Opposites attract, beautiful writing, and wonderful characters, what more could you ask for in a romance? A Winter Wish delivers on all accounts. Lexie is full of conflicting feelings when her absent father passes away and she’s even more thrown when she finds out she’s been left half of her father’s travel company—and he has left the other half to Theo, his business associate that seems to hate her for no reason. While she’s convinced she wants to sell after year one, the more she’s there, the more her feelings towards the company…and Theo…begin to thaw. The writing is lovely and beautiful. There was something about it that just felt maybe a little long. I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t feel myself overly eager to keep getting back into it. But I did really enjoy the story and the characters. The conversation of Lexie’s conflicting of her grief for her dad was beautifully handled, her wish jar was an adorable and touching concept, and Lexie’s journey was just really great. It was so easy to root for Lexie. And for Theo. He’s complex in himself and the growth of their relationship is just so sweet. Plus the traveling! This book make me want to go to the Lemon Festival, to Iceland, to Madrid, to everywhere they mentioned. It really captures the wonder of travel and finding traditions, of finding community both abroad and at home, and just the power of connection. It’s a lovely read just bursting with heart.

The writing in this book is nothing short of exquisite. The author’s prose is both elegant and immersive, pulling me in from the very first page. There is a depth to the language that feels almost poetic, which made the experience of reading an absolute joy. The way the characters' emotions and inner struggles are portrayed demonstrates a true mastery of craft.

That said, while the story is rich in themes of secrets and new beginnings, I found myself wishing for just a bit more depth in the plot. The narrative introduces intriguing mysteries and fresh starts, but I felt there were moments where the story could have delved a little further into the complexities of these elements. The potential for emotional and thematic exploration was there, but it wasn’t fully realized in the way I had hoped.

Still, this does not detract from the fact that the book is a beautifully crafted piece of writing. For readers looking for a gently unfolding story with layers of emotion, it offers a rewarding journey. Even though I longed for a bit more from the plot, the writing itself made the experience well worth it.

Thank you to @netgally and @RandomHouseBallatine for this ARC. Lexie is working as a nanny in Austria when she receives a phone call that her dad has passed away, the one she hasn't spoken to since her 21st birthday. She soon finds out that he leaves her half of his travel agency and half to his protégé, Theo. The catch, they have a to turn a profit in the first year or else. Her first impression of Theo was not a good one and she was willing to walk away that instant but the will to succeed was to strong. Will they make it? I love Emily Stone books, not because they are rom-coms but because she does't write the same ol' story of boy meets girl, they fall in love and get together within 24 hrs. Her stories make you want to read more! If you haven't read any of Stone's books, you should! #AWinterWish #EmilyStone #RandomHouseBallatine #Oct2024

Every family has holiday traditions, some wear crazy sweaters, some wear matching pajamas and other open ones gift on Christmas Eve and the rest on the Day. Well Lexie’s day started a tradition with her family every Christmas since she was 3 years old they picked somewhere to travel and spend Christmas there, and they would plan it all year. The first year was Germany for the famous Christmas markets. Well, when Lexie was 7 years old those trips ended when her dad left her mom for another woman and her parents got divorced.

Lexie never lost her love of travel all those years later, but her relationship with her dad was never the same. She never knew why he didn’t have time for her and after a while she wouldn’t let him in. Then her father dies and she didn’t even know he was sick. She is asked by one of her father’s employees to come to the office the following week after the funeral. Lexie knew that her father had started up a business after he left his second wife, but didn’t know what type of business. At this meeting she finds out her father left her and Theo one of his employees half the business - R&L Travel. Lexie doesn’t want the business, the solicitor/ lawyer says the will states that they must run the company for a year together before they can sell it. Lexie is unsure about this, all she wants to do is go back to her wanderlust life.

This book was cute. Not the typical Christmas time book I’ve read before. I love the concept of Lexie’s dad’s travel company, traveling the world through celebration of holidays, festivals and traditions. The book did drag on in parts, but overall I very much enjoyed this book. This was my very first book by Emily Stone and I look forward to discovering more of them.

Thank you NetGalley and Random HousePublishing Group for- Ballantine | Dell for this eARC for my honest review.

I was recommended to read A Winter’s Wish from a friend who greatly enjoyed this ARC. This was a cute romantic comedy, and I was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing winter theme without hitting too hard on Christmas specifically. A Winter’s Wish is also my first read by Emily Stone.

I tend to prefer prose with a bit more description, but this language was easy to read for a short romance book. The plot itself was cute; it reminded me a lot of The Pairing by Casey McQuiston. However, everything else about this book felt truly bland - all characters lacked depth, especially Theo, strangely enough for an MMC. This lack of depth mostly lent to my indifference toward this book in general.

