Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In terms of star rating, I'm not entirely sure how to approach this (For full disclosure I did DNF this book at 80%). I LOVED the first half of this book - the heroes were lovable and had electric chemistry. I hated Charlie's parents and their interactions became a slough to get through. Perhaps that was the point and I need to go back and finish it all off to see if they get their just desserts but I TRULY don't know how they can be redeemable in any sense.

When London Snow Falls is the perfect mixture of steam, heart, and swoon worthy leads. Stone is an auto-buy author for me now.

I loved these men and thoroughly enjoyed seeing them fall in love. Charlie is a big ball of responsibility and anxiety: he needs Ben’s calm knitting skills to unwind it all. Their chemistry is electric and the sex scenes were fiery (The stockroom! The yarn!). A great lesson about how you can choose your true family and sometimes you can have it all. So glad I read this and can’t wait to share.

I gave a valiant effort in getting into this book. The pacing unfortunately was just too slow for me. It struggled to hold my attention. As such, I chose not to leave a full review of this title outside of NG.

A fun read! The writing style was good and it was easy to connect with the characters. Definitely recommend!

I swooned to this sweet romance in snowy London. This is the perfect winter cozy read with characters who have real imperfections but enough of a happily ever after to make it magical.

This book has the feel of a grumpy and sunshine trope, but it so much deeper than that. It has a mental health rep that really solidifies Charlie, and how he interacts with the world. How he approaches relationship especially. There are quite a few CW that the author has noted in the beginning of the book which I am thankful for. Definitely recommend for a sweet, quick romance.

This was a pretty solid three stars from me!! Definitely had it's flaws but i still flew through it in two days and it held my attention!

Here's what I like about the book: mostly it's actually just Ben lol. I think he's neat!! Sue me!! And I like his relationship with Charlie even though Charlie annoyed me lol.

The biggest issue I had with this book that I think is sort of objective is just how repetitive it is. At least twice a chapter (and some of them are very short) Charlie is like 'I like Ben so much but I can't date because uni and my kid and my job ugh' and then he attempts to break up with Ben. Honestly Ben deserved better tbh.

Some more subjective things were that it was relatively fast paced (which is probably why I got through it so quickly) and that I thought it was kinda insta-lovey which isn't a trope I love. Also as a barista I really hated the cream joke. I will never stop thinking about that at work and it will make me uncomfortable for the rest of time.

DNFed at 20%

I did not connect with this book. I felt no connection to any of the characters, because I had no connection, I just didn't have the drive to continue. I liked the premise but the execution just did nothing for me.

When the London Snow falls was such a sweet and cozy queer romantic read. It was a cute and easy read, with some steamy romance. Both Charlie and Ben are young men who have different plans for their life but their is something bwteeen them that they keep staying in each others lives. It is the second book in the When Snow Falls series, which I had no idea but is fully readable as a standalone and I didn’t feel confused at all.

3.5/5 🌟

A very enjoyable, angsty NA romance set in wintry London (with stop-offs in other UK cities as well). It took me a bit to warm up to the main character, Charlie, who is pretty dark and dealing with a lot of inner turmoil from the very first chapter. He’s a 21yro university student, aspiring musician in a band, and a barista, and he’s also a recovering addict dealing with depression and anxiety. Plus he has a 2yro daughter who he loves dearly but doesn’t currently live with. On top of all that, his family is a rather conservative upper/upper middle class family, and his parents don’t really accept that he’s gay and are hypercritical of his mistakes and a lot of his decisions in life. Charlie is dealing with so much, so what I originally saw as melodramatic inner monologue I later realized is actually a really good reflection of how he’s learned to process and handle stress. There’s also some very good mental health rep here. Charlie has a lot of coping mechanisms (breathing, grounding exercises, etc.) and mentions discussions with his therapist. He’s also taking medication for anxiety. I though this was a good story for showing a character who is managing their mental health needs. Charlie isn’t perfect and there’s no miracle cure, but we get a realistic and positive look at someone accepting and working through their mental health journey.

