Thank you to NetGalley & Random House for this ARC! I have read other novels by Emily Stone and this was different than her others. I liked the concept of a travel company that was centered around celebrating in other cities & their cultures. This novel took you all over - Ireland, Vienna, Madrid, the Alps, the UK. Lexie was very complex and you could see how much the author wanted you to feel her guilt, grief, hesitancy, and her passion for people & things that meant a lot to her. Theo was a perfect love interest- broody, blunt, serious, and then later funny and sweet. The story was wrapped up in a way that made sense and was still a happy ending.

First and foremost thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing Date: 10/15/24

This book is a charming holiday novel based around two main characters Lexie and Theo. It takes place over a span of a year. Lexie receives an unexpected call that will land her as part owner of a travel company. She must run the company with Theo for 1 year before they can sell it and move on with life. There aren’t a whole lot of Christmas vibes to this book. So if that’s what you’re looking for be warned. There is family loss, new relationships and moments of happiness.

If I’m honest the entire book was slow for me. As much as I found myself enjoying it at moments but there were also moments of wanting something exciting to occur. I also found moments of not loving the characters and the relationship that’s portrayed in the book.

The overall premise of the book is lovely and the heartache of Lexie and her situation was there and making you feel remorse for her. I did shed a few tears toward the end of the book which was unexpected.

Although this might not have been totally for me it doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.

This was a beautiful, emotional book by one of my favorite authors. It was a Christmas book, but to me it was more of a romance that happened to have some Christmas. It takes place over many months, so the wintery/Christmas parts aren't the majority of the story. (Though there is Christmas in July!) Lexie is grieving her dad in multiple ways. Not only did she lose him, but she lost the chance to ever have a relationship with him and she has to grapple with the fact that her version of him doesn't match the man he was. Theo, despite what Lexie thinks of him, loved her dad and loves the business he had a big part in growing. It was fun to watch them move from "enemies" to much more as they worked together to run the business. I loved the descriptions of the destinations they traveled to, from France to Madrid to Ireland and Iceland. Emily did a wonderful job making me feel fully immersed in the settings.This one kept me turning pages and smiling at their banter and chemistry and I couldn't wait to see how it all wrapped up. I highly recommend this one as a fantastic read for any time of the year!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Dell for the arc edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Lexie, a serial temp, unexpectedly finds herself the co-owner of her estranged father’s travel agency after his passing. Her new business partner, Theo, isn’t thrilled about the arrangement.

This was such a cute read, and not so Christmassy that you couldn’t read it outside of Christmastime. Read if you’re a fan of travel, complicated families, and enemies-to-lovers romance!

Thank you to Dell/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a little girl Lexie adored her life and her parents but all of that changed when her Dad and Mom divorced. Her Dad went off and had another family. It devastated her thinking her father no longer cared about her. One day she learns that Richard, her Dad, had died and she was summoned home for the funeral. During the reading of his will Lexie discovered that her father left her ½ of his travel agency bushiness. The other half was left to a young man the father had befriended. The understanding is that they had to run the company together for one year before they could sell it and move on with their lives. This is a wonderful story of family loses and new relationships and takes the reader to many wonderful exotic places. I highly recommend it as a Christmas read and think book clubs will love it. It continually asks the question can wishes come true. I love books by this author and look forward to future publications as well.

I wish to thank Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing Company for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone is a charming holiday novel that is sure to warm your heart. Stone has a talent for crafting engaging holiday stories that tug at your heartstrings. This delightful read is perfect for getting into the holiday spirit. Be prepared to have some tissues handy as you immerse yourself in this heartwarming tale.

I dove into this book ready for an early Christmas read thanks to the cover having cute little Christmas trees on it. However, this was not a Christmas book because it took place over the span of a year so there won’t be any Christmas vibes in this book.

The beginning started out slow for me but started to pick up when Lexie and Theo finally saw that there may be a connection and then it slowed down a lot again. Story progression was on the slow side for me.

I loved the overall premise of the story and would have loved to see more of Rachels’s character as she seemed fun and her and Lexie’s relationship could have developed a lot more.

I loved things towards the end of the book.

