Lexie finds out her dad left her half his company but she has to work with Theo.

Honestly I'm not sure what really happened in this book. Not a lot. I wasn't really invested in this. Characters were kind of forgettable.

I'm a huge fan of Emily Stone, but you have to be okay with an overall sad vibe of a story to really enjoy her writing. I always say that I love books that make me cry - it means that the author actually touched your heart. Did I actually cry in this book...no. But I still really enjoyed it.

Lexie's father passed away and left half of his holiday travel company to her. He left the author half of the company to one of his employees, Theo. I LOVED the tension between Theo and Lexie. I loved the turn of hated tension to sexual tension (but in a tasteful way). The scene in the hotel hallway where they kiss for the first time...so good! I do like steamy romance, so I would have loved for more steamy scenes. We get one chapter towards the end of the book in Theo point of view, and I would have loved more.

Lexie's family is very complicated. Her step-sister, Rachel, has tried multiple times to connect with Lexie, but Lexie won't give her the light of day. Lexie's mom is a very supportive mother. I loved Ange's character - the older secretary who knows what is best for everyone. The one character that I felt fell flat was Fran. She would pop up in parts of the story, and it would take me a moment to remember who she was.

The word "contentment" is used at the end of this book, and I think that is the perfect word to explain the feeling that you want Lexie to engulf. She has been constantly traveling for years. Never settling. Never putting down roots. Her abandonment issues from her father leaving her mother to start a new family is deep rooted. But she needed to find that sense of contentment within herself before she trusted herself to trust others.

Also, the whole concept of traveling the world through celebrations sounds amazing. This book made me want to travel to so many different countries, festivals, and holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for an advanced copy.

This is exactly what I look for in a Christmas feel good book! Lexie is a nomad of sorts, constantly on the move and living a no strings attached lifestyle. Over Christmas drinks with friends, she gets a phone call that her estranged father has passed away. She immediately flies home to her mom where she’s met with the knowledge that she’s acquired half her dad’s travel company in his will. The other owner, Theo, is abrasive and doesn’t truly want Lexie as his partner. Let the holiday hatred ensue. Over the course of a year they try to make the company work even though Lexie isn’t sure she even wants a steady career. This was pure enjoyment with some deeper moments to tug the heartstrings. I really Loved it. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I wanted to love this like Always in December, one of my favorite holiday reads. It was just entirely way too much workplace involved and not enough romance and holiday vibes. It was just ok for me.

The tropes are strong with this one and I'm here for it all!

To begin, this book deals with grief as the FMC, Lexie, learns that her estranged late father has left her half of his niche holiday travel company. As Lexie works through the stickiness of that situation, she also discovers that her business partner is Theo - her father's younger executive. As Lexie's father would have it, the two have to manage the company together for a year before deciding on the company's fate.

Watching as the grump and sunshine characters were forced to work together was beyond amusing an entertaining. What a fun book to usher in the winter and holiday seasons!

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

“A Winter Wish” is a charming, transportive romance perfect for the Christmas season. Lexie has been spending Christmas abroad for the past couple of years, it has been difficult being home with her mom, knowing her dad left them many years ago to start a new family. While living abroad as a nanny, she receives dreadful news about her estranged dad and that he left her partial ownership of his traveling company. And to add some fun, the other owner is a single, attractive guy - but they don’t get off on the best start. I loved the traveling aspect in this book, and the acclimation to the new work position. The romance was sweet and slow.. There is a lot packed into this book, and the pacing was really well done.

For those who enjoy:
🗺️ Traveling Abroad
🗺️ Workplace Romance
🗺️ Forced Proximity
🗺️ Christmas Romance
🗺️ Difficult Family Dynamics

TW: Death of a parent.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

After her estranged father dies, Lexie is stunned to discover she will inherit half ownership of his travel agency. The other half goes to Theo, a hot but grumpy employee at the agency. There’s a catch though – the will stipulates that Lexie and Theo must run the agency together for at least a year. Lexie is a bit of a wanderer who wants to sell as soon as the year is up, and of course Theo wants to keep the agency that provides his livelihood. But as the year goes on, Lexie starts to see the appeal of the company and finds herself warming to Theo as well.

This opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers workplace romance is a slow burn that’s a little light on chemistry, but the banter between Lexie and Theo is a lot of fun, especially during their enemy era. Emily Stone’s holiday novels are filled with complex, emotional issues, so it’s no surprise that in addition to romance, A Winter Wish tackles grief, family trauma, forgiveness, and personal growth. This book doesn’t feel particularly Christmassy (although I did love the idea of the wish jar), so you could easily read it any time during the year!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This did not feel like an Emily Stone novel but it was fine. I was expecting something more at the end but it kind of fell flat. I never really understood why these characters were getting together when the only thing they liked about each other were their looks.

