Get ready to fall in love with Cold World and wish you could visit this winter wonderland!

Lauren Fox is the strait laced, type A bookkeeper at Cold World, a wintery attraction in sunny Florida. She gets along with most of her colleagues except for Asa Williamson, the laid back employee who has worked at Cold World for years and sees it as a kind of second home. The two are asked by the owner to present ideas of how to keep Cold World fresh and start bringing in more business, and what starts as a competition slowly shifts as they spend more time together and sparks begin to ignite.

I adored both of the main characters. They are complete opposites at first, with each having qualities the other admires. Lauren wishes she could be more adventurous, and I laughed so hard when “Fun Lauren” came out at the holiday party. Asa is completely endearing. His pastor father was unaccepting of his coming out as bisexual, and he has not seen his family in years. His roommates are his found family, and the moments showing their friendship and connection were special to read. The characters both try to do some good in the world, stemming from negative things that happened in their pasts. I wanted happiness for each of them, and loved that their happiness also came with killer chemistry!

Cold World was such a fun setting, and I loved the contradiction of this cold, snowy place being in hot and humid Florida. A place like that would definitely draw in visitors in the winter months, and I loved the descriptions of the various attractions and future plans.

I really enjoyed Thompson’s writing style and the overall tone of the book. I typically don’t love a third person POV and have trouble connecting to it, but found that the author was skilled at giving me enough of the characters and their emotions that I wasn’t bothered by the POV at all. The dialogue was realistic, the conflicts felt authentic, and I loved the strong character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lauren and Asa are both employees at the same small time tourist destination. While she is all formality and structure, he is all fun and games. When the owner asks them to brainstorm ways to revive the once beloved park, they are forced to at least be near each other, if not work together. But then again, maybe they don’t hate being around each other after all..

When I saw this gorgeous cover on a workplace, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, with inclusivity.. I knew I needed to read it. And while there were plenty of parts that I did enjoy, the parts that I struggled with really fogged up the rest. I feel like there needs to be fantastic evidence in the writing for me to connect with characters when written in third person. At times I felt that was present here but overall I struggled with it. I loved the idea of it all but the execution was hard for me. And the pacing of their relationship felt off. All of that being said, I did enjoy the read for the most part and it was a quickie.

3/5

Whether you picked up this book because of the author, the concept, or even the cover, what lies inside With Love, From Cold World might surprise you. This book follows Lauren who works at Cold World in the front office, doing the books and she’s your typical Type-A personality.

Of course, she doesn’t mesh with Asa, the attraction’s long-time employee yet things quickly develop between the two. Maybe it’s because of them being paired up for a project together or her realizing that Asa isn’t so bad. Regardless, these two have a romance that would melt the snow in Cold World.

As great as the romance is, I feel like Lauren is one of those romance characters we can all relate to. She’s just trying to do her best and play with the hand she’s dealt while also trying to heal her inner child. Maybe it was just me, but I loved Lauren’s character and her growth throughout the novel.

As for Asa, he was just such a fun time and a rarity in the romance world as he’s bi. He had blue hair and a love for Cold World that almost usurped the owner. These two couldn’t have been more unlikely, but they ended up being such a force together that upon finishing this book, I wanted to go back and read it again.

Aside from the romance, Lauren and Asa have a lot of struggles. Lauren is trying to heal herself after being put in foster care and losing her mother. She even ends up being a mentor for Eddie who is in foster care due to his mother being in an abusive situation. Asa even ends up helping her to connect with Eddie, too.

Meanwhile, Asa is trying to connect with his sister while still struggling amidst his parents kicking him out for being bisexual. While the story might seem like a lot is going on, Alicia Thompson balances everything so well. Considering that it’s set amidst Christmas too, this is just a fun and wintery read that’ll thaw your frozen heart this summer.

My only small complaint about this book was that it felt like Lauren sort of got railroaded by Asa’s friends about her role in the third-act breakup. I just wish we could have seen Asa get a little bit too because that bothered me. Either way, this ended up being such a fun and engaging romance that I know I’ll be revisiting it this winter.

Thompson has done it again! I loved Love in the Time of Serial Killers, so I was thrilled when I saw her next title was coming out this summer. She continues to create believable characters in Asa and Lauren. Their rivals to lovers story is a fantastic read to pick up this summer!