So, I haven’t even mentioned the romance! Charlie is pursued by and eventually gets into a purportedly casual but in reality pretty intense relationship with Ben, a 25yro musician whose band has achieved enough success that Charlie perceives him as famous. Ben is a flash of color and brightness and optimism in Charlie’s life, and Charlie struggles a bit to allow himself to have this good thing, to enjoy it, to believe he deserves it. Charlie has been so focused on school and supporting his daughter while navigating or avoiding his toxic parents, that he thinks he only has time and energy to survive and get by. Before Ben, Charlie had occasional hookups but no relationships or emotional intimacy. Ben is all in with Charlie, and the story is really about if Charlie will be able to open up and accept that. I did think there were maybe 1-2 too many hurdles/breakups in the story, but I did also think that all of the snags they encountered were realistic and fit with the progression of the story. And these two characters really do talk through their issues. They don’t always solve everything on the first go, and sometimes it’s messy, but they do the work you need to do in a relationship.

This is a new adult romance, but of the more serious variety. There are some funny bits but it’s not really a romcom. The writing is really top notch and beautiful. The author easily weaves from witty banter to evocative descriptions to intense sexual chemistry to quiet intimate moments. The story is all from Charlie’s POV and I thought that worked well, as the journey and the romance are really his story. I did adore both Charlie and Ben, and there are a lot of other great side characters as well. Overall this really hits every note for a well-crafted romance.

This is such a sweet fun romance and I loved the way Ben was so patient with Charlie. Charlie has a lot of responsibility and the way he works so hard to take care of his daughter and her mother is truly admirable. Hayden Stone got me with all the feels in this one!

I thought the romance was cute in parts, and I really did adore the character of Ben, but unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I could not get along with Charlie and his constant desire to self-sabotage the relationship. I appreciate the mental health portrayal, but the spiraling was repeated over and over in a way where I got bored of it by the end. However, I did appreciate the open and honest conversation that Ben provided Charlie with. I also wish someone had stood up to Charlie's parents in a more explicit way.

I love how fast-paced was this book, not in the way that the author hurry the romance (that was absolutely sweet and cute and funny) but in the way that I couldn't stop reading from the moment I grabbed my Kindle. I understand why some people might felt tired about Charlie and his personality, specially in the first part of the book, but personally I like how his anxiety was portrayed. I'd recommend this book because it's a light-cute read!

Absolutely wonderful! Charlie and Ben are awesome! I loved them so much. I couldn't put this down! They are so cute and their love story is great. I read a lot of bl manga and when I saw this, I had to request it. They are definitely a new favorite! I want more!

Charlie Renfrew is a young, twenty-something man trying to recover his life following addiction. He has depression and anxiety, and is finally being properly treated for that. Charlie grew up in a wealthy family, the second son of parents with high expectations, but he never quite measured up, and he turned to alcohol and drugs while in secondary school. As a rebellious teen, Charlie accidentally knocked up his best friend, Emily, and is now the determined father of a sweet toddler, Carys. Charlie lives and works in London, paying his own way through uni and a degree in English literature, none of which his posh parents respect, while also sending most of his salary to Wales to support Emily and Carys, where they live with Emily’s gran. Charlie makes a bit of money as a guitarist in a small-time band, so his time is truly stretched in many directions, which is why he doesn’t date men, ever. Just quick hook-ups on the weekend, when he can find the time.

Ben Campbell is the 25-year-old lead guitarist and singer of a climbing indie rock band. He’s blond and sexy, and way out of Charlie’s league—so Charlie believes. But Ben keeps returning to the café where Charlie works, flirting with him until he agrees to some steamy break-time shenanigans, and maybe a real date. It seems that Ben’s got his mind set on Charlie, who runs both hot and cold anxiety, and it’s a battle for Charlie to see the good that Ben finds in him.

