Can someone please pass me a bowl of vanilla gelato?

Iris had a tough year. She lost her Mom and got out of a terrible relationship and is trying to start her life over in New York. Then she happens upon Belotti’s and recognizes it from an album she has of her Mother’s things. Quick meet-cute with Gio, the owner of the gelato restaurant at a book shop and this is off to the races. But it doesn’t go the way you think. Iris has a lot of trauma to process and so does Gio.

Italian Gilmore Girl vibes. Holiday romance. Grief and loss. Monday escapades, Lost gelato recipes.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for this perfect read as we go into the chilly months of the year. I savored this one, reading a little bit as a time which made the slow burn and release of information that much more enticing.

Much like the relationship between Iris & Gio, I took my time and then toward the end I couldn't put the book down as all the secrets unfolded and we found out even more information. I loved the flashbacks to give us a glimpse into the lives the characters they will never know.

Tears were shed and love was had. It was perfect!

This author is becoming known for her romance novels. She is continuing on this path with another sweet and trite, easy to read book. If you’ve enjoyed her other books you won’t want to miss this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC. This opinion is my own.

This latest novel by Josie Silver revolves around Iris, who has left England to move to NYC, running to her Mom’s favorite city while also running away from an awful guy and lots of memories. Will she finally find happiness and maybe even love there?

I am now 4 for 4 with Josie Silver’s novels. This one comes close to my favorite one of hers, One Night on the Island. She writes very likable main characters but then she makes the supporting characters shine as well. The story has a strange start involving a secret gelato recipe. But once the story progresses, it’s propulsive and unputdownable.

I highly recommend this as a holiday read, especially for readers who enjoy “found families” in their stories. This story is as sweet as the vanilla gelato that plays front and center in the plot.

4.25* Big thanks to #RandomHouse #Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review, even though it meant I was reading a winter/holiday story early in October 😊

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

I was so excited to see that Josie Silver had written another Christmas book because I enjoyed One Day in December. I immediately requested A Winter in New York, and I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed this novel and I liked how Josie tied her characters stories into one another. A person is never as simple as they seem, and Iris is no exception. Iris escapes to NYC after an abusive relationship with her ex boyfriend to restart her life and career. She meets Bobby and Robin, who become family members to her, while also landing a job and an apartment.

She sets out to see the places that her mother loved and had captured in her scrapbook, but doesn’t plan on falling in love with someone new who happens to have a roundabout way to her past. Iris gets in head over heels for Gio and his family, and soon realizes she has to let Gio know the truth of some secrets she’s been keeping about her mother. This was such a good, somewhat spicy romcom and I would definitely recommend it!


*I will add my monthly review link from my Instagram account at the end of the month*

Josie Silver’s latest is about Iris, who, still grieving her mother’s death, has fled an abusive relationship in London to start life over in NYC, where her mother lived for a time when she was young. She stumbles into a gelato shop and becomes intrigued by Gio who works there - but realizes that her mother had a connection there too.

Don’t let the title and cover fool you, this is NOT a holiday romance. It’s set from September to January, and is heavier than it looks, not a light Hallmark movie in book form. But what really bugged me about the book is that so much of the book revolves around both Iris omitting to tell Gio about her mother’s connection and possession of the shop’s missing gelato recipe, but also about a pretty big lie she told Gio before she knew him. This is not just a simple miscommunication plot which would be bad enough, but two things that it is just inexplicable she doesn’t tell him sooner, especially given that much of the book deals with her guilt over not doing so. There was a lot about their romance - and especially the found family she finds with his family - that was so sweet, but I just couldn’t get over this and it really diminishes my ability to root for them.

I did still enjoy the book, and I’ll keep reading Josie Silver as I’ve enjoyed all her books.

3.5 stars

This was a cute read, but not didn't live up to what I was anticipating for a holiday romance. The first half of the book dragged a lot and I found myself skipping to the dialogue. I also really wish I would have had some vanilla ice cream in my freezer when I read this. So many mentions of it, maybe too many.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a heavier read than I anticipated, but I enjoyed it. I do wish the writing would have gone into more depth on the heavier topics and the healing process for.

Josie did a wonderful job with her scenery descriptions. I could easily imagine myself walking along the snowy streets of New York and eating the most delicious gelato I've ever had. The found family vibes were also *chef's kiss*

The downfall to me was when Iris made some choices/miscommunications right from the get go that kept on going throughout the plot/story. I didn't agree with this and these mistakes carried through most of the book. This made me feel a little twitchy TBH.

Overall, this book is a very cute, fluffy, love story. I definitely enjoyed it, but there could have been more positive development throughout the story.

I just absolutely adore Josie Silver. Every book of hers I’ve read has warmed my heart and brought me to tears, and A Winter in New York is no exception. This story had so much love, growth and healing in it, and I will definitely be gifting it to some friends this winter season.

