"At the time I felt as if I was running away, but now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can finally see the whole messy, beautiful picture. I was coming home."

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This warmed my heart as much as thinking about eating the Belotti's world-class vanilla gelato would freeze my insides in the middle of winter. Especially as someone who nearly freezes to death in the middle of summer. In the desert.

This was the perfect winter romance, full of characters as imperfect but still just as sweet as the multitude of gelato recipes they tried to re-create.

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A Winter in New York is now available as of October 2023! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Iris flees London to NYC to escape an abusive ex. While in NYC she finds ways to connect to her recently deceased mother. She stumbles upon a gelato shop from her mother's past and seeks comfort in their warm welcoming family.

Based on Josie Silver's previous book One Day In December, I excepted this to be a cozy holiday read. This book doesn't quite work for me - it's topics are heavy, the main character digs herself into a hole with a lot of BIG lies, and being from Boston area the climate just wasn't accurate for NYC.

I loved all the other characters. So quirky and fun were Iris's "found family." The book spans from about Halloween to New Year's with some very cozy Christmas scenes.

I really wanted to like this book and I contemplated DNFing at about 40%.

Iris moves to New York following the death of her mother and leaves her jerk of a ex-boyfriend back in London. She finds a job, makes some new friends and finds herself starting over. Along the way she stumbles into a gelato shop and meets Gio, a handsome man that has a connection to her mother that Iris cannot share. They embark on a friendship that quickly turns into something more. The secrets that she is hiding threaten not only their relationship but her happiness in this new city she has grown to love.

First of all I LOVE Josie Silver books, she has a knack for pulling your heartstrings and making you ugly cry!! This one was a little different for me. I liked the story and the characters but I am not a fan of keeping secrets. I get frustrated when characters are not honest with each at the beginning. I realize that this is a trope in many romances but it is just such a dealbreaker to me. I couldn’t relate to Iris or her motivation for keeping secrets so it was hard for me to really love this book. That said it is written well, the characters have great chemistry but the story is just not my favorite due to my personal preferences.

3 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much more than a holiday romcom. It was so deep and layered. Beautiful story telling. It truly felt like I was in the story as I read it.

4.75 stars
A Winter in New York, the latest release from Josie Silver, is a charming, touching story that perfectly sets the mood for the holidays.

Iris has narrowly escaped a troubled relationship, has recently lost her mother, and is trying to move-on by moving from the UK to New York City, a place where her mother was once truly happy. Iris happens to secure a job as a chef in a noodle shop and strikes up a friendship with the owner. In a self-protective manner, she has isolated herself to a small circumference and doesn’t venture out often. When Bobby, the noodle shop owner, her landlord, and close friend convinces the foodie in her to visit a local cuisine festival, she enjoys herself immensely, but more importantly, she discovers a place from her mother’s past that was meaningful and holds a story from a long time ago. Iris makes a connection with Gio, the owner of Belotti’s gelato shop, based on the need to recreate a long-held family recipe, and the two form a complicated, but tenderly sweet relationship that has many facets and far too many secrets.

This story starts strong and engaging, slows a bit in the middle, but the conclusion is utterly delightful. The family in this story is the epitome of the loud, loving, close-knit, Italian family that is nothing short of enviable. The descriptions are so vivid they are tangible, and the hurts the two characters are dealing with run deep and have left scars. Though I was frustrated by the lack of communication and the many missed opportunities to tell the truth, it made more sense towards the end.

A Winter in New York is a heartwarming and feel-good holiday story and a favorite of the season.

Thank you, Net Galley, for the chance to read Josie Silver’s latest, A Winter in New York. I really enjoyed the cozy New York setting, filled with a storyline focused on Italian family love, gelato and friends that become family. The plot line follows Gio and Iris, connected through a long ago storyline, find their own connection, separate from the past. A perfect read for the winter season.

