I liked it even more than Love in the Time of Serial Killers! I wish there had been more closure on Asa’s relationship with his sister but I understand given the time frame of the plot why there wasn’t more there. Fun and charming workplace rivals to lovers with a good cast of secondary characters and a quirky setting!

This is quite possibly my favorite romance ever. Lauren does the books for Cold World, a cold weather-themed attraction in Florida, and Asa has worked there doing odd jobs for a decade. Both of them have backstories that have heavily impacted them, and what's so stunning about these two is how their experiences make them kinder, both of them taking the time to try and help others who were in similar situations. Despite both of our MCs being the best of people, they start off as rivals of sorts-- Asa calls Lauren robotic and unfeeling, and Lauren keeps suggesting they cancel Cold World's Christmas party, which Asa loves.

They're thrown together when their boss Delores asks them for help to revamp Cold World, and with a little time, they start to realize they aren't so at odds. This was such a perfect slow burn building to such a sweet love story that was as emotionally satisfying as it was visually described--I can imagine these two at Cold World so vividly, that's how amazing the writing is here.

I simply loved everything about this story. How our characters grew with each other's support, how their friends steered them with kindness, the way the author handled tough situations with care, the humor, the spice, a Bleachers reference--I'm going to reread this for Christmas, I've decided. And I highly suggest you read it before then! All my stars!

They’re work rivals, polar opposites, and working against each other in a competition to make the best work proposal... yet the more time they actually spend together the more they’re starting to realize they might have not known each other as well as they thought and that love might just be brewing in this Cold World. Lauren Fox and Asa Williamson both work at Cold World, a winter wonderland tourist place in Florida. Cold World’s business has been declining and as Cold World’s main bookkeeper, Lauren has definitely noticed the lack of business. Lauren wants to help Cold World but she also wants to keep to herself and she strongly dislikes Christmas. Asa has worked at Cold World for a long time, he’s kind of involved in everything and absolutely adores Christmas. After a bit of an awkward run in at a party, both Asa and Lauren have kind of had it out for each other. Lauren thinks that all Asa cares about is having fun while Asa thinks Lauren is so uptight and a bit of a wet blanket. Both of them don’t really get along but when the owner of Cold World gives them the opportunity to come up with a business proposal to change Cold World this might be the chance for a promotion or something else for either of them. This competition has both Asa and Lauren actually talking to each other for once, actually spending time and getting to know each other and realizing that they never really knew each other... and that the more time they spend together the more they might be falling for each other in this winter theme park.... yet both of them have their own pasts and hurts that make it hard for them to open up... are they willing to risk it all for love? Lauren was a child of foster care, she had a rough childhood and is a bit of a loner, she’s afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, of being rejected. Asa grew up in a religious household that kicked him out when his pastor father discovered him kissing another boy and when he came out as bi. Lauren and Asa both have to grow and open to each other if they want a relationship to work between them. If you like a theme park-esque themed romance about two opposite work rivals then give this a go. The romance is pretty light and instead it focuses on both character’s journey of growing and their work relationship expanding.

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I almost didn’t read this book, mainly because every time the cover popped up I read cold war instead of cold world and it kept throwing me off. Also, let’s be honest, it’s always chancy going into a book by a new-to-you author that also has a cutesy cover. I’m glad I finally picked it up, because not reading this lovely enemies to lovers, workplace romance would have been a tragedy. With Love, from Cold World might even end up being one of my favorite reads of the year.

Lauren Fox works for Cold World as a bookkeeper. She genuinely enjoys her job and the people she works with at the fun tourist destination. That is except for Asa Williamson. While Lauren is orderly and reserved, Asa tends to be open and friendly. They didn’t start out on the right foot with each other, and now Lauren can’t stand the way he constantly seems to be making fun of her. They verbally spar on a regular basis. When their boss tasks them with a project, during the holidays no less, it will either turn them into competitors or bring them together.

I really enjoyed this book, and while I thought I was going into a relatively light, comedic romance, I was once again surprised to find that this book contained deep subject matter and each of the main characters’ backstories was laden with trauma. But, it also has a cool workplace environment, secondary characters who are really more of a found family, and lots and lots of chemistry between the main characters. I also really appreciated that the author took extreme care in her approach to sexuality, dysfunctional families, anxiety, and foster care.

