DNF @ 35%

Turns out I cannot care enough about a book based on LYING about a secret gelato recipe when it's not even an interesting gelato flavor. It's freaking vanilla gelato.

New York is one of the most festive cities in the world during Christmas and is the perfect choice for the backdrop to Josie Silver's A Winter in New York. When Iris makes her way to NYC from the UK, escaping both a bad relationship and the untimely death of her mother she forges relationships with the owners of her apartment and the restaurant where she serves popular noodle dishes. A talented chef, she is slowly emerging from the safe space she has created for herself and exploring the city. A chance encounter with a gelateria during a popular Italian festival sets off a chain of events forever changing many lives. Iris recognizes the gelateria from pictures her mother saved and discovers that her mother holds the secret to the famous family recipe. Working with widowed father Gio she tries to help him discover it for himself-hesitant to betray her mother and Gio's family. With the holidays approaching Iris has to make a decision that could break her heart-or everyone else’s. This heartwarming novel is not to be missed.

This book was such a disappointment for me and I am sad to say I DNF at around 20%. I just couldn't get into the premise of the secret gelato recipe.

Iris moved to New York to escape and has built a quiet life as a noodle chef in a restaurant owned by newfound friend, Bobby. Everything begins to change when Bobby takes her to an annual festival in Little Italy where she sees a door that she recognizes from a photo her mother left her. Walking inside, she meets Gio, the man who runs the gelateria where the special gelato Iris grew up eating originated. The catch? Only two people in the world are supposed to have the recipe- one, Santo, is in a coma, and the other is Felipe, Gio's father. So how did Iris end up with it in her late mother's scrapbook?

This novel is beautifully written. Josie Silver has a way of creating characters that feel so real. This book is an homage to the rom coms I love, but isn't gimmicky or shallow. Instead, I get lost in her descriptions of the little neighborhood Iris lives in and how she views life. I absolulely fell in love with this story about a woman who feels all alone in the world the connections she creates with the Belloti family, from gorgeous Gio to spunky Sophia to matriarch Maria. This book is utterly magical!

Good palate cleanser after a long involved literary fiction book. Held my interest and I always love stories in NYC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was such a great book! It was heartwarming and funny at the same time. The perfect blend of love and loss, and family relationships. The New York City setting is always a favorite of mine. Josie Silver is a favorite of mine and her latest book doesn’t disappoint. Highly recommend to others. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Iris is in New York to follow in her mother’s footsteps and find her way out of a toxic relationship but along the way discovers the family she has unknowingly had a connection to her entire lifetime. A delightful romcom that pulls in the spirit of family and the magic of the holidays in New York City.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley- thank you!

I went back and forth on this read a bit. I loved the family aspect, but it was very slow at times. The ending fell a little flat for me, and I wish it went in a bit of a different direction. Overall, it was still a good read, though.

Another great read from Josie Silver! Chef Iris moves to New York to escape an abusive relationship in London. She grew up with only her mother for family and was quite lost after she died. Her mother left her a secret gelato recipe and when Iris arrives in New York she finds the source (a family gelateria, owned by the man, Silvio, her mother fell briefly but deeply in love with) and discovers they have lost the recipe. She cannot betray her mother’s secret, but she starts to work with Gio, Silvio’s handsome, widowed nephew who is running the shop while Silvio recovers from a stroke. Iris and Gio start to fall in love but Iris has not revealed about her past relationship, that she has the recipe, or her connection to the family. Their romance is charming and the reader will be as wooed by Gio as Iris is!
Iris and Gio are easy to love, but the secrets that eat at Iris are will eat at the reader too! An enjoyable read that has you rooting for Iris and Gio despite their obstacles (and a desire to shake Iris and tell her to ‘just tell him everything!’

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this one. I kept finding myself wanting to put it down and move on to a different book. The characters weren't as lovable as I wanted.

Not my favorite Josie Silver book. I couldn't really get into the story and didn't really love the characters or root for them.

First thank you to random house and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Iris leaves an abusive relationship in London. She moves across the pond to New York where her mother spent time. She finds a job and home next to little Italy and spends her days working and at home. She ventures out to little Italy and discovers her mother had a special connection to this geleteria and the family that owns it.

