Reviews with content warning for Grief - Love in Winter Wonderland

This may be my favorite holiday read of 2023. Love in Winter Wonderland follows two teens who fall hard while fighting to save their beloved family book store. This story has everything from tender young romance to the importance of preserving black history and family. This was funny, sweet, a little angsty, and everything I love about Christmas romcoms.

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Okay, so this book started off really cute! I loved the vibes of them working in a bookstore at Christmastime and it also gave my 2000s teen drama vibes, which I loved. This book would have easily been at least four stars, maybe higher, but then we hit the 70% point…

(This is going to have slight spoilers because I can’t properly rant without them)

At the 70% point, this became a retelling of Mean Girls, but whereas Regina George is hilarious and iconic, Blair is just annoying and psychotic. And for some strange reason, Trey’s fine with that?!? Him not believing Ariel right away is one thing, but spending the night at Blair’s after learning (and ignoring) what she did is insane! Especially for a YA book! Also, once she confirms what she did, he’s not even positive that he wants to breakup with her and calls her “amazing.” Like, a psycho that bullies practically everyone, doesn’t have any interest in anything you like, and locked a girl in a classroom because she was a little jealous is considered “amazing”?!?!?!? I guess this can all be chalked up to stupid 18 year old behavior on both parties, but also, it gave me the ick.

I did really like the narrators’ accents. I often have trouble understanding non-American accents, especially when I speed up the narration, but I had absolutely no issues with understanding and I really liked both narrators’ voices.

I would be interested in reading books by this author in the future, but I really wish the last 40% of this book was a lot different…

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and Abiola Bello for providing me access to this book.

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booknerderika's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective fast-paced

This was a sweet story of the power of community and others showing up for one another.

As for the romance, I'm not a fan of stories of people in relationships falling for someone else. There was borderline cheating going on just by the flirting

and almost kissing.

I understand the toxic relationship aspect but I still don't think that justifies the behavior.

I'm glad Trey made the mature decision in the end even though it was hard. That alone is representation we need more of in books.

I still enjoyed the book, I just felt uncomfortable with how Trey was in a relationship with someone else

for almost the entire book.

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emimero's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

"He looks at me with his eyes half closed, and suddenly there’s this weird energy between us. Are we having a moment? For a split second I think we’re going to kiss, and it makes me nervous – but the good, excited kind.”

➽ I'm very surprised that I ended up liking Love in Winter Wonderland this much! Kudos to the author, she managed to pull off tropes that I usually don't enjoy! The story is about Trey and Ariel who are trying to save Wonderland, his family-owned bookstore that's on the brink of financial ruin. What the synopsis doesn't mention is that Trey has a girlfriend for the majority of the book -

until at least the 90% mark

, which would have been nice to know beforehand, as I dislike stories in which the love interest is seeing someone else. It always leads to emotional cheating and that was obviously the case here as well. Surprisingly, the author managed to somewhat write Trey and Blair's relationship with nuance, as both of them are clearly not right for each other and have a very unhealthy dynamic. It's clear that they are a bad fit and making each other miserable, yet no one is willing to call it off.

➽ This could have been even better if Trey had broken up with Blair way earlier! It was cowardly of him to wait so long and it was my least favorite part of the story. He was lowkey leading Ariel on, while not having the guts to tell his girlfriend he wasn't happy any more. That's one of the reasons why I was never 100% invested in Trey's POV, even though I loved the dynamic he had with his family. Despite my reservations, I liked how his relationship with Ariel ended in the end:

it was refreshing to see him taking a break from dating and waiting a bit before getting serious with Ariel. He didn't want her to be a rebound and it's great that he recognized that he needed some distance to make it work with Ariel!

➽ I loved Ariel's POV though and had a ton of fun with the 'Saving Wonderland' storyline! I truly had a lot of fun with this book which is why I gave it a high rating despite some of my issues! Ariel's POV carried the book for me and I couldn't help but root for her! Ariel lost her father a year ago, so her perspective delves into the grief she still feels and how her talent for art is connected to her father. She's set on getting into an art program that her father also attended, but sadly it's very expensive, so Ariel decides to help out at Trey's family's bookshop for some extra cash. Ariel's caring nature and passion for art as well as books really spoke to me! She's got a lot on her plate, but is determined to save Wonderland, as she sees how important it is! I loved the social media campaign Ariel and Trey started, even though some developments were a bit unrealistic! Ariel also struggles with her body image and weight, so there is some diet talk/guilt around food, so be aware of that!

