This has been on my TBR for several years now, and I can’t seem to make myself finish it. I’m sorry! I’m sure someone will love it, but it just isn’t for me.

Murder AND a romance, in a small town, at Christmas, WITH LGBTQIA+ representation?

I’ve been asking authors to give me something fresh and different, and Adler certainly delivered!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my review!

A nice read, but with the split between romance and mystery I ended up feeling like I didn't get enough of either.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described very well. The main character Declan being a author is great. And commissioner Monroe is fantastic as well. This book is set in Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania. The characters in a tight knit community is fantastic. This ebook is in stores for $5.99 (USD). This author will keep you turning pages and enjoying the story.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy.
I love a good cozy mystery! and one at Christmas! WOW! Loved this one and will now go for all Isabelle Adler's work.

Let me start by saying that this book was not bad. There’s some great LGBTQIA+ representation in here that you don’t see a lot in thrillers. I was really excited because this book had a lot of my buzzwords:

1. Murder
2. A writer
3. A cabin
4. A Christmas town

I loved the idea of a series of murders in a cute little Christmas town. However, this book fell flat for me because of the romance. I feel like it focused too much on the romance, and I wanted way more crime and suspense. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat waiting for the big reveal. It was not suspenseful for me. The romance aspect of the book made it feel more like a Hallmark romance than a murder mystery. I would have loved if this book was JUST a murder mystery or JUST a romance, not both.

A hallmark Christmas film turned murder mystery. Good to snuggle up and read by the fire with a cup of cocoa.

The crime part in the book wasn't really my thing, so it was... eh. I guess that's my fault, though, so this book might be good, just me not being its target audience.

An entertaining and engrossing cozy mystery.
I liked the solid mystery that kept me guessing, the interesting and fleshed out characters, and the lovely setting.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In The Winter Woods by Isabelle Adler, at it's simplest, is a cozy murder mystery with a little bit of romance, otherwise known as a-book-with-all-my-favorite-tropes! I genuinely enjoyed every minute of reading this book, specifically the atmosphere Adler created in each scene. I almost felt like I was at the Maplewood Christmas Festival, I can picture it so clearly. Throughout the book Declan and Curtis are really just getting to know each other, quick to acknowledge their attraction but are denied the chance to go further because of the murders happening. I don't know if this will become a series but I am ready to get to know these characters a little more. A true comfort read for me.

Cozy mystery by Isabelle Adler. The arc is traditional: mystery writer moves to remote location and stumbles onto a murder. A town of quirky locals, including the bisexual law enforcement officer love interest. Around the midway point Adler throws in some nice twists which sets this one apart.

Isabelle Adler writes so nicely, and the book flows well - in fact I had a hard time putting it down. Hopefully, if this becomes a series Adler will continue to change up the plotlines, and keep it moving in a new and unique direction.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

A former bestselling author travels to his childhood's cabin in the woods because he is broke and badly needs another books that sells well. Receiving threatening letters, a murderer on the loose and a hot policeman wasn't what he was expecting, but now he's involved and trying to find the killer himself.

I am no major crime novel fan, but this was sweet, maybe because it was very gay and I started reading it in winter and it takes place in winter. So sweet and snug and entertaining, lacked depth, but GAY. I liked that.

2.5-3 Stars

christmas, mlm romance and a murder mystery is what you can look forward to in this read.

in the read you can expect an awkward lovable character called Declan and a cute commissioner Curtis.

Declan is an author who’s feeling like his work has been lacking lately which makes him take a trip to a family cabin in a small town. there he meets declan who is investigating a small town murder. that’s how our mc’s meet.

the book has amazing small town side characters who keep the book interesting. the author isabelle hits it on the head with this one. it’s a great and fun festive read

I absolutely adored this book! I am always on the lookout for queer mysteries, and In the Winter Woods did not disappoint! The cozy mystery vibes are strong with this one.

The writing style reminded me of Josh Lanyon's and that style... takes me a bit to get used to. I still don't know whether I like it or not, so I wasn't sure about this book either.
But as it turns out - the book wasn't too bad or cliched. Actually, it was a very pretty Christmas read and I enjoyed having a sweet little murder mystery. And the fact that there was no sex scene in this book. Otherwhise... It was a nice read, but I don't think I'll be reading it a second time.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

TWs: blood, dead bodies, violence, verbal abuse, guns, police shown in a positive light

You know how they say not to judge a book by it's cover? This is one of those times. I requested this because I thought the cover was gorgeous and the idea of a holiday murder mystery romance sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, partially due to me clowning (we'll get to that in a minute), partially due to the actual book itself. That's not to say that this book was awful, I just feel like it was a bit misleading and then fell short of what it had promised.

