A Winter in New York is another cute rom com from Josie Silver. It was not my favorite of her novels, but it's cute so if you liked her other books then pick this one up. The best part of the book is the New York setting. It definitely made me want to be there. The main character was frustrating and while "miscommunication" is a common romance trope, it just made me angry here rather than feeling like a plot point.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 @𝘗𝘙𝘏𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬!

Welcome to my first holiday read of the 2023 season! This one picks up after the prologue at the end of September and takes us all the way through New Year’s Eve. So while it’s not a holiday book per se, it was the perfect segue for me this early November.

This is my very first @josiesilverauthor novel, and I can see why she’s such a well-loved author. This one really got me in my feels (I needed a Kleenex a few times) while also providing plenty of giggles and leaving me with a smile. Definitely a cozy winter comfort read.

What I Loved 💙
❄️The NYC in winter setting
🍨All the vanilla gelato (Vanilla Forever! IYKYK)
🫶The found family element
☺️The lovable cast of supporting characters. I need Bobby and Sophie in my life immediately please.
❤️‍🩹The growth of the main character and her budding sense of self
💋The slow burn foodie romance
🤷🏻The Schitt’s Creek references (Eat glass!)
🪞This quote: “I promise the girl in the mirror that I’ll watch her back.”

What Could Have Been Better💙

❌The dreaded miscommunication trope

I paired the audiobook and e-book versions with this read, and I have to say I really enjoyed the narration by @emmajappleton. Her voice has this feminine husky quality that was very satisfying to listen to.

How would you paint the background of your life? This book would have vibrant colors like Bellotti’s gelato shop door. With crisp leaves in a park featuring impromptu concerts. With the comforting smells of a neighborhood noodle spot, With the love of your mom and with new found love. It is that good, ya’ll.

Our story follows Iris as she embarks on her new life in New York, carrying the grief of losing her mom and the trauma of a bad relationship back in London. She also brings her the gelato recipe from her mom that has been a source of comfort throughout her life. When she stumbles upon a familiar door she recognizes from her mom’s photo album she meets Gio Belloti and they embark on a star-crossed journey of love, loss, secrets, and family togetherness.

This books is full of heart — both the happy kind and the kind that makes you ache inside. This was my first Josie Silver book and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

So so so cozy and adorable! I loved One Day In December and knew this one wouldn’t disappoint 😍 perfect winter read

I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting from a Christmas romance. I have thoroughly enjoyed other work by this author, this one just didn’t hit as high for me.

This book was like curling up with a cup of pure joy! I couldn't get enough! Iris was such a delight to get to know, and I was rooting for her as she overcame her abusive relationship with Adam. I, too, have been in a similar relationship and felt myself in Iris at times. As she rediscovered herself and reclaimed herself, and was questioning whether she was worthy of a relationship with those around her, it all hit so close to home. I found myself smiling, crying, and feeling all of the emotions! The added dimension of Iris' mother, Santo, Felipe, and the band, discovering things about Iris' mother, and then bringing those to the surface with her situation ship with Gio, were all so intriguing. I couldn't wait to see how that played out, and I found myself really rooting for her, and my heart breaking for her as things went all over the place and she continued to question herself and what she should do.
This book was a solid 5 stars for me, and my only wish is that I could read it again for the first time, curled up in my warm bed, totally immersed! But since I can't, I'll have to settle for reading it a second time!

I received this as an ARC through NetGally and let me just say this was an adorable book. The plot was so good, there’s a little bit of spice which was perfect. Overall the writing allowed you to understand the characters really well. There were also some moments that pulled on your heartstrings a little bit.

Josie Silver's One Day in December was a favorite of mine when it came out. A Winter in New York felt a return to form -- I really enjoyed it and thought it was lovely. It feels a bit like Rebecca Serle mixed with Jenny Bayliss. This is a wholesome read, focused on family, love, loss, and finding yourself.

TW: abusive relationships

I recommend this one as a cozy winter read!

its a very cute cozy read for the winter. I live in brooklyn ny so I naturally love reading books that take place in nyc since its easier for me to visualize.

This is a beautiful, heart-warming love story. I enjoyed the setting and the characters. Big loving Italian families are near and dear to my heart as a fellow Italian! The pacing was on the slower side and was very relaxing to read. I enjoyed the dual time-lines as we get scenes from the FMC's mom when she had been in NYC decades prior.

I also loved that this book had more depth than a typical rom-com, and was not all just "fluff" but dealt with some heavier themes.

The only reason this was not 5-star for me was the deception that began the book which could have been cleared up easily if done right away, and would have by any mature adult. It felt really weird for the FMC to hide it until the end and cause such a dramatic misunderstanding.

The audiobook version of this was delightful with the British accent!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of the ebook! All opinions are my own.

Iris moves to New York to start over and retrace the footsteps of her deceased mother who spent time touring through the US with her band (and Iris' father) when she was young. As a chef, she picks up a job at a noodle restaurant and becomes best friends with the owner, Bobby. She mostly keeps to herself after work, until Bobby brings her to a street festival in Little Italy and she stumbles upon a gelateria that was pictured in her mother's photo album. She discovers that her mother's gelato recipe is actually their secret family recipe, which was recently lost after the owner had a medical emergency and can no longer remember the recipe.