I've been an Emily Stone for years now and she always pulls at the heartstrings while keeping it festive and Winter Wish is another hit for me.

Lexie is a modern day nomad. Experiencing countries and all life has to offer, yet never feeling quite fulfilled. Her wish jar goes everywhere with her but have any of them come true? Until she receives a call her estranged Dad who owns a travel company passes away. The slogan "See the world through celebration" named R&L for her and her half sister is left to her and the surly but handsome Theo.

I enjoyed the journey of the characters in the story and how we saw both Theo and Lexie's point of view.

In true Emily Stone fashion I had a good cry at the end.

"Her dad had made her last wish, a wish that felt like it might be the most important one ever, come true"

Emily Stone is an auto-read holiday book author for me. They aren't your typical Hallmark style holiday romances but normally deal with harder topics such as grief, loneliness, acceptance and this book was no exception. It was a good story however, it was a slower pace than some of Emily's other books. I enjoyed the FMC's journey of grief, forgiveness and self-acceptance but it was a little bit of a drag getting through the first half of the book. I would still recommend it to folks who've read and enjoyed Emily's other holiday romances!

4 Stars
I really enjoyed this one. I think anyone with an absentee parent could really relate to the FMC. This book deals with a lot of emotions and grief that comes along with the death of an absentee parent. This was done really well and was hard to put down. It had just the right amount of holiday inspiration to lift the spirits. Not your typical holiday rom-com.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book

My first holiday read of the season and I loved it! I read Love, Holly last year and it was fantastic so I was really looking forward to this one! Between the emotional storyline and beautiful settings, I was completely enamored with this book! Highly recommend if you enjoy heartwarming, poignant holiday reads! I alternated between the digital and audio formats and enjoyed both! 4.5⭐️

Loved the travel agency aspect and dang near everything about Theo. I also related so much to Lexie and her feelings surrounding divorce/her dad. The third act conflict had me rolling my eyes a bit, and I found myself wishing that this was a tad more holiday focused. But you know what they say about judging books by their cover…

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Lexie is coming to terms with her feelings when her absent father passes away and leaves her half of the company. He also unexpectedly left it to one of his executives, Theo who hates Lexie right from the get go. The terms for Lexie's dad will was that Lexie and Theo can to co-run the travel company for a year before deciding if they should sell. The problem is Lexie can't stay in one place at one time so can she buckle down and run this company with Theo? Or are their differences too big that can't fulfill Lexie's fathers dying wishes.

I really enjoyed A Winter Wish as a fast holiday book that put me in the mood for traveling and Christmas which was exactly what I needed. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC would love to read Emily Stone other books!

Emily Stone’s books never disappoint me! I loved this one like I have loved her previous books! Lexie kind of got on my nerves at first, but as we learned more about why she acted the way she did, she grew on me. I loved Theo from the beginning though. So happy with their ending! I also love that Lexie and Rachel got close in the end, it was neither of their faults for the way their dad was.

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. I am usually a big fan of Emily Stone's books and have given great ratings to her in the past, but this one just fell a little short for me. I was not invested in the characters or storyline and didn't find myself getting immersed in the book like I usually do.

I will definitely be keeping an eyes out for her future books since Emily is usually a go to for me around the holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an opportunity to read this book!

...DNF at 54%. I was just so bored. This was not for me - the characters just felt flat to me and there just wasn't anything keeping my attention.

I liked this story a lot. Emily Stone has a nice writing style that just pulls you into the story! Her books have an emotional tone that I really enjoy. I definitely recommend the physical copy not the audio!

Lexi is basically a nomad. She doesn't have a "home base" but takes on jobs that allow her to travel. Lexi is dumbfounded when her father leaves her half of his travel company when he unexpectedly passes away. He left the other half of the company to his second man, Theo, but Lexi finds Theo to be unsufferable. Her father's wishes are for Lexi and Theo to run the company together for the first year. Lexi balks at this for she has not spoken to he father in years and has no interest in his company. Her father left his house to Lexi's half-sister, Rachel, which leads to more confusion on Lexi's part; A Winter Wish has many layers of complications which kept me reading to find out was going to happen and how Lexi chooses to handle matters. These layers also add more depth to book without just being sugary and sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to review and read the ARC of A Winter Wish.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This took me A WHOLE WEEK to read! What the?? 😆 It just didn't hold my interest and wasn't very exciting as far as Christmas romances go. The concept of a celebration travel agency was SO cute and such a missed 5 star opportunity. Wanted to love it, but my only feeling was - meh. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it!