintry backdrop makes it the perfect winter read. Uprooted seems to be the general favourite of Novik’s fairy tale retellings, but I think this novel is a masterpiece.
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb: The Realm of the Elderlings is a land with all four seasons, but I remember there being a lot of snow and crackling fires in this particular novel.
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence: To be honest the only book in this trilogy I really liked was Grey Sister, but this series has a very snowy setting and I’d recommend the audiobooks if you want something to listen to on a winter walk.

The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher: This f/f retelling of The Snow Queen is such an excellently tongue-in-cheek little novel that completely tramples internalised misogyny.
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan: This is one of my favourite series, although it did take me a little while to get into this first book, and this particular story sees heroine Isabella travel to a rather cold country with snowy mountains and freezing rivers galore. The audiobooks for this series are so good!
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend: This is a very recent favourite of mine and there are a few scenes set over Christmas that make this Middle Grade novel such a comforting read for the festive season.
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo: Bardugo’s Grishaverse in general is rather wintry considering it’s Russian-inspired fantasy, but the scenes in Fjerda make this book a particularly wintry one for me.
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang: There’s quite a bit of ice magic in this Japanese-inspired military fantasy; I read it last winter, at the beginning of this year, and it was the perfect time to read it.
Great list. The Winternight Trilogy is my favorite wintry fantasy series so I love seeing The Bear and the Nightingale on there.
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I love “cold” books. I’d probably read more fantasy if more books were set in frozen places.
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I am really hoping to read Assassin’s Apprentice next year!! I have it on my challenge to kind of force me to do it. haha. Omg… Sword of Kaigen is one of my top books of the year. It was so brilliant!! Great list.
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I really like your twist on this week’s TTT. One of my all-time favorite books is The Goblin Emperor, too! We read it for a book club and I was the only person who actually *loved* it. Everyone else was wrong, obviously. They have no taste. 😉
I was recently recommended A Natural History of Dragons. I’m glad to hear you enjoy the audiobooks, as that’s the format I’m likely to absorb them in. Such great recommendations!
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I need to get caught up on Bardugo stat! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
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These seem perfect wintry reads. It’s so funny when we realize some of our reading habits details through TTT. 🙂
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All of my favorite books in one succinct list (other than Nevermoor, which I’ve never read and must do asap). This is awesome. Happy TTT
~Top 10 Tuesday Post @Lexlingua
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You’ve got so many of my favourites here! Maybe I prefer winter settings too? I’d never noticed that before.
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I am much the same, though more in the thriller genre — I stay away from books in winter. Just makes me feel so cold!
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I’m reading The Bear and the Nightingale next week and I’m hyped!
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Great list. I loved Spinning Silver and the Winternight trilogy. I think I might have to give The Goblin Emperor another chance, I picked it up earlier this year but didn’t get far. I’d really like to start the Lady Trent series too, it sounds so good.
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I hope you enjoy The Goblin Emperor if you decide to give it another try! The Lady Trent series is brilliant and the audiobook narrator is fantastic. 🙂
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You might have struggled making this list, but it was worth it. There are a few on here that I’ll definitely be checking out, especially The Raven and the Reindeer. Sounds fascinating!
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Thanks! 🙂 The Raven and the Reindeer is a lot of fun and a fairly quick read, so I’d highly recommend it.
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Really interesting twist to the prompt – I hadn’t realised how wintery and seasonal Fjerda is!
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Thanks!
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I’m so behind in the Grishaverse books, I need to catch up.
Spinning Silver has a great cover, makes me want to know more about it.
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Spinning Silver is wonderful, I highly recommend it!
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Great list! That’s really interesting about History of Dragons because I DNFd it but maybe its just a slow grower… thinking I should give it another chance!
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Sometimes books just don’t work for us, but I recommend the audiobooks if you want to give the series another try!
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Ahh awesome! I might try the audio version
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Yes so true about Assassin’s! Lots of crackling fires haha! Loved that series. and you got me thinking about how I don’t read a lot of cold- themed books either, but I do tend to enjoy them…
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It’s such a cosy series!
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These are great! The Goblin Emperor and The Bear & the Nightingale are both favorites, and I really do need to get to Spinning Silver. I’d love to read The Raven & the Reindeer too!
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Lisaaaa Spinning Silver is so good! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. 😀
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I need to finally sit down and read it! I bought a copy right when it came out!