Thank you NetGalley! This is my honest review. ❤️

After learning of her estranged father's death, Lexi found out she is now the co-owner of his holiday travel company with grumpy Theo.

Emily Stone strikes again with another amazing holiday read. Adored this one. Here's what I loved:

Lexi and her story: My heart really broke for Lexi in a lot of ways. She was really put through to ringer with her dad and his other family. I understood where she was coming from with not wanting to let anything related to him into her life. But last the book progresses, she starts to open up to new things and come to terms with others.

Theo: He starts off deliciously grumpy and starts to slowly melt as the story. goes along. He's an absolute book boyfriend.

The side characters and the business: I adored all of the side characters. They all helped the story move along but in a meaningful way. I also found the holiday travel business to be really awesome. The traveling sections were some of my favorite.

All in all, this was a really good emotional holiday read.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Star Rating: 2.5

This book was very cute but I think I may be in a slump. I plan on rereading during the Christmas season! I want to say thank you to the publisher and author for letting me read the arc.

ARC REVIEW

A Christmas Wish
By Emily Stone

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5 (2 out if 5)

Publishing date: 10/15/24

Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy it. It didn't hold my interest and I wasn't a fan of the characters. I was initially attracted to the summary, which made me want to read it, but it fell short and didn't put  me in the holiday spirit.

But like I always say....just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean you won't LOVE IT!

As always, thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the early chance to read it!! Always a pleasure!

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC Winter Wish by Emily Stone. It is my first book by this author. Lexie is shocked when she inherits half of her Dads travel company. He left the her and her mother when she was very young. The other half of the company was left to Theo who is a young executive working there. Lexie wants nothing to do with the company but Theo is all in. However, the Will states that they have to find a way to work together somehow for a year and bring a profit before selling it. Can Theo change Lexies mind? Or will she continue on the path to sell since she wants nothing of her Dads. Only time will tell how this journey will end.

Review posted to Goodreads 9/30/24.

A holiday romance with a surprising amount of emotion that shows the raw reality of grief. This is my first Emily Stone book and the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking it was very similar to Emily Henry in the way that the story is rooted in very real human emotions. With that being said, the story does lack the humor, strong character development, witty banter, and extra oomph that a lot of other popular contemporary romances seem to have.

When Lexie attends her estranged father's funeral, she's shocked to find that her father has left her half of his company, a travel agency that specializes in sending clients to experience different traditions around the world. The caveat? She has to work with Theo, the grumpy other half owner, who has already made up his mind about her. In order to sell the company and be done with her father entirely, Lexie has a year to turn a profit on the company. Will she be able to pull it off? Or will her growing feelings for Theo change things?

My favorite parts of this book were the travel aspects and the detailed descriptions of each setting. The book has a lot of potential, and I will definitely keep Emily Stone in mind for any future releases, but it's missing a lot that would make it a truly stand-out and memorable romance book.

My rating: 3.75⭐️
Thank you for the ARC!

This fun enemies-to-lovers romance will brighten up your holiday season. Lexie has inherited half of her father’s holiday travel company – which is a shock because they had not spoken in over a decade. The other half of the company will go to her father’s partner, Theo, who is young, hot, and pissed he needs to work with Lexie for a year.

As Lexie and Theo work together to run the travel company, which specializes in trips to experience holidays and festivals around the world, Lexie struggles with the complex grief she has over the loss of her dad.

Why Kirsten loves it
This is less a Christmas book than a full holiday book – which is fabulous! The different celebrations I got to glimpse through the trips had my inner travel bug itching to book some incredible vacations!

This one did not pack the same emotional punch as Stone’s previous books – I didn’t cry reading this one – but I still enjoyed it. I did find the lack of communication between Lexie and Theo to be pretty frustrating at times though.

A Winter Wish fell a little flat for me. I struggled connecting to the characters. I thought the characters and relationships felt one-dimensional. I had a difficult time with Lexie's character. I didn't find her super compelling. I felt like her and Theo's relationship was lacking. I wanted more chemistry between the two. Theo was okay...he also could have used more depth. There was a random Theo POV chapter towards the end of the book. Although it was nice to see where his head was at, its randomness threw me off. I wish the author offered more consistent POV chapters throughout the book. There were some things I enjoyed. I found the dad storyline intriguing. I also liked the holiday aspect of the story. I thought the author did a fantastic job creating a detailed and cozy setting. Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC.

