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blewballoon's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was just a series of let downs for me. I wanted a Christmas romance and this was barely Christmas, it's just sort of there in the background a little. I wanted to get invested in the romance but it was impossible when the main character is blatantly lying and keeping heavy secrets from the love interest. I would literally cringe during the sex scenes because I felt like it was wrong for her to sleep with someone who couldn't make an informed decision about wanting to be with her while he didn't have all of the facts. I wanted to appreciate the found family aspect, but that was complicated by lies as well. If you really liked the movie While You Were Sleeping, this might work for you? If you like watching a girl slide her way into someone else's family under false pretenses, here you go! Apart from not liking the premise and most of the plot, I do think the prose was pretty and I'd give the author another shot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence, Domestic abuse, Death, Alcohol, and Cancer
timetotalkbeauty's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
soobooksalot's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Cancer
okiecozyreader's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
I read this in three nights and thought it was a fun holiday read, a nice break from some heavy, long reads.
Iris is the daughter of Vivian, a singer who ended up with a secret family gelato recipe from New York. Iris comes to NYC to feel closer to her mom, who died 3 years ago from cancer, and to escape an abusive relationship. She and her mom watched a lot of American movies and she wants to see some of the famous locations for herself. She finds the gelato restaurant that serves the recipe she has from her mom, that she makes and knows well. But the patriarch of the family is ill and no one else knows the recipe.
I feel like the ending seems kind of random and put together to wrap it up. But I enjoyed these parts:
Found family
Miscommunication
Food / cooking / gelato
Father/daughter
Marshmallow heart …”her heart is still soft, unprotected, no shell.” P197
Iris is the daughter of Vivian, a singer who ended up with a secret family gelato recipe from New York. Iris comes to NYC to feel closer to her mom, who died 3 years ago from cancer, and to escape an abusive relationship. She and her mom watched a lot of American movies and she wants to see some of the famous locations for herself. She finds the gelato restaurant that serves the recipe she has from her mom, that she makes and knows well. But the patriarch of the family is ill and no one else knows the recipe.
I feel like the ending seems kind of random and put together to wrap it up. But I enjoyed these parts:
Found family
Miscommunication
Food / cooking / gelato
Father/daughter
Marshmallow heart …”her heart is still soft, unprotected, no shell.” P197
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
annica_fourie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I did not expect to love this as much as I did, since I usually don't gravitate towards Christmas-y romances.
The story was intriguing and fun, and I loved the characters.
The story was intriguing and fun, and I loved the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
hheartbooks's review against another edition
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
nicolegardner's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
greta_b8's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Cosy, wintery book that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. A Winter in New York is a heartfelt, slightly melancholic, seasonal story (although not that christmassy); a must for gloomy days spend sitting on the sofa!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
sariereads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Cancer
lololovesthings's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
4 stars!
"A Winter in New York" is the first Josie Silver novel I've read. I definitely need to go back and check out her other books because this one is terrific. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me reminisce, it made me happy, it made me want vanilla gelato really, really badly! "A Winter in New York" will have you wanting to drop everything in your life to see the snow falling on the streets of Big Apple. Silver paints such an evocative picture of NYC in winter! This book will leave found-family fans eating good for nearly 400 pages. I loved this aspect of the story; it's really heartwarming and perfect for the Christmas season. I really enjoyed the main characters, Iris and Gio. Iris and Gio are both fully-fleshed-out, realistic-feeling characters. Iris is on her own, living in New York with a roommate because her mom came to New York on a wing and a prayer years before, and she wanted to follow in her footsteps. I love that Gio is a pure-hearted, soft-spoken guy. He has a big family, each one more boisterous and wonderful than the last. Still, both Gio and Iris have difficult, complicated relationships with their biological families, which adds to the tension and intrigue. There is also a terrific cast of supporting characters here as well. As the story moved along, I found myself holding my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Iris's secret to be revealed. Some readers won't like this slow-burning aspect of the story, but it sustained me and made me read quicker, propelling me quicker towards the inevitable ending. I literally could not put this book down. It reads very fast and is addicting to boot. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Josie Silver, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Dell for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
"A Winter in New York" is the first Josie Silver novel I've read. I definitely need to go back and check out her other books because this one is terrific. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me reminisce, it made me happy, it made me want vanilla gelato really, really badly! "A Winter in New York" will have you wanting to drop everything in your life to see the snow falling on the streets of Big Apple. Silver paints such an evocative picture of NYC in winter! This book will leave found-family fans eating good for nearly 400 pages. I loved this aspect of the story; it's really heartwarming and perfect for the Christmas season. I really enjoyed the main characters, Iris and Gio. Iris and Gio are both fully-fleshed-out, realistic-feeling characters. Iris is on her own, living in New York with a roommate because her mom came to New York on a wing and a prayer years before, and she wanted to follow in her footsteps. I love that Gio is a pure-hearted, soft-spoken guy. He has a big family, each one more boisterous and wonderful than the last. Still, both Gio and Iris have difficult, complicated relationships with their biological families, which adds to the tension and intrigue. There is also a terrific cast of supporting characters here as well. As the story moved along, I found myself holding my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Iris's secret to be revealed. Some readers won't like this slow-burning aspect of the story, but it sustained me and made me read quicker, propelling me quicker towards the inevitable ending. I literally could not put this book down. It reads very fast and is addicting to boot. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Josie Silver, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Dell for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Stalking