This is a sweet and sometimes steamy romance between two young-ish men who have big plans on different tracks of life. It is the second book in the When Snow Falls series, but is fully readable as a standalone. Charlie’s modest goals include a steady job with enough income to support Emily’s education, Carys’ upbringing, and maybe get a decent night’s sleep, whereas Ben wants to be a music success, rocking out on tour and selling records. After losing his dad young and battling with dyslexia, Ben appreciates the hard work Charlie is doing to make his life functional. His attraction, and continued interest, feeds a hungry part of Charlie’s soul—that bit starved for the slightest bit of approval he never got from his parents. For Ben, who’s struggled to find a real connection since moving to London, Charlie’s very real-ness is captivating. Charlie’s need to control his life plans plays well with Ben’s mild submission kink, giving Charlie a lot of control in their sexual activities, which continues to empower him. But, is this fledgling attraction just another coping strategy? Is it too big a distraction to Charlie’s commitments? Could loving Ben become an addiction? And, worst of all, what happens when Ben (inevitably) finds someone better/sexier/able to hang out more?

Charlie’s anxiety is a huge driver of the plot, with him constantly second- and third-guessing his decisions. It’s also Christmas-time in the story, and that brings another level of stress. All of this made for a rather angst-filled romance. Ben and Charlie are both very lonely, and they’ve had serious abandonment issues to overcome. Their connection to one another builds quickly and intensely as a result, which scares Charlie to no end. I liked how Ben was pretty patient through Charlie’s struggles, because he saw a man whose heart of gold could cherish him completely, if given a bit of comfort himself. Charlie’s used to sacrificing himself on behalf of Emily and Carys, without aid. That Ben wants to help him out at all is a complete revelation. Charlie’s family isn’t all bad, though his parents definitely are awful to him. It was good to see Charlie loved wholly, not only by Ben, but also by Carys, and Emily—as a dear friend.

The pace is rather frenzied, mirroring Charlie’s hectic schedule, and I dug that, because that made the tension higher for Charlie. I could easily imagine any offset to his precarious schedule would send him into a tailspin, which does happen. The end comes in on just the right note of found family love, with Charlie and Ben having both realized their professional and personal goals, together. Readers who enjoy UK-based stories, New Adult rock romances, or stories where good people finally get their messy lives together, would probably enjoy this one.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This was a sweet love story. However, the protagonist was driving me batty in the first half of the novel by acting so scattered all of the time. It made sense for all of the responsibilities that Charlie has but wow was it hard to get through at times. Also, as a romance novel, there are sexy scenes but I was starting to get overwhelmed as they continued because they were so numerous in a short amount of time. That is on me, not the author, so if you like A LOT of sex then here you go. If not, maybe just be prepared going into it. Ben was very sweet and seemed to be relatively mature for his age which again worked in the novel. Definitely a nice book to while away some time. 3.5 stars.

This book was okay. There were aspects I really enjoyed, such as the great co-parenting relationship between Charlie and Emily, and pretty much everything about Ben's character, but especially his knitting obsession. However, Charlie, as an MC really grated on my nerves after a bit. I feel for him, he's young (21) and has so much going on- being in a band, a full-time university student, a job as a barista, and trying to support his young daughter. But having the only POV be his, which means getting into his anxiety-laden brain was tough. There's only so many times a reader can hear the same negative internal monologue before you stop wanting to cheer on the character and simply agree and quit the book.
That being said, I did make it through. I appreciated how multifaceted the MCs both were. It gave them some good depth. The spice level was fantastic as well- very steamy, yet also sweet!
I was so glad when Ben stood up to Charlie's family about 2/3 through the book. SOMEONE needed to. I didn't understand why Charlie still subjected himself to their weekly dinners when he had no financial reason to, and really got nothing out of it except abuse. So I was happy when their ridiculous behavior was finally called out. It should not be treated as normal or acceptable.
So, overall, ,Ben was a star, and I loved him. He got me through this book for sure.

I wanted to love this as there is nothing more cozy and romantic than a romance set in London, but unfortunately I just couldn't really get into the story. Though I enjoyed Ben's character, Charlie was just not my favorite and it made it difficult for me to get to invested in his story. Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC.

a cute story as its own! i have to give it that. the reason i am giving it 2 stars, is mostly because of the writing. it could've been so much better, because I thought it had potential! other than this, i tried my hardest to love the characters, but ended up not getting emotionally attached to them.