In the Winter Woods follows Declan, a broke and washed up author in desperate need of new inspiration for his now dying action series, as he returns to the small town where his family used to spend their summers when he was a child. Of course, like all writers, he manages to avoid writing altogether, distracted by the threatening letters he begins receiving and then the murder of his neighbor. As tensions rise in the town, so does his attraction to Curtis, the detective (??? law enforcer?? ex-cop?? We'll get to this later too) trying to solve the case.

To start off, I do want to say that I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book. It was why I decided to finish reading it, and  while it wasn't anything special, I liked the way the clues didn't make it super obvious who the culprit was until the ending. There was a nice long list of suspects for a book this length too, but it didn't feel overcrowded or distracting from the mystery itself. The characters did do a bunch of seriously stupid things to further the plot, but I think I've been watching so much b-grade horror lately that I expected it to be honest.
Now, onto the less enjoyable parts. I'm just going to put it bluntly: if you're looking for a romance novel, or a mystery with a side of romance, don't pick this up. Adler was going for the latter, but unfortunately it fell really flat and didn't work at all for me. Declan and Curtis never felt like they were fully developed, which made it almost impossible to connect well with either of them, let alone believe that they could see something in each other to end up in insta love. Literally, the two had barely interacted or known each other and only a few chapters in Declan was already fantasizing about their futures together. By the time they had known one another for six days (approximately 80% of the way into the book) Declan is trying to figure out if he should continue his (previously) massively successful career or move to the small murder town to date a man he barely knows and has mostly spoken to about death threats and murder being committed around him. It reminded me of the wonderful and very Tired™ man I met at a party last year who looked me dead in the eye and said that if I ever listen to advice to listen to this: 'Never, ever move to a small town in the middle of nowhere for a boy. It's never worth it.' In other words, the romance aspect which made up about half the novel was really underwhelming and unbelievable.

Now, there was one other thing that was really off-putting for me, which is that Curtis is a cop. I was a clown and didn't realize that that was the case when I requested it, so knowing that was on me, I tried to ignore it and not dock stars for it. However, I am SO confused as to what his job actually was. It felt like Adler had written him as a cop and then decided to try to change it last minute to make it more "acceptable" after the large call for police reform and disbandment this past year. But since the story already evolved around him being an officer, she tried to give the town some sort of unknown law enforcement instead and called him a "public safety officer"(quoted from my e-arc). He was literally just a cop, he used to work as one in LA, he ran around investigating things and interrogating people, and then decided to carry around a gun, despite the fact that he wasn't authorized to shoot anyone since he isn't a real police officer. Which means he's carrying a personal firearm around to shoot people. I'd have much rather had Adler just call him a cop like he was instead of trying to force a change and come across as trying to be politically correct when it obviously was an afterthought.

Overall this isn't the worst thing I've read this year, the writing was accessible and the mystery was enough to pull me along. Unfortunately, the other parts of the book, romance and character development wise, were really lacking for me. Unless it's something you were dying to read, I'd skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for an eARC of this title.

I have never read a cozy mystery before. I have, however, watched a number of cozy mystery movies. I didn’t know what to expect from this book and though the plot was very similar to the movies I had seen, in terms of format and themes, it was incredibly interesting and gripping.

I honestly loved the main character, Declan. The whole idea of a mystery writer getting stuck in the middle of a murder case just screams some great moments. I mean, I loved how he was so into it and interested. I also really loved that this was a queer mystery. It was incredibly lovely to see. I really enjoyed the relationship development between Declan and Curtis.

This story was great and honestly I can see myself looking into some more cozy mysteries. I would absolutely love to read more from Declan and Curtis if that was ever an option.

Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC copy of In the Winter Woods. I had not read a book by the author Isabelle Adler before and I really enjoyed In the Winter Woods. It is the story of Curtis, a successful writer of a mystery series, who is in a writer's slump. His editor hints that the mystery series may have run its course and he should try a new genre. He escapes Manhattan to live in his family's cabin in Vermont. His parents have passed and no one has been to the cabin in years. The cabin is near the small town of Maplewood. Curtis quickly learns that small town life is quite different than Manhattan and that people know more know about what he's doing than he is used to. A threatening note to Curtis to leave Maplewood along with a neighbor's brutal murder puts Curtis in the middle of his own mystery series. He befriends the local detective but they have to try to keep their friendship private as best they can. Curtis soon learns that there is more to the small town of Maplewood than he ever imagined. The story is set at Christmas time, but it is not a heavily-themed Christmas story. In the Winter Woods was a refreshing story with some nice twists and turns. I will definitely read more books by Isabelle Adler.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very sweet and quick holiday read with just the right amount of mystery. The storyline was well thought out and I liked Declan and Curtis. Personally I would have liked a few more moments with just the two of them. This is a cute romance with no steam, so perfect for someone that wants a bit of fluff and a murder mystery in the holiday season.