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!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!!

I believe I’ve now read all of Emily Stone’s holiday romances, and I always enjoy them! The books always have a mix of holiday spirit with some crushing sadness, making them heartfelt, sincere and realistic.

Lexie has a pattern of moving from place to place, never staying in one area for more than a year or so. She’s always loved to travel and has never minded taking temporary jobs and switching locations a lot. However, right before Christmas Lexie gets a call that her father has died. Although she has pretty much been estranged from him for a while, she’s asked at his funeral to come back to his office at the travel agency that he owned-only to find out that she has been left half ownership of the business, with some difficult stipulations.

This takes Lexie on a journey that forces her to figure out what she really wants to do with her life, while also confronting her complicated relationship with her dad.

I did enjoy this novel! While only the beginning and a chuck of the end occur during Christmas time, festivities are still sprinkled throughout, such as a Christmas in July celebration. I recommend this to anyone looking for a not overly cheesy or over the top holiday read.

Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of this latest from Emily Stone. I thought One Last Gift was pretty good, but there's a definite pattern to Stone's work: the FMC is forced into some kind of "challenge" thanks to the last wishes of a recently deceased family member. In One Last Gift, it was the MC's brother. In A Winter Wish, it's the FMC's estranged father. It's hard to get past her animosity towards him and one can see why it would be difficult for her to carry through his request. I struggled to read it because the first several chapters are the FMC running away from difficult conversations and situations. Yes, her father just died, but at some point you have to communicate maturely with the people around you. I found the FMC difficult to relate to even though I have my own complicated grief after losing both parents. She just came off as immaturely bitter when she could've handled the situation differently without compromising her morals. And the MMC is such a jerk considering he knows nothing about her, and his mentor/boss (her father) wasn't actually his own parent so he should've been able to respect that this wasn't his experience to be judgy about, and while he was understandably upset about his boss' last wishes, he definitely could've handled it better, as well. Sorry, but this one just wasn't for me.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

A Winter Wish was about what you would expect--a holiday enemies to lovers romance with some depth (thankfully), but overall it was a "fine" read. I appreciated the backdrop and focus on Lexie's complicated relationship with her father, but, in someways, that overshadowed her relationship with Theo and I cared more about Lexie coming to understand her father than Lexie coming to understand Theo.

My favorite part (though I recognize I'm probably a bit biased given my hobbies/blog) was the travel company and some of the trips the couple took. (I definitely took notes on the lemon festival in France and hope to visit myself soon!)

It's an enjoyable book, but it just didn't have the spark that draws me in and makes a book un-put-downable.

Book: A Winter Wish
Author: Emily Stone
Format: Digital
Genre: Holiday, Romance
Places Featured: Europe
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (rounded up)

Quick and Dirty
-contemporary holiday romance
-grief & loss themes
-enemies to lovers/forced proximity
-grumpy sunshine
-travel inspiration

I’ve loved previous Emily Stone novels, so I had high hopes for A Winter Wish. Luckily, this one worked for me! I prefer holiday romance books that incorporate heavier subplots, and Stone’s work always fits the bill. Our FMC, Lexie, has a complicated relationship with her father, who unexpectedly dies and leaves her half of his travel agency business. Little does she know, it’s exactly what she needs. Having spent years traveling abroad with few responsibilities or ties, Lexie grapples with the responsibility of owning a business and her unresolved emotions from childhood. At every turn she’s reminded of the father who abandoned her rather than the generous man who left her half his beloved business.

To make matters worse, she starts to develop feelings for Theo, the stranger her father hired and left the other half of the business to! As they travel to foreign places in search of the perfect vacation, they both learn something about the people they hope to be and the power of love. I was rooting for this couple from the very beginning, eager to see how Stone resolved their early miscommunication. With a cast of supporting characters, cultural experiences, and lovely European destinations, this book is perfect for romance readers who want a touch of holiday charm.

This book touches on some heavy topics, and I think it does a great job capturing the feeling of grief. Throughout the story, we see how the characters share this emotion in different aspects of their lives. That said, the book ended up being heavier than I expected, and honestly, it brought up some of my own feelings of loss. I also had mixed feelings about Lexie and Theo as a couple—I struggled to feel the chemistry between them at times. The writing is solid, but I don’t think this one was my cup of tea. Still, I’m open to checking out more of the author’s work!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Oh, how I love a British holiday romance! I was really looking forward to reading this one and it didn’t disappoint. Our FMC came across as a little immature through parts of this book but the author gave her a backstory that I think justified a lot of her actions. And there is wonderful character growth from both main characters.

This is a somewhat heavy emotional read. I still don’t know how I feel about Richard (Lexi’s dad) but I think that’s the point. The author really shows how complicated people can be and how grieving complicated people can be even more difficult because of those mixed feelings.

This is also a book about traveling and the descriptions of the different settings was amazing. I found myself wishing I was there with the characters. Even their home base of Bath seems like a wonderful place to visit!

Overall, this was what I expected (in a good way). It was a memorable, sweet romance with holiday vibes and just enough spice to keep things interesting. I definitely recommend.

This book was so beautiful! I loved the slow burn romance with the underlying themes of difficult grief, personal growth, and found family. I really enjoyed reading about all the trips and traveling the characters did and enjoyed all the characters. While I’m overall happy with how it ended, I was a bit disappointed at the super last minute third act breakup and somewhat rushed conclusion. I get why it happened and loved the inclusion of Richard’s letter, but wish it wouldn’t have happened. Nearly a five star read for me!