My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Loved seeing the vulnerable side of these characters and how they took risks for their relationship and grew in different areas.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This storyline was so cute for a rom-com and it was more like 4.5 stars for me! As I was reading I could definitely see the characters and places clearly in my head and imagine it making a really cute movie. It was fairly predictable, as most good romances are, but I really liked that I never knew what was coming next for the two main characters. I wouldn’t so much describe it as an enemies to lovers, since they started as only work acquaintances, but they both didn’t have the highest opinions of each other initially. If you like feel good romantic comedies, check this book out!

Loved this book! The male bisexual representation, the random winter amusement park in the middle of Florida, the social work aspect of foster care, all of it. This book can be read in any season, and it wouldn't be out of place. At first, I didn't understand why Asa was the way he was, but with the dual narratives of Asa and Lauren, it became fairly clear that it was just shy of the miscommunication trope...maybe closer to a bad first impression that continues through their relationship until they come to terms. Daniel, the man Lauren is desperate to go on a date with, was literally the worst, and a natural foil to Asa. I applaud Alicia Thompson's ability to create such a visceral feeling of loathing toward Daniel's character, without making him a villain. He's just some dude. I appreciated how Lauren's character dealt with her abandonment issues, and felt it was an accurate representation of how foster care works in most cases. I'd absolutely read this again.

I was excited to read a new to me author and this book didn't disappoint and is perfect to dive into on vacation or at home. A must if you love a story that is so seamless that you will finish the book in one sitting.

What will happen when two co-workers must work together to show their love of Cold World, the one place in Florida that screams holiday winter season all year long?

If you love your tropes, this has plenty: workplace romance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, grumpy/sunshine, and tackles sensitive subject content (please check trigger warnings). If you like your books to have a bit of heat, this has a bit of spice too!

From the delicious cover to the last page I found this story one that delves into family expectations, the ability to become who we are meant to be, and recognizing that sometimes who we desire isn't always what our heart needs most. Alicia Thompson has written a book that is layered with characters who will face challenges on their journey to find love, acceptance, and friendship.

Interesting concept, lovely characters.

Asa loves his job at Cold World. He is the “fun” guy to who keeps his co-workers laughing and makes sure no one cheats in secret santa. The one person who Asa just can’t seem to come to terms with is Lauren Fox in accounting. She is such a robot but whenever he teases her about that or about anything, she gets so riled up–which is kind of fun too.

Lauren grew up in foster care and never had a chance to connect with people. She enjoys her job at Cold World but she hasn’t really connected with the rest of the staff, that isn’t helped by the fact that Asa keeps calling her a robot and making her feel uncomfortable.

Asa and Lauren are calling into their bosses office and given a special project, they are supposed to come up with something new and exciting to entice more guests into Cold World. Lauren is certain that the “winner” of the contest will receive a big promotion and refuses to work with Asa. That is until they accidentally get locked into the building after hours and they are forced to work through their mutual aggression until they realized they actually like each other. Their proposal starts to come together until they begin to wonder if this special project is about earning a promotion or keeping Cold World from going under.

THOUGHTS:
For me it was a little slow in the beginning as we begin to understanding Asa and Lauren and why they are so antagonistic towards each other. Once we understand why Lauren is so standoffish and why good-natured Asa seems so aggressive in his teasing toward Lauren, and once the characters open up to each other and we get past their hostility, the story absolutely picks up.

My only negative is that when Asa and Lauren are stuck together and forced to deal with their animosity, we go from “why do you hate me” to awkward sexual situation really quick and I certainly wasn’t ready to switch gears so quickly.

As far as world building, Cold World is an interest place to find in the middle of Florida and while it is no Disney World, it certainly has interesting potential. Someone should look into that.

This was certainly an enjoyable story once things picked up.

With Love, from Cold World is a fun and cute romance that also handles some heavier topics (might wanna check the CWs). With a workplace competition a la The Hating Game, this found-family, grumpy-sunshine, enemies to lovers romance is hard to put down and will leave you with a smile.