In addition to boring characters, the side characters GREATLY frustrated me. Specifically, the actions of Lexie’s dad and Ange felt not only unrealistic, but incredibly toxic. Both of these characters CONSTANTLY acted as though they knew what was best for Lexie, an adult woman, and it was never treated as strange.

Finally, I did not like the repeats of descriptions and language. For example, the back of everyone’s necks were constantly and deliberately described as “prickling”, or “flushing”, or “heating”. This was exhausting to read.

I had a fine time, but I will not recommend this book to friends. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dell for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Winter Wish is a good place to start some Christmas themed reading. Lexie’s estranged father passes away and leaves her half of his holiday themed travel agency. Initially there are negative sparks between her and Theo who now owns the other half. Other kinds of sparks start to fly fairly quickly. The main storyline follows this relationship, but Lexie also needs to deal with her feelings about her father. That part of the story is heartbreaking as Lexie works through her feelings and founds out more about her father and how he loved her. Not the best Christmas book I’ve read, but overall a good read.

This book was cute and I’m glad I was able to read a ARC. The characters were sweet and you were rooting for them throughout the book. There was something about it missing a Christmas-y aspect but it’s definitely a cozy, cold weather read.

I've read several of this author's books and was happy to receive an ARC, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher. Lexie is surprised to learn of her estranged father's death and shocked that he left her half of his travel business. The other half of the business was left to Theo, an employee her father mentored. Although initially Lexie wants nothing to do with giving up her vagabond life, she ultimately gives it a go and gets closer to Theo in the process and starts to work through the trauma of her father abandoning her as a child and remarrying and having another daughter. It was a good start to holiday reading.

I absolutely love Emily Stone's writing. I don't usually like 3rd person POV but her writing always weaves together thoughtful plots, deep emotional characters, and even glimpses of some steamy moments that create a magical holiday romance.

A Wishful Wish is more of a self-discovery journey for Lexi, our FMC who inherits half of her estranged father's company. She & her father did not mend their relationship and it was a shock to her that he passed in the first place. Without giving any spoilers away, she must run the company alongside the other owner, Theo in a workplace enemies-to-lovers type of story with some holiday vibes. And while there is an element of romance with Theo, it's really through working with him that Lexi discovers more about her father. Lexi starts coming to terms with who her father was and realizing how his absence in her life and his choices impact how she lives her life. Can she accept his choices and let go of resentment?

There are some side characters like Lexi's half-sister Rachel & the meddling office leader Ange, who help move the story forward. I really appreciated Rachel's presence in this story and how she gave a window to the other side of Lexi's father.

I enjoyed the love story between her and Theo. I felt sad for both of them at times and was rooting for them in the end. This was a very slow burn where I wish we had more heat between them earlier on but overall I enjoyed their romance.

Overall, this was a really cute story that tugged all the right emotions and fit nicely into the holiday romance season.

💖 Enemies-to-Lovers
🛩️ Workplace Romance (Travel Agency)
🛏️ Forced Proximity
🔥 Slow Burn
3️⃣ 3rd person POV

3.5 ⭐️

An enemies to lovers romance. Very heavy on the enemies. These two are not compatible. DNF.
Lots of misunderstandings and assumptions and no dialogue to clear it up.

3.25 fun travel stars

Lexie has been estranged from her father for years. It makes sense since he abandoned her and her mother to start another family when she was younger. She didn’t count on him dying before they could patch things up, though. Lexie is in for a big surprise when she discovers that her father left her half of his travel business. Some stipulations in the will surrounding the business force her to work with the other owner, Theo.

Things are very dicey between Lexie and Theo, as Theo resents working with Lexie. He was very close to Lexie’s father and knew that Lexie had nothing to do with the business while they were growing it. They are required to spend a year working together before deciding to sell or not, which is very difficult for Lexie as she moves around quite a bit.

I loved the idea of this travel company and some of the trips mentioned have definitely gone on my bucket list. How fun to go somewhere to celebrate holidays and festivals.

I also really liked the family relationships in this one and the exploration of the complexities of parental, sibling, and friend connections.

The romance was not as strong for me and I can’t pinpoint exactly why. I would like to go on a trip with R&L Travel though!

When Lexie’s estranged father dies and leaves her half his business with the caveat that she work side by side with a stranger for a year and turn a profit. Once she fulfills these expectations, she can sell her half and go back to her nomadic ways. Soon, she finds it is much more complicated as Theo, her co-owner dislikes her and she doesn’t much like him, and Lexie is not quite sure she is cut out to stay in one place. During this time, Lexie must also contend with the feelings of abandonment she has over her father leaving and Rachel, his daughter from his second marriage. Soon, she and Theo are finding their ways to work together as a team and the slow burn between the two begins. Filled with interesting characters that surround Lexie with the love she needs and stories about the father she misses.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve really been into Christmas themed books lately. Perhaps it’s because we are on our 100 something day of temperature over 100 degrees and I’m longing for the holidays. This one fit the bill perfectly.