I liked it even more than Love in the Time of Serial Killers! I wish there had been more closure on Asa’s relationship with his sister but I understand given the time frame of the plot why there wasn’t more there. Fun and charming workplace rivals to lovers with a good cast of secondary characters and a quirky setting!

This is quite possibly my favorite romance ever. Lauren does the books for Cold World, a cold weather-themed attraction in Florida, and Asa has worked there doing odd jobs for a decade. Both of them have backstories that have heavily impacted them, and what's so stunning about these two is how their experiences make them kinder, both of them taking the time to try and help others who were in similar situations. Despite both of our MCs being the best of people, they start off as rivals of sorts-- Asa calls Lauren robotic and unfeeling, and Lauren keeps suggesting they cancel Cold World's Christmas party, which Asa loves.

They're thrown together when their boss Delores asks them for help to revamp Cold World, and with a little time, they start to realize they aren't so at odds. This was such a perfect slow burn building to such a sweet love story that was as emotionally satisfying as it was visually described--I can imagine these two at Cold World so vividly, that's how amazing the writing is here.

I simply loved everything about this story. How our characters grew with each other's support, how their friends steered them with kindness, the way the author handled tough situations with care, the humor, the spice, a Bleachers reference--I'm going to reread this for Christmas, I've decided. And I highly suggest you read it before then! All my stars!

They’re work rivals, polar opposites, and working against each other in a competition to make the best work proposal... yet the more time they actually spend together the more they’re starting to realize they might have not known each other as well as they thought and that love might just be brewing in this Cold World. Lauren Fox and Asa Williamson both work at Cold World, a winter wonderland tourist place in Florida. Cold World’s business has been declining and as Cold World’s main bookkeeper, Lauren has definitely noticed the lack of business. Lauren wants to help Cold World but she also wants to keep to herself and she strongly dislikes Christmas. Asa has worked at Cold World for a long time, he’s kind of involved in everything and absolutely adores Christmas. After a bit of an awkward run in at a party, both Asa and Lauren have kind of had it out for each other. Lauren thinks that all Asa cares about is having fun while Asa thinks Lauren is so uptight and a bit of a wet blanket. Both of them don’t really get along but when the owner of Cold World gives them the opportunity to come up with a business proposal to change Cold World this might be the chance for a promotion or something else for either of them. This competition has both Asa and Lauren actually talking to each other for once, actually spending time and getting to know each other and realizing that they never really knew each other... and that the more time they spend together the more they might be falling for each other in this winter theme park.... yet both of them have their own pasts and hurts that make it hard for them to open up... are they willing to risk it all for love? Lauren was a child of foster care, she had a rough childhood and is a bit of a loner, she’s afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, of being rejected. Asa grew up in a religious household that kicked him out when his pastor father discovered him kissing another boy and when he came out as bi. Lauren and Asa both have to grow and open to each other if they want a relationship to work between them. If you like a theme park-esque themed romance about two opposite work rivals then give this a go. The romance is pretty light and instead it focuses on both character’s journey of growing and their work relationship expanding.

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I almost didn’t read this book, mainly because every time the cover popped up I read cold war instead of cold world and it kept throwing me off. Also, let’s be honest, it’s always chancy going into a book by a new-to-you author that also has a cutesy cover. I’m glad I finally picked it up, because not reading this lovely enemies to lovers, workplace romance would have been a tragedy. With Love, from Cold World might even end up being one of my favorite reads of the year.

Lauren Fox works for Cold World as a bookkeeper. She genuinely enjoys her job and the people she works with at the fun tourist destination. That is except for Asa Williamson. While Lauren is orderly and reserved, Asa tends to be open and friendly. They didn’t start out on the right foot with each other, and now Lauren can’t stand the way he constantly seems to be making fun of her. They verbally spar on a regular basis. When their boss tasks them with a project, during the holidays no less, it will either turn them into competitors or bring them together.

I really enjoyed this book, and while I thought I was going into a relatively light, comedic romance, I was once again surprised to find that this book contained deep subject matter and each of the main characters’ backstories was laden with trauma. But, it also has a cool workplace environment, secondary characters who are really more of a found family, and lots and lots of chemistry between the main characters. I also really appreciated that the author took extreme care in her approach to sexuality, dysfunctional families, anxiety, and foster care.