While it’s not really a holiday romance, it does mostly take place close to and around Christmas and it’s set in a winter wonderland attraction in Florida, so could make a great holiday or winter read.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and found it really difficult to put down. The romance is delicate and beautiful. The characters have depth and growth, and are also relatable and likable. There was nothing here that I didn’t find authentic. From their personal journeys to the development of their relationship, it all felt really genuine.

The book has two main characters that are shaped by their pasts. Processing their childhood trauma is at times as much of the story as their romance.

Lauren is all about rules, lists, and her career. She's learned it's best to keep people at a distance. It was beautiful watching Lauren start to bend some of her rules and open up to others, but still not lose what makes her her.

Asa’s priority is friends and enjoying life. He’s genuine, caring, funny and brings out the best (and at times worst) parts of Lauren. I appreciated that he wasn’t a generic romance MMC, he’s bi, has blue hair and minimal ambition. He’s content with what he has and doesn’t really want anything to change.

I was rooting for these two from the first moment, they’re adorable, they have great banter and it gets spicy too!

Their trauma is handled beautifully, there are a few scenes that made me wanna give these characters a hug for their heart break, or applaud them for how they stood up for each other.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!

If you are ready for all the cozy vibes the fall/winter holidays bring, this is the perfect read for you! After reading this I just feel so warm and cozy. I mean who doesn't want to read a cozy romance while drinking their favorite hot drink? I know I do! The story takes place in a winter theme park in Florida, Cold World. This is where our main characters Lauren Fox & Asa Williamson work. Yes guys! This is a workplace romance.. *internally screams* and it has a reverse grumpy x sunshine trope going on. I honestly fell in love with both characters and love seeing both of them evolve throughout the story. I love how the author wrote Asa and the fact that he is Bi. I think his back story and how he deals with his past just elevated this book for me. The pace of the book was perfect for me and it was just an enjoyable read overall.

This was incredible!

It was slow to start but after about 20% I was 100% hooked.

We start off understanding both Asa and Lauren, who they are as people and why they would not work together. They both work at Cold World, a place where all of your Winterland dreams come true. Asa is more engaging, outgoing, and friendly, whereas Lauren is the opposite, uptight, reserved and type a. They both have their own unfortunate history that makes them who they are.

Asa and Lauren knew each other for a while, but they never KNEW each other until now.

This was a great read and I 100% RECOMMEND!

I only request ARCs of books that I am seriously interested in reading, so if I get one I just jump in blindly without rereading any summaries. So I was very pleased to start this one and discover it was a romance, and set during Christmastime no less! Workplace romance, complete opposites, kind of enemies at the start. A fun read.

With Love, from Cold World is another quirky and sweet offering from Alicia Thompson.

I absolutely loved Alicia’s first adult novel, Love in the Time of Serial Killers so I knew I had to get my hands on this book. I’m so glad I did! With Love, from Cold World is everything I wanted it to be and more.

Once again Alicia has crafted incredible characters full of depth and interest. We meet Lauren. Buttoned up, cardigan-ed up Lauren. She loves organized to-do lists and numbers that fall into neat rows. She doesn’t know what to say around people sometimes, so she can come off as cold or even rude. But she’s really not. Growing up a foster child, she’s learned that people leave, and she’s just protecting herself by not getting too close to anyone. Cleaning out her closet is her idea of a great weekend, but she secretly longs for more.

And then there is Asa. Easy-going, friendly with everyone Asa. He makes social interactions look easy. A 10 year veteran of Cold World, he doesn’t seem to take anything too seriously, including his job. But there is more than meets the eye to Asa. Caring and sweet, he has a good group of found family in his roommates and we get to watch as he slowly brings Lauren out of her shell and breaks down her barriers. In turn, she helps him deal with unresolved past trauma.