She offers to help Gio, the owner's son, recreate the recipe through trial and error while not revealing that she actually has the real recipe herself. In the process she starts to come out of her shell and build a strong connection with Gio and his family.

This book is so cute, the love story that develops between Iris and Gio is so genuine. The characters in the book are all lovable and relatable and I found myself unable to put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

I can’t remember the last time I cried in a book. Like legit shed tears! But you guys…I DID while reading this one. 𝘼 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠 is such a beautiful story, and is now my FAV Josie Silver book!

This story follows two timelines - one of Iris in present day, her struggles, love interest, finding out more about her mom who passed a few years ago, and a secret she feels she needs to keep from Gio. Her love interest. The other is of Iris’ mom in her own present day… and how Iris came to be.

This story has it ALL! A lost love, a dangerous relationship, hidden feelings, what-if’s, secrets and redemption! This book has witty humor, pulled at my heart strings, made me righteously angry over complete an udder gaslighting and manipulation, and then scream for joy and shed tears when the story came full circle!

This book is out now, and I suggest you try to get your hands on whatever copy fits you best!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced listeners copy of this book! I ADORED it!!

Iris comes to New York because her late mother loved the city. What she didn't expect to find was a found family. The moment Iris saw the glass door of the gelateria, she knew that it was a piece of her mother's history. What she didn't know, is that it was also her destiny.

The story of Iris and Gio was a great one. I loved their love story! This book has great messages about found family, telling the truth, and letting go. Highly recommend!

Sorry to say this was a miss for me. I was bored by the "vanilla" story. So much unnecessary lying and the gelato recipe thing was just getting old. At first I had a hard time figuring out if this was a romance or if the two main characters were actually related? The abusive ex storyline seemed to forced and the end (specifically the part with the cat) was so silly. I also only think of Haunting Adeline when I hear "little mouse." Bobby and his husband were really the only fun parts. All of the Belottis and their relationships were confusing and I guess I just didn't really like Iris.

2.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book made my heart sing! Now that October is coming to a close, I am ready for everything holiday/Christmas. Throughout the book, I found myself cheering for Iris and her desire to start over anew. I really enjoyed that this book encompassed more than the typical holiday romance novel - it covered some complex topics and really allowed me to feel. I laughed, I cried and I recommended this to all of my friends! Thanks so much for the ARC, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!

It takes me forever to finish “reading” vs listening to books. That said, Josie Silver is always a must read for me and her latest did not disappoint. This book tells the story of Iris, a girl from England who moves to NYC after her mother dies. Iris is escaping a toxic, abusive relationship and in her new city, she finds a job as a chef, and good friends. One September evening she stumbles upon a gelato store and by doing so, she begins to trace her mother’s footsteps to the same establishment. She meets Gio Belotti and his family and falls in love. I found this love story sweet-Gio is so dreamy! But while I found the main conflict not a conflict at all in my mind, I chose to willingly accept it as such and just enjoy the story. This is a romantic, sweet love story that had me smiling throughout. Thank you to @netgalley and to @randomhouse for the arc which is out now! Thank you to @josiesilverauthor for another amazing read!

Josie Silver is a favorite writer of mine and this book didn’t disappoint.

Reeling from her beloved mother’s death and fleeing an abusive relationship, Iris leaves England for New York City, the city her mother fell in love with as a young singer. A chef, Iris soon finds work in a restaurant and her boss/landlord, Bobby, becomes a good friend. On a visit to Little Italy, Iris recognizes a gelato place from a photo in her mother’s scrapbook. Iris visits and soon becomes involved with the family who owns it. Unfortunately she realizes she met the owner’s nephew, Gio, soon after she arrived in New York, blurting out to him that she was recently widowed. Problem is, Gio is a widower with a teenaged daughter so Iris’s lie seems cruel.

To further complicate matters, not only is Iris falling in love with Gio, but she has possession to the family’s secret recipe for vanilla gelato which the owner (with whom Iris’s mother had an I’ll-fated relationship) has forgotten since having a stroke.

As convoluted and contrived as the plot may sound, it actually works, even if I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell Gio that she has the recipe. Also the timeline didn’t always work—although certainly a few of us who were young adults in the mid-eighties have died, most of us are still alive and not even grandparents. A very enjoyable romance, but don’t analyze it too deeply. #AWinterinNewYork #NetGalley

Heartwarming. Beautiful. Emotional. Josie Silver is becoming a favorite author for me. Iris’ mom flashbacks added an extra something to the story. Iris and Gio are so cute together, from their bookstore meetcute to working together to recreate a gelato family recipe. Definitely rooted for these two from the beginning.

I've loved each and every Josie Silver book I've read! While they're each completely different, all have the same warmth and care.

The details are spot on, the characters are lovable and relatable, all resulting in a great fall, cozy read.

#AWinterinNewYork #NetGalley #RandomHouse

I requested this book from NetGalley because I absolutely LOVED One Day in December and was hoping this would be the same kind of whimsical, soft, missed connection romance which kept you reading until it was through. Unfortunately for me, this wasn’t the case.

The idea is original and the writing is fine, but it just didn’t pull me in. I just kept thinking if she would just fess up then the story would be over, but it was just drawn out so much and I had a hard time continuing.

There were definitely some positives. I loved the descriptions of NYC at Christmas time, the flash backs and the overall premise of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Josie Silver, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.