A Winter Wish is about a woman named Lexie whose estranged father passes away, leaving half of his travel agency business to her. The story follows along with Lexie as she processes her feelings around her father's death and must decide whether she wants to keep the business, the other half of which is left to her father's right hand man, Theo.

I appreciate Emily Stone's books because while I love lighthearted Christmas romances, her books typically address grief and loss around the holidays, which are difficult for many people. I really liked the premise of A Winter Wish and enjoyed the book, but it felt like there was something slightly missing in the development of some of the characters and relationships. I would have liked to have seen more develop between Lexie and Theo, as well as her sister. While they took a couple of trips together, I wish Lexie and Theo would have gone on at least one more, since travel can be such a powerful way for people to become closer. I also think the wish jar/concept could have been a little stronger of a through-line in the story, but did like how it was incorporated.

Overall I really liked the book, and Emily Stone will continue to be a staple in my holiday book TBR. 3.5/5

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

CW: Death of a parent, Parental abandonment, grief/complicated grief, complicated family relationships

I love Emily Stone. This one took me a bit longer to read. It was slightly slower than her other books, which I really adored.

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone is a charming holiday romance. Stone’s writing is warm and the winter setting creates a cozy atmosphere, perfect for the season. It's an enjoyable, light read for those in search of festive cheer, but will play on your emotions as every Emily Stone novel does!

"A Winter Wish" was not all that I wished for. First, this is not a holiday romance - while it opens and ends during the Christmas season, there is very little to do with the holiday in book. Second, it is about 100 pages too long. Much of the book feels so slow, and cutting some extraneous stuff would have helped this tremendously. Third, Lexie's issues with her dad and how they manifested in her life - things she talks about or thinks about ad nauseam for like 90% of this book - are suddenly all or mostly solved. All on her own. No therapy, or really even talking to anyone, involved. Nope.

2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

It took me a bit to get into this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. The main characters, Lexie and Theo, grew on me and I was rooting for them in the end. I also love the idea of the travel company! I want to go on all of the trips that they planned/took! Lexie's half-sister Rachel was also a really interesting character and I'd love to read a book that focuses on her.

Overall, a nice winter read and I would definitely pick up another book from Emily Stone.

A sweet, cozy winter read with the expected Emily Stone emotions thrown in too. I loved the character growth of Lexie throughout the book and her connections with all the side characters too. As much as this was a romance, there was also a lot of other topics thrown in too, like family dynamics and grief that really helped to expand the story. It felt like an all around good read that has me wanting to book a vacation and travel!

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book. Book was fine, really good if you like the genre! I would read more from this author. Super cute holiday romance!

A Grumpy/sunshine romance. This one hit close to home. When the main characters estranged father suddenly passes away, he leaves her half of his traveling business. with one condition- it has to be run with Theo his protege for one year and then they can either keep it together or sell the company. Of course they fall in love.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Lexi’s journey in this story. Losing a parent is never easy and even harder when you weren’t on good terms. The author did a great job of of portraying her emotions as she tries to keep herself from running for her feelings and staying put and running the company and maybe even finding love. Great read!

I don't usually gravitate towards holiday romances but I thought this one was decent with some emotional punches. Upon her estranged father's death, Lexie learns that he left her half of his holiday travel company. The stipulation is for her to work there for a year, with Theo before she can decide what to do with her share of the company. Theo was her father's mentee and worked closely with him and his death hurt most of the people in the small company. Lexie, on the other hand, seemed a little glib and stand-offish at first.

After going on a trip to Spain with Theo and getting to know each other, sparks start to fly. Throughout the year and as they plan other trips, their slow burn gets turned up. Read this if you love slow burn, enemies to lovers, travel romances.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this eARC. A Winter Wish is out now.

Lexie doesn't know how to feel when her father passes away. She hasn't really spoken to him in almost 10 years and he left her and her mom to start a new family not including her. At the reading of the will she learns that she inherited half of her father's travel company R & L Travel; however, it comes with a few stipulations. She has to work at the company for a year and it has to make a profit that year before she can think to sell it. Lexie currently spends her time traveling from country to country find seasonal jobs along the way and is unsure if she wants to stop that to work at R & L, especially when she meets Theo, the grumpy guy that now owns the other half of R & L.

A Winter Wish was very heavy on grief and I am not sure if this book needed the added romance to it. I enjoyed the other Emily Stone holiday books and was excited about this one as well, but it definitely fell a little short for me. I think the romance part of the story was too forced for me. I am excited for Emily's next holiday book.

Thank you Emily Stone, Random House-Ballantine, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another emotional holiday read from Emily Stone.

The imagery and location settings were fantastic.

