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amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
3.0
this was eh. definitely a foreigners idealized image of nyc in the winter which was fine i guess. lots of food moments and italian american-isms.
our main character Iris, is a chef from London, her mother has recently passed away and she’s escaped a manipulative ex boyfriend and now is living in NYC trying to live the dream. She’s found work at a noodle restaurant who’s owner is her gay male best friend 🙄 (what a tired trope) and she also lives in the building. After a series of events she ends up helping our leading man, Gio, an italian american restaurant owner, figure out his family’s lost gelato recipe which Iris happens to know.
first off it starts with a random chapter set on valentine’s day of Iris being rude to a random man (guess who this turns out to be) cause he took the last book at a bookstore.
The book then jump cuts to September’s San Genarro festival in Little Italy and doesn’t bring up this bookshop moment until wayyyy later at which point I literally thought it wasn’t coming back.
I also feel like there was a weird confusion around her parents and the love interest’s parents that left me thinking half of the book that this might turn out to be an incest plot 🙅🏼♀️🙅🏼♀️🙅🏼♀️ maybe i just wasn’t paying attention enough but Iris’s mother was in a band together with two men who were a guitarist and a drummer. Her mother also dated one of the guitarist’s brother, who is the restaurant owner and Gio’s uncle that he calls papa. For me it was unclear that Iris’s mother had the baby with the drummer not the guitarist, and that the guitarist is Gio’s dad. Very confusing tbh and I spent have the book in fear it was incest
our main character Iris, is a chef from London, her mother has recently passed away and she’s escaped a manipulative ex boyfriend and now is living in NYC trying to live the dream. She’s found work at a noodle restaurant who’s owner is her gay male best friend 🙄 (what a tired trope) and she also lives in the building. After a series of events she ends up helping our leading man, Gio, an italian american restaurant owner, figure out his family’s lost gelato recipe which Iris happens to know.
first off it starts with a random chapter set on valentine’s day of Iris being rude to a random man (guess who this turns out to be) cause he took the last book at a bookstore.
The book then jump cuts to September’s San Genarro festival in Little Italy and doesn’t bring up this bookshop moment until wayyyy later at which point I literally thought it wasn’t coming back.
I also feel like there was a weird confusion around her parents and the love interest’s parents that left me thinking half of the book that this might turn out to be an incest plot 🙅🏼♀️🙅🏼♀️🙅🏼♀️ maybe i just wasn’t paying attention enough but Iris’s mother was in a band together with two men who were a guitarist and a drummer. Her mother also dated one of the guitarist’s brother, who is the restaurant owner and Gio’s uncle that he calls papa. For me it was unclear that Iris’s mother had the baby with the drummer not the guitarist, and that the guitarist is Gio’s dad. Very confusing tbh and I spent have the book in fear it was incest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Dementia, and Grief
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
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!
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking and Cancer
memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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? No
4.5
I loved this book. It may not be winter but I read this book at the exact right time. I rarely ever cry at books but this book had me brushing tears from my cheeks over the last few chapters. This book was beautiful and a little heart wrenching. I loved the story, unique but not outlandish. her abusive ex brought up a lot for me. I appreciated that it wasn’t the main concentration of the story but it wasn’t brushed over. I loved that a lot of the characters had their own complex baggage and emotions that added to the story so well, allowing you to really feel for them, not just the main character. I loved the couple of chapters from Vivian’s perspective, to give us an insight in to her side of the story. I adored the writing style. I would definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
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