While this may be an enemies-to-lovers romance, there is never any real malice behind the bickering. More misunderstanding and preconceived notions. When they are trapped together overnight in Cold World, all of those misunderstands and preconceived notions come tumbling down. The two get to know each other, they talk, they play, and they get sexy. They are more alike than they are different- both of them reaching out to help others in ways they didn’t get in their childhoods. Lauren by working with a child in the foster care system and Asa by helping out on a LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline.

The romance between them blossoms into something quite lovely. There is even a scene when Lauren confronts Asa’s (terrible) parents, that gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. The HEA was just about perfect and now I’m kind of hoping we see more of the secondary characters in later books. Maybe they’ll get their own HEAs.

Grade- B+

Content notes- Involuntary outing of a character, foster care, off-page parental drug addiction, off-page mentions of death by overdose, and religious intolerance to sexuality

This was a sweet romance featuring great characters with interesting back stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

I liked but had some issues with Love in the Time of Serial Killers, so I almost gave this one a pass. I am so glad I didn't! With Love, from Cold World was basically perfect. I related to both Lauren and Asa and I loved the trajectory of their relationship, even when they were both getting in their own way and making a mess of things. This one is going on my keeper shelf.

The theme of hot and cold is shockingly woven through the book from the FMC and her profession to the grumpy/sunshine trope.

This book had a chokehold on me and I am unsure how I am supposed to move on after reading this one. The book hangover struggle is real with this one!

Read this for:
- Enemies to lovers
- Co-workers forced to work together
- Opposites attract
- Workplace
- Forced proximity
- Late night lock ins
- Found family
- Bi representation
- Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero
- Two characters who have been through the trauma and come out on the other side
- Hilarious pop culture references

First, the setting was hilarious. A park that provides winter fun in the hottest place we know, Florida. That made it unique already, and off to a funny start. Then there's Lauren and Asa, co-workers who are complete opposites and start off on severe enemy territory. They are both asked to come up with a plan to help push Cold World forward and bring more visitors to the park. Through this workplace forced proximity, they find that they start to get to know one another. They actually like one another and have a lot of chemistry and attraction.

I loved how Asa understood Lauren and was patient with her seeing how her traumas caused her to need time to trust someone. I also adored how Lauren stepped up for Asa and took on his family in the sweetest guard dog type of way.

Lauren lived such an isolated life before she started to crack open with Asa. From her past you understood why, but it really made my heart so happy to see how she began to realize she deserved to be loved and have relationships. It also was wonderful to see Asa move forward in his life and find his path when he had felt so stuck because it felt safe to him. Also, the chemistry they had was on fire. Their intimacy with one another was perfect for them as a couple.

I literally just want to take Lauren and Asa and put them in a bubble because they are so precious and should be protected at all costs and deserve nothing but happiness! These two had each been through so much, but finding one another opened them up to the love they each deserved.

After finishing, I'm craving so much more. I hope we get some bonus content. I already would LOVE if we got John's story because he seems amazing. Kiki's would be great. Who am I kidding? I want all the roommate's stories so I hope this continues and Alicia graces us with the perfection we need in our lives.

Thank to you Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Enemies to lovers with so much more!

Lauren is very by the book, a numeric organizer, only child, quirky bookkeeper whom doesn’t have many friends and has been working at Cold World, a winter themed attraction, for 2 years. She was abandoned at a young age and had to go through foster care, making her want to make an impact in foster kids now as an adult.

Her co worker, Asa, is a blue-haired tatted social butterfly, whom was kicked out of his house as a teenager for being bisexual. Lives with 3 housemates and has been working at Cold World for 10 years. He’s a jokester whom loves flavored K-Cups, is an artist and is obsessed with Christmas.

Dolores, Cold World’s owner, has selected Lauren, Asa, and her son Daniel, to make a presentation on how to make Cold World better and attract more public. They must work with each other and discuss ideas for the final project.

I have to say, I wasn’t loving Lauren and Asa in the beginning. I wasn’t really a fan of either character. Specially Asa’s. Slowly but surely, my perspective completely changed, just as he changed Lauren’s as well. They have off the charts chemistry and definitely bring the best in each other.

This book is fun, heartfelt, sexy and I feel it did a great job with sensitive approach on sexual orientation, abandonment, social anxiety, dis functional families, foster care, finding and accepting yourself.

Thank you Alicia Thompson for writing this story. I did love it more than Love in The Times of Serial Killers.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

With Love, from Cold World is an addicting romance that should be on everyone's TBR!

