Christmas is here! Or, at least in my NetGalley TBR. Those numbers were getting out of control, so I figured it was time to dove into Christmas reading.
Iris grew up as an only child of single mom. Driving from place to place as her mother performed, she has no experience in settling down. After her mom passed away, she finds herself going to New York to experience some of the places from her mom’s stories. She finds a doorway into her mom’s past, and her future, at Belotti’s Gelateria.
A story of love and loyalty, this one was a great start to the holiday reading season. Stories about families always get me in the feels, and this one shows the beauty in families of all kinds (lost and current, by blood and found). I like that the issues that come up for Iris are relatable, but also complicated. This was a pleasure to read from beginning to end.
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great story - I loved it! There is a strong message of family along with the romance. I would have liked to have seen where Iris was a few years down the road. Did she pursue her chef career that she left behind in London? Was she working in the family gelato business? Was she still singing?

He’s a widow and single dad, learning to adjust after loss, running his family business. She’s fresh out of an abusive relationship, moved to New York City to be closer to the memory of her mother, and happens to meet him at a bookstore. Turns out they have a history together, and she’s the only one who can help his family.

A lovely story of found family, grief, and finding love in new places, this was a charming story with complex emotions and witty banter. I loved their tale, and the journey we went on with them. The setting of New York over the holidays is so cute, this will be such a cozy read in the winter.

There is a fair bit of spice, also a bit of fade to black, overall 🌶️.

A Winter in New York

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cozy winter vibes for this whole book!

Iris stumbles into her mother’s past as she explore New York and builds up her life after escaping an abusive relationship. She works alongside Gio to help remake his family’s gelato recipe but hides the fact that she already knows it.

These characters are really well written and I loved the big Italian family full of them! I thought the big secret was a little too drawn out, but thought the ending wrapped up nicely. Cozy New York winter vibes if anyone is looking!

PHENOMENAL!!! Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

GAHHHHH!!!! JOSIE SILVER HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!! HER BOOKS JUST GET BETTER AND BETTER!! WHAT A CHARMING, COZY, ADORABLE, HEARTWARMING, EMOTIONAL, MAGICAL, ROMANTIC, HEARTBREAKING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN HOLIDAY STORY!!! OH. MY. HEART! YA'LL KEEP YOUR TISSUES HANDY BECAUSE YOU WILL NEED THEM🤧!!I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK SOOOOO MUCH!!! HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS BOOK FOR 2023!! ❄️💙☃️🎄💙

After losing her mother and escaping an emotionally abusive relationship, Iris moves to New York City from London with her suitcase and treasured gelato maker. Iris is determined to reclaim her life while living in the one place that brought her mother happiness and where she fell in love. Strolling a street fair in Little Italy she stumbles upon a Gelateria shop with a familiar door. Immediately Iris realizes that it looks like the same door in a photo of her mothers. Could this be the same gelato store that her mother visited and left with the family's secret recipe? Curiosity has her wandering inside, desiring some gelato, she meets Gio Belotti and quickly learns that the famous family gelato recipe is lost! Is it really lost? I mean Iris does hold the secret recipe but could she share it without betraying others? Will the secrets she holds and lies that our told become too much? The problem is that Iris is falling in love with Gio!

A Winter in New York is so much more than a holiday romance! It is about love, loss, grief, family, loyalty, hope, redemption and healing. I loved all the witty banter, secret dates and amazing chemistry between Iris and Gio. Do not even get my started on Gio because he is everything you could possibly want and more in a man, swooning🫠🥰! The way the Belotti family fully embraced Iris was so touching and just so lovely. All of the secondary characters were amazing!

Overall, I was completely immersed from start to finish! If you enjoy Emily Henry and Katherine Center then this is a must read for you!! Now I need to go eat some vanilla gelato 🍨!!!! I cannot recommend it enough and it deserves infinite stars!!! ♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️💫💫💫💫💫

4.5 stars. Another stellar read from Josie Silver!

This book swept me away. The writing, the setting, the characters, the mourning, the celebrating… the food! (Heads-up, this book will make you hungry.)

*The meet cute (ahem, ugly) is perfection.
*The friendships are outstanding.
*The crazy, Italian, New Yorker, Belotti family is pure joy.
*Iris & Gio 🔥🔥🔥

I laughed, I cried, I didn’t want to book to end because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters!!

