With winter setting in here in New York City, I thought it was a good time to round up some “winter historical romance novels.”
On this list, you’ll find 5 historical romance books with winter as a setting. I steered clear of Christmas holiday romances, so these five books all feature winter in some other way. Some of them are “snowed in” romance books. Others feature ice skating and snowball fights. One of them includes a very snowy road trip!
Oh, and I ordered this list by how steamy these romance novels are, so that you can skip straight to your comfort level. Enjoy!
Check out these 5 wintry historical romance novels (organized by how steamy they are)
5 Historical Romance Novels Set in the Winter
The Winter Companion
By Mimi Matthews
Steam level: Closed Door
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.20
She needed to be seen...
As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a monthlong holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.
He wanted to be heard...
Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady's companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all.
During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?
Memorable Winter Scene: They spend a lot of time tending animals in the cold together!
Simply Unforgettable
By Mary Balogh
Steam level: Limited on-page intimacy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.82
They meet in a ferocious snowstorm. She is a young teacher with a secret past. He is the cool, black-caped stranger who unexpectedly comes to her rescue. Between these two unlikely strangers, desire is instantaneous…and utterly impossible to resist. Stranded together in a rustic country inn, Lucius Marshall, who is the Viscount Sinclair, and Frances Allard share a night of glorious, unforgettable passion. But Frances knows her place—and it is far from the privileged world of the sensual aristocrat. Due to begin her teaching position at Miss Martin’s School in Bath, Frances must try to forget that one extraordinary night—and the man who touched her with such exquisite tenderness and abandon.
But Frances cannot hide forever. And when fate once again throws them together, Lucius refuses to take no for an answer. If Frances will not be his wife, he will make her his mistress. So begins an odyssey fraught with intrigue, one that defies propriety and shocks the straitlaced ton. For Lucius’s passionate, single-minded pursuit is about to force Frances to give up all her secrets—except one—to win the heart of the man she already loves.
Memorable Winter Scene: There is such a big snowstorm that they get stuck in an inn together!
Bedding Lord Ned
By Sally MacKenzie
Steam level: Delayed on-page intimacy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.61
Determined to find a husband, Miss Eleanor "Ellie" Bowman attends a ball put on by the Duchess of Greycliffe, fondly referred to as the Duchess of Love. But she roundly dismisses the suitors the matchmaking hostess has invited on her behalf. For it's the duchess' dashing son, Ned, Lord Edward, who long ago captured Ellie's heart—and roused her desire. All it takes is a pair of conveniently misplaced silky red bloomers to set the handsome widower's gaze on this unusual girl who is clearly more than meets the eye.
After four years of mourning, Ned must find a wife. At first glance, the birthday ball his mother has thrown in his honor is decidedly lacking in suitable mistresses. But he senses something unexpectedly alluring beneath the veil of Ellie's plain exterior—and suddenly she's invading his dreams in a decidedly scandalous manner.
Memorable Winter Scene: Lots of group winter scenes, like ice skating!
The Duchess Wager
By Katherine Grant (me)
Steam level: Some on-page intimacy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.20
The duke accepts a wager
Fitz, the Duke of Harrodshire, views marriage as a business arrangement, not a question of the heart. Especially once he bets his friends that he won’t marry the next woman he fancies. He knows it will be an easy win - until they take refuge from a snowstorm at Bleneccle Manor and he meets Lady Margot Wickham.
A widow in mourning
At her parents’ home in Northern England to recover from her husband’s sudden death, Lady Margot Wickham isn’t sure she’ll ever be ready to face the duties of being a Dowager Countess. When unexpected travelers show up in a snowstorm, Margot is grateful for the distraction.
Until she realizes she might be too distracted by a certain duke.
Duty calls
When Margot gets notice of unrest at her husband’s cotton mill, she realizes she can put off duty no longer. Alarmed, Fitz volunteers to accompany her south. He plans to help her resolve the issue - but the road trip is a convenient excuse to stay close, too.
Memorable Winter Scene: A snowstorm forces Fitz and friends to take refuge with Margot’s parents
The Lord I Left
By Scarlett Peckham
Steam level: Lots of on-page intimacy!
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.84
Lord Lieutenant Henry Evesham is an evangelical reformer charged with investigating the flesh trade in London. His visits to bawdy houses leave him with a burning desire to help sinners who’ve lost their innocence to vice—even if the temptations of their world test his vow not to lose his moral compass…again.
As apprentice to London’s most notorious whipping governess, Alice Hull is on the cusp of abandoning her quiet, rural roots for the city’s swirl of provocative ideas and pleasures—until a family tragedy upends her dreams and leaves her desperate to get home. When the handsome, pious Lord Lieutenant offers her a ride despite the coming blizzard, she knows he is her best chance to reach her ailing mother—even if she doesn’t trust him.
As they struggle to travel the snow-swept countryside, they find their suspicion of each other thawing into a longing that leaves them both shaken. Alice stirs Henry’s deepest fantasies, and he awakens parts of her she thought she’d foresworn years ago. But Henry is considering new regulations that threaten the people Alice holds dear, and association with a woman like Alice would threaten Henry’s reputation if he allowed himself to get too close.
Is falling for the wrong person a test of faith …or a chance at unimagined grace?
Memorable Winter Scene: They get snowed in at a barn and have no way to stay warm except by using each other!