Lauren Fox is the consummate professional at work. She takes her job seriously and she goes home. Asa is determined to have fun with everything he does-- if he can't enjoy it, what's the point? Unsurprisingly, these two have butted heads in the two years they've been co-workers at Cold World-- a snow and ice themed amusement park in steamy Florida. He pranks her, and she is always armed with a snarky response.

Suddenly, these two find themselves embroiled in a competition to make the best plan for improving Cold World. Somewhere between going over budget sheets and accidentally getting locked inside they realize that their feelings for each other are anything but cold. Each of them has a lot to be wary of in a new relationship, as they struggle to leave their past hurts behind.

I put off my responsibilities to read this book in one day. If that doesn't sell you on the book, here are a few of my favorite things: dual POV (!), Asa is ridiculous hot & I'm in love with him, found family trope, and there is so much chaos in the best possible way.

Out August 1st, thanks so much to Berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review :)

With Love, from Cold World is a book you'll want to add to your TBR list immediately!

Lauren is a bookkeeper for Orlando attraction Cold World. While the business could use more people coming in the doors, it is a fun place to work for everyone. Yet, Lauren may have her dreams held higher than just being a bookkeeper.

Asa has been working at Cold World for a long time. He's a lover of everything Christmas and adores Secret Santa. Once Dolores, the owner of Cold World, presents a task for Lauren, Asa and Dolores's son Daniel, all bets are off on who will bring out the best presentation. What he doesn't expect (and neither does Lauren) is for these "work enemies" to become instant friends.... and then something else.

I could not put down "With Love, From Cold World" and found myself instantly hooked into Alicia Thompson's world. The characterizations of Asa and Lauren were spot on and left me rooting for both characters to find their "happy". Readers will follow these journeys through dual points of view, which flow evenly throughouot the pages. By the end of the book, I wanted to cheer and give everyone involved a big hug.

While this book does deal with abandonment, foster care, LGBTQ+ sensitive issues, Alicia handled it well and added an author's note at the beginning.

Such a fun, charming rom-com from author Alicia Thompson!

Lauren and Asa are co-workers with opposite personalities, but they have fantastic chemistry and come together in a really sweet way. I like that their teasing and arguments before they get together are never really mean, and once they are together they are so warm and supportive of each other.

They both are adults dealing with past traumas, and the book addresses that well, though I wish they had both started therapy at some point. But overall their communication skills are good and they work well together. The third act break-up seemed a bit much, but I understood why they were triggered by their argument with each other.

With Love, from Cold World was a fun read!

I’m shocked to say this, but I’m DNFing at 20%. This was such an anticipated read for me. However, by 20% the romance is still almost nonexistent. I also was confused until about 15% if the romance was supposed to be with Asa or Daniel??? The story isn’t holding my attention and while I love the concept of Cold World, I think in reality it makes the book read kind of YA/juvenile since it’s a place for kids and families. I’m so sad to DNF this but am bored and uninterested. Thanks anyway for the ARC!!

Truly better than her first book, which I also loved. I loved that the male interest was bisexual, I loved the use of found families and trauma and the fun location of Cold Town. The love story was delightful and believable. Funny, charming, and heartwarming.

Fans of enemies-to-lovers, workplace romances won't want to miss With Love, from Cold World! I devoured this one! It has so many amazing elements that I think will resonate with readers everywhere so I hope that all romance fans will give this one a try!

I loved this book SO MUCH!!! If Alicia hadn’t already been an auto buy author for me after Love In The Tome Of Serial Killers, this book would have sealed the deal. 👏👏 I just love Asa and Lauren so much 🥹 My beautiful broken babies, I want to hug them both so tight. There was a story of healing and growth and watching them learn how to love not only each other but themselves.

It was a story that handled very heavy topics with such love and care. The foster system, homophobia (specifically biphobia), and toxic families, and anxiety. Learning how to have grace for yourself and other people. Knowing when it’s time to forgive people for past wrongs, and also when it’s time to cut toxic people out of your lives.

Not to mention their chemistry was just SO GOOD! They had me equal measures laughing and fanning myself. 🥵 Also deserving of a mention is Bi rep where the Bi character is a man who ends up with a woman! I feel like the only time I see bi rep it’s sapphic, achillean, or a bi woman with a straight man. Plus the entire queer found family just felt like the biggest, warmest hug 💙

This is the perfect winter read, but also just perfect anytime of year. I cannot wait for the rest of you all to fall in love with them as well!!