This was a cute Christmas story and the first book I have read by Emily Stone! While I did enjoy many parts of this book, I felt there was also a lot lacking, mainly including the chemistry between the main characters. I wish I could have connected more with their love story, but the personal story of the FMC was emotional, and well written.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had connected more with the writing style but I still believe this is a cute Christmas read!

Rating: I really liked it!
Pub Date: Oct 15

Thanks, @dellromance, for the arc! I enjoyed this book a lot. It was the book that wrapped up Christmas in July for me, and I thought it was perfect for it. It’s not really a Christmas book because it takes place all year long, but there are cozy Christmas/winter elements that I loved.

This book was a mix of family drama, romance, and a bit of self-discovery. It didn’t shatter me like other books by Emily Stone, and I was totally fine with that, lol.

After Lexie finds out her semi-estranged father has passed away and left her half of his business, she has to take a break from her nomadic life and relocate to Bath to fulfill the orders of his will. She meets Theo, the other co-owner and together they are like oil and water. Theo idolized her father, whereas Lexie only knew that he abandoned her as a child. There were a lot of complexities to the story, and I felt a lot of conflicting emotions based on everyone’s dynamics, but in the end, I really found myself just lost in this story and I enjoyed it!

I also really loved the travel aspects. It’s official: If a book has traveling in it, I will love it.

*goes to look for flights to Bath*

Lexie finds out that she inherited half of her estranged father's travel company, and must work there for a year before she can sell. The catch, she has to work with grumpy Theo who for whatever reason already hates her. The story is told throughout the year, and I enjoyed that it wasn't solely Christmas/December based especially since I was reading it in August. I loved the traveling aspect of the book, and that the reader got to go to different countries and experience their cultures and traditions. This book also deals with grief and how we all cope with it differently. I thought Emily Stone did a nice job showing the way the different characters were dealing with the loss of Richard. It felt genuine. I also liked how they talked about their feelings out loud, and the other characters were (eventually) willing to listen and hear them out even if they did not necessarily completely understand. Towards the end it did seem to drag on, but overall a nice cozy holiday read.

Emily never ceases to evoke all emotions while reading her romances. Your heart will be bursting by the end in all the best ways.

I have come to love Emily Stone and her books. I know that they will be an enjoyable read and this book was no exception. While it was not my favorite book of hers, I did really enjoy it when I was doing my Christmas in July readings.

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

A great cute read for second- chance lovers. Jessica and Nick are two romance writers and they happen to be exes. However, they work for the same publisher so when they get snowed in at an awards ceremony they have plenty of time to work on their rivalry.

Both characters are easy to love and root for. Jessica loves Christmas and starts celebrating in November and Nick has much more reasonable expectations and this is just the beginning of their differences.

I really wanted to like this book, but after hitting the 40% and still not understanding or knowing the relationship of the FMC and her father was hindering my connection to the story. The FMC was so annoying about the whole thing and the MMC came off selfish as readers don't get alot of insight to him as well. It's hard to get into a story when I'm left guessing the conflict still halfway into the story.

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone is the perfect holiday romcom to curl up with a hot cup of chocolate while you swoon!

The story follows Lexie that struggles with taking over a family business of her estranged father but Theo, the gorgeous co-owner and her must work together and. chemistry ensues. I appreciated the realness of the characters, their struggles, trauma and issues and how they work past that to be better and fall in love. this book will make you want to pack your bags and visit a cozy wintery town and fall in love during the holiday season. I could see this book being the perfect holiday film that makes your heart grow a size or two. This was a delightful, emotional and you will fall hard for Lexie and Theo.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC.

🫙 I LOVE the whole Christmas Wish Jar idea and wish I had children so I could make them do it. 🤣
🧳 I also love the idea of owning a travel agency that focuses on trips to celebrate other cultures and their holidays. Right up my alley.
😠 ☀️ I love me an Enemies to Lovers trope and man, Theo sure is a grump.
😖 Mike gave me the ick straight away. I love when an author can get those vibes across through words.
👯‍♀️ Found family - I thought the talk Lexie and Rachel were able to have was so sweet.
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Tough family dynamics.

