It’s no secret I love lush and atmospheric books with a gothic bent. I can’t get enough.

Here are more lush, moody, gothic, and atmospheric books for your TBR pile.

What I’ve found to be similar elements across these atmospheric books are:

• A woodsy setting with magic that factors in as a character in and of itself
• Bonds between the characters, either sisterly or siblings bonds, and, moreso, the bonds between the main character and the woods
• Magic that the main character grows into and uses for good
• Winter setting, which also factors in as its own character
• The main character, because of their magic and/or heritage are misunderstood, or even hated, by townspeople
• The magic is feared or neglected, leading to negative consequences
• Once the magic is respected, order is restored, or at least managed
• The writing itself has an ethereal quality, which is hard to pinpoint or mimic