This was the holiday-adjacent romance of my dreams. Beginning with a disastrous meet-cute in a bookstore (I mean, how perfect is that for every Bookstagrammer’s heart?!?), A Winter In New York have me all the While You Were Sleeping and Serendipity vibes, and now I need to add Moonstruck to my list of must-watch romance movies 😍

The found-family aspect of this one truly made the book! I adored Bobby and Robin, and can I just be adopted by the Belotti family?!? I loved Sophia, Bella, and Maria, and most of all, I loved how loyal and supportive they all were not only of Gio but also Iris. Stubborn, fiery, and imbued with the biggest hearts, they reminded me of the extended family I’ve been so blessed with in my life, and I couldn’t love them more 😍

I also appreciated baggage Iris had to work through. Het grief over her mother had me crying in the doctor’s office waiting room, and I just adored how interwoven her mother’s journey was with her own. And don’t even get me started on Adam! That man deserved everything that came to him, and while I wanted her to knee him in his junk or see Gio absolutely knock him out, the way Josie wrapped up that storyline was classy perfection ❤️

Read this book! Though it’s more holiday-adjacent, it warmed my heart and kept me company in the hospital while I was worried about my oldest, who had his first (and hopefully last) hospital visit the last several days. Thank you @josiesilverauthor @netgalley and @delacortepress for this beautiful gem. It truly made this last week more bearable, and gave me some light during a scary time ❤️

This book has turned into one of my favorite reads this holiday season. I love books with a feel of serendipity. Leaving her old life in London behind and ready for a fresh start Iris moves to a city so beloved by her Mom, New York. Visiting places on her moms old scrapbook she stumbles upon a small family owned gelato store. Here she meets Gio the owners son who is trying to recreate the family's Vanilla Gelato from scratch as his father is hospitalized and can't remember the recipe. Being that she was a chef back home Iris inserts herself into this family's dilemma. Gio a single dad feeling all the weight of the family business takes Iris up on her offer to help him but falling for her was not part of his plan. Could this be fate, Iris is feeling torn between telling the truth about the recipe and loosing this new found family. But when both her mothers past as well as her own collide will love be enough. This was such a heart warming story that made me swoon.

Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

This was a sweet story with many layers. I loved the New York setting at Christmas and enjoyed the found family aspect. Iris was a great MC who made some excellent personal growth through the course of the novel. The flashbacks with her mom were done well and added a nice touch to bring the background of their lives into the story. While the plot wasn’t what I expected, it was enjoyable and a quick read.

An enjoyable holiday romance with a nicely described New York setting. I enjoyed the past-and-present narration and the big Italian family.

Another fantastic book by Josie Silver. Every book of hers has been a 5 star read for me and this one was no different. I absolutely loved Iris and all the characters (except for Adam….he can eat glass!). The NYC setting in winter was perfection. This book was full of feels, from laughter to tears and everything in between. If you love HEAs, found family, romance and NY then you definitely need to read this one (even if you don’t like any of those things you still need to read it)!

I wanted to like this one so badly as I have loved all her previous books. Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me & I DNF'ed it. A sweet winter story from what I read, but not what I was expecting from this author & felt like it wasn't going anywhere. I will still happily try to read whatever she writes next!!

A solid 3-star read, possibly 3.5 stars - I loved so many things about this story, but the miscommunication ended up being too much. I don't know how Iris was functioning as a human around Gio, knowing that she was lying to him about two things that were such defining aspects of each of their lives. I would still recommend this book to friends though... I loved the NYC setting, the romance between Iris and Gio, and the Belotti family. And I am now craving vanilla gelato.

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

As a big fan of Silver I was eager to dive into her latest holiday book! This did not disappoint. I love her style with woven story lines and familial ties past and present.

We meet Iris a British chef who was raised by a single mom musician that recently passed. She is making her own way in New York and going through her moms stuff doing a gelato recipe then stumbles upon the family run gelato business. Their patriarch is sick and he’s the only one with the recipe. She isn’t sure how to help without exposing her moms hidden treasure so she helps them recreate it and in the process connects with the family just as her mom must have long ago. Gio and Iris also have met before but not on the best terms as the spark grows Iris is holding too many secrets and it’s bound to come out.