While this may be an enemies-to-lovers romance, there is never any real malice behind the bickering. More misunderstanding and preconceived notions. When they are trapped together overnight in Cold World, all of those misunderstands and preconceived notions come tumbling down. The two get to know each other, they talk, they play, and they get sexy. They are more alike than they are different- both of them reaching out to help others in ways they didn’t get in their childhoods. Lauren by working with a child in the foster care system and Asa by helping out on a LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline.

The romance between them blossoms into something quite lovely. There is even a scene when Lauren confronts Asa’s (terrible) parents, that gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. The HEA was just about perfect and now I’m kind of hoping we see more of the secondary characters in later books. Maybe they’ll get their own HEAs.

Grade- B+

Content notes- Involuntary outing of a character, foster care, off-page parental drug addiction, off-page mentions of death by overdose, and religious intolerance to sexuality

This was a sweet romance featuring great characters with interesting back stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

I liked but had some issues with Love in the Time of Serial Killers, so I almost gave this one a pass. I am so glad I didn't! With Love, from Cold World was basically perfect. I related to both Lauren and Asa and I loved the trajectory of their relationship, even when they were both getting in their own way and making a mess of things. This one is going on my keeper shelf.

The theme of hot and cold is shockingly woven through the book from the FMC and her profession to the grumpy/sunshine trope.

This book had a chokehold on me and I am unsure how I am supposed to move on after reading this one. The book hangover struggle is real with this one!

Read this for:
- Enemies to lovers
- Co-workers forced to work together
- Opposites attract
- Workplace
- Forced proximity
- Late night lock ins
- Found family
- Bi representation
- Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero
- Two characters who have been through the trauma and come out on the other side
- Hilarious pop culture references

First, the setting was hilarious. A park that provides winter fun in the hottest place we know, Florida. That made it unique already, and off to a funny start. Then there's Lauren and Asa, co-workers who are complete opposites and start off on severe enemy territory. They are both asked to come up with a plan to help push Cold World forward and bring more visitors to the park. Through this workplace forced proximity, they find that they start to get to know one another. They actually like one another and have a lot of chemistry and attraction.

I loved how Asa understood Lauren and was patient with her seeing how her traumas caused her to need time to trust someone. I also adored how Lauren stepped up for Asa and took on his family in the sweetest guard dog type of way.

Lauren lived such an isolated life before she started to crack open with Asa. From her past you understood why, but it really made my heart so happy to see how she began to realize she deserved to be loved and have relationships. It also was wonderful to see Asa move forward in his life and find his path when he had felt so stuck because it felt safe to him. Also, the chemistry they had was on fire. Their intimacy with one another was perfect for them as a couple.

I literally just want to take Lauren and Asa and put them in a bubble because they are so precious and should be protected at all costs and deserve nothing but happiness! These two had each been through so much, but finding one another opened them up to the love they each deserved.

After finishing, I'm craving so much more. I hope we get some bonus content. I already would LOVE if we got John's story because he seems amazing. Kiki's would be great. Who am I kidding? I want all the roommate's stories so I hope this continues and Alicia graces us with the perfection we need in our lives.

Thank to you Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Enemies to lovers with so much more!

Lauren is very by the book, a numeric organizer, only child, quirky bookkeeper whom doesn’t have many friends and has been working at Cold World, a winter themed attraction, for 2 years. She was abandoned at a young age and had to go through foster care, making her want to make an impact in foster kids now as an adult.

Her co worker, Asa, is a blue-haired tatted social butterfly, whom was kicked out of his house as a teenager for being bisexual. Lives with 3 housemates and has been working at Cold World for 10 years. He’s a jokester whom loves flavored K-Cups, is an artist and is obsessed with Christmas.

Dolores, Cold World’s owner, has selected Lauren, Asa, and her son Daniel, to make a presentation on how to make Cold World better and attract more public. They must work with each other and discuss ideas for the final project.

I have to say, I wasn’t loving Lauren and Asa in the beginning. I wasn’t really a fan of either character. Specially Asa’s. Slowly but surely, my perspective completely changed, just as he changed Lauren’s as well. They have off the charts chemistry and definitely bring the best in each other.

This book is fun, heartfelt, sexy and I feel it did a great job with sensitive approach on sexual orientation, abandonment, social anxiety, dis functional families, foster care, finding and accepting yourself.