What I liked: This book was great at surface level. I love New York at Christmas time. This story went beyond the typical tourist spots and into the neighborhoods which gave you the cozy vibes that a holiday romance should have. I really enjoy the romance between gio and iris especially the neighborhood dates. I would have liked more depth to the background story to understand more of the context behind their actions. I struggled sometimes with her actions not knowing why.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads! I wanted to like this one, but I didn’t totally love it. Iris just seemed really dramatic for no reason and not the smartest 😅 she made some really dumb decisions that I just could not get on board with. It also seemed like there were just too many different things going on, and it was all resolved within the last five pages. I did like the flashbacks to the mom’s perspective, and I loved Gio and his family 🥹 but Iris irritated me so much I couldn’t love the story. The side characters were the best part! All in all, this was a good wintry read, but not my fave.

Iris and Gio make a wonderful couple. I was caught up in their story from the first chapters. I have recommended this book to readers who want an enjoyable holiday story with a touch of romance, family history, and a happy ending. (However, this is not just focused on the holidays - it could be enjoyable any time of year - I would rather label it a "winter book" instead of a "holiday book") I look forward to Josie Silver's next book! I hope she continues writing engaging winter/holiday stories.

A secret family gelato recipe in New York goes missing, and Iris, a British woman, who mysteriously has the recipe, is their only hope. Josie Silver does a wonderful job as always intertwining romance with personal growth. The chemistry between Iris and Geo was OFF THE CHARTS, and the cozy, winter in New York vibes were immaculate.

This is definitely one of the better books I have read by this author! It was easy to relate to the character having made a less than desirable life choice when going through the loss of a loved one, but then managing to turn that negative into something more positive while still being able to feel close to their lost loved one. Great descriptions of the scenery in New York and good character development. It would have been nice to have a little more information on the abusive relationship, but I am also happy the book was not completely centered around that, so kudos to the author! Definitely a recommend to other readers! #AWinterinNewYork #NetGalley

4.5 stars. It's so incredibly close to 5 that I find myself wanting to round up but there are enough things keeping me from rounding it up that I won't. But After I sit with it a while I may come back and round up because this book was THAT well written.

This was the first novel I had read by Josie Silver and it certainly won't be my last. Silver writes in such a beautifully descriptive way that it really makes you feel like you are in the place with the characters. I truly felt grabbed into this little gelatoria with this big Italian family. I found myself weeping throughout this book because of the immense sense of loss that Silver was able to portray that Iris has had to deal with, from her mother to leaving England, this poor girl. The way Silver writes is magic, that's the only way I can describe it.

The reason this was only a 4.5 star read for me and not a solid 5 star was because of the miscommunication plot, or rather, lack of communication. I hate when characters keep a secret, one they know is going to blow up in their faces in the end, that they know will have to come out eventually, yet they choose still not to share this big secret. It's my least favorite trope ever and I hate it. Maybe it's a me problem, but by golly communicating is so freaking easy. Just open your mouth and speak. And I will say the resolution worked better in this book than it has in others, Geo didn't cause the third act breakup, his "dad" did. So that's different than other novels, and him being chill about the big secret reveal also helped break up the normal icks with this trope. But it's still not my favorite, and still what's keeping me from rating this book 5 stars.

But I promise you, if the miscommunication trope isn't a deal breaker for you, READ THIS BOOK. It's so beautifully written, that step beyond well written. I'll be thinking about this book for a while.

the setting being in new york at christmas time and the italian vibes of the belotti family resonated hard core and i loved that but i couldn't get past the lying and miscommunication trope

many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Dell for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A Winter in New York is a fun romantic comedy about Iris. Iris is a chef that has relocated to New York from London following the death of her mother. Iris is also escaping an abusive relationship. One day Iris happens upon a gelato shop with mysterious ties to her mother and it is where she meets the handsome Gio.

This is a fun novel if you are a foodie, like Rom-Coms and love NYC at Christmas.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this fun book.

This book started off strong, but I quickly lost interest and couldn't wait for it to end. Thank you @netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this ebook!