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katieemilys's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
3.75
I ended up really enjoying this actually. I found it quite slow and like it could’ve been edited down a bunch but the last 25% I really enjoyed and stayed up reading. Almost cried a bit too!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent
klangwhoa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
katiefrankk's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Miscommunication trope
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
sarah_reading_party's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
what a sweet book! it was the perfect read during a snowed in week at home. i loved the new york setting, the food angle, and iris's lovely mix of british slang paired with gio's italian background. such a fun way to travel in a book. :) i was just engrossed in every page and wish i had friends like iris does! the belotti family, bobby, robin... gah.
reading about iris's abusive relationship, though shared in small bits throughout the novel, was hard. i felt that should have been mentioned in the description of the book. i also would have liked to see her reengage with friends from london as she healed in new york. i felt the female friendship aspect of this book was lacking, though she did find some of that in her friendship with sophia and gio's family members. all in all, a lovely read!
reading about iris's abusive relationship, though shared in small bits throughout the novel, was hard. i felt that should have been mentioned in the description of the book. i also would have liked to see her reengage with friends from london as she healed in new york. i felt the female friendship aspect of this book was lacking, though she did find some of that in her friendship with sophia and gio's family members. all in all, a lovely read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
sarahtenn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Some parts if this romance did not quite land- she took on a lot if plot elements and conflicts, to the point that it felt clunky at times. I also had to suspend belief just a bit to get through some of the plot elements. The romance was sweet but she missed the mark a bit on the actual plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
betsymays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
thebelovedreadingnook's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Death and Death of parent
whittlebit's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Josie Silver takes the miscommunication trope to the level of art form. Unfortunately, I can’t sit in a miscommunication for this long, and nearly dnf’d several times. Made it through, it was cute in the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Death
jcstokes95's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This worked out exactly how I wanted, as a cozy romance for the cold season and a fluffy book for the new year (though, for what it’s worth, it’s not winter until like 60 percent into the book, so if you’re looking for an all out Christmas classic, I’d look elsewhere.
Iris has come to New York hoping to experience the city through her mother’s eyes; plus, she’s running away from a nasty ex-boyfriend who did a number on her self-esteem after her mother’s passing. She comes with pieces of her mom’s life in the 80s, a picture of a lover and a secret gelato recipe. By accident, she worms her way into the family of her mother’s former fling, but circumstance means she’s got to keep the past quiet. Complication ensues.
I like that this romance had lots of plots going on but they all stayed close and neatly tied together in the end. The family of the love interest, Gio, is warm and welcoming but gets the right amount of time on page. I felt like the romance, family, and friendship elements were pretty well-balanced on page. I love Bobby; I appreciate a romance with a best friend character who is a cheerleader but not pushy.
I will say, their chemistry had to grow on me, and they don’t have the sort of banter or spark that would make this a top-tier romance for me personally (a la Ms. Henry) however, Gio is a nice guy and clearly passionate about the right things in life. The spiciness level, much like the gelato, is fairly vanilla. Not closed door, but not going to turn your cheeks pink (either cheeks, sorry, had to).
My biggest issues were that Santo, the supposed love of her mom’s life, comes off like a huge douchebag when he meets Iris. He seems more interested in protecting his own reputation than in Iris and his nephew/son’s happiness; this all flies in the face of the big talk about family throughout the book. I wish we could have seen this get more resolved, then it may have sat better for me. Also, some of the final scene comes off a little…super-villainy to me, but this is a romance, so I guess painting villains in broad strokes isn’t the worst thing. But the dialogue feels stilted because of it.
(Also, this is a personal peeve I discovered, but I hate descriptions of performances in books, I don’t know why. I love musicals in real life, but my brain has a strange ick factor when character’s sing. This is not the book’s fault, just a note to myself really).
Worth a listen (I do most romance on audiobook), and I would definitely pick up a seasonal book by this author again.
Iris has come to New York hoping to experience the city through her mother’s eyes; plus, she’s running away from a nasty ex-boyfriend who did a number on her self-esteem after her mother’s passing. She comes with pieces of her mom’s life in the 80s, a picture of a lover and a secret gelato recipe. By accident, she worms her way into the family of her mother’s former fling, but circumstance means she’s got to keep the past quiet. Complication ensues.
I like that this romance had lots of plots going on but they all stayed close and neatly tied together in the end. The family of the love interest, Gio, is warm and welcoming but gets the right amount of time on page. I felt like the romance, family, and friendship elements were pretty well-balanced on page. I love Bobby; I appreciate a romance with a best friend character who is a cheerleader but not pushy.
I will say, their chemistry had to grow on me, and they don’t have the sort of banter or spark that would make this a top-tier romance for me personally (a la Ms. Henry) however, Gio is a nice guy and clearly passionate about the right things in life. The spiciness level, much like the gelato, is fairly vanilla. Not closed door, but not going to turn your cheeks pink (either cheeks, sorry, had to).
My biggest issues were that Santo, the supposed love of her mom’s life, comes off like a huge douchebag when he meets Iris. He seems more interested in protecting his own reputation than in Iris and his nephew/son’s happiness; this all flies in the face of the big talk about family throughout the book. I wish we could have seen this get more resolved, then it may have sat better for me. Also, some of the final scene comes off a little…super-villainy to me, but this is a romance, so I guess painting villains in broad strokes isn’t the worst thing. But the dialogue feels stilted because of it.
(Also, this is a personal peeve I discovered, but I hate descriptions of performances in books, I don’t know why. I love musicals in real life, but my brain has a strange ick factor when character’s sing. This is not the book’s fault, just a note to myself really).
Worth a listen (I do most romance on audiobook), and I would definitely pick up a seasonal book by this author again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
mj_86's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer