A Winter Wish by Emily Stone is the perfect cozy read to curl up with on a chilly winter day. It's like a warm hug in book form!

Lexie, our heroine, inherits half of her estranged dad's travel company. Talk about a surprise! To make things even more interesting, she has to work with her dad's grumpy business partner, Theo. It's a classic enemies-to-lovers trope, but with a wintery twist.

The book is filled with stunning locations, heartwarming moments, and a whole lot of holiday cheer. Stone's writing is so cozy and inviting, it's like she's whispering secrets in your ear.

If you're looking for a book to get you in the holiday spirit, A Winter Wish is a must-read. Trust me, you won't regret it!

This book was cute, but not the best Christmas romance I have read. I did enjoy the character development of Lexi. Her father, though he loved her, left her and her mom when he was younger, and Lexi has to manage anger and grief, while also learning how to be a sister to someone she always felt less than. The development between Lexi and Theo, though cliche, was still cute to watch. There were a couple empty storylines (I.e. she began as a nanny and all of a sudden dropped the family), which is why I rated this a little lower than I normally would. I would give this author another try with a second book!

An enemies to more romance that develops as Lexie struggles to come to terms with the death of her father. And a surprise inheritance. The topic might be a bit dark for a Christmas read but it was still a good read. Her father’s company had an interesting business plan that would be a great fit for a Hallmark movie.

Emily Stone ALWAYS delivers with emotional and incredible romance stories. I love her writing voice so much and her tone is so unique to her throughout all of her books.

She’s the queen of pulling intensely on your heartstrings while delivering a romance story that will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Emily Stone continues to be an author I love reading from.

Emily Stone ALWAYS delivers with emotional and incredible romance stories. I love her writing voice so much and her tone is so unique to her throughout all of her books.

She’s the queen of pulling intensely on your heartstrings while delivering a romance story that will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Emily Stone continues to be an author I love reading from.

This book was such a delight to read. It’s about love, family, self discovery and celebrations throughout the year. It does take place throughout a year so while it does have holiday themes it can be read year round. There are festive Christmas elements and year long holiday celebrations. I really loved the travel aspects of the book.

There is something special of traveling to far away places and leave your everyday behind. A Winter Wish is about a mfc who has changed jobs every six months, and each being in a fun place. Then her dad passed away, whom she had an estranged relationship with. Through this, she was given half his company with someone who already hated her and required to run it for a year together and turn a profit.

This story really was a growing of the mfc learning to see the story from the other person’s eyes. The side characters were well developed. Though MMC was complex, we don’t hear his side of the story tell the end. And it was such a slow burn! Frustrating in a good way.

I really this would be the book you will want under your Christmas tree, or on the Christmas read list.

Emily Stone is usually an author that writes lovely and extremely emotional holiday books that I typically enjoy. Unfortunately, this one just never really got to an enjoyable place for me. Poor Lexie, while grappling with her long-term abandonment issues after her father left, and the anger and pain she feels toward him even after his death, had such a hard time feeling any kind of empathy for the people who DID know and love him. I completely understand this, however it did get frustrating after a while.
I didn't buy the enemies to lovers/grumpy-sunshine trope between Lexie and Theo either, as they were either angrily snapping at each other or flirting and neither one felt natural, let alone both occurring within the same page as each other. As a result, I never felt their chemistry and therefore never got fully invested in their love story.
Overall this story is fine, and if Emily Stone is an auto-buy author for you it might be worth reading, but it's not something I would recommend to other readers.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the ARC!

I've previously loved Emily Stone's work and was so excited for this one!

The positives: The cover is adorable, the plot was fun and original, and the festive vibes were strong.

The negatives: I just didn't ever end up liking the main character and struggled with the book holding my attention.

Overall, it was a cute enough read but not one that will really stand out for me like LOVE, HOLLY or ALWAYS IN DECEMBER still stand out to me.

I had read One Last Gift by Emily Stone and was excited to receive an ARC of her newest release.

Lexie has always felt abandoned by her father. He left her and her mom to marry a younger women and start a new family with her. Lexie drifted from him and never put much effort in when he would reach out. She is startled by his unexpected death and even more shocked to discover that her father left her half of his travel business.

This is a book that has some meat on its bones and isn't just a pure romance story which is not a bad thing. Just don't let the cover sway you.

Possible triggers: Sudden loss, parental loss, parental abandonment

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Lexie and Theo's story. Loved all the travel and scenery aesthetics. The complicated family moments were a bit tricky at times or felt a bit too much when the characters were grumps. However, I appreciate the real and relatable story. An enjoyable holiday season read that takes place over the year. Great character arcs.

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book. The complexity of family, the traveling/sites, and the banter between the main characters were very well written. The relationship between Lexie and her Dad brought up many emotions and allowed me to connect more with the story. While this isn’t what some would consider a typical warm, cozy, “Hallmark” type story, it is a really great book that will allow the reader to feel a range of emotions. If you’ve ever had a strained relationship with a parent or loved one, the story helps provide a bit of comfort and relatability to know you aren’t alone.

