
15 of the Best Books of 2017 to Curl up with This Winter

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15 of the Best Books of 2017 to Curl up with This Winter
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We all know the holidays can be draining, and sometimes you just need to chill at home with a good book. It might sound a little lazy and antisocial, but it can actually one of the best ways replenish your energy, especially if you’re an introvert. And when you do rejoin the holiday party circuit, you’ll have some interesting new conversation starters.

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In honor of the trendy hygge movement (the Danish word for cozy), we’ve collected some of 2017’s most enticing reads. Some are more literary than others, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with some mindless, page-turning entertainment from time to time, right?

MORE: 10 Modern Cookbooks You Need to Own This Fall

So grab the blankets, light the candles, make yourself some hot chocolate or mulled wine, and curl up with one of these absorbing books during down time this holiday season.

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STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

In a coastal town in Connecticut, Amber, a woman whose whose benign, ordinary appearance belies a twisted psyche, meets Daphne, a wealthy woman with the husband and life she has always wanted. Using cunning psychological manipulation, Amber insinuates herself into Daphne’s life, with the intention of eventually supplanting her all together.

Wickedly entertaining, The Last Mrs. Parrish is an addictive debut from two sisters writing under the pen name of Liv Constantine.

The Last Mrs. Parrish, $16 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

Set in Nigeria in the 1980s, Adebayo’s debut novel tells the story of a couple Yejide and Akin who meet in college. When they marry, Akin reassures Yejide that he intends to remain monogamous, despite the fact that they live in a culture that endorses polygamy.

After years of having trouble conceiving, however, Akin takes on a second wife, to Yejide’s dismay. Emotionally intense and compulsively readable, Stay with Me was shortlisted for the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Stay with Me, $12 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

In this riveting modern rendition of Antigone, Shamsie masterfully weaves together the stories of two London-based families with Pakistani roots. As the highly educated and ambitious Muslim daughters of one family grapple with the consequences of their father's and brother's decision to join ISIS, they both meet and fall for the same man—who, it turns out, might just be the key to their family's survival.

Part love story, part family portrait, and part searing political commentary, Home Fire will leave you shaken, reflecting on the characters and their fates for days after the last page.

Home Fire, $18 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

In 1944, during a girl’s night out in Washington, DC, nurse-in-training Tess gets drunk on martinis and has a one-night stand with a stranger, resulting in her pregnancy. Tess abruptly breaks off her engagement with her high school sweetheart to marry the father of her unborn child and move to his hometown in North Carolina, where she's met with suspicion and hostility from the unwelcoming townspeople.

As Tess adapts to her loveless (and sexless) marriage, and attempts to understand her mysterious husband better, the town is suddenly besieged by an outbreak of polio. Hailed by readers as “unputdownable” and “flawlessly researched,” The Stolen Marriage offers a fascinating glimpse into the tensions and taboos during WWII in the American South.

The Stolen Marriage, $16 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

Gathering at their country estate for the holidays, the Birches find themselves cut off from distractions, Wi-Fi, and civilization, and forced to spend more time with each other than is reasonably comfortable. Tensions simmer, personalities clash, and secrets come to the fore in this warm and witty British tale of family togetherness.

Seven Days of Us, $17 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading |  The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Li-yan grows up in the rural mountains of China, where artisanal tea is harvested, and customs and superstitions are deeply entrenched. After becoming the only one in her village to be educated, Li-yan defies tradition again by having a child out of wedlock and abandoning her at an orphanage. While her daughter is raised by privileged parents in Pasadena, CA, Li-yan longs to be reunited with her.

See’s novel is interwoven with fascinating vignettes on how Chinese tea is cultivated, and promises to be a particularly compelling read for tea lovers.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, $14 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Origin by Dan Brown
Origin by Dan Brown

In Brown’s latest thriller featuring “symbology” professor Robert Langdon from the Da Vinci Code, cutting-edge science clashes with religious dogma. During the revelation of a paradigm-shattering scientific discovery, chaos breaks out in the Guggenheim Museum in Balbao, Spain. Langdon and a recent acquaintance, the female museum director, flee to Barcelona on a mission to uncover and preserve the discoveries made by a murdered futurist.

