**Why I enjoyed the book:**
I loved The Winter Wish by Emily Stone because it beautifully delves into themes of love, loss, and second chances, pulling me in with its emotional depth. The snowy, festive setting was so vividly described that it felt like stepping into a magical winter wonderland. There were so many amazing winter and/or Christmas themed books I read from October to December and this was one of many I cuddled in with lots of fluffy pillows, cozy blankets, and my favorite hot beverage: coffee with a little hot chocolate powder and a splash of coffee cream.

**Summary of the book:**
*The Winter Wish* tells the story of Evie, who returns to her hometown after a broken engagement, trying to piece her life back together. Surrounded by the holiday season’s warmth, she reconnects with Jack, an old friend, and uncovers feelings they’ve both buried. Together, they take on a local project, and Evie finds herself at a crossroads—choosing between the life she thought she wanted and the chance for something entirely new.

This was a four star read for me. I have read and consumed other books by Emily Stone and can assure readers you don't want to miss any of her novels!

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Stone, and Random House Publishing House-Ballantine for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

Emily Stone does it again! Thank you to every for this early gifted copy of A Winter Wish by Emily Stone.

I swear to you, she is the only Christmas author that I will read. Her books capture the heart of the season, while also capturing the importance of family, love, forgiveness and friendship.

I really enjoyed this books because I felt that the main characters were real and relatable, and you just wanted the best for them the entire time. I loved the traveling aspect of this book.

Looking forward to whatever Emily writes next!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book. Emily Stone knocked it out of the park with another emotional story set during the holidays that makes you reflective on your past choices and wonder if you knew what you thought you knew when you made the decisions you made. Complicated? Yes, whenever a family is involved it is. Lexie's dad passed away. She hasn't spoken to him in ten years, but she went to the funeral, more for her mom than anything else, but all of a sudden she finds out that she has inherited a piece of his travel agency and must work with his protege. It's her dream job, but she doesn't recognize it at first. She must overcome the obstacles that she places in her own way and those that have been ingrained in her past. There are romantic aspects to this book, but there are also stories about how family and friends coexist and thrive through the holidays.

I saw many mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed this! It gave me great holiday vibes, but mostly I loved that it was an emotional read. While Lexie was struggling over her emotions from the passing of her estranged father, she found comfort in someone she wasn’t expecting to. The romance between Lexie and Theo was really sweet. Their banter was really funny - classic enemies to lovers! I now want a wish jar for myself. I think it was such a cute idea. I think many of us can relate to dysfunctional family dynamics. And for many others, how tricky it is to have divorced parents as a kid. I was glad with the happy ending 🩷 A great read for the winter season!

Sadly, I found this book quite forgettable. I loved the last three books and look forward to reading the latest Emily Stone Each Christmas. I had a hard time caring about the characters. I also didn’t love how the enemies to lovers trope played out.

This was an outlier for me as I typically enjoy Stone's books. I thought the main characters were really whiney and childish. The side characters were strong but there were a few additions that seemed unnecessary (what was Mike's real roll?) Overall, not my favorite of hers.

Yes I know it is New Years Eve but ya girl is still out here reading holiday books and tbh ZERO regrets!

Lexie has always been a free spirit who loves to travel. I hen she learns of her estranged father’s death, she doesn’t know how to react. It’s only made worse when she learns that her half of his travel company - with a catch that she must run it with a man she’s never met, Theo. They butt heads immediately but slowly find a way to work together.

This is a beautiful story of love, loss, grief, and growth.
I’ve read a number of books by @emstonewrites but I think this is my favorite one yet! Big thanks to @netgalley and @dellromance for the ARC!

Lexie’s estranged father dies and leaves her half of his travel company; the only catch is that she has to work together with Theo for a year to make the business profitable or they can’t sell it. And of course, Lexie and Theo can’t stand each other. At first, Lexie tries to be a partner in name only, but she gradually begins to enjoy running the company more and more (and to enjoy Theo’s company more and more). Along the way, she also works to repair her relationship with her estranged half sister Rachel. While I enjoyed this one, it wasn’t Emily Stone’s usual tearjerker, and I wasn’t invested in the romance at all (it almost felt like a side plot in Lexie’s journey of self-discovery). Theo and Lexie just didn’t seem to have a lot of chemistry, and I was more interested in her other relationships and the travel aspects of the book. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the opportunity to read this book! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There's something about an Emily Stone book during the holiday season, so I saved this one for just that. With that said, it really can be enjoyed all winter, as the title suggests.

After the death of there father, Lexie unexpectedly inherits half of his travel business. The catch, however, is that the other half goes to Theo - someone who she doesn't see eye-to-eye with after her estranged relationship with her father. Lexie is forced to face the past, navigate her complicated grief, and figure out a new business, but at least she gets to do so while traveling!

