Warm Romances to Read on These Cold Winter Days

by Susan Roberts

I find it very relaxing to wrap up in a blanket and read a romance novel during the cold winter days.  Here are a few recent romances that I recommend.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for honest reviews.

A Wish in the Wind by Kay Bratt

October 2024; Red Thread; 979-8987966891
ebook, print (128 pages); romance

Wishes in branches tied with string. Someone's hopes. Another's dreams.

A Wish in the Wind is book 17 in the Wishing Tree series.  The series is set in the same small town of Linden Falls and revolves around a tree where people hang their wishes and hope that they come true.  The series is written by lots of different authors who each put their own storytelling skills into their story.  All of the books can be read as standalones but once you read a couple of them, you'll realize that you need to read them all. You can also check out my review of the first seven books in the series. 

A Wish in the Wind is by Kay Bratt who writes fantastic books and this one is another great read.  Hunter has just moved to Linden Falls with his daughter Ava to make a fresh start after a divorce.  When his daughter insists on hanging a wish on the wishing tree, it blows away.  But where will it land?  Nicole is a long-time resident of Linden Falls and even though she works as a waitress, her real dream is to be recognized as a photographer.  After Ava's paper with her wish on it lands with Nicole, she, Hunter, and Ava keep running into each other.  Does Ava's wish involve her father's happiness? and is the wishing tree working to fulfill that wish?

I have read most of the books in this series and this is one of my favorites.  All of the characters are well written -- Hunter is a fantastic Dad, Ava is a feisty little girl and Nicole wants to make a new career for herself.  Can they find happiness together?? 

Buy A Wish in the Wind at Amazon

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

September 2024; Random House; 978-0593449592
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); romance

An emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change—or even make our peace with—the path we’ve taken.

Nicholas Sparks is well known for his stories of the power of love and family.  Counting Miracles is another book to add to his list of fantastic books with characters that will stay with you long after the last page.

This story is told by three different people.

• Tanner was raised by his grandparents and followed his grandfather's footsteps into the military where he became an Army Ranger and served several deployments in the Middle East.  He has no plans to settle down in one place but when his beloved grandmother dies, she gives him a clue that may help him find his birth parents.  He travels to Asheboro NC in the hopes of finding out about his earlier life and his parents.
• Kaitlyn is a doctor and a single mother with two children.  When she meets Tanner, there are some sparks between them but she knows that he won't be in town long and doesn't want to set herself up to be hurt when he leaves.
• Jasper is an 83-year-old man who lives a very solitary life in a cabin near the national forest.  His only company is his dog Arlo.  He had gotten horrific burns on his face years earlier and stayed as far away from other people as possible.  Kaitlyn's son befriends him and he gets to know the rest of her family.  When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest—a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather—he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers.

At the beginning of the book, these three people were strangers to each other.  As the story progresses, they all become important in each other's lives.  As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle . . . but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.

This book about love and the importance of family and friends is a Nicholas Sparks book that you don't want to miss.

From a personal standpoint, I really enjoyed reading a book set in a neighboring town that I have visited many times.  It was fun to read about places that I'd been in Asheboro, NC.

Buy Counting Miracles at Amazon

Collar Me Crazy by Kay Bratt

January 2025; Red Thread; 979-8991839600
ebook print (176 pages); romance

Emily becomes a new dog mom even though she really doesn't want to commit to all of the work involved.  Her best friend was a dog breeder and was convinced that Emily needed some excitement in her life.  Spending all of her time being a ghostwriter is a pretty solitary life.  She dreams of publishing her own book someday but she just isn't ready.  When she is in the local dog park, she meets Mari, a college student with a very sick-looking dog.  She convinces her to take the dog to the vet immediately.  She becomes very suspicious about where the dog came from and reports it to the police and meets Kuno, a policeman who seems to be very interested in spending more time with Emily.  As Emily and Mari begin to investigate, they uncover a puppy mill that is selling sick dogs to a local pet store.  

Will Emily, Mari, and Kuno be able to save the dogs? Will Emily and Kuno get their happily ever after?

The author is very involved with rescuing dogs and her love for dogs shows through on every page of this story.

Buy Collar Me Crazy at Amazon

Hearts Unleashed by Tammy L. Grace

January 2025; Lone Mountain Press; 978-1945591778
ebook, print (150 pages); romance

Marsha lives alone and deals with her grief every day.  Her mother had just died and she lost her only child 20 years earlier.  She is an artist and used to illustrate children's books but has lost the desire to go back to her art.  She decides that maybe a dog will help her to become more interested in life so she adopts Earl from a local breeder.  When she begins to go to the local dog park with Earl, she starts to make new friends. She meets a young man who just lost his wife and his young daughter.  They have adopted a dog from the same liter as Earl and begin to spend more time together.  She also has a male friend and even though they spend a lot of time together, she isn't sure that she wants to be more than friends.  As her life begins to expand, she decides it's time to take a chance and look at something in her past.  It will either bring her profound happiness or unimaginable heartbreak.  This is a book about grief and sadness and the magic that a puppy brings that helps Marsha decide to live her life again.

It was cute that several chapters were told from the point of view of Earl.

Buy Hearts Unleashed at Amazon

Fresh Start at Bluebird Cottage by Susan Schild

December 2024; Longleaf Pine Press; 979-8986755731
ebook, print (270 pages); romance

Fresh Start at Bluebird Cottage is the third book in the Azalea Lake series.  It's been a two-year wait since book 2 of the series but it didn't take long to get back into the character's lives. Read my review of the first two books. 

This book takes us back into Cricket's life with her new husband. Cricket still loves her job owning a company that provides care-givers to elderly patients.  She's madly in love with Hank, her husband of three months.  Their lives have normal ups and downs between the stress of her job and Hank's unhappiness at his job.  They've been so busy that they haven't even taken their honeymoon. A good friend lends them a camper and they take their honeymoon in the NC mountains hoping that it will help them both to be away from their jobs.  When they return, all rested and ready to face life, they find out that their problems still exist.  Can they learn to take a break from their jobs and enjoy spending more time together?  Can they overcome their differences and move forward to build the joyful life they’ve always dreamed of? 

I have read all of Susan Schild's books and find it so refreshing to find an author who writes about older characters finding love and facing life's problems and adventures on their quest to find their happily ever-afters.

Buy Fresh Start at Bluebird Cottage at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.