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I think we need more wintry fantasy novels in my opinion. Great selection!
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Thanks Alicia!
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I really need to read Spinning Silver! Uprooted was a lot of fun
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Spinning Silver is so, so good!
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Spinning Silver is perfect for this week!
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It’s so good!
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I love that cover of Nevermoor! I don’t think I’ve seen that version before.
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It’s the UK version. 😀
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What a great list! I’ve read a couple, but there’s some on my TBR and some that got added just now.
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I hope you enjoy them! 😀
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I’ve never really thought about winter in fantasy reads, but there are a lot of great books with winter in them. Thanks for spotlighting that and pointing it out to me.
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Thanks for stopping by to check out my list! 😀
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I would really like to read Spinning Silver and The Bear and the Nightingale. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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I hope you enjoy them both!
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The Bear and the Nightingale and Spinning Silver are also on my list, different topic though haha!
My post!
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They’re perfect for winter!
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I never considered ‘winter fantasy’ as a particular fiction category but it definitely seems so! There’s a few books on this list I need to read, but Spinning Silver is at the top as I love Naomi Novik’s writing. A snowy setting seems to make it suitable for reading rn!
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Spinning Silver is fantastic, I can’t recommend it enough!
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Spinning Silver has such a gorgeous cover, I wish I’d enjoyed it more but I DNF’ed it, same with Assassin’s Apprentice, just couldn’t get into it. I enjoyed King of Scars though it’s not my favourite Grishaverse book.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/top-ten-tuesday-293/
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I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them!
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It’s okay, we can’t love all the books, even if I wish I could!
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I really need to read a Bear and the Nightingale! It’s been on my list far too long and now the whole trilogy is out!
I love Leigh Bardugo’s books and I totally agree that Fjerda definitely has that perfect wintry setting.
This is such a fun list for this week’s freebie prompt! 🙂
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Thanks! The Bear and the Nightingale is the perfect winter read – I hope you enjoy it when you pick it up. 🙂
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Fab list, Jess! Couldn’t agree more with the wintery setting for TBATN! It was so wonderfully and chillingly atmospheric and perfect for a winter read. I really need to read Sword of Kaigen too coz I’ve heard so many good things about it 😅
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Thanks Dini! The Sword of Kaigen is so, so good – I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. 😀
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The Bear and the Nightingale has such a beautiful cover! I love historical fantasy, and medieval Russia is such an interesting setting. I can’t wait to read it!!
The Grishaverse books are so fun to read in wintertime; I might have to revisit King of Scars soon! 🙂
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The Bear and the Nightingale is the perfect winter read!
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Great post! I definitely struggled with thinking of books in winter settings (my topic) so I get what you are saying. I have The Bear and the Nightingale on my TBR! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful week, Jess!
My TTT: https://herbookishdesires.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/top-ten-tuesday-holiday-seasonal-freebie%f0%9f%8e%84/
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You too! 😀 I hope you enjoy The Bear and the Nightingale when you get to it!
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That’s interesting, Jess! There are some deserts that are cold out there. Have you/would you ever want to visit one of them?
My post.
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I think I’d happily visit any desert as long as I knew I could leave!
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I feel like I’m the only person who hasn’t read The Bear & The Nightingale yet!
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It’s such a beautifully written novel!
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The fact that I still haven’t read Spinning Silver but have owned it since it came out is actually killing me.
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It’s SO good!
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I already really wanted to give Nevermoor a try, but now knowing it has some wintery scenes?! Totally bumped up on the TBR haha. Great list!
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Nevermoor is SO good! I hope you enjoy it. 😀
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The Bear and the Nightingale came to mind as soon as I saw the title of your post! I haven’t read Spinning Silver yet, but I enjoyed Uprooted so I’m looking forward to reading that one too.
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Spinning Silver is wonderful, I hope you enjoy it!
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I can honestly say that for a change I’ve actually read 8 out of 10 books on your list (and pretty much loved them all) and I really want to read A Natural History of Dragons sometime! I am more drawn towards winter type of novels I think. I just love to read stories about the cold and wintery powers 😀
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Haha I definitely recommend checking out the audiobooks for the Memoirs of Lady Trent series! The narrator is excellent. 🙂
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Some interesting titles and great covers. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/12/ttt-120820.html
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I’d recommend all of them!
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