Lexie likes traveling the world, not staying any one place for very long. Enjoying ski season in Austria, Lexie’s world is turned upside down when her Mom calls from Bath, UK to tell Lexie that her father has died. Lexie hasn’t spoken to her father, Richard, for 10 years and even had a shaky relationship with him before that….after her parent’s divorce Richard started a new family and was never around for Lexie. When she get’s back to Britain, she’s shocked to find out that Richard has left her 1/2 of his travel company. Why would he do this and write his will in such a way that, if Lexie doesn’t stay for a year, she loses everything. To add to this dilemma, the other 1/2 of the business is left to Theo, the very handsome, very annoying Theo. Will Lexie stay and work at the travel business, will she and Theo act on their spark or continue to class, will Lexie gain any understanding of her father and heal some remaining wounds? Lexie’s journey is emotional and bumpy. I enjoyed this book but I felt that it needs some additional editing.

You really can't understand all the things that happened to you as a child until you are grown up. Even then, you have to receive all the pieces to the puzzle. This book was a great winter read about how Lexie had to come to terms with losing her father and not being able to reconcile with him after continually pushing him away. It is hard to grow up and realize that sometimes there is a bigger picture. Great book!

Main characters Lexie and Theo are thrown together when Lexie's dad dies unexpectedly and leaves the company to the both of them, even though they've never met. Things start to sizzle between the two of them on a trip to Spain. Can Lexie let go of her inclination to run away and stick it out with the company and Theo? Enjoyable read.

2.5/5⭐️
This is the first Emily Stone novel I read, I had heard great things about Always in December and I was excited when I got this ARC. It was an ok book for me, to the point where I even skim a few parts at different parts of the book, I will still give this author another chance but sadly this book was not what I was expecting.

Emily Stone is a writer who makes reading easy and light. This was a heartwarming story that made me long to travel to Spain. If you love a good romance around the holidays, this one is for you.

If Emily Stone writes it, I’m going to read it. She is the queen of holiday romances and I just had to get my hands on this one! This opposites attract romance explores grief, an inherited company, and sone mistletoe. It’s basically a hallmark movie and I loved it!

I received this advanced reader copy from #netgalley in return for my honest review.

Lexie grew up with an absentee father and memories of amazing Christmases spent around Europe. She now lives a fairly nomadic lifestyle and is currently a nanny at a ski resort in the Alps. But a call from her mother with the news that her father is dead comes as a shock and she makes the trip home. She is soon told that her father left her half of his travel business which sells the wonderful holidays she grew up with to the masses.

Bitter, heartbroken, and full of memories she meets Theo, the owner of the other half of the business and he hates her on sight. They are told they have to work together for one year and if, only if, the business turns a profit can they sell. The two eventually work together and learn more about each other.

For a book whose whole premise is the miscommunication trope, I should have hated this from the first word, and don't get me wrong I can't stand it. But the book kind of redeems itself, instead of some accidental revelation that makes everyone immediately change their tune, the two of them slowly get to know each other, get to know each other's side of the story, and grow to realize they compliment each other very well. Lexie resonated with me and I totally understood how she could hold onto so much anger and still remember the joy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of Emily Stone’s new book, A Winter Wish. Easy, quick read - would be even more enjoyable to read at the holidays. Loved the travel element of the story - good for the wanderlust. It won’t be a favorite book of the year but a solid 3.5 stars.

I thought I was going to be reading a sweet, light romance book but it was unexpectedly emotional. I was not anticipating crying as hard as I did towards the end!

Lexie is a nanny who has recently lost her estranged father. Shortly after his passing, she learns that he has left her half of his company and the other half to an executive at his company. Lexie loves to travel, and it is a big part of who she is. Ever since she was a kid she has loved to travel; it was a family tradition to travel to different regions to celebrate their culture & holidays. I loved the travel aspects of the book and the adventurous excursions the book took us on, learning about different festivals and holidays all around the world. Emily Stone painted the picture of each travel scene so well that I felt like I was a tourist alongside Theo & Lexie.