The chemistry between Lauren and Asa is wonderful. It starts off with them being rivals that jab at each other and slowly morphs into something much sweeter. I love those moments in an “enemies to lovers” book when the characters are obviously attracted to each other, but can’t yet be honest with themselves about their feelings. We get a lot of these delicious moments in this book and I’m here for it.

Both Lauren and Asa are dealing with some pretty big traumas and just like in her first book, I’m blown away by how well Alicia handles these issues with sensitivity and care. The foster care system is discussed with such thoughtfulness. I liked how Alicia incorporated perspectives from both sides of the issue. Rejection by family for living your truth also features prominently in this book and as a reader, it is heart wrenching to take in. Again though, it is balanced with a wonderful found family. One of things I appreciate most about this book is that although we see growth in both characters, not everything gets wrapped up in a neat bow by the end and neither character “solves” anything for the other. I like how they supported each other and assisted, while letting the other person walk their own journey. These are huge traumas that take years to overcome, so I was glad to see an acknowledgement of that here. It felt much more realistic to me.

With Love, from Cold World has cemented Alicia Thompson as an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you, Berkeley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Normally enemies-to-lovers doesn't quite work because the love interests are never really enemies. You can always tell that immediately they are actually pining for each other - or the author just skips right over the enemies and makes them lovers after a few heated arguments. But this one gets it right.

Although Asa and Lauren aren't quite enemies. Yes, they don't get along. They miscommunicate in a realistic way. They are obviously two people who are both healing with adolescent trauma and dealing with that in different ways. Lauren, who was in foster care and lost her mother to drug use, deals with it by being a buttoned-up rule follower. She takes thing seriously. Asa, who was thrown out of his parents house because he is bisexual, deals in humor and tries to hide his seriousness with a faux happy-go-lucky attitude. So obviously, they misunderstand each other. When Asa plays pranks on Lauren (his way of getting to know her), she gets mad. When Lauren suggests cutting secret Santa (her way of helping and being practical) to help save the company money, Asa resents her.

But there always feels like there is a respect there. Which, as they get to know each other grows into friendship and then more.

Yes, the love part comes a little quickly. And before the third act (or more like last 20 pages) breakup and makeup, the couple is only together a week. And the ending is a bit rushed.

But I still felt the chemistry between them and Thompson is definitely exploring adolescence and trauma and how adults can heal from it and how adults can find families that understand and love them.

My favorite romances are ones that mix together the romance with real life issues and topics that the love interests try to overcome - and this delivered that.

Out now! [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC to review!]

Rating: 5/5 stars

Lauren and Asa are coworkers who have never gotten along—but when they’re thrown together for a work project to save their employer Cold World, things might just begin to heat up.

Alicia Thompson has written a masterpiece with this one! I intended to read this ARC months ago when I was first approved, but life happened and it got delayed, and honestly—I’m glad it did. Not only does this have the perfect Christmas-in-July vibes for this exact time of year, reading it now also means I don’t have to wait too long before everyone else can go snag a copy! And believe me, you should snag a copy.

The setting of this one—a snow-themed amusement attraction in Orlando, Florida—is absolutely wonderful, and I found myself instantly getting pulled into the story as a result. But it is the characters that really make this one special—I found myself absolutely enamored of Asa and relating too hard to Lauren, and I just want to give them both a hug. Alicia also handles deep topics (including foster care, parental abandonment, and more) with such care, and the realistic portrayals of these issues and how they influenced and affected the characters made the story feel all the more meaningful.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: somewhat character-driven romance; Christmas in July; boys with blue hair and tattoos (yes this is very specific)

CW: Biphobia/homophobia/bigotry (incl. from loved ones); foster care; loss of parent/abandonment by parents; mentions of drug addiction; brief scene of verbal sexual harassment

Fabulous cover, but the book is bland and disconnected. Very little happens with the plot, and the romance lacks chemistry and investment.

