Oh gosh, I am so incredibly grateful to receive an ARC for this.
This was the epitome of Josie Silver for me (as a huge lover of Lydia Bird and ODID) heartwarming, breaking, grief, loss, love and found family.
I don’t think it could’ve been more perfect in my eyes.

This was my first book by Josie Silver and although the story was alright it didn't light any fires for me. The 'secrets/lies' were going to come out and I got fed up of Iris bemoaning the fact that she hadn't/couldn't/wasn't ready to spill the beans. Some nice settings and scenes and some good (and bad) characters but it wasn't any more than a 3 star read for me. With thanks to NerGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this novel.

Iris has come to New York from London to make a fresh start, following the death of her beloved single parent mother, and to escape an abusive relationship.

While she’s not exactly using her chef’s skills to their full, working in a downtrodden noodle restaurant, it’s just what she needs, given the job comes not only with an (albeit tiny) apartment, but also with Bobby, the owner who has become a brilliant friend. It’s on an outing with Bobby to the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy that she spots a doorway and everything changes.

Can Iris find happiness with the gorgeous Gio? What about the lie and big secret that hangs over Iris’ head, and causes us readers anxiety?

While most of the story is narrated by Iris herself, there are a few chapters thrown in from her mother Vivien’s story – so we know more than Iris ever will. I really wanted to be able to enlighten her.

Full of loveable characters (with one or two exceptions, including Smirnoff, the cat), bringing untold warmth to a cold New York winter (or a wet, chilly British summer!), it’s a thoroughly enjoyable romantic read.

I got half way through this book and dnf I just couldn't get into the story took so long and it was the same repetitive things

This was my first Josie Silver Novel and it did not disappoint. It was beautifully written and I found it to be very heartfelt. I thoughly enjoyed all the characters from the main ones, Gio and Iris to the supporting ones, Sophia and Bella. I will definitely be seeking out more books by this author.

REVIEW
cw: bereavement, grief, coercive control, anxiety
After Iris escapes an abusive relationship she moves to New York and finds herself in front of a familiar door in Little Italy. There she meets Gio Belotti, a widower trying to recreate the family's legendary gelato after his uncle's stroke. Little do either know just how intertwined their histories are.
This was such a moving story, about second chances (in a kind of parallel way). Told through the POV's of Iris and her mother Vivienne (via flashbacks), we follow their time in New York, where they meet two of the Belotti men and fall in love with the family's famous gelato. I loved Gio and Iris together. They were so sweet, especially talking about old rom-coms, and I loved their banter. I also loved Iris's connection with Bella, and the way everything kept linking back to Vivienne's story. Speaking of Bella, there were some wonderful supporting characters, from Bobby and Robin, to the entire Betolli family. I was so moved by the loneliness both Iris and her mother had experienced in their lives and I particularly loved the found family aspects of this story. The Belotti's were such a wonderful family and I really appreciated how much they cared about Iris.
If I have one tiny criticism, it's that Iris's internal thoughts about the subterfuge occasionally felt repetitve, which frustrated me. I completely understood her fears, but I could have happily heard about them a little less. Still, the denouement was satisfying and swoon-worthy. This is a perfect winter read (even though I read it in August 😉)

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥
Emotional Rating: 😬😂🙈💓🤔💓😊🥰💓😢🥰😬💔🥰💓😢💓🥰💓🥰😬💓😍💓😂💓💔💓😍💓😍💓🥰💓🥰🤬💔😒🤬💓😭👏🏻💓😬💓🥰🤬😢🥰😭💓💔😭💓😭🥰😒😢💔😢🙄🤬👏🏻🥰😂💓🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. A Winter In New York is published on 12th October in the UK*

Oh how I loved this , absolutely fabulous storytelling and superb cast of characters. Warm , romantic, intriguing and funny . I loved it all. Highly recommended.

Very good. Josie Silver just keeps on getting better and better. This book is full of passion, romance and heartache. Wonderful writing that just flows throughout and makes you feel part of the scene, not just reading it on a page. The characters are so relatable and well written.

Well we love a Josie Silver book - and this one didn't disappoint at all. It was a fun and light read and I couldn't put it down. Fully recommend to anyone who wants a lovely book!!

Thanks to Josie, Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for a review.

Loved it! Josie Silver gives another wonderful couple and family to fall in love with. Perfect for snuggling up on a winter afternoon and losing yourself in.

I adored this!!! It had Christmas, New York City, Single Dad, Big Family, MCs over 30 (big win!!!!), Pop culture references, and Gelato - what more could you want!

This was a grown up romance, that still had the swoon worthy moments, yet didn't feel cheesy or cliché. You could feel from the beginning the blow up teetering on the fringes of this story and yet it couldn't stop me from reading.

I can't wait to read more by this author. This has given 'One Night on the Island' a run for it's money X

Set mostly in New York in present time with a few flash backs to an earlier time. After her mother’s death and her failed relationship with Adam, Iris leaves London to travel to Lower East Side of New York to the place Iris’s mother spoke often about. Iris left London with her mother’s ashes and some of her mother’s precious mementos including a scrapbook and a secret recipe for vanilla gelato.
Iris finds a job as a Chef at The Very Tasty Noodle House and lives above the restaurant. Bobby and Robin own the restaurant and the building where Iris Lives. Iris becomes good friends with Bobby and Robin and often makes her secret recipe of vanilla gelato to share with Bobby.
One day Bobby takes Iris to a cultural and food festival, where she recognises a door that is in one of her mother’s photos. The door is Bellotti’s gelateria.
Iris checks her mother’s scrapbook and finds a photo of a man in front of the same door. This discovery sets Iris on a course of discovery to find out who the man was and why her mother had a secret recipe for vanilla gelato.
I loved the descriptions of food and music playing in the background as Iris and Bobby wandered around the cultural food festival.
This was a romance about families, friendship and a secret vanilla gelato recipe.