Unfortunately, this one was not my favorite. I felt like it fixated a lot on the past and her relationship with her father but at a slow pace. Her relationship with Theo developed but wasn't fully believable - their connection building was kind of lost in the other storylines of the business and her father's death. It was overall good, but I have enjoyed some of her other holiday books much more.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Happy holidays!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I love a hallmark movie book to end the year. I was intrigued by the overall premise of the book but ultimately it was an average story for me. That said, i found the travel aspect fun and interesting. Trigger warning : death of father

3.75 stars.

A Winter Wish is not unlike Emily Stone's other Christmas novels but it is somehow uniquely its own. I have had a love/hate relationship with Emily Stone because I did not enjoy Love, Holly when I read it last year but it has become an unintentional annual tradition for me to end the year with an Emily Stone and I don't find myself stopping that anytime soon.

This was exactly what I wanted it to be. It gave me the itch to travel (which I already have in spades), the desire to spend a New Year's Eve with a loved one and their loved ones, and the urge to practice grace with others. I find that each of Stone's novels does its best to bring me to tears and she is almost always successful. What I love most about her writing is that she has the ability to combine despair and joy within one story so (seemingly) easily.

Most importantly, I found Lexie and Theo's relationship very believable and I am always interested in a rivals to lovers dynamic. A Winter Wish was sweet, heartwarming, and full of spirit. I can't wait to revisit it during another holiday season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated the travel agency setting of this book. Much like many of Emily Stone‘s other Christmas novels, this one centers around grief and loss about the holidays. I really appreciated hearing more about the different trips that Lexi and Theo went on. I liked learning more about Lexi‘s father as a complicated character. However, I felt the Insta love aspect of this novel didn’t quite work as well as I would have liked. I did enjoy it, but I probably won’t remember it in another month or so however, I will continue to read or listen to any and all books that Emily Stone publishes in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An inheritance forces Lexie and Theo to work together for a year. Both have their own personal feelings of resentment and distaste for the other. This book has Christmas themes in it, but it takes place over the entirety of that year. I have enjoyed every book I have read by Emily Stone and this one did not disappoint. I will read everything she puts out.

thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

4 stars!! This was such a sweet story and it did a good job of telling the story of Lexie navigating her father's death. They didn't necessarily have the relationship that she wanted them to have, so it was tricky for her to figure out how she should react to the situation. I'm glad she met Theo along the way even if they didn't get off to a great start at first.

I've been reading only christmas books in the last weeks of the year. This one was good, but not my favorite.

I liked reading about Lexie's thoughts and feelings about being abandoned by her dad and where her running away tendencies came from. However, I couldn't completely get behind the romance aspect of the book, it didn't seem natural at all and there wasn't much chemistry.

Another thing I didn't enjoy, is that the timeline goes over the spam of a year, so we actually don't get the holiday feels you get from reading a book that is only written during December for example.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Cute, cozy holiday read. Started a bit slow but I did love the travel premise. I didn’t quite feel invested in the romance though. The chemistry didn’t feel super believable for me.

*I saved this book to read in December, I apologize for the delayed review*

I love Emily Stone's books, so I of course was looking forward to A Winter Wish. It wasn't my favorite of hers, but it was still an enjoyable read for the end of the holiday season. I'd say this. one is more "winter" than Christmas, so I think it could be enjoyed any time during the winter months.

Lexie's dad passes away and leaves her half of his travel company. The other half goes to Theo, and Lexie has no idea where he came from or how her dad knows him. They have to run the company together for a year before they can sell it (which Lexie wants to do, Theo does not want to sell).
Let me add that Lexie is not a fan of Theo for the first part of this book - so bring on the enemy chemistry.

I liked Lexie's character, as she was dealing with quite a bit. She traveled a lot, never really staying in one spot for longer than 6 months, so running the company for a year was pretty daunting for her. Especially since she had to run it with this random man, Theo. AND deal with the death of her dad, which is extra hard as she hasn't really talked to him in 10 years and she has a lot of misunderstandings and questions about their relationship and things he did in the past. I think she grew a lot during the book, and learned a lot about herself and her dad.

There were a few parts that were a big slow, but overall I enjoyed this one. Can't wait for her next book!

Emily Stone has been my go to holiday author the last few years. However, this one just fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with the characters or the storyline. The concept of the story was interesting but the execution did not work for me. Her writing was good, there were some emotional moments, and the theme of loss was present throughout the book, but it didn’t feel right or as real as her other books.

This was fine but it felt like other books I’ve read before. There was nothing really unique about it and I could not get invested. This felt very surface- I needed more emotional investment. Unfortunately, for me this was a miss.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book. I begrudgingly rated this 3 stars. I felt the plot moved so slowly. I get it, you and your Dad didn’t have a great relationship. I expected more lightheartedness but felt the book focused more on the guilt and sadness. Not a light holiday read in my opinion.