This was such a sweet novel about love and healing. Any book that makes me tear up is a winner in my eyes. 🩷

3.5/5

Very cute holiday read!
Emily Stone does a great holiday book. You need some tissues when reading her books.
Lexie gets the news that her estranged father passed away. She didn’t know he was sick. She gets left half of his company. The other half was left to Theo who looked up to Lexie’s dad. They have to learn to work together as a pair and end up falling for each other.
Cute read. Definitely gets you in the holiday mood!

A Winter Wish is a holiday novel about Lexi and follows Lexi as she deals with the results of her father’s will.

Thank you net galley for this arc.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || A WINTER WISH [thank you to @dellromance and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: A Winter Wish by Emily Stone
Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Lexie inherits half of her estranged father's holiday travel company, which specializes in global holiday traditions. The other half is left to Theo, her father's attractive but irritable young executive, and they must run the company together for a year before deciding its future. Initially planning to leave after the year, Lexie becomes intrigued by the company's mission and finds undeniable chemistry with Theo during a work trip to Spain. Despite initial judgments and the complications of mixing business with pleasure, their relationship begins to evolve.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
After reading and loving “Love, Holly” last year, I was really looking forward to Stone’s holiday novel! However, this one fell a little flat for me. While I loved the characters (both MCs and Ange especially), the premise (inheriting half of a travel company so you can travel for free, come on!), and the setting, something just didn’t hit for me. Plus, what I think was supposed to be the “big reveal” was something I caught from the first mention, so I felt like the climax fell flat.

Some other things I DID really enjoy:
✨ THE BANTER. Honestly, I was highlighting like crazy because I could not get enough of Theo and Lexie’s give-and-take.
✨ I’ll say it again: Ange.
✨ I really enjoyed the complicated representation of grief present here. For the most part, Lexie has written her father off (as he seems to have done the same with her) but as she reminisces about the past, she finds that she has both good and bad memories of her dad. And it’s okay to miss them both.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent
Enemies-to-Lovers
Workplace Romance
Strained Parent Relationships
Working Through Grief
Open Door Romance (Mild)

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.67 ⭐️
# of Pages: 368
Pub Date: October 15, 2024

"A Winter Wish" by Emily Stone is a heartwarming and enchanting story that perfectly captures the magic of the holiday season. The author's beautiful prose and vivid descriptions create a cozy, festive atmosphere that immediately draws you in. The characters are wonderfully crafted, each with their own unique charm and depth, making it easy to connect with their hopes and dreams. The central theme of wishes and the power of hope is explored with tenderness and sincerity, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. The romance is sweet and genuine, unfolding naturally against the backdrop of a picturesque winter wonderland. Emily Stone has crafted a delightful and uplifting tale that is perfect for curling up with on a cold winter's night. "A Winter Wish" is a must-read for anyone looking to experience the warmth and joy of the holiday season through a beautifully told story. Highly recommended!

While Lexie learns of her inheritance she has to reconsider what she wants out of life - being a nomad who has no place to call her home other than the accommodations of her employer or return to the place that her estranged father called home and take her place in his company. As she tries to go back to her nomadic lifestyle she yearns to learn more about the company she easily tried to sell and the people who come along with it.

The real star of this book for me was the company, as an avid traveler I've always dreamed of visiting places when holidays or big events happen and R&L Travel takes that idea and turns its travelers into locals. Stone's descriptions of the places and festivals bring the reader right there to experience it all as Lexie and Theo navigate their partnership.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Ballantine, and Emily Stone for this ARC all opinions are my own. Be sure to check out Love, Holly if you enjoyed this book also by Emily Stone!

I didn't enjoy neither the writing, nor the plot, nor the characters. One of those cases, when I am not sure whether it was me or the book, but I was bored and wished to be done with it as soon as possible, there was no funny laugh out loud moments, no captivating banter and the chemistry was not-existent.

This book felt like one of the Hallmark movies: too overused and lacking any substance.

Christmas in July with A Winter Wish

“She’d never lose what she had here. Because these people were her home. And really, it didn’t get much better than that, did it?”

Despite not having a real relationship with her dad in years, Lexie is left half of his travel company when he dies, with the expectation of her running the company for at least one year with Theo, who owns the other half.  This year at the company brings with it snap judgements, several work trips, and lots of self-discovery.