The only thing that kept this from a home run 5 star read is a secret kept for way too long… but the resolution kind of redeemed it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review an advance copy.

Josie Silver is an autobuy author for me, so I was really looking forward to A Winter in New York. Iris has moved to New York to walk in her late mom’s footsteps and to start over and a walk by a family gelateria changes her life. Gio, the nephew of the shop owner, is at a loss as the family secret recipe has disappeared—only Iris knows it and the secrets she holds could change everything. I had a hard time with the premise of this novel—so much of it rests on Iris not communicating with Gio, who is so open and kind and loving, and keeping secrets from him. Iris is dealing with so much grief and is starting over after an abusive relationship so my heart went out to her and the fear she had, but the secrets were a lot, especially since Gio is a single dad too and has his daughter involved, and I felt the ending was a touch lackluster, Even so, I was immediately transported into a classic rom com in New York City’s winter. The writing was warm, lyrical, and inviting and lovely. It was heartwarming and vulnerable and full of love and family.

"A Winter in New York" by Josie Silver is a delightful novel that whisks readers away to the enchanting streets of the Big Apple, where love and life intertwine in heartwarming ways. Iris, our endearing protagonist, embarks on a journey of rediscovery in the bustling city, and the story unfolds with all the charm of a romantic movie set in New York. Josie Silver's vivid descriptions transport us to the magical autumn street fair in Little Italy, where secrets, family recipes, and newfound love collide.

Silver expertly weaves a tale of heart and heritage, with the gelato recipe serving as a delicious metaphor for family ties and the pursuit of one's passions. The characters, especially Iris and Gio, are beautifully developed, and their blossoming romance adds a layer of sweetness to the narrative. However, at times, the plot may lean on some predictable elements of romantic fiction. Additionally, some readers may wish for a deeper exploration of certain themes. Nevertheless, "A Winter in New York" is a warm and inviting read that explores the complexities of love, heritage, and the importance of taking chances. It's a perfect choice for those seeking a cozy, feel-good story to curl up with during the winter months.

A sweet, heartbreaking and ultimately heartwarming story. Josie Silver delivers a winter read filled with emotion, and one that delivers found family and a love story, while also dealing in heavier life topics (CW: grief and past toxic relationship).

The story woven was beautifully told, and I could do easily picture it all as it unfolded. I loved getting to see Iris’ journey and steps into finding a building a new life for herself. I also loved the slow love story between her and Gio.

This story was choke full of great characters mains and secondary - Bobby and the Belotti family were just wonderful. I loved the dynamics and seeing how things played out. The story was one that gripped me and I found myself consuming it in an afternoon.

I think fans of the author and this romantic drama genre will love this offering. I look forward to more reads from Josie Silver in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Josie Silver does it again with A Winter in New York! This slow-burn romance is a fun choice that will leave you wanting to go get some gelato. Iris and Gio are adorable. Loved the found family element. Please be aware there are themes of grief.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Another warm and fuzzy holiday romance from Josie Silver! "A Winter in New York" follows Iris, a British expat who has fled to NYC to escape a terrible relationship and cope with grief over her mother's death a few years earlier. In tracing her mother's footsteps throughout the city, she is pulled into the orbit of the Belotti family and their historic gelateria. The story is sweet but occasionally heartbreaking, and I loved the richness of the supporting characters. However, Iris made some decisions that just didn't make sense to me, which dug her into a deeper hole than was realistic. The book really picks up speed in the second half, with the first half setting the scene and slowly establishing the web that stretches between the characters. 3.5/5 stars

This book was beautiful. What a lovely surprise. I thought this would be more of a light frilly story (which is also good) but it ended up being deeper and the writing was beautiful. I even cried real tears. I loved all of the characters, I liked the complexity of the story line and the pacing.
The recipe story line was frustrating at times because it was strange she wouldn’t just tell him to begin with, but I like how it was written anyway.

ARC REVIEW

A Winter in New York
BY Josie Silver

Publishing date: 10/3/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I mean....oh my God. I LOVED IT. This is definitely going on the list of "Favorite holiday books that i recommend to everyone"

Gio? *cheeeeeeffffsssss kiss!* absolutely swooning over this character. The chemistry between Gio and Iris was insane! (In a good way!)

