keliterate 's review for:

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone

4.0

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Is this me finally defeating my reading slump? (Not fully out, please stay tuned)

There’s something rather deranged about reading a Christmas romance in the middle of a scorching summer that makes it the ultimate escapist reading session. While this book navigates different seasons, there is a certain holiday feel to it—which makes me eagerly count down the days until it becomes socially acceptable to countdown to Christmas (probably September).

I actually really loved the depth Emily gives her characters in this story. God, I sound like a broken record saying this, but the book is very much The Bolter in writing. Think—woman with abandonment issues who runs away from commitment & refuses to put down her roots because she’s distrustful of people. Then add the grumpiest yet lovably protective MC (with his own self-worth issues). What do you get? A match made in heaven. Oh—and the perfect book for anyone who doesn’t know what they’re doing with their life. Except with Christmas in July? It’s hard to explain.

If you resonate with any of those issues AND if you love traveling, I think you’re going to really like this one. I do think the romance felt a little rushed at first, and it was a bit undeveloped in a way that I couldn’t really justify the way they started. But! Emily’s writing is so good and chockful of “damn I felt that” statements; so much so that you and help but forgive the beginning for what it was. I’ve been seeing a lot of her books around the bookstores, and this was pretty much the affirming sign I needed to pick up her other books (which I heard were amazing!). Most of them are Christmas themed, but if that’s what it takes to pull me out of my reading slump, then so be it.