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aromanticreadsromance's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I'm a sucker for any book that takes place in a bookstore. Make it a Black-owned independent bookstore, and I'm sold. Wonderland has been in Trey's family for generations, ever since his great-grandfather opened its doors. In the beginning, he decidedly does not like his family's bookshop and resents having to work there (and being expected to one day take the reins), but when he hears they are in trouble and they will have no choice to sell it after Christmas, he becomes passionate about finding a way to save it. After his dad suffers a ladder injury, Ariel comes on board to help the cause. Ariel and Trey are in different crowds at school; Trey is popular and Ariel is, well, not. However, in the process of saving Wonderland, they become friends and maybe even hover in the gray area between friends and "more." (Trey, though, is dating Blair.) Ariel wants to attend the art school her late father attended, but she needs to show how her art has changed her community. She views saving Wonderland as her opportunity, painting a huge mural of Black authors on one of the walls.

I liked how they used digital marketing to appeal to others to donate, but some of the plot seemed unbelievable. Like how Wonderland stayed in the news for as long as it did. These days, people move on so quickly and jump from one cause or story to the next. Also, you're telling me Rihanna—fucking Rihanna—reposted your GoFundMe, and you didn't reach your goal? Rihanna, a billionaire, could donate the entire $50,000 without making a dent in her net worth. This actually made Rihanna seem out of touch.

There is other woman drama, but in this case, Ariel felt like the other woman. I was very uncomfortable with the emotional cheating between Trey and Ariel. For about 90 percent of the book, Trey is in a relationship with Blair, though God knows why because he can't seem to stand her most of the time. What he sees in Blair is beyond me, but no one deserves to be cheated on. Ariel, babe, if he's willing to cheat on one girl—one he's been dating for almost two years, no less—with you, then what's stopping him from cheating on you with some other girl? Especially if he doesn't view what he did as cheating, which I'm not sure he does. To me, it feels like we're expected to excuse Trey's emotional cheating because his girlfriend is a snobby bitch, but it reflects poorly on him that he was with her for so long. How does he not see Blair for who she truly is? Truthfully, Trey isn't a very good boyfriend. He forgets about Blair's birthday and has his little brother draw a card for him to give to her, he dances with other girls at the birthday party he's throwing for her (which gets blackout drunk at), and he keeps things from her. And yeah, Blair isn't a very good girlfriend either, but that's besides the point. How are we to believe Trey would be a better boyfriend to Ariel?

As he's breaking up with her, and after she confesses what she did, Trey says that he loves her but they're just toxic together??? Bffr. He also says, "The twins are by far the hottest girls in college. But then Ariel came along, and for the first time, I was looking at another girl in a romantic way." Um. Ariel has always been there; you just never noticed her. This feels so icky to me. If I were Ariel, I wouldn't forgive him for believing Blair over me. Saying something to the effect of, "I didn't believe it when you told me, but I believe it now that I heard it from my lying and vindictive ex-girlfriend" is not a very good start to a happy non-relationship.

Which leads me to the ending:

Trey decides he's not ready to jump into a new relationship with Ariel after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend, so they agree to just continue getting to know each other and if they're meant to be, they'll be. While this makes sense practically, it's not very satisfying fictionally. They do kiss one time at the VERY end (we're talking final paragraphs), but we have no insight into what happens after.

Forget about their relationship, we don't even know how Ariel's art school application pans out! As a reader, this is frustrating, especially when it's a huge part of the plot.

Audiobook Note: Ben Bailey Smith and Nneka Okoye were fantastic (especially Nneka)! It is a dual narration, and I feel like Nneka does a better job at changing her voice for each character than Ben, who only deepens his voice for Trey's dad. At just over 7.5 hours, it is possible to binge in just a day, especially if you listen on 1.5x or 2x speed—and since it is YA, it is an appropriate office listen. Since I didn't have accompanying text, I totally thought Trey's best friend was called "Books" and not "Boogs, haha.

Thank you to RB Media for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

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