"Love in Winter Wonderland" by Abiola Bello sounds like a heartwarming and charming contemporary romance that promises to captivate readers with its delightful characters and a story filled with love, determination, and the magic of the holiday season.

The book introduces us to Trey Anderson, a charismatic and popular young man who works at his family's beloved local bookshop, Wonderland. His character suggests a blend of charisma, responsibility, and family values, which is likely to make him a relatable and endearing protagonist.

Ariel Spencer, on the other hand, is portrayed as quirky and creative. Her dreams of attending a prestigious art program and her need for a job at Wonderland set the stage for a character with ambition and a strong sense of purpose. The dynamic between Trey and Ariel, from hate to love, is a classic romantic trope that promises plenty of romantic tension and emotional depth.

The central conflict, the imminent closure of Wonderland due to neighborhood gentrification, adds a layer of urgency and a shared goal for the characters. This common mission is a great setup for their journey and their collaboration to save the bookshop, offering a wonderful backdrop for their relationship to develop.

The promise of a heartwarming and romantic story set during the holiday season adds to the book's appeal. "Love in Winter Wonderland" seems to be the perfect gift to get readers into the festive spirit, with a message that love, determination, and the magic of the holidays can bring people together and change lives.

In summary, "Love in Winter Wonderland" appears to be a delightful and emotionally resonant read, promising romance, personal growth, and a touch of holiday magic. Readers who enjoy love stories that emphasize the importance of community and family will likely find this book to be a heartwarming and enchanting experience.

Cute, festive, and heartwarming, Love in Winter Wonderland is the perfect cozy YA romance for Christmas. Ariel wants to follow in her late father's footsteps and enroll in a prestigious art program but doesn't have tuition money. Her search for a part time job leads her to Wonderland, a struggling independent bookstore. Trey's watching his family's business and legacy slipping away but doesn't know how to help them save it. Is Ariel just who Trey needs?

I adored this book! Love in Winter Wonderland was filled with so much love and hope and family. The emotions jumped right through my ear buds (I listened to the audiobook); everything from disappointment to excitement, from nervousness to joy. It was all there.

Ariel was such a relatable character. Her vulnerability was so raw and honest that I wanted to jump into the book and hug her. And Trey had such a big heart. It was always in the right place even if his head needed a little sorting out a times.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a little joy this holiday season.

Love in Winter Wonderland is a heartwarming story about two teenagers working together to save a black owned bookstore. i really enjoyed watching Ariel and Trey work together and come up with ideas for how to help the business. They weren't all winners but they really cared. To me bookstores are incredibly comforting places and I loved the idea of a community working together to save one. I also thought that this story showed one of the great things about social media. It can allow people to connect in ways that never would have been possible before. Twenty years ago could your favorite author have seen a post about your bookstores go fund me? The only thing that didn't work for me about this book was the love triangle. I felt like Blair was a pretty one dimensional character. I would have liked to learn more about her then that she is just a pretty mean girl. I also am never a fan of a hero who doesn't believe the heroine when she tells him something bad happened to her. Overall I did enjoy this one and would recommend it if you want a YA holiday romance for your TBR this year.

I listened to the audiobook version of this title. I really enjoyed this audiobook and thought both narrators did a great job.

I recently had the pleasure of receiving an ARC of the audiobook for this novel! While Halloween is just around the corner, I was so excited to jump into some holiday cheer. This YA story is charming and oh so sweet.
We follow coworkers Ariel and Trey as they attempt to save Trey’s family owned bookshop from closing its doors. The chemistry between the two is present from the very beginning and I really enjoyed the slow burn of this enemies to friends to romance! I connected with Ariel and her struggles regardless of the age gap between us. She felt so relatable and real. Trey also felt relatable in the way that he was written like all the high-school boys I had dated. Queue the eye roll and want to jump through the phone and shake him a few times!
Overall, the was an adorable holiday read that brings out the nostalgia for my younger years. The narrators for the characters were amazing as well! I highly recommend checking this one out if you are in need of an easy, uplifting, holiday read! 💕 3.5 stars!

This was a cute story, but I had some messaging issues given that it's YA.

The story: Ariel is an insecure teenage girl whose father recently died. She wants to be an artist, but doesn't believe in herself. Trey is a popular, hot guy who's in a longterm relationship with one of the hottest girls in school, who's also a really awful mean girl.

Ariel takes a job at Trey's family bookstore. When Trey discovers that his family's bookstore is struggling financially, Trey and Ariel team up to try to save the bookstore.

Let's start with the positives: I loved the diversity representation, the leads (Ariel and Trey) felt real and weren't overly perfect), and there were some adorably adolescent moments. I also like that Trey was able to understand that <spoiler> the most beautiful girl isn't necessarily the one you want to date - love is more than physical attraction.

On to the negatives: some of the writing wasn't great (a lot of 'ly' adjectives and adverbs where they weren't needed, our intro to Trey is him describing how very good looking he is, etc.). In YA I also expect authors to be intentional about messages they sent and there were two that put me off.

First: Ariel used to be chubby but lost a lot of weight over the summer... and now Trey recognizes her. She was overweight due to emotional eating junk food, so that she lost weight (assuming it was in a healthy way) is fine, I just worry teens might read this as meaning that she was only worthy of Trey's attention/crush once she lost weight. Trey is even teased at one point for liking the former fat girl - if the author wanted to make an issue of Ariel's weight, I'd have preferred that she was *still* chubby.

Second: Trey is in a longterm relationship with his girlfriend for the majority of the book. We're made to understand that Blair is a mean girl and that they aren't a good romantic fit, but I still don't like how Ariel and Trey brush up against the edge of cheating (and certainly emotionally cheat) throughout the book. I also don't like the 'girls as each other's competition for boys' affection' angle. Just not great messages, which matters in kid lit.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I didn't struggle to get through it at all (and I loved the Christmas vibes!) but I also wouldn't read it again or recommend it to my daughter when she's old enough.

Thanks, NetGalley and RB Media, for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.