I loved the Christmas theme that was present throughout the story. The story took us all over Europe and through Christmas markets in different countries. The main tropes are forced proximity and enemies to lovers.

My favorite part of the story was the relationship between the MC and her father. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I won’t say much. But their story was so heartwarming. I also appreciated the growth of our MC.

This is the perfect holiday read and not to be missed!


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Emily Stone, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! I had seen some negative reviews saying this lacks emotion, but apparently we were reading different books because this book had plenty of emotion! This is a romance, but the story is more complex than that. It’s about hurt, forgiveness, healing, family, and love. The relationship between Lexie and Theo is no more important than her relationship with her sister nor her past relationship with her dad. Theo too has a complicated relationship with his parents. I think the business that Theo and Lexie have to run together sounds amazing and I loved all the travel in the book. A perfectly sweet and tender story for the holidays!

For what i thought would be a fun, holiday romance starts grim and stays harsh. We start with Lexie getting the news her father has died and then having to attend an awkward funeral as she struggles to deal with the fact they were estranged due to his leaving her mother when she was a kid to start a new family and the many broken promises he made her - and he was still her dad so she has complicated feelings. THEN she finds out he left her half his travel package company AND because of legal reasons she is stuck with running it AND she has to work with a guy she hated on sight when they met at the funeral.

So..... this is supposed to be an enemies to lovers, but I never bought the chemistry, and couldn't believe they could get to anything more than cordial with each other.

Plus, all the inheritance shenanigans were ridiculous and i had a hard time suspending my disbelief.

While being a good holiday read, this book wasn’t what I expected. I enjoyed the traditions that Lexie and her dad created to celebrate Christmas, but what stood out to me the most was how important communication and forgiveness are in our relationships. It took awhile for Lexie to realize that her dad truly did love her and held their traditions close to his heart. This was a good book. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for allowing me to read an ARC of A Winter Wish by Emily Stone, in exchange for my honest review.

Such an enjoyable read! Growing pains and all that comes with it. Happiness, grief, growth, self-awareness, and the love of family and friends.

I love the idea of seeing the world through celebration!

Lexie was shocked to discover that she had inherited half of her father’s holiday travel company, R &L Travel -See the World through Celebration! After all, they have hardly spoken over the last 10 years.

It is a successful niche business specializing in trips that explore the holiday traditions of cultures all over the world-something they used to do as a family each Christmas-until he left and started a new family with another woman.

The other half of the company has been left to Theo-her father’s good looking young executive. The will stipulates that the two of them must find a way to run the company together for a year and turn a profit, before deciding whether or not to sell.

He wants to keep it. She wants to sell.

Can he change her mind in time?

I always look forward to Emily Stone’s holiday romances, but this wasn’t a favorite., Perhaps it is because the ENEMIES to LOVERS trope is a hard sell for me. How does a person almost instantly fall in love with someone who is self admittedly usually acting like a petulant child? It’s NOT an attractive quality.

This isn’t a bad story BUT although the travel company idea sounds wonderful, and Lexie shows some personal growth by the end of it-this just didn’t quite work as a romance for me!

The “JOURNEY” wasn’t that enjoyable, I didn’t “FEEL” any chemistry between them, and I WASN’T rooting for them to get together as a couple which are three MUSTS in any romance novel.

But, I am still a fan of the authors work, and will look forward to whatever she pens next!

Expected publication date: October 15, 2024

Thank You to Dell for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.

It’s time for the holiday reads and I am ready! I can’t wait for more. This really set the tone and was absolute perfection of Christmas romance in a bundle book.

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the ARC! When Lexie receives a call that her father has passed, she's not sure how to feel. They've been estranged for several years now. Her parents had divorced and he remarried and always seemed to choose his new family over her. He never even let her know that he was sick. She returns home for the funeral and discovers that she's also been included in his will. To Lexie's surprise, her father has left her half of his travel business. She doesn't want it, but can't just let it go as she will be sharing the business with Theo, a young man with whom her father has been running the business. Now Lexie must navigate learning and running the business with Theo (which can be a struggle as Lexie is sure Theo doesn't like her) and deal with her mixed feelings about whether to sell the business when the time is up while coming to enjoy the work of planning and running the trips. Readers of Emily Stone will once again enjoy how she blends the emotion of the story (Lexie's struggle with unresolved issues and grief) with romance.