My favorite Josie Silver book so far! I absolutely loved this one! Such a heartwarming story full of laughter, tears, romance and family. My favorite city for the Christmas holiday is New York and this book took me on a wonderful journey there. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, Iris and Gio. Their love story unfolds slowly throughout the book and it is quite the journey! I also really enjoyed Gio's family and all of their family dynamics. The story of Iris's mother will make your heart melt. Everything about A Winter in New York is perfect!

Set to publish October 3 this is the perfect swoon-worthy holiday romance!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for a digital ARC.

I did enjoy this book. The description of scenes made you feel as though you were part of the book. It started slow but the ending was great. Winter in NYC is a dream and I'm glad I got to experience it through a book and it was great. This book is sweet with a happy ending and will not disappoint.

*ARC Review*

3.5 Stars

I am a huge Josie Silver fan and was so excited to get an ARC of her new book.

A Winter In New York follows Iris, a chef who needs a fresh beginning after losing her mother and leaving an abusive relationship. She finds a job at a noodle shop and has done little exploring of New York. One day after being forced out of her apartment by her friend she comes across a familiar door she knows from pictures. She goes back the next day to meet the Belotti's, who have the famous vanilla gelato. The problem is the store cannot make it right now as the one person who knows the recipe cannot remember it after having a stroke. Thus begins Iris's journey of helping the wonderful family recreate the gelato all while understanding her past, and creating a future with a new love.

I loved the themes and the strong family relationships, but found I could not get past the initial lies that were told. Spoiler alert: it is a happy ending, but I found myself uncomfortable by the actions of the female main character. It took me out of the story.

A slow beginning led to a sweet, lovely, and slightly unbelievable ending. Loved the descriptions of winter in New York….the prose was my favorite part. I was worried that a story about a one flavor gelataria would not hold my attention, but the character depth and beautiful descriptions helped me push through the parts that were slow. 4/5

WINTER IN NEW YORK
I would give this book 3.5 overall for my final rating. I had to think about for a minute. Iris comes to NY on the tails of her mothers death and leaving a toxic relationship. She winds up in the LES, finding a position as a noodle chef, and lives above the restaurant. During the Sam Gennaro Festival in Little Italy, a restaurant and recipe of her past brings up a story from her mothers past, that she must protect but also her curiousity leads her to the restaurant where she meets Gio, a single father that she’s also met before.

This book was cute, as someone who came to NY myself at 21, and found my own part of freedom and redemption in the City, I loved at the feels. Iris was a great character and I wanted to be adopted by Gios family. The entire book though I really hated the gelato storyline! Honestly I could of done without it and focused more on Vivian’s story and Iris finding more about leaving toxic men and overcoming grief. I didn’t like the gelato part at all.

A sweet read that will leave you smiling (and also craving the world’s best vanilla gelato!). Iris has just gotten out of a harmful relationship and finds herself leaving London for the promises of New York City. She stumbles upon a familiar looking door while at a food festival and realizes she has seen it before - in her mother’s photos. Through the door is a family-run gelateria, Belotti’s which only serves vanilla gelato - it’s so good they don’t need to sell any other flavors. Iris realizes the gelato recipe her mother passed down to her is actually the very closely-guarded recipe of the family. Only two Belotti’s at a time have the recipe and now, one of them can’t find it and the other one can’t remember it. Iris decides to help them - no, not by giving them the recipe, but by helpfully nudging the family (including handsome Gio) toward the right ingredients and ratios.

While it was frustrating to watch Iris keep the truth from Gio and his family, I could also see where she was coming from. Overall, this was a charming, heartwarming, and cozy winter romance featuring found family, lots of delicious meals, and references to Moonstruck! 3.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this sweet book!
This was my first book by Josie Silver and I truly enjoyed it!
I enjoyed watching the love story unfold between Iris and Gio. The ties to the past with Iris' mom and Gio's uncle were very sweet and I honestly would have liked to read more of that! The concept of the lost gelato recipe felt a little far fetched to me but the book was a lovely read throughout. I loved how Iris starts the book searching for herself and looking for connection to a family and also to her mom and how she finds the love she is looking for. I would definitely recommend this one and will be reading others by this author as well!

After a slow start, this novel gained momentum and culminated in a satisfying ending.

Iris flees London with her life in shambles – the loss of her mother to cancer, an abusive, manipulative boyfriend, a tanked career as a chef, the collapse of her network of friendships and nonexistent financial stability. She chooses New York City as her destination to start fresh and to experience the places her mother loved most. Her new life might not be the most exciting, but it offers a sense of comfort as she recovers her equilibrium.

Venturing out into the neighborhood to move beyond the safety of her self-imposed boundaries, Iris encounters the Belotti family who own a multigenerational business based on their secret gelato recipe. Iris discovers that she has previously unrecognized ties with the family and feels compelled to help them out in a crisis that could sink the business. In the process, she begins to experience what it means to belong as part of a boisterous, loving family.

What initially seemed like a silly premise for the book evolved into a sensitive exploration of bereavement, loneliness, friendship, love, loyalty, and an abiding family legacy. I enjoyed the character development in the sweet romance between Iris and Gio Bilotti, the assorted personalities of family members, and the kindness of Iris’s boss/landlord. All are likeable and relatable if a bit stereotyped. It was particularly gratifying to watch Iris emerge from her shell and take a stand for herself, reclaiming her power and self-worth in a confrontation with her ex-boyfriend.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This book is so good. It has all the New York feels. Definitely worth the read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The sparks and Christmas vibes were immaculate. I think Iris and Gio were super cute, this book had such a cozy atmosphere, and I loved the secrets and mysterious aspect of this as well. I don't normally love Christmas romcoms but this was enjoyable.