Lauren and Asa are both trapped in their limited impressions of each other. Lauren seemed naive, especially about Daniel (which was an endless, but meaningless, plotline). Asa was frustratingly aimless. They flip to being into each other with no explanation or development. The sex scenes were so quick and basic that fade-to-black may have been better. And then a third-act breakup!

The found family aspect was the only highlight here.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

I love a good grumpy-sunshine storyline! Lauren and Asa both work at Cold World, a place where people can get hot chocolate and go ice skating (and other winter activities) to escape the heat of Florida for awhile. But sadly, it can’t compete with bigger theme parks in the area.

The two started off on the wrong foot years ago, but are now tasked with coming up with ideas to help Cold World be more successful. They need to work through their issues with each other to finally get along and help Cold World.

The secondary characters are really a found family for both characters, which is another trope I love. Even if your own family kind of sucks… you can find friends who step in and provide the support and love you need.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review. With Love from Cold War is out now!

This book to me by surprise in the best possible way. I wasn’t expecting to love them as much as I did but god, Asa and Lauren have my entire heart. Their banter is so funny. I love their tension. Their backgrounds made my heart ache. They both dealt with so much and I love that they found each other. This book made me kick my feet and giggle and also clutch my broken heart. I will be thinking aboht them for a long long time. The only thing I didn’t love was there was a plotline where Lauren becomes a mentor/advocate for a kid in foster care and that storyline felt very underdeveloped and like an afterthought. But other than that I loved this book and them so so sooo much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

A cute romance with great bi representation and themes that sensitively touch upon foster care and belonging. Quick and easy read, esp for anyone who likes “enemies” to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, and found family.

Thank you NetGalley, Alicia Thompson, and Berkeley for a free copy of With Love, From Cold World (just published on August 1st!) in exchange for an honest review.


For 2023, I’ll be using this rating scale:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I mourned the ending of this journey 🥹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyed and would recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was fine
⭐️⭐️ I didn’t enjoy this journey
⭐️ I dnf’d or wish I’d dnf’d
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ this is smutty smutty erotica 🥵
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ medium burn
🌶️🌶️🌶️ slow burn
🌶️🌶️ romantic b plot / closed door / YA romance
🌶️ no romance / nonfiction

The title alone! The setting! I adored this romance so much, a rare bi m/f story that hit all the right beats for a holiday romance. A down-on-its-luck winter theme park, a rivalry, a plot to save. Loved it!

Where do I even begin? I was so pleasantly surprised with this book. It’s a slow slow burn with the perfect intimate moments to satiate you. It’s more than a romance and hits on being a child of the foster care system, religious intolerance to sexuality, and more. There was something about this book that made it incredibly difficult to put down. I was rooting for Asa and Lauren, both individually and separate. I loved them so so much. Ugh I could go on and on about how much I loved this one.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

CWs in the book and on Storygraph.

This book is definitely perfect for those who are looking for a little treat to beat the heat. Although, I can’t say things don’t heat up in Cold World. This was my first read by Alicia and though at times I found the story to be slow moving, I will definitely be reaching for future releases. This was a cute—at times emotional—bickering coworkers to rivals-but-not-really to friends to lovers story and whew I feel winded because that was a lot of words. I couldn’t fit this book into a neat little box if I tried. Asa is a bisexual goofball artist and Lauren is a lover of lists who definitely needs a heavy dose of fun. These two also both have some deep-rooted trauma to heal from as well and as they keep spending time together their walls slowly come down. It truly was a ride though because these two are hot and cold. Although the idea of a cold-themed world in a hot climate is deeply impractical, it felt like the author planted this bubble of magic for these two to find themselves in. I’m excited to see what Alicia comes up with next. Oh, and have you seen the cover?! I’m obsessed.

Super cute with a helping of real emotional issues. Someone else on here referred to this as a rom-com-traum and that definitely works. Cold World sounds dopey, but I stayed up late to finish the book because I was rooting for both the tourist attraction and Lauren & Asa.