My Reading Plans for this Winter

Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful week. Today, I wanted to share with you my Winter TBR! I decided to do two separate TBRs for winter: one for Christmas and one for the rest of the season. In total, there are 17 books on my TBR and one mystery book, which I will explain later. This is a bit of a lengthier post, so get comfortable and join me as we dive into these books!

Here it is! The Christmas TBR. Now before you say that that is wayyy to many books (because it almost is) let me defend myself and say many of those books are well under 250 pages. Also, I am planning on starting earlier rather than later, so I think I will have no problem finishing these... hopefully. And If I am still reading a couple after Christmas, is that really a big deal?? I didn't think so. Anyway, I have a wide variety of books in this TBR, including time travel, romantic suspense, Gilded Age romance, Amish fiction, and other cozy Christmas reads.

First on the list is my three Love Inspired books: Texas Christmas Cover-Up by Terri Reed, Christmas Under Threat by Maggie K. Black, and His Amish Christmas Surprise by Virginia Wise. The first two books are romantic suspense, and the last is an Amish fiction book. I have a large collection of Love Inspired books, so I am trying to work through them and read a couple each month! These are in mass market paperback form, so some of them are semi-thick, but the pages are small, which makes them quick reads. Each of these are various books in various series, but I have learned with most Love Inspired books that they can be read as a standalone, so I treat them as such. Also, keep in mind that Texas Christmas Cover-Up by Terri Reed is on Kindle Unlimited (now Kindle + apparently), so if you are a subscriber to that, you can read for free!

Next, I have two time travel books that I am very excited about! First is Journey Back to Christmas by Leigh Duncan. From the back cover, I have gathered that this book is about a WWII nurse who somehow ends up in the present day and tries to find her way back. This is also a movie, so I am excited to watch it as well (after the book, of course!) My other time travel is The Hope of Christmas Past by Stephenia H. McGee. I'll share the summary here because it looks very intriguing. Andddd it's only 104 pages, which means I can read it in a day!

"On the brink of aging out the foster system, the last thing Isla Laird wants is to spend Christmas in an old-fashioned plantation. What’s the point of bonding with her foster mom when it’s too late to ever be adopted? But when a mysterious painting suddenly thrusts her into the nineteenth century, Isla is forced to face hurts and memories she’s long tried to bury. With time running out and her heart in tatters, can God use an impossible miracle to bring Isla hope for a new future?"

Yep, looks very interesting! I'll have to save for when I know I have an entire afternoon or evening free.

Next up, I have two Melody Carlson books: Christmas at Harrington's and The Christmas Shoppe. Christmas at Harrington's is a reread for me. I read it last year and really enjoyed it! I'm pretty sure both of these do not contain romance, but are just cozy Christmas stories. Christmas at Harrington's contains themes of redemption and second chances, and I know pretty much nothing about The Christmas Shoppe. These are also shorter books that I can probably finish in a day or two.

My next book on the list is A Biltmore Christmas. This book is actually a collection of four novellas, each by different authors, including Diane T. Ashley, Sylvia Barnes, Rhonda Gibson, and Jeri Odell. I will probably read the entire thing as one book because each novella seems to be about a different family member. Here is the Amazon summary:

Explore the luxuries of America's largest home through the eyes of the fictional Bradford sisters. Having been orphaned, they each secure work and lodging at the Biltmore estate. Charity, a laundress; Peggy, an assistant cook; Selma, a chambermaid; and Melissa, a stable boy, each experience adventures in employment and romance that culminate at Christmastime when the Vanderbilts' hospitality is at its grandest level.

This book is also part of the Romancing America series. From what I've seen, it believe each book is a collection of three or four novellas about a common theme, such as the Biltmore Estate for this book.

The last books on my Christmas TBR are Winter's Warmth by Maya David and The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury. Winter's Warmth is the first book in An Ember Creek Season's Romance Series. I thought that this would be a fun series to go through as I get to each season! So I will read Winter's Warmth now, Spring's Promise in the Spring, Summer's Blaze in the Summer, etc. At that slow rate, it will be a while before I finish the entire series, but I think it will be enjoyable to read it that way! Of course, that's assuming that I enjoy the book and there are no content issues. Oh! Also, Winter's Warmth is also on K+ as well as the rest of the books in the series! The other book, The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury, is one I've been wanting to read for a while. I watched the movies a couple of years ago and really enjoyed them, so I am excited to get to read the book now!

There's my Christmas TBR! I am super excited to dive into all these books! I am unsure which one I will start with... which one do you think I should read first?

Now that we've talked about my Christmas TBR, I want to share the books I will be reading for the rest of the winter. I told you this would be a longer post...

Behold, my Winter TBR! Much shorter than the Christmas one, but the books are also a tad bit longer. Still, I think it is quite manageable over two or three months. (Since I think about a month and a half will be taken up with my Christmas books)

Once again, I have three Love Inspired books, all romantic suspense: Colorado Kidnapping Threat by Jane M. Choate, Amish Midwife Witness by Dana R. Lynn, and Abducted in the Woods by Kerry Johnson. Once again, I should be able to read each of these fairly quickly because they are shorter books.

I also included two more time travel books. Yes, I've been on a time travel kick lately!! First is What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma. This is book one in the Echoes of the Past series and is a WW2/Modern day time travel! I don't know much about the book other than that, but I am excited to read it! That brings me to my little plan. I thought it would be fun to read this book as an Advent calendar. I am going to go through the book and divide it into 24 sections. I will read one section each day of December until I finish on Christmas Eve! I've never done this before, and this being a time travel, I have a feeling it will take a lot of self-control to not read ahead.... So this is technically a book on my Christmas TBR, but I decided to include it in the Winter one because 1) It's not about Christmas to my knowledge, and 2) I most likely won't have the review up until after Christmas since I won't finish reading until December 24. The other time-travel book is When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer. This is book 1 in the Timeless series, and I am soooooo excited to start rereading this series because Gabrielle Meyer's newest book, Echoes of Yesterday, comes out in MAYYYYYYYYY. I am so excited, I already preordered the book... and that's something I don't usually do, but it was 40% off, free shipping, and preorder goodies... how can a girl resist?? Besides, it was actually cheaper to buy a physical copy than a Kindle edition, so that made my decision easier! Anyway, I'm going to try to read a book or two from the series a month so I can be caught up by the time book 8 comes out. Books 1-3 of the Timeless series are on K+.

Next up is The Lady and the Mountain Man by Misty Beller. I read this book on Kindle a while ago and thought it would be a fun reread! It's actually an entire series that I may or may not read depending on other books on my list. Anddd it's on K+, so once again, you are free to read it if you are a subscriber!

Okay, the last book issssss (I don't know why I'm being dramatic...) The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson! This book, also on K+, is the first book in the Hagenheim series, a series of fairy tale retellings. I will be reading this book near the end of February because apparently February 26 is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Who knew?? Anyway, I'll take any excuse to read a Melanie Dickerson retelling! Oh, and this is also a reread. I lied. I have oneeeee more book to talk about. The mystery book I mentioned at the beginning of this post. But here's the problem. I don't know what it is because it's a blind date! My friend and I will be exchanging a Blind Date with a Book for Galentine's Day since neither of us has a valentine. So, once I figure out what book that is, I will let you know!

Okay, that's the extent of my winter books! 18 of them, wish me luck! I should add up the total page count... get back to me on that one! Oh! And let me give full credit to my wonderful friend who spent the time to make those two beautiful collages for me! They are so fun, and I think she did a wonderful job!! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this long post, and I can't wait to share these books with you!