3.5 ⭐️'s
I wish we could give half stars! I enjoyed this book- liked, not loved.
Losing a parent is difficult, but losing your dad when the relationship is strained would be devastating. Lexie's tumultuous relationship with her dad is palpable throughout the story. His departure from her and her mom, and the creation of a new family shaped the woman she became. Never feeling like she's important, especially to a parent, molds a child into an adult with insecurities and trust issues.
Being given half the travel company of her father's, possibly causing Lexie to put down roots, is big on its own. But sharing that with a man like Theo, a man her dad seemed to treat like a son, was more than most could handle.
This story was heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time. Grieving her father and their relationship, opening up to her half-sister Rachel, connecting with new people in the company she inherits is all so massive. Then there is the relationship she has with her mom and her best friend, Fran. All the feels, especially around traditions and her Wish jar.

First off..spoiler alert...this is NOT a holiday book. The last two chapters are sort of holiday themed, but the cover makes this appear to be a holiday book. Which...fine.

Secondly, this book was very boring and the romance fell flat. Our FMC, Lexie, learned that her father passed. They had an estranged relationship that began when he left her mother for another woman, and had a child with her. He seemed to prioritize his new family over Lexie. After his passing, she learned that he left her half of his travel company, and the other half to one of his employees, Theo. She does not want anything to do with it, but the catch is she can't sell it until she's been there a year. Also, Theo really resents her attitude about the company as he was super loyal to her dad. Oh, he is also the love interest, because, obviously.

Nothing really worked in this book for me. I didn't get the fun sense of travel. Side characters were flat. And the whole "wish" aspect the book centers around wasn't fully developed.

Thank you Random House publishing for the ARC for my honest review.

A Winter Wish is another winter holiday romance by Emily Stone. It's an enjoyable read playing off the enemies-to-lovers and workplace romances tropes. Definitely a cute one to add to your holiday reading list.

Thank you to Dell Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

While the premise of the book promises a heartwarming holiday romance, the execution falls short in several areas. The story of Lexie and Theo, two opposites forced to work together, has potential but ultimately feels predictable and lacks depth.
The concept of inheriting a holiday travel company is unique and offers an interesting backdrop and the descriptions of various holiday traditions around the world add a nice touch and provide some cultural insights. However, the characters all come across as clichéd and one-dimensional. The chemistry between Lexie and Theo seems forced and rushed. The plot is predictable, with few surprises or twists. The romance follows a well-trodden path without adding anything new to the genre. Overall, the book has its moments, but doesn’t quite deliver the compelling, heartwarming experience one might hope for in a holiday romance.

The latest holiday romance from Emily Stone is an enemies to lover ready following Lexie who inherits her estranged fathers travel business following his death. She also ends up working with his business partner who owns half the business. While the story was sweet it was missing that spark and banter for me!

Every book I have read by Emily Stone has been such a feel good read and this one was no exception. I loved the holiday travel vibes in this book and the enemies to lovers. It was so fun to watch the family dynamics shift and change and watch Lexie deal with her grief. Halfway through the book I absolutely fell in love with Theo and was rooting for him. The only thing I wish I could have changed was a bit more friendship development between Lexie and Fran. Overall a fantastic read and great for the holiday season. I can’t wait to see what Emily Stone writes next!

A Winter Wish, by Emily Stone, is a heartfelt story showing how childhood hurt can become the anchors that bog down adults. This is how childhood had affected both Lexie and Theo.

Lexie Peterson was about eight when her father left. Up until then they had seemed to be a happy family with a wonderful Christmas travel tradition. They had planned to spend that Christmas in Iceland, but once her dad left promises were no longer something he kept. Her dad remarried rather quickly and then Lexie had a baby sister, Rachel, as well as a step-mother that didn’t really want Lexie around. With repeated disappointments, Lexie finally cut her dad from her life to preserve her own mental wellbeing. As she entered the work world she followed the seasons as an itinerant worker going from the ski slopes to the big waves. Unfortunately that meant she had let his calls go to voicemail when he got ill.

Theo had been raised near Dublin as the only child of a cold and distant father and a mother he could never please. This led Theo to an early adulthood where he didn’t stay in one place long. That way he never failed, he wasn’t there long enough. That is until Theo met Richard Peterson who took him under his wing at his unique travel agency where the tours were all designed around the celebrations in interesting places. With Richard’s guidance and Theo’s hard work, Theo was moved up in the company, becoming a confident and energetic employee.

When Richard passed, it caught both Lexie and Theo off guard. When he left the company to them both with stipulations, it begins as a hard no for Lexie, but the journey from no to go makes for a very well plotted story. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it.

