Reviews with content warning for Stalking - A Winter in New York

A Winter in New York was a cute story featuring Iris and Gio, unknowingly connected by a secret family gelato recipe. The gelato storyline was a bit convoluted and led to miscommunication which I could have done without, but, since I liked them individually and as a couple, I was willing to roll with it. This book made me crave noodles and a big warm-hearted Italian family - as well as vanilla gelato of course. I also liked that it had a little substance, in the form of storylines relating to grief and abusive relationships, but overall still managed to maintain a fun, light tone.

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sariereads's review against another edition

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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

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lololovesthings's review against another edition

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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.

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michelles_books9's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for the eARC!

I was pulled in right away and enjoyed the switching POVs as we occasionally get glimpses of Iris’ mom, Vivien, in the 80’s. At first I really liked them but they became a bit like filler because we don’t get much new information (most of what we know can be found in the present timeline).

I love Gio’s family, absolutely obsessed with their relationship and dynamic! I enjoyed the character development for Iris and the found family aspects too.

Love the rom-com movie references 💗 The novel is both a romance with Iris and Gio but it’s also a romance/love story for New York. I loved the descriptions and felt like I was in NYC during the holidays!

Didn’t love the friendship between Bobby and Iris-he doesn’t feel like his own character and is more like a flat, background character purely there to further Iris’ development (and at times feels like the cliche “gay BFF”).

The spicy scenes were fairly well done except for one line about how Gio’s actions were “insanely sexual that I feel as if he's actually drawing circles on my cervix.” that was weird…🫠

Miscommunication is a HUGE plot point which was unfortunate because it’s my least fave trope 😭 The story was also predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I would’ve enjoyed more plot twists that I didn’t see coming.

The romance was okay, it wasn’t great or horrible, just average. It didn’t feel like a main focus and was more the journey of Iris discovering herself, fleeing a toxic relationship, and grieving the loss of her mom. I much preferred Silver’s “One Night on the Island” and I don’t think the miscommunication helped with how I felt either.

I recommend for a light, fluffy holiday read! But be aware of the triggers as it tackles heavy topics like grief and domestic abuse. I’ll probably check out Silver’s other books to see if she’s an author for me or not.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️ (1.5-2/3)

Tropes: single dad (widower), found family

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