I loved every sizzling page of this holiday romance! There is a depth to this book that is often lacking in holiday romance novels, as complicated emotions and relationships drove this story. Lexie and Theo both have deep-rooted issues regarding their parents, but it’s each of their relationships with her father that are at the heart of it all. I loved these two, and felt like the air crackled with electricity every time they were near each other. Their feelings were so raw whether they were antagonizing each other, making each other laugh, or opening up to each other, and my own heart wept and celebrated with them. This also isn’t a holiday romance that takes place over one Christmas season; their story is a full year of love and heartache and mistakes and vulnerability and complications, and, of course, love. I’m grateful to the publisher for providing and advance reader copy of this book.

It's romantic and lovely, and you get to feel almost every feeling. I liked this heartfelt Christmas romance. This story is worth reading because of its captivating characters, close knit families, and great descriptions of the scenery around them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the romantic read!

Another adorable holiday romance. This one was really sweet and both Lexi and Theo were great main characters. Since it starts as a bit of a workplace rivals to lover, I knew I would enjoy it. The audio was wonderful and the story was quick moving and a bit emotional. Definitely a good one to read for the holidays.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

What an emotional, heart tugging book! Lexie's father abandoned their family for another woman and started a new family. After years of disappointments, Lexie finally gave up on the relationship. Now her father has unexpectedly passed away and she finds out she has inherited his holiday travel agency. The catch, she must share the business with Theo, who worked (and was close with) her dad.

There are so many complicated layers to this book! And so many different perspectives to take into consideration. While Lexie was estranged (with good reason) from her father, her half-sister had a loving, close relationship with the man. Theo also had a special bond with him as his own parents were lacking in their support and love.

So much of this book was crushing with unbearable sadness, justifiable anger, and the lost chance to make amends and grant forgiveness. The emotional strain and depth of feelings was so real

While I enjoyed Lexie and Theo together, the building of the sister relationship with Rachel touched me just as much. The girls lost so much due to their father (and Rachel's mother's) selfishness. The book does manage to come full circle with a satisfactory happy ending after just the right amount of angst. :)

4 stars

I enjoyed this story. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. Following Lexie and her struggles with losing her dad who she wasn't very close with by the end, gaining a business that she knew nothing about and a sister she wasn't too sure if she wanted to be around all while her co owner hated her and dealing with the cards that had been dealt was a ride. I loved watching love slowly bloom, watching her come to terms and accept everything that's went on and really watching her character grow and learn. I wished there were more Christmas elements within the story but other then that it was a good time.

The setup for this story felt like something I've read many times before. Unfortunately, this one came with a lack of depth or emotion and a largely unlikable FMC. I ultimately DNF'd this around the 50% mark - which earned this 3* because I don't feel like it's fair to rate a book lower than that if I didn't see it through to the end.

This was a sweet book! I need to remember that this author’s books are always emotional, and read them with that in mind. But for someone looking for a moody Christmas read that’ll hit you in the feels, give this a try!

A Winter Wish
By: Emily Stone
4 stars

Having read Love, Holly earlier this year, I was so excited to get the ARC of A Winter Wish! Emily Stone does an amazing job of writing winter-time books without shoving Christmas down your throat. Winter is just a subtle background to the overall story and for that, I am grateful!

The story follows Lexie, a late 20’s traveler who doesn’t settle down in one place for long as she learns of her father’s death. She has an estranged relationship with her father who left her and her mother when she was young to remarry and have another child with. All her life, Lexie has struggled with her feelings on her father, this man who was once the world to her who left her feeling less than when he left for his new family. After his funeral, she learns that her father has left her his traveling company, R&L Travel, but she has to split it with his associate, Theo. The catch is, she has to stick to it for a year or she loses any potential income, forcing her to take a step back from her traveling lifestyle and stay put to try and make a go at his company her father started. The problem lies not only with staying put, but with this man Theo who she doesn’t know, but clearly doesn’t like her.

Lexie grapples with the version of her father that she knew, while learning who he was to not only Theo, but her half sister, Rachel. She battles with loving this company her father made, that mirrors her own values while trying to truly process that her father is now dead and they had so much unresolved between them. I loved that throughout the story we learn more about Lexie and Theo’s backstory, and through their forced relationship, they begin to work through their grief and learn to trust one another. Their chemistry was at first very prickly and eventually they heat up over the course of months until they’re unable to resist one another.

While the blossoming romance was a wonderful part of the story, I wish we got more from Lexie’s evolving perspective of her father and he relationship with her half sister. At times I felt bad for Lexie for being forced into this position, being told as a grown woman that she HAS to do this for a year while also being manipulated into situations by his assistant, Ange, such as her booking a trip and not telling her Theo was there. Sort of forcing her hand at times. I guess for the overall plot it worked but in real life I would be furious?

It’s a wonderful read for anyone looking for:
-Overcoming a parental loss
-Reconnecting with yourself
-Slow-burn romance
-Travel
-Wintertime reads