Iris escapes to New York where she tries to reinvent herself while visiting some of her mother's past. She comes across a gelato shop that her mother had a connection with, and holds a mystery that she has the key to. Starts off fairly light, but builds into something deeper as we find out more of her story and of the new relationships she makes. Perfect read with a bowl of gelato, no matter what the weather!

This was a really delightful read set in New York about a struggling gelateria.

Iris has recently moved to New York, to escape an abusive partner and to restart her life after the death of her mother, who years ago also lived in New York for a while. Whilst there she finds a job and becomes best friends with the owners, especially Bobby, both of whom are such wonderful funny characters, I loved them!

During a night out with Bobby Iris sees a little gelateria that is in photos she has of her mother, and she also has a gelato recipe that her mother always used to make her, and Iris has continued making. She learns that this is the 'secret' recipe of the shop that supposedly only the owner is supposed to know about, so how did Iris's mother come by it?

The gelato shop is in a bit of a crisis because the current person who knows about the secret recipe has been ill and has forgotten the recipe... so what is Iris to do now? Admit she has the recipe, or not, even though her mother had always sworn her to secrecy with the recipe, telling her to share it with no-one? She slowly gets closer to the family, secretly helping them figure out the recipe without admitting she knows it, and especially gets closer to the person currently running it, Gio.

Of course the secrets all come out in the end, about how Iris's mother had the recipe in the first place, albeit with some annoying parts regarding certain members of the family finally realising who Iris is and trying to hide some of their past, which was pretty ridiculous. I also found the part about the abusive ex-partner, who briefly turned up in New York, rather irritating, and pretty pointless. But apart from that it was a really lovely, romantic story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Having read and enjoyed previous books by Josie Silver, I was pleased to be given the opportunity to read this one via Net Galley.
The main character is Iris, who plucks up the courage to leave the abusive relationship she is in and escape to new York for a new life., where she meets Gio and his family. They give her a fresh start in life and also the chance to reignite their love of ice cream and the opening of a shop to sell it.
Thoroughly enjoyed, can't wait for Josie's next novel.

This was a beautiful story, I loved both the plot and characters. Josie's writing style is lovely to read and I can only recommend her books!

Iris has escaped an abusive relationship, she’s run from London to New York. This was where her mother had spent some time in her younger days, before Iris was born and before her untimely death three years ago. Iris wants to walk where she walked. With her she carries a secret, one which she feels she can’t reveal.
Compelling writing, totally absorbing read.
Chick lit at its best. Loved it.

This novel wasn’t what I expected, and I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy it as much. I really wanted to like this one! And it’s definitely my mistake that I assumed A Winter in New York to be a holiday romance. Based on the cover and title, I expected a fluffy, festive, and fun read. Instead A Winter in New York was more of a novel about a heroine picking herself up after being in a toxic relationship, while grieving the loss of her mother. So, this was more of a heavier read than expected, which took me by surprise - but it didn’t go into depth to truly examine those topics either.
What was done really well were the atmospheric scenery descriptions. I could easily imagine wandering in New York while reading.

The writing is solid and really nice, but the plot was just too thin to carry a whole story. Right from the start Iris made some poor choices (one lie and one omission on a rather crucial issue). She should’ve resolved them as soon as possible, but simply didn’t - and a large part of the novel is contributed to the shame she felt and how much she dragged those choices she made (instead of resolving them). That frustrated me a little lot, to be honest. And I think a plot/conflict is simply not strong enough to carry a novel if it could be resolved with one conversation. I found it hard to not judge Iris for her poor choices and for not owning them - even though Gio (the love interest) and his family were amazing. Also Bobby, the bff was incredible (he would be such a wonderful main character!). I just couldn’t find myself rooting for Iris.

Based on the raving reviews, I’m definitely an outlier in not liking this book as much, so do give A Winter in New York a try if you’re looking for an atmospheric story taking place in New York.

I usually hate when a relationship is built on lies. While I still hated it here, I still found myself rooting for them.
I loved Gio and his family's relationship with eachother. How they welcomed Iris so easily and treated her like family as well.
While I understand why the lies weren't corrected earlier I wish it had. I felt it waited too long so it was a rushed fix.
Same with Adams appearance. If it had happened earlier I feel like it would have added more to Iris and her growth.

But overall Gio and Iris chemistry and relationship was enjoyable to see.

Set in New York, the story follows the adventures of Iris, a young chef who has fled London to start a new life, and rediscover her purpose. Still grieving her mother’s death and leaving behind an abusive and manipulative partner, Iris hopes to make a fresh start in the city that meant so much to her mother.

As Iris navigates the challenges of city life, she comes across a door that introduces her to Gio and his family’s Gelato shop, whilst simultaneously connecting her to the secrets from her mother’s past. As Iris gets to know Gio and his family, she is torn between truly feeling part of a family and telling them the truth which could tear them all apart.

The character’s in this book are endearing and relatable. Bobby was a hidden gem, and I loved the unwavering friendship between him and Iris. As someone who grew up in an Italian household, I loved all the familial references and the snippets of Italian throughout the book. Iris’ development from a reserved and fearful into a passionate and empowered woman is authentic and I loved seeing her character development. The romance and chemistry between Gio and Iris had me hooked and their relationship is sweet and emotional right up until the very end. To say I was invested in their journey is an understatement.

Despite exploring heavy themes of death, grief, and emotional abuse, the story is beautifully written and a delightful escape for anyone this coming holiday season. Do not walk, but run to get your hands on this book when it comes out!

Thank you @netgalley for an advanced copy. A Winter in New York will be published on October 3, 2023.