12 Captivating Novels about Weather, Hurricanes, and Blizzards
Is it just me or have there been a slew of novels about weather recently? From dystopian stories about climate change to thrillers that use blizzards as plot devices, authors are centering more of their books around weather events!
Frankly, I love to see it.
I’ve long been a fan of the weather channel, blame my years growing up waiting to see if school was canceled from the ticker tape of closures running below the news. Or maybe it was the various Babysitters Club Super Specials set against blizzards or hurricanes.
Regardless of why novels about hurricanes, blizzards, and the like are all the rage, I’m happy to see the trend continue! Below you will find thriller books about blizzards, historical fiction hurricane novels, and even a romance about a weather girl!
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Novels about Blizzards
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
February 2021 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
Oh boy, was this a creepy haunted house book! I wish I had chosen to read it during the wintertime instead of the summer because seeing snow while reading it would have made it that much creepier.
With dead bodies piling up, and a blizzard keeping the guests of the fancy sanatorium-turned-hotel stuck inside, will Elin be able to solve the mystery before she becomes a victim herself? This is such a great blizzard book for mystery book lovers and is perfect for anyone who loves locked room mysteries or isolation novels.
One by One by Ruth Ware
As a creepy thriller, this book is fast-paced and heart-thumping as one person after another winds up dead. As a mystery, I had a problem with the fact that I knew who the killer was from the very beginning.
Where does that leave my feelings on the book? Although there were no surprises for me, this survival thriller had me cringing throughout. If you love novels about blizzards, check this isolation novel out!
Cover Your Tracks by Daco S. Auffenorde
The action starts on page one of this wilderness survival story featuring an ex-army officer and a woman who is 8.5 months pregnant.
After an avalanche takes out their train car, they are the last survivors fighting for survival in the snowy mountains. We get to learn more about their backstory and what might actually be drawing them together. My heart was pumping the entire time! I couldn’t put this isolation book down.
Novels about Weather
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
I’m an avid weather lover, so this was one of my most anticipated Winter 2022 new releases!
In this romance novel, weather girl Ari teams up with sports anchor Russ to get their feuding bosses back together Parent-Trap style. This sweet and hilarious office romance novel is perfect for a list of books like The Love Hypothesis as well.
Along the way, they kindle sparks of their own! There are lots of fun weather puns, adorable scenarios for both romantic pairs, and love scenes that aren’t for the faint of heart🔥🔥🔥.
The best part of all is that the book deals with REAL life issues like depression, body image, teen pregnancy, and complex families.
L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón
September 2021 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
This family drama covers a year in the life of the Alvarado family, consisting of Oscar, Keila, and their grown daughters.
So much happens in this book including, infidelity, divorce, fertility issues, kleptomania, a brain tumor, hidden secrets, job losses, and climate change issues. It’s like a full-on telenovela.
The best part for me was the Jewish-Mexican representation. I honestly think this might have been the first Jewish Mexican-American family I have ever read about and I loved it.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
While you know within the first chapter that a murder has been committed, the book’s first half is a slow-paced development of the characters, the relationships, and their motives for being the murderer or the victim.
By 60%, the pacing changes into a non-stop action plot with twists and turns around every corner. It reached a furious crescendo that I did not see coming, but Alex’s books tend to do that to me!
Why we love it: I loved the settings – mostly gorgeous Greece, sometimes rainy London. I loved the characters (and by loved I mean loved to hate them all.) The book being in journal format was stellar storytelling, as was the audiobook narrator’s reading of it. #gifted by Celadon Books
Find this book in Isolation Books / Novels About Weather
Novels about Hurricanes
The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh
I finished this multi-genre book in one day. I simply couldn’t stop listening (the narrator is tops!). It was a fast-paced ride the entire time – from the hurricane to the family secrets, to the death, it was a shock and surprise around each corner.
Jai is forced to head to her sister’s family home with her son due to Hurricane Harvey. As she hunkers down with her sister Seema, her brother-in-law, his mother, and his brother and sister-in-law, family secrets come out in the most dangerous ways.
From potential affairs to the shocking reason Jai is divorcing her husband, it was a never-ending thrill ride. Add in the tensions between the sisters, Jai’s relationship struggles with her preteen son, and the brother’s drama and you’ve got one hell of a story.
Why we Love it: I love that the author was inspired to write a thriller that starred an Indian family like her own, and that her family and their experience during Hurricane Harvey was the inspiration for this story. #Gifted by PRH Audio
Find this book in Hurricane Novels, Locked Room Mystery, Family Drama
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
December 2022 GMA Book Club Pick
Set in the not-so-distant future, this dystopian novel describes a world where climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet.
Wanda is born during her namesake hurricane, to a mother who dies on the same night. As Wanda grows, she has to deal with the worsening landscape of a world dying around her.
As she tries to survive, she also has to navigate relationships with loved ones and the surrounding community.
Find this book in Thought-Provoking Books Best Books for Book Clubs / Dystopian Novels
Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
The Little Beach Street Bakery #2
The continuation of Jenny Colgan’s Little Beach Street Bakery series is another hit. I loved the continuation of Polly, Huck, and Neil’s story. Polly gets fired from the bakery and needs to figure out a new business plan.
We get to catch up with all the lovable characters in the small Cornish town, see inside Polly’s new lighthouse home and have delectable bakery items described throughout. This is one of the novels about weather that use a climate event as a major plot point.
No Judgments by Meg Cabot
This is one of the novels about weather that uses a hurricane as a major plot focus. Bree has gotten over her ex, so she thinks riding out a hurricane will be no problem until she learns about all the pets separated from their owners on her little island.
It was so easy to read with the perfect amount of love story and animal rescue.
The writing isn’t deep but has more to it than I thought it would when I picked it up. This book is the perfect “rom-com” and is a perfect example of a forced proximity trope.
Historical Fiction Novels about Hurricanes
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
Well I was not expecting this doozy of a book. Chanel Cleeton’s Cuba book series is wonderful, but this one left me with mixed feelings.
I love the Florida Keys setting of this story and the elements of this Hurricane novel. I was not expecting the domestic abuse one woman experiences (I mention this as it might be a trigger for some,) and while I liked most of the plots, I wasn’t a fan of the mobster storyline. 🤷♀️
Still, it was a fun read for a stormy summer day at the beach.
Montauk by Nicola Harrison
I was expecting a lighthearted read, but this book had more soul than I was expecting! Set in 1938 in Montauk among the glamorous world of Manhattan’s summering elite, it was full of secrets and romance. It’s sort of like a historical fiction version of an Elin Hildebrandt book with romance and personal growth as our heroine discovers true love in a sleepy beach town.
I shed a few tears at the ending – which took me completely by surprise by the way! There is a short, not-so-graphic rape scene – so if that’s a trigger for you, steer clear. Otherwise, I applaud this debut and recommend it for your beach bag!