Thank you Alicia Thompson for writing this story. I did love it more than Love in The Times of Serial Killers.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

With Love, from Cold World is an addicting romance that should be on everyone's TBR!

Lauren Fox is the consummate professional at work. She takes her job seriously and she goes home. Asa is determined to have fun with everything he does-- if he can't enjoy it, what's the point? Unsurprisingly, these two have butted heads in the two years they've been co-workers at Cold World-- a snow and ice themed amusement park in steamy Florida. He pranks her, and she is always armed with a snarky response.

Suddenly, these two find themselves embroiled in a competition to make the best plan for improving Cold World. Somewhere between going over budget sheets and accidentally getting locked inside they realize that their feelings for each other are anything but cold. Each of them has a lot to be wary of in a new relationship, as they struggle to leave their past hurts behind.

I put off my responsibilities to read this book in one day. If that doesn't sell you on the book, here are a few of my favorite things: dual POV (!), Asa is ridiculous hot & I'm in love with him, found family trope, and there is so much chaos in the best possible way.

Out August 1st, thanks so much to Berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review :)

With Love, from Cold World is a book you'll want to add to your TBR list immediately!

Lauren is a bookkeeper for Orlando attraction Cold World. While the business could use more people coming in the doors, it is a fun place to work for everyone. Yet, Lauren may have her dreams held higher than just being a bookkeeper.

Asa has been working at Cold World for a long time. He's a lover of everything Christmas and adores Secret Santa. Once Dolores, the owner of Cold World, presents a task for Lauren, Asa and Dolores's son Daniel, all bets are off on who will bring out the best presentation. What he doesn't expect (and neither does Lauren) is for these "work enemies" to become instant friends.... and then something else.

I could not put down "With Love, From Cold World" and found myself instantly hooked into Alicia Thompson's world. The characterizations of Asa and Lauren were spot on and left me rooting for both characters to find their "happy". Readers will follow these journeys through dual points of view, which flow evenly throughouot the pages. By the end of the book, I wanted to cheer and give everyone involved a big hug.

While this book does deal with abandonment, foster care, LGBTQ+ sensitive issues, Alicia handled it well and added an author's note at the beginning.

Such a fun, charming rom-com from author Alicia Thompson!

Lauren and Asa are co-workers with opposite personalities, but they have fantastic chemistry and come together in a really sweet way. I like that their teasing and arguments before they get together are never really mean, and once they are together they are so warm and supportive of each other.

They both are adults dealing with past traumas, and the book addresses that well, though I wish they had both started therapy at some point. But overall their communication skills are good and they work well together. The third act break-up seemed a bit much, but I understood why they were triggered by their argument with each other.

With Love, from Cold World was a fun read!

I’m shocked to say this, but I’m DNFing at 20%. This was such an anticipated read for me. However, by 20% the romance is still almost nonexistent. I also was confused until about 15% if the romance was supposed to be with Asa or Daniel??? The story isn’t holding my attention and while I love the concept of Cold World, I think in reality it makes the book read kind of YA/juvenile since it’s a place for kids and families. I’m so sad to DNF this but am bored and uninterested. Thanks anyway for the ARC!!

Truly better than her first book, which I also loved. I loved that the male interest was bisexual, I loved the use of found families and trauma and the fun location of Cold Town. The love story was delightful and believable. Funny, charming, and heartwarming.

Fans of enemies-to-lovers, workplace romances won't want to miss With Love, from Cold World! I devoured this one! It has so many amazing elements that I think will resonate with readers everywhere so I hope that all romance fans will give this one a try!

I loved this book SO MUCH!!! If Alicia hadn’t already been an auto buy author for me after Love In The Tome Of Serial Killers, this book would have sealed the deal. 👏👏 I just love Asa and Lauren so much 🥹 My beautiful broken babies, I want to hug them both so tight. There was a story of healing and growth and watching them learn how to love not only each other but themselves.

It was a story that handled very heavy topics with such love and care. The foster system, homophobia (specifically biphobia), and toxic families, and anxiety. Learning how to have grace for yourself and other people. Knowing when it’s time to forgive people for past wrongs, and also when it’s time to cut toxic people out of your lives.