I love Josie Silver’s emotional writing! A winter in New York is no exception. Our main character is recovering from a lot of grief and trauma as she traverses a new city. This is decidedly not a fluffy holiday romcom. If you love going deep with a character, this book is for you.

As much as I love the author’s writing style, I didn’t find the storyline to have enough structure to hold. I kept finding myself pulling out of the story to question why the FMC was behaving the way she was and I felt like I knew how the entire story would play out within the first 2 chapters. The story just didn’t pull me along the way One Night on the Island did (a must read if you haven’t already). All in all, this book is written in beautiful voice, with a bit of a clunky execution.

I did end up switching over to the audiobook and the narrator does a fabulous job. I found the tone of her voice to be so soothing and enjoyed her accent.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy

While I absolutely LOVE everything Christmas/Holiday-ish, I have never been a huge fan of reading these types of books. However, Josie Silver recent release of A Winter in New York has me thinking this could change! This book released October 3, 2023 and I found myself not wanting it to end. To me, this book had such a well-rounded amount of emotions (I laughed, I cried, I got angry)....

Winter time, NYC, a cozy romance ensues as Iris and Gio seemed to be connected by fate! I loved these characters, I love their backstories and their families. It all started with a longtime family vanilla gelato recipe, but evolved to so much more. A story of a woman being strong and leaving an abusive relationship, to being an orphan without family, to finding love and a family that welcomed her. This book gives it all to you and it's not hard to fall smitten over Gio!

Wrap yourself up in a warm and cozy blanket and enjoy this! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my gifted copy of A Winter in New York.

What I Enjoyed-

❤ The Setting.
❤ The Premise.
❤ The Friendship between Iris and Bobby.
❤ Iris's mom's story and the peeks into the past.
❤ Gio's entire family.

Why This Book Wasn't a 5 Star ✨

The main character was so frustrating. The lying and hiding things really made her unlikeable. There were so many times she could have been honest and chose not to be.
I also found the title of the book to be very misleading. The majority of this book doesn't take place in winter.

Overall- Recommend. Josie Silver's books are always worth the read and I cannot wait for her next release.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

What a great feel good book. I guess I went into this book thinking it was something completely different and I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

Iris is an aspiring chef who moves to New York from London. While there her friend Bobby takes her to a festival where she stumbles on a familiar looking building. Turns out her and this restaurant have closer ties than she realizes…and lots of secrets. Will she fall for Gio who works at the gelato shop or will the secrets be too much?

4/5 I would highly recommend this book for a quick, easy, feel good read.

A Winter In New York by Josie Silver
Stars: 4
Spicy: PG, mostly behind closed doors

Will you like this book? You might if you like:

A serious tug on your heart strings and a good cry
New York City in the fall and winter
While You Were Sleeping
A bit of a mystery
Gelato

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Josie Silver is definitely one of my automatic buys and it started with One Day in December. Silver doesn’t get the hype that Emily Henry does, but I feel like they have a lot in common. Both are writing romance novels but in their books, the growth of the heroine is just as important, if not more sometimes, than the love affair. These are mature people, finding love again after loss and trauma.

Iris is a British chef who fled to New York City a year ago at Christmas to escape her life in London. She is finally breaking free of an abusive relationship and decides to go to the city her late mother loved. Iris brings along her mother’s gelato machine and a recipe passed on to her, written on an old napkin. In the Fall following her arrival, she finds herself in front of Belotti’s, a cafe famous for their vanilla gelato. Sadly, they aren’t making it at the moment because only two family members can ever know the recipe and one has just suffered a stroke and the other is off traveling. Iris is shocked to find that her mother’s napkin is the secret family recipe and she is not sure how to give it back without causing some serious family drama.

Silver draws on a lot of rom-com references in the book, especially Moonstruck, but i think the real homage is While You Were Sleeping; Iris is the only child of an only child and being welcomed into the Belotti family is like when Sandra Bullock finds herself surrounded by Bill Pullman and his family for the holidays. The one person that can blow the thing wide open is off in a hospital. And for Iris, finding a home for herself gives her the courage to face her demons and go for what she wants AND deserves.

Silver has a way of just tugging at your heart, making you feel all the feels. And as I mentioned, though this is a romance, the love of family, of a parent for a child, of friends, are just as important as the chemistry simmering between the MCs. Iris and Gio are not naive 20 year olds embarking on first love, they have been through tough times and they know they need to embrace happiness where they can. Plus there are a host of great secondary characters, including the city of New York itself. But I love Gio’s sister, Sophia, and Iris’ best friend, Bobby. They both act as perfect foils to the MCs and help move the story along. Smirnoff isn’t so bad either.

A Winter in New York just came out last week, but it will be the perfect holiday book to pick up when you want something just a bit serious but totally heartwarming.

Iris moves to New York after a bad relationship. She is not expecting to meet Gio or uncover the secret connection to his family. Will she keep it to herself?