The book brought me too tears. Especially the last 20%. I was feeling every bit of emotion that Iris was experiencing.

I adored the New York at Christmas setting, the characters, relationships, and background stories- I AM BASICALLY OBSESSED WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK 😍😍

Please read it and let me know if you loved it as much as me!

Such a huge thank you to @randomhouse @netgalley for the opportunity to fall in love with this gem early.
Thank you @josiesilverauthor for the beautiful story that warmed my heart!

*4.5 ⭐️*
A Winter in New York was like a warm cup of hot chocolate. It was a well executed, intriguing story, with the perfect slow-burn romance.

While each character had their issues (which honestly added so much to the story), both Iris and Gio made me feel cozy and happy. They each come from quite different backgrounds with complicated families, but there is so much love and heart in each of them. Also, within some of our amazing side characters (shoutout to Bobby and Sophia).

I wanted to be strolling the streets of NYC on a cool winter day. I wanted to catch dinner at the Noodle House. But most of all, I wanted to stroll into Belotti’s to enjoy some fresh gelato.

Thank you for Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this early digital review copy!

⭐️: 3/5

After moving to New York from the UK to restart her life, Iris stumbles upon a family-owned gelato shop that she recognizes from a picture of her mother’s. Intrigued, she meets Gio, a member of the family that owns the shop, and learns that the shop is in danger of closing after his uncle Santo, the sole keeper of the secret gelato recipe, suffered a stroke and can no longer remember the recipe. Iris comes to find that the gelato is the exact same as her mother’s recipe she grew up eating, but she finds she can’t tell them that she knows the recipe without first knowing how her mother knew Gio’s uncle in the first place. As she gets closer to Gio and his family, the secret she’s keeping threatens to ruin the new friendships and love she has gained.

I’m gonna just jump in. The premise is just too contrived for me. I LOVED the multigenerational love story, and this book was full of sweet, rom-com moments, straight out of movies about New York. I just couldn’t get behind the reasoning about why Iris can’t tell Gio and his family that she knows the recipe. Like, it’s just too absurd for me. Obviously they’d rather have the recipe back and not have their livelihood go under than not learn that their uncle told some girl he liked way back in the day their secret family recipe. Is Iris stupid?? It’s basically one huge miscommunication trope of a novel, where you obviously know that there’s going to be a big reveal at some point. That’s really all there is to it. The rom-com trope of this novel is just miscommunication. That’s it. Because there’s even MORE miscommunication than the secret recipe of it all. Overall, the fact that more wasn’t done about the missed connection and intergenerational love aspect of it all was disappointing, and I found myself just waiting for the shoe to drop the whole time. This generally just ruined the really cute, relationship building aspects of the book for me, since it just didn’t. Make. Sense.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

"A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love - and life - she's been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.

When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is - all the nostalgic movies set in New York she'd watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn't quite do it justice.

But Bobby, Iris's best friend, isn't about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye - could it be the same shop that's in an old photo of her mother's?

Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family's gelato recipe, is recovering from a stroke and can no longer remember it, 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?

Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio's uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life - and new love - she's been building all winter long."

A kind of While You Were Sleeping tale.

Iris is finding her footing in New York City, far away from the grief and trauma of her old life in London. While she is not at the culinary level she would like to be in her chef career, she finds comfort and friendship in the local noodle shop where she works. Still reeling in grief from the loss of her mother, she finds her identity through her mother's past. A chance run-in with an iconic gelateria present in her mother's scrapbook, what lies behind the front door will turn her new world upside down.

I really enjoyed this deep story of love in its many forms: intimate, parental, friendship. I loved the slow build of her found family in New York City and how often she is reminded that she is important to the group and the dependability of the member of the group when she feels very isolated. I personally enjoyed the family and friend bonding over food and wine. If you are a fan of romantic movies set in New York City, this book is for you. It mentions Moonstruck, When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman, and many others that have slipped my mind. My favorite character is Gio, especially with a scene in a storage unit where he demands maturity and communication with respect and basic human dignity. I literally cheered out loud as I read that part! I also enjoyed how fiercely loyal he is to his family and his willingness to compromise in order to make those he cares about happy. I would recommend this book for adult readers who enjoy a story that travels between past and present. I would also recommend it for those who love to read about found family as this story slowly builds on this to band together for a victorious defeat over a despicable villain.