At the beginning of the book, Theo & Lexie have a misunderstanding of each other and frankly got off on the wrong foot. After meeting Lexie, Theo seems to immediately despise her for no reason, which creates a lot of tension when Lexie finds out that they must work with each other for a full year before they are able to decide on whether to sell the company or keep it. Throughout the year, as they work together and slowly get to know each other, their relationship starts to build into something magical. They both were dealing with the grief of losing Lexie’s father in different ways and it was interesting to see how they both worked through that together. They begin to see eye-to-eye about the direction of the company and create a plan to make it successful and meaningful to the guests that use their company for traveling.

I also loved the celebration of traditions and how, year after year, Lexie continued to make a wish for her wish jar. I thought this concept was sweet and enjoyed the conversations it brought up between Theo & Lexie - “a truth for a wish.”

The side characters were great too – Lexie’s mom, who helps her with understanding and forgiving her father for the things he did when she was a child. Her best friend, Fran who encourages her and pushes her to participate in running the company, despite her initial feelings towards Theo & her unwillingness to forgive her father. Ange, the assistant at the company who is a voice of wisdom & reason when Lexie or Theo needs it. I enjoyed each and every one of them!

This book was heartwarming and reminds us that life is not always how you wished it would be. People are complicated, relationships are complicated, and life in general is complicated. You can’t change what happened in the past, but you can make the most of the present and make the future better from learning from mistakes. Forgiveness and grief are complex and difficult to navigate. We should all have grace because we never know what someone is going through or has gone through in the past.

this story lacked chemistry big time. Lexie is came off as an annoying brat at first. i almost DNF it half way through. thankfully Lexie did grow in the second half of the story. i love Emily Stone and all of her books, so i was pretty shocked when i didn't love this one.

I'm a big fan of Emily Stone, but A Winter Wish fell flat for me. Honestly, I barely even finished it. I truly had to skim through to make it through the end and not call it a DNF.

this was okay but personally not for me! i felt this lacked chemistry between the characters. i couldn’t connect to them and felt bored halfway through forcing myself to skim.

I got this book as an arc from NetGalley

I went in with zero context or experience with Emily Stones writing. It was…okay. The chemistry between the characters I found to be lacking. I will still read it again though because seasonal books are my favorite. Side note: who uses a travel agency anymore?

When I started reading A Winter Wish I was looking forward to escaping into a light modern romance for a little while. I'll be honest, I almost gave up on it a few chapters in because Lexie was coming across as a spoiled, immature brat who didn't even have the ability to consider the feelings of those around her. She was willing to tank an entire business with no regard for the people who worked there and relied on those jobs. What a jerk. BUT I stuck with the book and I was happy to see Lexie grow up a little by the end.
The characters were fun and, as someone who loves to travel, I loved the travel company theme. It was, for the most part, fun to read. I just wish the main character had been a little bit more likeable.

Loved this holiday read! Emily Stone’s writing is always a hit for me so I will def be recommending this to friends over the holidays! Loved!

Thanks to Netgalley & Random House Publishing- Ballantine for the E-ARC! I loved this so much! Beautifully written & loved the characters. Even cried a couple times. Definitely will read more from this author.

I love Emily Stone's Christmas books. The travel agency was a unique plot/setting so that was nice change from the usual romance novel.

Does anyone else have an issue with the beginning of the book? We are supposed to believe that the two main characters despise each other from a simple look at funeral. They have never met, never spoken and yet this one look leads to profound hatred of each other. Meh. Otherwise the rest of the book is fine. Some part enjoyable, but mostly forgettable.

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

This was an incredibly cute book. We have travel, we have crying, we have laughing,we have Christmas in July.

I think I truly enjoyed this book because if the characters. Not only does the plot have to be strong, but the characters have to support it. I felt like each character was unique and was well rounded so we get to know each one and everyone these for a purpose. Lexie and Theo have depth, they communicate, learn from their mistakes and grow. Ange and Rachel have to be my favorites for the meddling and be authentically themselves, including the crying.

My main critique would be about flow. I was ready to meet Fran earlier on since she’s mentioned a few times and that Lexie would be doing something with her but then we experience time jumps because those things didn’t happen as we read them. I think the flow could have been better between multiple chapters because it felt a little choppy to me.

I received an eARC from Penguin Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute! I didn't connect as much with this book as I did with Always, in December, so this won't top my list of Emily Stone works, but I imagine lots of people will be especially moved by Lexie's journey with losing her dad.