This is a holiday book that sees Lexie and Theo pitted together to work in Lexie's father's business after he passes away. I enjoyed this story. It was a fun, predictable storyline and a good holiday read. I only wish I had connected to the characters more and felt their chemistry as this was the only thing that was really lacking.

I had high hopes for A Winter Wish, but there were too many things missing for me. Is this a cute holiday story? Sure ... but I found that it lacked depth in both he story line and the characters. The book started great and I loved the interactions between Lexie and the the girls (Bree & Bella), but once her Dad passed and she became involved with his travel company I started to lose interest. The chemistry between Lexie and Theo wasn't there - it seemed forced. Not the best enemies to lovers trope (and I like this trope)

I struggled to finish this book, really tried to push through and ended up stopping at the 70% mark.

Personally, the story was just missing something for me. However, if you like Emily Stone and enjoy fun Christmas reads this might be for you.
2.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for providing an ARC in exchange for honest thoughts.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballanetine for the ARC.

I read 'Love, Holly' by Emily Stone last Christmas and found it average for the season. However, this book resonates more deeply while maintaining a similar vibe. Although not strictly a Christmas story, it beautifully explores Christmas family traditions. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic is both engaging and well-executed. That said, the conversations could have been more succinct, as some felt repetitive. I appreciated the main character's journey through trauma, though it would have been beneficial for adults to address these issues earlier for greater peace. Overall, I’d recommend this as a charming, light spicy romance perfect for anyone seeking a cozy read.

I was surprised to see that this had mixed reviews on Goodreads because I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm a diehard romance fan, and sometimes when romance novels are too cheesy or unbelievable, it can be a turn-off for me (even though I will still absolutely eat it up 😂). And I'll be honest, I thought that this would fall into that category and be a cheesy, Christmas-y rom-com, but it had a lot of depth in my opinion.

I liked Lexie's character arc a lot — not only her coming to terms with the relationship she had with her father after his death, but also just figuring out what she wanted out of life.

I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked the travel component — it was just a really enjoyable book overall. I'd absolutely recommend reading A Winter Wish, especially around the holidays!

This is it y’all. This is the one. Oh my goodness I ate this book up. I was hungry for some drama and Ms Stone delivered. I was blown away with how good this book was. I felt like this was very much a slow burn but once we got to the romance I felt like it had come at the right.time. I felt like this book is very much movie worthy so I hope one day someone picks it up. I would be there premiere day. I will be honest though that letter that letter that her dad left her was definitely sad but also needed for closure and to almost put her heart back together cause the situation Lexie was put in is hard. Either your daughter will understand or she will pent it all up and be so distant with you and obviously she had every right to feel that way. You could tell she needed to let go of that pain and disappointment she felt. And I understand that but honestly I was so mad about what he did. It’s not even my business but I just think about all the pain that situation causes and even more the trauma because he basically abandoned them. Anyways I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to buy the physical book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Upon her estranged father’s passing, Lexie discovers he left her half of his travel company. Now she has to try to stick it out and work with his grumpy business partner Theo or lose this last piece of her dad forever.

I read Love, Holly last year and loved it for its softness, angst and heart. I love A Winter Wish for all those same reasons.

If you know me, you know I love a good hate-to-love romance, and goodness was this a good one. I love Lexie and Theo and their little found family in Bath. This is such a sweet premise for a book - running a travel company focused on local celebrations, traditions, and festivals. This is one of those holiday books that can really be read year round. The plot takes the course of a year and often the characters are often out on trips with the company. It makes every moment and important scene especially festive and fun.

Read this book if you like:
🫙 Holiday vibes - even outside of December
🫙 Traveling abroad
🫙 Carrying on traditions from when you were a kid
🫙 Steamy interactions in hotel corridors
🫙 Lemon festivals 😏

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the early e-copy in exchange for an honest review.