I really liked this!!! I absolutely loved the Wish Jar and everything that came with it. Theo bugged me at first but once there was an explanation it made sense and he grew on me. Lexie on the other hand did not. I wasn’t a fan from the beginning and although her character had a lot of growth it wasn’t enough to make me like her.

I just love Emily Stones writing. This one was a lot let emotional than her other books but it still packs a punch

The perfect little palate cleanser of a christmas book. It is also a perfect read for the general winter time and I highly recommend! Very cutesy but also emotional.

I have read several other books by the author, and they are all very emotional books. The author really knows how to write a book that sticks with you and pulls on your heartstrings. The situations are so realistic that it could be your family or friends experiencing it.
Sometimes you wake up and have no idea your life is going to completely change from mundane and totally ordinary to something you're not expecting at all.
This is what happens to our main character Lexie. Having her life thrown into chaos and uncertainty isn't her idea of fun. Oh Lexie, she rides a rising tide of emotions throughout the whole book. I started out feeling sorry for her character but became empathetic towards her, she has a lot more on her plate than the average person. Our main male character, Theo, I didn't like him at first at all. His character is not made out to be likable from the way he treats Lexie to their arguments. A work trip with our main characters forced to go starts to thaw this frosty relationship into a mutual attraction. I loved the dialogue between them when things started clicking, such humor and wit.
With some tough decisions ahead of her will Lexie make the right ones to not only have workplace peace of mind but with family relationships and her brightly burning love life.
Love the close family relationships of healing and coming together. Lovely story!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to @dellromance and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this book.

Summary: Lexie is not sure how to feel when she finds out her father has passed away mostly because they haven't had much of a relationship in the last 10 years. But when she goes back for his funeral, she discovers that he has left her half of his holiday travel company. The other half has been left to Theo and they must work together for a year before deciding what to do with the company. Theo is less than thrilled to share this title with Lexie and makes everyone aware of it. But when a trip to Spain makes them rethink their first impressions, will they mix business with pleasure?

Dani's Thoughts: After reading Love, Holly last year, I became an instant Emily Stone fan and could not wait to get my hands on this one. I love the overarching messages Stone puts in her books and this one made me think about the relationships around me. Enemies to lovers is always a favorite of mine and these two certainly started in the enemy stage very quickly. But I love that as the walls between them started to melt away they realized how wrong they were in their first judgments.

But this story was so much more than a romance between Theo and Lexie. It was a story of grief, healing from years of hurt, and estranged sisters finally getting the time to grow a relationship that they should have been allowed to cultivate. It also was a story about finding out who you are and who you want to be. Lexie grew a lot throughout this book and it was fun to see how her life changed.

Read if you love:
🎄Christmas Romance
✈️Workplace Romance
💘 Enemies to Lovers
🔥Forced Proximity
🤩Slow Burn
🤣Fun Banter

3.25 🌟
I really wanted to enjoy this book more. The premise was great but the characters were super frustrating. I think the relationships needed to be developed more and some of the conflict was unnecessarily drawn out longer than it should have been. Overall the book was slow and fell flat for me.
I really enjoyed the concept of a travel company focused on celebrating specific holidays in other countries though. If it doesn't already exist, it should.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Emily Stone and her novels. I love the Christmas/holiday romance novels more than I ever expected to. That said, A Winter Wish was not as wonderful as I expected- the romance portion felt forced to me and honestly not necessary. That said the rest of the book was wonderful and the storyline was intriguing. I loved the characters and most of their development through the novel. I just wish that the romance fit into the story better.

The story follows Lexie, who recently lost her father and her journey of inheritance. Lexie inherits half of her father's Holiday travel company which specializes in traveling and experiencing Christmas and other holiday traditions around the world. While the premise intrigues Lexie, she is not keen on her new business partner and the arrangement her father made. Her father gave the other half of the business to Theo, his best employee.

Theo is not Lexie's ideal business partner at all. While he gets things done and loves the company, he isn't a great partner. Let's just say Lexie and Theo clash in their goals for the company and in running it. A work trip to Spain changes that however and they start to fall for one another. Their chemistry is not sold, especially based on the previous interactions but it does follow the typical e enemies to lovers trope.

I love the novel, aside from the romance portion, so if you can overlook that portion, it's wonderful.

A beautiful story that delves into themes of grief, love, and personal growth. I loved the festive settings and the holiday spirit which give the novel a heartwarming aspect. Lexie and Theo have a complicated relationship and their discovery of themselves, and each other is captivating.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Emily is known for the best emotional holiday reads. Although I loved this one, I found it a bit different than her previous books. I was expecting a bigger heartache but still happy with the ending. I was rooting for both main characters to have their HEA. A great read no matter what time of year it is!