I really like the take of Iris being an only child as compared to Gio and his large extended Italian family. The ex seemed to be a bit of a afterthought as much as Iris was scared of him he didn’t seem to be much of a threat since we didn’t get into the exact history of that relationship.

Overall huge fan of this author and would read anything she writes!

I’ve loved all of the Josie Silver books I’ve read; they’re poignant, heartfelt, and tug on your heartstrings in the best of ways. Her latest, A Winter in New York, is no exception. This lovely book brings together the things I want to see in my women’s fiction/romance reading - a woman coming into her own, a heroic male love interest that allows her to be herself, and a fun cast of characters that form a family whether they are related or not. Iris, Gio, and the whole Belotti family make this book a delight.

I thought the concept of a gelato recipe linking Iris to her mother and to Gio’s family was such a fun storyline. Iris’ grief over her mother’s recent death and the trauma from her last relationship make her vulnerable and sensitive, which I loved. Gio seems like the perfect guy, and I was so happy they both get the love they deserve.


After reading this book, I wanted to pop into my local Italian gelato shop for a scoop! With its cozy New York City setting, it’s a perfect read for the upcoming winter months!

this wasn’t a textbook romance, but it was a great read to celebrate the holiday season with a very emotional story of growth (and also love) - kinda like if Hallmark got serious. I devoured this on a flight and was over the moon when I was served vanilla ice cream and could get a fully immersive experience

Such a super cute holiday read. Loved the characters and the setting and the recipe at the end sealed this as a perfect cozy Christmas book! Grab this one to read next to the Christmas tree!

This book took me for a ride and while I was initially drawn to the concept it all felt like too much. It was in intriguing story with a bit of mystery & history. I loved parts of the storyline but then throw in a lie about a husband and also a big family secret it just felt like too much deception for me. I couldn’t get behind so many lies. It was sweet and funny at times. I felt like the trigger warning abuse was kinda halfway thrown in there and it felt like two separate stories. But the family was fun and the characters were enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my very own.

Another outstanding novel by Josie Silver!

After deciding she needs a fresh start, Iris moves to New York City. The place she grew up watching nostalgic movies about with her mother and eating their super secret gelato.

While out one night she notices a small family-run Gelateria that looks oddly familiar. Could it be the same place that was in her mother’s photograph?

In summary, Iris’s life intermingles with her mothers past. In this wholesome novel you’ll find a love for gelato, found family, holiday season in New York, and lovable characters. This book felt like a warm hug. It’s a perfect read for the holiday season. Be prepared to feel all the feels and miss your mother dearly.

TW: death of love one, domestic violence

After leaving behind an abusive ex and processing the death of her mother, Iris moves to New York City for a fresh start. While wandering the neighborhood one day, she encounters Belotti's Gelateria, a gelato shop that Iris recognizes from her mother's photos. She learns that the gelato shop is without their famous recipe after the patriarch of the family, Santo, falls ill. After meeting Gio, Santo's nephew, Iris discovers that the gelato recipe passed down to her from her mom is the coveted and secret Belotti family recipe. As Iris works with Gio to recreate the family recipe, Iris must also hide the fact that her mother received the recipe from Santo years ago, as no Belotti has over shared this recipe with an outsider.

Featuring some flashbacks, this story centers around Iris' journey working through the death of her mother and learning more about her mom's past along the way. This book was romantic, sweet, and perfect for foodies and while it takes place around Christmas, I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as a "Christmas romance" book.

I do struggle with stories that center around lack of communication and I feel like the entire plot was about miscommunication/lack of communication, so that did impact my experience with the book. Overall, this book didn't really compare to One Day in December (also by Josie Silver), as that is one of my favorite winter books, but was still a cute read.

Thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest review.