Not to mention their chemistry was just SO GOOD! They had me equal measures laughing and fanning myself. 🥵 Also deserving of a mention is Bi rep where the Bi character is a man who ends up with a woman! I feel like the only time I see bi rep it’s sapphic, achillean, or a bi woman with a straight man. Plus the entire queer found family just felt like the biggest, warmest hug 💙

This is the perfect winter read, but also just perfect anytime of year. I cannot wait for the rest of you all to fall in love with them as well!!

I really liked Love in the Time of Serial Killers and was excited to see that this new novel, which drew me in with its very cool cover, was by the same author. This is a workplace enemies to lovers romance featuring Lauren, an introverted, kind of uptight bookkeeper, and Asa, her extroverted, always up for a good time jack of all trades co-worker at Cold World, a faux winter wonderland in the middle of Florida. The two have always clashed, but things get even messier when Cold World's owner brings Lauren, Asa, and her son Daniel (a VP for the company who doesn't actually spent much time at Cold World) together to ask them to come up with some ideas to give Cold World a makeover and update to bring in more revenue. Lauren's excited because she has a big crush on Daniel and Asa is excited to be able to compete with Lauren. Things get more complicated after Lauren and Asa get locked in at Cold World overnight and their relationship progresses unexpectedly. I appreciated how well developed both main characters were. We get a glimpse into Lauren's upbringing in the foster system and her interest in helping kids currently in the same situation, and we learn about Asa's clean break from his family after his parents kicked him out just before he turned 18 because his super religious pastor father can't accept that he's bisexual. We also see them both grow a lot over the course of a pretty short time and with some help from each other and their friends at Cold World and beyond. I really liked this and can't wait to see what Alicia Thompson writes next.

This was everything I wanted it to be, and definitely builds on the style and tone of Alicia’s first novel. With Love From Cold World is the sweet story of two people who feel alone in a crowded room finding the person who makes them feel seen. Both Asa and Lauren are hiding their hurt behind walls - Asa is the flippant life of the party and Lauren is the all-business worker bee. It starts with them sniping at each other until a night trapped in Cold World reminds them to see each other as people, and they start to fall hard and fast.
While there’s a lot of miscommunication, they are unaware of it. Both come from backgrounds that never taught them healthy communication and they are both so protective and defensive of their own well-being that it’s hard to let the walls down and give anyone the chance to hurt them.
The banter is witty and funny, between both the leads and the secondary characters, Cold World itself has sweet nostalgia vibes, and the confrontations with each lead’s antagonist will make you feel a sense of justice and completion. There are no threads left hanging at the end, and it makes you feel really positive about their longevity in the future.
Asa is bisexual and it is openly talked about, and Lauren is quick to correct anyone who denies his identity because he’s with a woman. He has a traumatic coming out story but there is a hopeful end note to that plot line.
Asa is worth swooning over - every time he couldn’t hold in how he felt or what he wanted from Lauren was pure romance. With Love From Cold World is sweet and full of heart, with two characters who grow together and learn they can trust someone else with their most vulnerable parts.

The premise of With Love, from Cold World was fantastic and the setting unique. However, I found that the narrative voice was not as strong in Love in the Time of Serial Killers. I also found that there wasn't quite enough chemistry between the protagonists under the rivalry at the start of the book. Thompson did keep me turning the pages though to find out what happens next. And the cover is so eye-catching, it would be hard to resist adding to a collection of rom-com novels!

It is impossible not to love "With Love, from Cold World." It is a contemporary romance with unique characters that you will not want to stop reading about. The novel is set in a theme park in Florida which is all about cold weather. I loved the irony here.

Lauren and Asa both work for the theme park but the two of them cannot stand each other. Both of them have back stories that really make them easy to connect with. The writing alternates between Lauren and Asa so you find yourself wanting to keep reading to find out what the other character is thinking.

Lauren is a bookkeeper for the theme park but she is also a former foster child who wants to give back to other kids in the same situation. Asa has worked at Cold World for ten years and considers it a safe place like a second family. Asa was kicked out of his house when he turned 18 due to his parents'strict values so Cold World helps fill a void for him. These two characters have very different personalities and are constantly at odds with each other. One day their boss asks them to come up with proposals for the theme park along with the boss's son who Lauren has a crush on. Their at odds relationship takes a turn one night when Lauren finds herself alone with Asa. Things between them will never be the same.

A fantastic romance that will make you want to read more. Alicia Thompson is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. She has a different style by creating characters and settings that are different from what you typically see in a romance. A must read!!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.