I’ll love pretty much anything Josie Silver writes and this is no exception! This story follows Iris as she moves from London to New York for a fresh start after her mother’s death, with little more than her suitcase and her mom’s top secret gelato recipe. A chance encounter in Little Italy leads her to the same gelato shop in one of her mom’s photos. Soon she meets Gio, taking over the shop as his uncle is sick, and after one taste, it’s clear their connection goes far back, and there’s more to the story of how her mom got the recipe in the first place. This is a sweet story of new beginnings, second chances, and the power of chosen family.
Thank you to Random House Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is out now!

Lovely, heartwarming book. When you combine food and romance, what's not to love?

This book isn't particularly groundbreaking, we've seen it all before, but sometimes you just need a romance book that is comforting and enjoyable.

After losing her mother and needing to escape an abusive relationship, Iris leaves the UK for New York. She comes across a gelato shop and realizes that the door is something her mother had photographed years before. Iris meets Gio, the son/nephew of the owners of the gelato shop, and comes to discover that only two people in the family know the secret recipe for their gelato: his father, who rarely comes around and doesn't know where his copy is, and his uncle, who is hospitalized with a stroke. Iris realizes that not only had her mother been to the shop, she also came into possession of the secret recipe. How can Iris help Gio and his family without giving away the secrets?

I loved the family, humor, and heart of this story. As much as I wanted Iris to come clean about her secret, I also appreciated how she was sensitive to how others would take the news. There are some misunderstandings in the tale, but they are all dealt with quickly and not drawn out in a frustrating way like in some books.

There are many contrived situations here, don't get me wrong. There are so many coincidences that it could have been laughable, but surprisingly it wasn't. I just went along for the ride and wasn't disappointed with the results.

I am now on a hunt for some gelato...

New to NYC, Iris, one day, meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that his shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?

What a wholesome story this was. Not just one but two love stories have been portrayed in this book. Each is different yet similar to each others. I'd say what a plot-driven book this was. There were so many things going on, but I didn't feel overwhelmed. The meet-cute was hilarious between Iris & Gio. Their chemistry was great & they felt so comfortable around each other. While I felt the first half of the book was a tiny bit slow, it made up in the second half. As I said earlier, the plot was really wholesome & the side characters were amazing.

Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

First thought: What an amazing story, this book took me by surprise. I instantly fell in love with the characters and became immersed and couldn’t out this one down. It was beautiful story that was heart warming, emotional, tender and leaving you wanting vanilla gelato.

Iris was raised by a single mom the two of them against the world. When her mom died of cancer she was left alone in this world, and fell prey to a horrible excuse for a man: Adam. Last year on Christmas she packed a suitcase grabbed her gelato maker and left him to start a new life away from London in New York City.

Iris is slowly putting her life back together and trying to find joy again. She was lucky to stumble across Bobby her instant best friend who took her in, gave her a job and roof over her head. He is the family she never had. Iris is a trained chef and she has a top secret vanilla gelato recipe that her mom gave her that is to die for. Bobby drags Iris to a local food festival to get her out of her tiny bubble and she stumbles across a door to a gelato store that looks so familiar even though she’s never been there before.

Gio lost his wife seven years ago and has closed his heart off to love so he can focus on raising his daughter. He runs his families gelato shop that has a secret vanilla gelato recipe for the last 100yrs only issue is they have lost the recipe and if he can’t figure out how to recreate it he will fail his family.

Fate has decided to intervene and a secret gelato recipe that was shared between lovers over 30yrs ago is the key to Iris and Gio’s future. This story is about connecting with your past, finding family, new beginnings and the strength secret and lies can hold.

Tropes you’ll find:

* Fated Love Story
* Lies & Secrets
* Italian MMC
* British FMC
* Single Dad
* Found Family
* NYC Holiday

★ ★ ★ | .5 🌶

18+ | Check TW

!! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!

*A special thank you to Netgalley and Random House for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

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It’s never too early for winter/Christmas reads. At least, in my book. Though, I struggled with this one a little bit. The premise is great and I liked the story. But I found the execution to be lacking.

To begin, the characters needed more development. The most developed character was Vivien— Iris’ mom and she was dead. I didn’t really believe the chemistry between Gil and Iris, either. It just seemed so sudden, there was literally no build up. I just wanted more from all of the characters, especially considering the complexity of the story.

Also, the plot needed more development for the book to be as long as it was. There were spans of time where the book just felt like filler. I think that if Santo and Vivien’s relationship had been longer and the flashbacks to them paralleled Gio and Iris, the story would have flowed better. I mean, the main plot line of her helping him find the gelato recipe was over halfway through the book.

What really redeemed the book to me was the ending. I know the scene with the ex boyfriend was super cliche and cheesy, but I ate it up. Gio and his family sticking up for her and becoming her surrogate family made me warm in the best way.