Working their way through ciphers, codes, and symbols, Langdon and his romantic interest/sidekick come to a reckoning with the age-old questions that have long eluded humanity: Where did we come from and where are we going?

Origin, $18 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

For those who enjoyed Ware’s two previous atmospheric and bitingly satirical mysteries In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10, comes the story of four former boarding school friends, now in their early thirties, haunted by a secretive game they once played that led to their expulsion.

The women must come to terms with the deadly consequences of their adolescent pastime as they reunite in a salty coastal English town.

The Lying Game, $17 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | New People by Danzy Senna
New People by Danzy Senna

Grad student Maria and startup founder Khalil are a young, biracial couple living in Brooklyn in the 80s. They're planning their wedding, starring in a documentary about interracial unions, and pursuing fulfilling careers. Sounds great, right?

Yet in spite of all that, Maria is deeply unhappy and can't quite pinpoint why. In a series of highly entertaining yet seriously self-destructive events, she nearly dismantles the life she worked so hard to build. Even as you wonder what the hell Maria is doing, you'll find yourself rooting for this flawed heroine.

New People, $17 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand
Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand

Hilderbrand, the queen of beach books, has released the newest in her series of holiday-themed novels, which take place on the picturesque island of Nantucket. Serving up plenty of romance and dramedy to keep you hooked throughout, this "Family Stone"-esque story can be read in sequence with the other books or as a stand-alone.

Winter Solstice, $16 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda
Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

On their first trip together since having kids, advertising exec Paul and his homemaker wife Mia leave Columbus for their lake house. Filled with schemes and surprises, Paul states emphatically that this will be “the best day ever.” During the drive, however, doubts and misgivings start to arise, and Paul begins to worry the day might not go according to plan, after all.

This twisty tale, which takes place over a short 24-hour period, is told from Paul’s creepy, narcissistic, and unreliable point of view, with chauvinistic commentary so over-the-top it’s more comical than offensive.

Best Day Ever, $16 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Aging movie star legend Evelyn Hugo contracts an obscure reporter to write her biography, in which she promises to spill details of her life previously kept under wraps, including confessions about various love affairs and controversial career decisions. Spanning the decades between 1950 and now, Reid’s novel is a wry and at times bittersweet story of glamour, ambition, and intrigue.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, $17 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang
A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang

Set shortly after the Gilded Age in New York City, A Beautiful Poison opens with an engagement party in which a young socialite falls down the stairs and dies. The police chalk it up to an accident, but 18-year-olds Allene, Birdie, and Jasper find it suspicious, especially when they receive a note saying “You’re welcome.”

As more of the trio’s friends meet an untimely death—each accompanied by a similar note—they begin to investigate. Meanwhile, WWI continues drafting young men into service and the Spanish influenza hits the city. Author Lydia Kang is a physician, and she draws upon her background to infuse this historical murder mystery with interesting tidbits about medical pathology.

A Beautiful Poison, $6 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Khong's debut novel centers on Ruth, a young woman who moves in with her parents in Southern California after being unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé. As Ruth puts her life and career on hold to help care for her father as he descends into dementia, she discovers  unexpected charm and joy even in life's most mundane moments.

Warm, witty, and unflinchingly real, getting to know Khong's characters is like running into old friends in a new place.

Goodbye, Vitamin, $18 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon
STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Address by Fiona Davis
The Address by Fiona Davis

With New York City’s iconic Dakota building as its focal point, The Address has a dual storyline about two women, each facing challenges unique to the time periods in which they live. In 1884, architect Theodore Camden offers Sara Smythe, a British hotel housekeeper, the opportunity to become the manager of a newly constructed apartment building, and the two eventually become involved in an illicit relationship.

A century later, party girl Bailey Camden has just left rehab and is struggling to piece back together her interior design career when she gets asked by her cousin to decorate her apartment at the Dakota. There, she begins to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Theodore, who is said to have been murdered by Sara.

The Address, $15 at Amazon

Photo: Amazon

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  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
  • STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading |  The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Origin by Dan Brown
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
  • STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | New People by Danzy Senna
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang
  • STYLECASTER | 2017 Best Winter Books | Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
  • STYLECASTER I 12 Books for Cozy Winter Reading | The Address by Fiona Davis

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