A beautiful, heartwarming, yet complex story about family, love, and Christmas. I loved this book and can’t wait to reread it! Thank you for the advanced read!

Lexie and her father were close when she was a child. Until her parents divorced and her father seemed to forget about her. So she can't understand why he left her half his holiday travel company. The other half he left to her his executive assistant Theo. From the beginning, Lexie and Theo clashed Only the will stipulated they needed to run the company together for a year before any decisions could be made about its future. Lexie fully intends to walk away at the end of the year. Yet, the business speaks to her wanderer's soul. And a year is a really long time. Things can change.

Despite their constant confrontations, there was chemistry between Lexie and Theo from the start. Their developing relationship begins with a growing respect for each other's strengths and ideas. As the business takes them to a variety of romantic spots and share some spectacular sites the feelings slowly morph into something much more.

I have a growing sense of wanderlust, so one of the things I really enjoyed was the premise of the business. Reading this book was like taking several short jaunts to far off places. I would love to visit all of the cities that were mentioned in the book. How much fun visit hidden gems, to experience holiday events and learn new customs. I've made a list and someday I may just have the opportunity to cross them off.

This was a quietly encourage story of family, of self exploration and finding your place where you never thought to look.

I have loved Emily Stone’s previous holiday romances! They are always so emotional and really bring the holiday magic! So I was really excited to read her newest one! Though this one was good, it just didn’t have the same Emily Stone magic! It took me reading more than 50% of the book before I felt invested in the story. I thought the buildup was a bit slow and I never really connected to Lexie!

I did feel for Lexie and her and unresolved feelings relating to her parents divorce and subsequent damaged relationship with her father. I never fully appreciated her dislike of Theo and thought it felt very immature. She definitely needed some counseling to deal with her past. It felt like Theo and Lexie moved from enemies to lovers in a way that just didn’t feel natural to me. I think enemies to lovers is a hard trope to write well.

Overall, it’s an okay holiday romances. It just doesn’t quite live up to previous books from Emily Stone! I’ll still be fangirling for her though!

Emily Stone writes romances that take place with a more realistic timeline than many other romance authors. Rather than characters falling in love in the course of weeks, it is a more drawn out process, helping the reader find it more realistic.

Lexie travels the world doing odd jobs along the way. When her estranged father dies unexpectedly, she returns to the UK for his funeral. Then she discovers that she inherited half of his business along with the grumpy and judgy Theo. As they spend more and more time together, their animosity disappears and other feelings emerge.

The characters are well rounded with real life ups and downs. The story takes place over the course of a year and yet moves along at a brisk pace. The conflict makes sense with character development. An enjoying read!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, Dell, and Net Galley for the DRC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

There were some moments where I was really happy to see the characters set aside their assumptions about one another so they could advance their relationship. I found the premise of this book intriguing at first!
And while I enjoyed the premise of this book, I felt like the plot got caught up in itself and became too...involved in the details of running a business while grieving the loss of a parent and colleague, so there was less whimsy of a winter romance than I'd anticipated.

I'd recommend this book for people who enjoy a slow burn.

I’ve tried to read this one twice and it has pretty meh reviews online, I don’t think I’m going to finish, I really am not enjoyed the FMC or MMC energy at all.

Lexie hasn’t been close to her father since he left her mom for another woman, but now after his death and an unexpected inheritance Lexie feels like she’s finally getting to know him again whether she wants to or not. Her inheritance comes in the form of half ownership in the travel company her father had started and their are stipulations. Lexie must stay with the company for a year in order to get any of the proceeds if they sell, that doesn’t sound too hard except for the fact that her co-owner is someone Lexie has clashed with since they met. What they say about a fine line between love and hate might just prove to be true. As Lexie gets to know Theo, the chemistry and attraction between them is undeniable. Will Lexie be able to stay with the company for a year? If she does, what will happen between her and Theo?

I have been meaning to read this book for awhile and finally got around to it just in time for the holidays. The enemies to lovers trope intrigued me and I loved Theo from the beginning, but Lexie just didn’t do it for me. There was just something about her that I couldn’t connect with. The story was well put together and I enjoyed the different travel destinations in this book. I did find the middle of the book to be a bit slow for me, but I really loved the ending and the way everything came together over the last few chapters. Overall this was a decent holiday romance read, but I just couldn’t connect with Lexie the way I wished I could.

This book was perfect. I loved the characters. I loved the story. The book was lighthearted and fun, while also being serious and full of emotion.

Was this really a holiday romance? No, but it was a good workplace romance. Emily Stone knows how to work grief and family conflicts into her romances which gives the book a more serious feel. This one lacked a bit of a spark and I wasn’t that invested in the main characters. The ending was heart warming though.

I look forward to an Emily Stone holiday romance every year. And much like the others, this one delivers a gut punch, but it happens right at the beginning. I’d call this one enemies to lovers light - it’s really more of an “I don’t like you bc I don’t know you” to lovers. The first kiss had me swooning and my goodness does Stone know how to write sexual tension. She really knows how to drag it out in the best way. I also really liked the relationship that built between Lexie and her half sister, Rachel. While I did enjoy this one, it wasn’t my favorite of her holiday books. It’s written in third person, which I typically don’t mind. But for some reason I had a really hard time getting into the characters, especially Lexie. She makes a lot of snap decisions and it made her somewhat unlikable for a lot of the book. And something about the way the third person perspective was written made me feel like I wasn’t in the room, but more so being told a story. It’s hard to explain, but it didn’t “feel” the same. That said, this one was still enjoyable!

Read if you like:
🎄 Holiday coworkers romance
🤝 Building trust and learning to forgive
🏡 Family
✈️ Travel

Emily stone just *knows* how to write a cozy, heartwarming/heart wrenching seasonal tale. Each one of her books leaves me ready for the next and A Winter Wish is no exception

I didn't love this one. I could empathize with the main character's struggles, but that was about it for me. The MMC seemed very lackluster for me and kind of blah. Wish I had enjoyed it more.

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!

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"