This is a fun enemies to lovers romance that I really enjoyed. When Lexie’s estranged father dies, she’s shocked to discover that he’s left her half of his travel agency. The other part goes to a guy named Theo who was her father’s protégée and has come to some erroneous conclusions about Lexie. The agency specializes in to various countries to celebrate different holidays during the year.
Lexie has mixed feelings about her inheritance, her father left her mom, remarried and started a new family. She has to work through her feelings about her father, at the same time she and Theo are getting closer and closer. I liked the development of their romance, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this read. I am not usually a fan of miscommunication but there wasn't miscommunication in the romance plot, it was within the complicated nature of the characters grief.

I definitely recommend but maybe avoid if you are experiencing the loss of a loved one.

I loved this book so much I finished it in one sitting. I related heavily to the family dynamics and loved how thoughtfully Emily Stone wrote each character with such love and care. This was the perfect book to get into my holiday reads and had me wanting to start my own tradition of traveling at Christmas. This book was so heartwarming and left me with tears both happy and sad. I can’t wait to recommend it to friends this holiday season.

This holiday romance is sweet and emotional with a lot more plot than romance. These travel, drama, and a closed door romance.

# A Winter Wish
# 11/3/2024 ~ 11/4/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0

I love Emily Stone’s books and this was no exception.

Lexie has lost the father who had let her down time and time again and he left her half of his travel business. Theo has the other half. Who is Theo? The annoying but cute guy she now has to work with for at least a year.

I really liked this book. The romance was nice and the story as a whole was very thoughtful. I love Christmas stories and this hit all the right notes.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

When you pick up a book solely for the holiday vibes, and the holiday references are few and far between, you’re going to end up being disappointed, which was the case for me with Emily Stone’s A Winter Wish. I am generally not a romance reader, but I do love a good Christmas-centric love story, which is why I wanted to read this novel. A travel company that plans vacations revolving around holiday traditions from around the world? Sign me up! With a premise such as this one, the potential to write an atmospheric holiday story is immense, but alas, A Winter Wish was a book without any Christmas cheer in sight. Taking place over the course of a year and focusing primarily on a young woman’s feelings about her dad walking out of her life as a child, A Winter Wish is a heavy and depressing read. There’s very little seasonal sparkle in this not so holly jolly tale. Sadly, it just could not hold my interest, and because I was looking for a spirited, uplifting read, was not the right book for me at this time.

I LOVED this book! I wasn’t sure what to expect, I did read Love, Holly, which I liked, but this one was amazing. I loved the storyline, I loved the characters, and this book made me laugh and cry. Definitely a book I can see myself rereading.

This cover is misleading because I thought I was getting a Christmas book and this is definitely not that. It was fine, but felt too long and drawn out to me.

Emily Stone has done it again with A WINTER WISH! Each year since 2021 I have looked forward to Stone's holiday release, and this year's absolutely did not disappoint! Touching on themes of complicated grief, divorce, abandonment issues, and difficult family relationships, Stone weaves in a plot full of delightful holiday trips and a slow burn romance. This may be my favorite Emily Stone book yet!

Always in December is one of my favorite holiday reads and so I jumped at the chance to read A Winter Wish, by Emily Stone. A Winter Wish is an easy read with a grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers trope. The author handles feelings of abandonment and grief adeptly, and the growth of Lexie was a pleasure to read. Plus there is that really fun cover.

I’ve always said I read and rate books for the “feels” and boy did this one have all of them. I felt connected to Lexie immediately. She was very relatable and real. I enjoyed the way the author was able to intertwine Lexie’s feelings and grief for her dad and the relationship with Theo. I maybe would have liked more of Theo’s POV but the author did a great job of getting it across. Overall by far my favorite from Emily Stone so far.

Always in December is one of my absolutely favorite books so I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, this was a little bit of a miss for me. I felt like this was not like her normal writing, it lacked some depth for me. I still enjoyed it just not as much as AID! Thank you NG and RHB for the arc ✨

This is my first book from Emily Stone and it was heartfelt and cute.

If you love: opposites attract, holiday (Christmas) romances, grumpy x sunshine, heartfelt/heartwarming, enemies to lovers and self discovery types of books then I would recommend this for you.

What I loved:
Lexie and Theo had great chemistry (the banter!) and I loved that it was a slow burn type of romance.
Emotional rollercoaster as Lexie goes through the emotions/coping with her father's death (even though they are estranged).
Loved the workplace setting- holiday travel company.

I look forward to reading more from Emily Stone

Thank you Net Galley and Dell Romance for the opportunity to read in advanced.