In her thirties, Iris escapes a cruel boyfriend, leaving England for New York City where she and her late mother once lived. Among mom's things is a recipe for gelato scrawled on a napkin. When Iris finds herself standing outside that gelato shop, she can't help but go inside, and her life changes forever. Running the shop at the moment is Gio, a young widower raising his teenaged daughter. Their connection is instantaneous, but their love must deal with their complicated, intertwined history, which only Iris knows. Because the patriarch of Gio's big, noisy, loving Italian family was once in love with Iris' mother. When he returns from the hospital after suffering a stroke, the truth will come out, and it has the power to destroy them all. This was a great book! The characters were memorable, the story believable, and the settings richly drawn. The author has a gift for deeply describing the human condition with all its beauty, ugliness, and longings. Recommended.

Rating: 4,5
Crying: 3

Josie Silver does it again! I loved this one!

Different from her other books, this book takes place in New York (if the title didn’t give it away), and is just so good. Iris, who has lost her mom, the only family member she knows, leaves London to try to explore New York, a place where her mother once spent some time.

Josie has a way of writing a story where different threads from different lives connect in such a way that it makes you feel like the world is so small and fate is real. Her characters are usually a bit flawed, but so endearing.

I really, really loved the found family in this story. I loved Gio and his fam, and wish that I knew them in real life. I wanted the best for Iris, and loved seeing her grow in this story. I liked that we got see her fight her demons a bit, because it really helped shape her character development By the end I was crying and i’m not sure if the tears were warranted (it’s not a particularly sad book) but I just felt so emotional for these characters.

Josie Silver has done it again! Iris is our main character who meets a man named Gio and decides to help him save his gelato shop (one she saw in a photo album). Josie and Gio's relationship blooms and he and his friends really welcome Iris into their circle and treat her so wonderfully. The best part about this book is the lovely cast of characters. I did scream a bit wanting Iris to tell Gio her true intentions for helping him, but hey, it's a book, and often the secret is held longer than it would be in real life.

I am also currently in New York, so reading about what New York will be like in the Fall and Winter got me really excited! I genuinely cannot wait for Josie Silver's next novel!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Dell for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Josie Silver always has a way of making the mundane magical with the way she writes. Her beautifully lyrical writing brings me to tears and brings me joy, and I will always love reading what she writes.

Iris is a British chef who has moved to New York to start a new life in a city that meant a lot to her late mum. She stumbles upon a gelato shop with a unique door - one she recognizes from her mum’s photo album. Inside she meets handsome Gio, who tells her the shop is in danger of closing, and she decides to help him save the shop for… reasons I won’t spoil!

What I loved:
- Iris! I love the way Josie Silver writes her main characters, and Iris captured me from the jump! Her relationship with her mum gave me Gilmore Girls vibes, and her wonder at living in New York was very charming.
- Gio! Talk about written for the female gaze - strong, masculine but a feminist, speaks Italian… what more could you ask for?! It is very easy to root for Iris and Gio.
- All of the other characters - Iris’s neighbors/employers Bobby & Robin were lively, and Gio’s whole family was so vibrant they basically jumped off the page. They all welcome Iris in as a member of their families and it feels very genuine.
- The time & place - The story takes place from late summer to New Years in New York, and those are really the most iconic times for the city. I love that Iris got to fall in love with Gio through experiencing holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

There were some moments when I had to suspend belief - as an American who lived overseas, simply moving to another country is not as easy as it seems in this book. It did not detract too much for me, though, and I was thoroughly engrossed in this adorable romantic comedy!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Josie Silver for providing the ARC of this delightful novel!

I loved Gio's family and Iris' friendship with Bobby, and those were probably my favorite relationships in this book. I kept thinking that she JUST NEEDED TO TELL HIM ALREADY but it just kept going.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House books for this ARC. I always look forward to reading Josie Silver’s books and this one was no exception. This is a story of love in two storylines: love between men and women, mothers and daughters, within families, of city. It’s also about the strength of two women to overcome their pasts. It’s about how we can close our hearts after the death of a loved one, and how that heart can be reawakened. Josie Silver tells the story of iris, the daughter of Vivian, who escapes to New York after leaving an abusive relationship to trace the steps of her deceased mother’s past.

I loved how A Winter in New York transported me to Little Italy and into the middle of the Belotti family. The descriptions of the family members and the juxtaposition with Iris was very well done.

As usual, Josie Silver writes wonderful supporting characters that really add to the lives of the main characters and push the story forward. I look forward to reading her next novel.

Reading all these winter themed books are making me really excited for winter and I HATE WINTER. Josie Silver is a phenomenal Author and she really crushed it with this book. I cannot wait for it to be published so I can share this book with my patrons at the library.

I honestly do not have enough high praise for A Winter In New York.

After fleeing an abusive relationship, Iris is determined to reclaim herself while living through the one place where her now deceased mother felt most alive—New York City. But a chance encounter with a small Italian gelato business has her quickly laid plans of a simple life spinning into a much larger, yet unintentional, snowball of lies.

This book gave me major Katherine Center vibes, the emotional romance playing much more of a part than the physical. I cried, oh how I cried, but I equally adored the found family and found love that blossomed between Iris and Gio throughout the story.

An absolutely amazing story, and well worth the read.

Short Synopsis:
Iris flees London after an abusive relationship. She ends up on the doorstep of a gelateria that she recognizes from a photo of her mother’s. Secrets are discovered (and held), love blossoms, and family. The family is the best.

My Thoughts:

Josie’s writing is just so beautiful. (I highlighted a lot.) I had a hard time connecting with Iris though. Her character made a lot of decisions that I didn’t understand or like. But I loved Gio. And his big supportive family.

If you want winter in New York vibes, than this is definitely one you want to add to your list!!