Oh Ingrid! This is an interesting read and yet it isn't. It's character driven and frankly she's not the most appealing person. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

It was ok. At times it was slow and did not hold my attention, it fell a little flat for me. Sorry.  Not my favorite book.

I'm not actually sure if I really liked this book or not. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. Winter in Wonderland is about a negative, unsatisfied wife, her childish, brooding, going-through-a-midlife-crisis husband, and the way their currently rocky marriage is impacted by their fake, imposing neighbors. Overall, the story is written in a way that keeps it entertaining enough to keep you reading until the end. It says a lot when the most mature character is a child - the middle daughter who constantly gets ignored, fueling her independence, I believe. The main character, Ingrid Winter, is dissatisfied with her career as a Literature professor, and takes on a petty attitude in her professional and personal life. She's a mediocre wife who constantly complains, not a great mother to all her children, and thrives on drama. I find it odd (and unrealistic) that every one in Ingrid's life are out to get her: her students all hate her, her colleagues all seem to want her to fail, her husband is unhappy and speaks to her horribly, even random strangers treat her with no respect. She acts out every once in a while but really just accepts most of this behavior - which to me seems out of character. She caves and really, has no backbone. She doesn't stand up for herself but blames everyone else for her problems. The grandfather's small side story was entertaining and the book had some silly passages throughout. The side story with her student was unnecessary and out of place. Although you have no investment in any of the characters, you end up with a satisfying ending. The writing is witty, creatively descriptive, and fast-paced. Like I said, it's hard to say whether I really liked this book or not. Maybe things were lost in translation...

Although I liked some parts of the story, there were some I did not like at all. Some were a bit over my head. Maybe if you like literature, you will appreciate it, but it was not for me. It's a pity to say that the amount of downs was higher than ups one. There were nice afterthoughts, but every time I thought the story would pick up for real, it fell down again. Sorry.

I didn't like this book at all :/, but I guess it was partly my fault. I had read the description a long time before I actually read it so, when I actually began reading it, I was expecting this book to be about an awesome trip during Christmas time hehe
I hated that the whole last chapters were about telling women that they're the ones who should be trying to fix their marriages by behaving submissively.
The one thing I did like about this book was the fact that Ingrid was against mysoginy, sexism, and gender stereotypes.

Hard to comment a review on here. I did enjoy it but it wasn't fantastic. It was good in a strange way but didnt see the whole point of the book or where it was heading

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not sure what to say about this book it was good and awful at the same time. Shall leave it for other reviews to comment

3.5 Solid Stars

Ingrid Winters is a professor that seems to have it all, until things starts to fall apart around her.

Now Ingrid and her husband are on the fence because of the repairs they can barely afford on their home, and has put a wedge into her husband’s dream vacation to Italy. Her latest batch of students at the university are distracted and disinterested and to top everything off, a new couple Mr and Mrs Perfect move in next door.

This was….

I don’t know how to rate this book.

Ingrid was… An interesting character enough. I know people rated this book poorly in the past because they found Ingrid not very related, and a very unlikable character. I actually did not complete hate her. To me, she seemed real, and very much someone I can relate to. Motherhood isn’t perfect and neither is marriage, we get caught up in things we should not and we deal with things differently, sometimes with just the heat of the moment. I think because of translation, there was probably a bit of cultural disconnect, or people don’t feel comfortable admitting that there is a part of us in someone like Ingrid.

Ingrid wasn’t perfect. She got frustrated with her husband because of the roof incident and him not being able to work on it and she had every right to, especially when he decided to take the project on himself instead of paying for the contractor. There was a definite strain on their relationship to the point where Ingrid was questioning rather the two are going to get a divorce, but their marriage prevailed when both parties realized their short comings and maybe there was some truth in how Ingrid felt about the situation.

The story is simple and basically follows Ingrid as she navigates her life, parenting, and marriage. It’s not always pretty, there is strain, she ignores her middle child at some point because of the amount of stress she is already under. What I mean by ignores is that she forgot about her middle child’s play in school while she tried to deal with the fact that their house has a hole in the roof, her husband refusing to acknowledge the fact that the neighbor who promised to help, isn’t, the school is giving her problems because her rating is low among the teachers, her youngest child is being bullied in school and the list goes on. People did not like that, I found it realistic, especially when you take into the account everything that was going around Ingrid. We all want to be the perfect mothers, but we are also humans and I found her short comings very human, even if they are not favorably viewed and frowned upon.

Overall, I found this a quick read. There is a lot going on at the same time not much happens because the whole book is just about Ingrid navigating her life. There are cultural differences that get lost on anyone not living in the same part of the world.

Also, there is a bit of rambling, but that could be part of how it was translated.

It is hard for me to review this one since it is the second book in a series and I have not read the first one. It is not a true standalone book. It wasn't a bad read but I felt lost at times.

https://bookstalebyme.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/winter-in-wonderland-book-review/

It's kind of a strange book. Kind of rambling, with no obvious point, but I couldn't stop reading it. It was weirdly compelling.

Ingrid's life is kind of falling apart. Her job is in jeopardy, her husband is acting weird, and they're in over their heads in a new house that needs a lot of work. (This is the second book in a series.). But somehow she keeps everything together. She doesn't always understand what's going on, or why.

I loved her grumpy old grandfather, and I loved that the story is about real life, with all its anger and pain, miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Highly recommended. Stuck with it. It, like life, will be worth it in the end.