On the other hand, I would not as enthusiastically recommend and more give a warning to those who may be triggered by relationship abuse, parental loss (especially maternal), and homelessness as some scenes may be difficult to read through.

Please note: at the time this review has been posted, the current release date is set for 10/03/2023. Many thanks to Dell, Ballantine Books, Penguin Random House, Goodreads Giveaways, and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

To start, thank you to Penguin Random House and Josie Silver for this ARC edition of A Winter in New York.

While I am definitely a Josie Silver fan, I have to say that this book was not for me. There was a part where Silver is talking about Hallmark movies and says, “Those movies usually come with a heavy dose of sugar and a problem that's resolvable with a sensible chat and the belief that love conquers all. That isn't going to cut it here.” The problem is that I totally believe that a sensible chat really would have solved the main characters problem. I feel like Iris blew every one of her issues out of proportion when if she just would have communicated, Gio would have been okay. Similar to a Hallmark movie, I felt like Iris was going back and forth the entire book trying to decide if she should tell Gio how she found his family’s gelataria. I wish she just would have done it.

I’m also not sure I told believe the Santo/Vivian angle. I’m just not sure how believable any of that was and it was part of one of the main problems.

While this book was not my cup of tea, I can genuinely see how people who are fanatics of Hallmark movies would fall in love with the characters. It was set in New York but it gave off small town vibes and young love. The romance was there, but I just wish it had something more. Maybe more conflict and tension would have helped me with the pace of this book.

Since Silver’s previous reads were a 5 and 4 star read for me, this book will not deter me from picking up another one of her books.

CAUTION ⚠️ Do not start this book without having a gallon of Vanilla Gelato in your freezer as you will want to indulge in copious amounts!!

After Iris loses her mother to Cancer, she gets the courage to leave an abusive relationship in London, and move to New York, for a fresh start. It was a place that brought her mother much joy, and she hopes it will do the same for her.

A Chef by trade, she stumbles upon a job in a noodle shop, and though it won’t allow her to flex her creative side, it does come with an apartment above the shop, a boss named Bobby who becomes a best friend, along with his husband, Robin, and a part time cat named Smirnoff.

Bobby and Iris are enjoying a street fair in Little Italy, when they pass a family run Gelateria with a beautiful door which somehow looks familiar, but it’s closed temporarily and in danger of closing permanently.

After checking her mother’s scrapbook she knows why the door looks familiar-her mom had visited the same shop and somehow left with the family’s secret recipe, which is only ever known by two people at a time.

With Patriarch Santos, in a Coma, nobody else can replicate the recipe for the flavor they are known for-the only flavor they sell-VANILLA.

Iris knows that she has the recipe, and it’s one that she makes often, but there are reasons why she cannot just walk through the door and admit that. So, she decides to help Santo’s nephew, Gio try to “recreate” the recipe so that she won’t have to share the secrets she knows and hurt others in the process.

But of course, it’s never a good idea to start new relationships with secrets, and she finds herself past the point of no return and jeopardizing the life she has worked so hard to build, and a possible future with Gio.

Josie Silver just keeps on getting better with each book!

You’ll feel nervous for Iris, you’ll fall in love with Bobby and Robin, and you’ll want to be adopted into the Belotti family!

“A Winter in New York” offers everything you could want in a ROMANCE novel, and it’s available on OCTOBER 3, 2023!

A buddy read with DeAnn who felt the same way so be sure to watch for her incredible review!

Thank You to Delacorte Press for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley! It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me a chance to read an advanced copy!

Get your holiday TBR list and add this one straight to the top! You know my mood reader self would have a hard time reading a holiday book in September, but I still loved every minute.

It has all of the warm and cozy vibes you expect from a holiday romance. Your hot chocolate, a blanket, and this book - and you're set! I also appreciated that Josie Silver made her characters have way more depth and backstory than what you'd typically get out of a fluffy holiday romance. Our main character just got out of an emotionally abusive relationship, and her love interest is a widower single dad. I loved their messy, complicated love story.

I also loved the Daisy Jones vibes with the flashbacks to her mother's story as a free spirit singer in a band.

Bottom line: This one isn't to be missed this holiday season. I also highly recommend another by the same author, One Day in December.