There exists, dear reader, a peculiar sort of magic in placing exactly the right book into the hands of someone you love. It is not unlike finding a key that fits a lock no one knew existed—suddenly, whole worlds swing open, and the grateful recipient disappears into adventures they never knew they needed.
If you find yourself pondering what treasure to bestow upon the book lovers in your life this holiday season, you have wandered to exactly the right place. What follows is a carefully curated collection of extraordinary books—each one a gift that shall outlast any sweater and prove far more memorable than gift cards, however well-intentioned those may be.
The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown
For the reader who delights in adventure, wit, and heroines who refuse to accept the limitations the world has placed upon them, there is no finer gift than The Wendy, the first book in the Tales of the Wendy trilogy.
This is not your grandmother’s Peter Pan, though it possesses all the charm of a tale told by firelight. Set in the late 1700s, it follows Wendy Darling—an orphan with dreams far too vast for the circumstances of her birth. She longs to captain her own ship, which society considers quite impossible for a young woman. Naturally, this makes her all the more determined.
The story unfolds with the wit and whimsy of a classic fairy tale, complete with a narrator who speaks directly to readers with knowing humor. The magic smells green and tastes like pickles (a detail that delights readers to no end), and Wendy herself possesses the most expressive eyebrow in all of English literature. When she encounters a mysterious flying man named Peter Pan and finds herself entangled with the insufferable yet fascinating Captain Hook, the adventure truly begins.
Readers have called it “better than the original” and “a classic in its own right.” One declared Wendy “close to the pinnacle of perfectly-created strong female heroines—soft and feminine, as well as tough, witty, self-aware, moral, hard-working, and tenacious.” The complete trilogy is now available, which means your gift recipient can sail straight through all three books without the torment of waiting.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
In the frost-covered lands of this Rumpelstiltskin retelling, Miryem discovers that her reputation for turning silver into gold has attracted most unwelcome attention—that of the Staryk king, a creature more ice than flesh.
Naomi Novik weaves a tale of three women whose fates intertwine across a winter that threatens never to end. The prose possesses the vastness of Tolkien with the warmth of Le Guin, and the moral choices faced by its characters are genuinely difficult. It is the sort of book one finishes and immediately presses into another’s hands, saying, “You simply must.”
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, where winter lasts most of the year, young Vasilisa listens to her nurse’s fairy tales of frost demons and household spirits. She believes them all, which is fortunate, for they believe in her as well.
This gorgeously atmospheric tale draws upon Slavic folklore to create something both ancient and entirely fresh. The writing is wonderfully evocative, the heroine clever and brave, and the winter magic so tangible you may find yourself reaching for a blanket whilst reading.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
What becomes of Cinderella when she is reimagined as a cyborg mechanic in futuristic New Beijing? Something rather wonderful, as it turns out.
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, a talent for fixing things, and absolutely no time for balls or princes—until Prince Kai appears in her market stall, and a deadly plague threatens to change everything. Part fairy tale, part science fiction, wholly entertaining.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
After decades of slinging swords and slaying monsters, the orc barbarian Viv hangs up her weapon and opens a coffee shop. In a city where nobody knows what coffee is. What could possibly go wrong?
This “high fantasy, low stakes” tale has charmed readers who never knew they wanted to read about espresso machines in a medieval setting. It is cozy in the very best sense—a gentle story of reinvention, found family, and the revolutionary act of choosing peace.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
There is a House. It is infinite, filled with classical statues and great halls that the sea floods twice daily. Piranesi knows every corner of it, tends to its dead, and records its wonders in his journal. He knows there is only one other living person in all the world.
He is, as you might suspect, mistaken.
This slim, strange, utterly beautiful novel defies easy description. It won awards, topped bestseller lists, and left readers wandering about in a daze, wondering if our own world might be quite as mysterious as we’ve failed to notice.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Linus Baker is a caseworker who loves rules almost as much as he fears change. When he’s sent to evaluate an orphanage for magical children on a remote island, he expects to find problems to document and regulations being broken.
What he finds instead are extraordinary children—including a gnome, a wyvern, and the actual Antichrist—and a most unusual caretaker who makes him question everything he thought he knew about the world. Readers describe it as feeling like a warm hug, which is precisely what the holidays require.
A Gift That Keeps Giving
Each of these books offers something the holiday season desperately needs: escape, wonder, and the reminder that magic exists—even if it sometimes smells like pickles.
Whether your book lover prefers their adventures with sword fights or coffee shops, historical settings or distant futures, these gifts shall serve them well through the dark winter months and beyond. For as every reader knows, the right book is never truly finished; it lives on in the imagination, waiting to be revisited like an old friend.