I love Emily’s books.  I love that they are always centered around the holidays, but at their core are so much more.  And this was no exception.  I loved that Lexie and Theo made several assumptions about each other at the beginning, but through working together, they find how similar they really are.  I loved that through the company, Lexie is able to uncover other versions of her dad, most that don’t align with the person she knew, but that open her eyes to the man he was trying to be for her.  With this, family is a major theme, both the family we are born into and the family we find and choose along the way.  I loved that Lexie was able to finally feel at home with the people around her.  And of course, I loved the celebration destinations…makes me want to start traveling more, especially to similar festivals and/or destinations!

A Winter Wish comes out October 15!

Thank you to @netgalley @emstonewrites and @randomhouse for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 out of 5. Emily Stone is my queen of Holiday Books. She is the Emily Henry of the Christmas season, an automatic read, and of course it was the first book I read in the genre this year. This one is a really good book, but it falls a bit short of her prior efforts, and maybe why its ranked a bit lower than those. As any good Emily Stone book, you will be crying at some point in this book, the romance and the growth does come with a side of pain always. I really loved the travel aspect of the book ,not only in their job but all the scouting, it made me want to spend Christmas in Iceland! However are we to believe than in 2024 there is a Physical travel agency staying in business doing custom Holiday travels?. It might be too good to be true, but i suspended my disbelief and went along for the ride. As a side note, Ange is a total kick ass side character and I want all her festive and theme earrings!

I have never read any of Emily Stone's books before, and I was pleasantly surprised by A Winter Wish. Emily does not shy away from difficult topics while sprinkling in a bit of romance to keep readers turning the page. That being said, I requested this book because the summary made me believe this was an enemies-to-lovers romance (my personal favorite trope), and while there definitely was an enemies-to-lovers romance, Lexie and Theo's relationship is not the central story.

Lexie is consumed by wanderlust, never spending more than a few months in the same place. She is working as a nanny in the Alps when she gets a call that her estranged father has passed away. She flies home to attend the funeral and the reading of the will, at which time she learns that she has inherited half of her father's company, R & L Travel. Her initial inclination is to sell the company and be done with her father, but there are conditions to her inheritance. She must work at the company for a year, and if it turns a profit, she may sell her share. She has no desire to stay in Bath for an entire year and work with Theo, the man who seems to grind her every gear, but her best friend, who is a lawyer, can find no way out of this clause, so Lexie begrudgingly finds herself becoming immersed in the business. The more she works at the company her father founded, the more she understands her father's actions and is finally able to begin healing the wounds of her childhood.

I highly suggest picking up this book with the understanding that this book is much more than a romance. I would say that it's a story of grief and difficult parental relationships with a sprinkling of romance.

Read this book if you love:
-Travel
-Holiday traditions
-Enemies to lovers
-Workplace banter
-A grumpy MMC

Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent, cancer, parental abandonment, infidelity

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I have posted this review on Goodreads and will share on my Bookstagram account @thecozybookgal closer to the publication date.

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone:
Rating: 4 ⭐️s

***Trigger warning: loss of parent (father)

I remember reading Always, in December by Emily Stone and absolutely sobbing. While I loved the book, I also remember thinking, I shouldn’t be crying this hard over a Christmas book! While Stone’s latest Christmas book has some tearjerker elements, it definitely is more of what I consider to be a Christmas/holiday read with a happy ending.

After the death of her estranged father, Lexie has to decide if she wants to continue living her nomadic lifestyle or if she wants to put down roots and fulfill her father’s wishes. She has to decide if stability and even a genuine relationship are worth it all.

I liked Lexie a lot because she seemed real. The chemistry between Theo and her was definitely written well. I definitely enjoyed how it all was wrapped up.

A very cute winter/ christmassy read! (Ignore the fact I read it in July lol) Thank You to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this Arc in exchange for my honest review!

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and I feel like this book is helping to pull me out of it! A great read if you just want something feel good, especially leading up to the holidays! Reading it in July was a bit random, but it’s just made me more excited for Christmas! Loved that this story explores a lot of complex relationships and one’s relationship with grief.
Will say I noticed some grammar mistakes, but can only think of two off the top of my head.