Josie SilverReseñas

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Growing up, Iris’s mother made the best gelato using a recipe she got years ago from Santo, a man that she had a brief fling with. The recipe is a family secret so secret that only two family members are allowed to know it at the same time. Santo should not have given Vivien the recipe.

Iris happens to stumble upon Santo’s gelato shop while out walking but they are closed because they’ve lost the gelato recipe. Iris is torn – should she give them the recipe and risk making the family mad at Santo for giving the recipe to her mom? Iris is a chef so she decides she will offer to help Santo’s nephew Gio experiment with different ingredient combinations, knowing she will eventually lead him to the right recipe. And you know what ends up happening with them working so closely to together…

Frankly, I thought this book was boring. The writing itself wasn’t bad but it was very slow paced. I didn’t think there was good chemistry between Iris and Gio. They spent a lot of time making gelato. Like a lot. And I didn’t understand what the big deal was with Iris just telling Gio’s family that she had the recipe. I think they would have preferred that over being closed for weeks while they tried to figure out the recipe. I probably would have DNFed this book if it wasn’t one of my Book of the Month books. I paid good money for it, so I was determined to make it through!

I read this for the "A Beach Read" part of my 2019 reading challenge. This book was amazing, I fell in love at page 9 and it never let me down. It was absolutely perfect in a Hallmark special sort of way. Very romantic and predictable, but perfect.

This may be my first five stars to a romance novel ever. And I may have had an emotional week, but ending this book with tears streaming down my face sealed the fifth star.

Now that my keyboard won't be in danger of being flooded... #AGoodCry #TooBeautiful

See the full review here!

Recommended: YES
For those who love the long play, a complex development of relationships between all characters, the pain of reality and trying to follow your heart, and for anyone who just wants to read something beautiful and is willing to get a bit weepy

Thoughts:
You know that trope in romance stories, where two people hate each other and then come to realize they love each other madly? That's not at all how the characters in this book feel about each other but it is how I felt about this book.

Since it's a love-at-first-sight story, the romance was a bit lacking for me at first, because there was no build between the characters where I could get to know them and fall in love too, and enjoy the anticipation of love. It was hard to buy in to how Laurie couldn't contain her grief when her bff Sarah started dating Jack, the love-at-first-sight target.

This isn't heavy on the steamy stuff, but it's mastery of emotions. Even if you're not typically a romance reader, this is likely one that will suck you in. Evidenced by the fact that the copy I got from the library was thoroughly worn in with spine cracks and page bends galore. And my god, do I understand why. That's exactly as this book should be.

Charming characters, fun and easy read.

Cute and sorta unique

A cute concept and definitely a digs a lil deeper chick lit but the end dragged a bit.

Iris has fled from her life in London to start a new life in New York, with only a battered suitcase and her trusty gelato machine to her name. Whilst getting back on her feet, she comes across a gelateria that stirs something in her memory and Gio, whose family owns the gelateria stirs something in her!

A Winter in New York is THE most beautiful book. I absolutely adored every bit of it. The characters are perfect, the story is tender and warm, and there are foodie references galore via the gelateria and the wider New York streets. Iris's recent past is raw and painful and Gio and his family provide the salve she needs, but it's complicated by the past, her mother, and a secret that she should never have been told.

I know when a book has really burrowed its way into my heart when I don't want to let it go, when I'm playing Joni Mitchell songs and tearing up, and when the characters feel like real people. It's not helped by Gio being rather a dish, an Italian man with a gorgeous personality to match. The scenes between him and Iris were electrifyingly passionate. I loved the way his huge family enveloped Iris and how it was just what she needed.

A foodie love story is probably my favourite kind of book and this one is a top-notch case in point. It's magical and touching, heart-rending and emotive, and full of joy. I've been thoroughly transported to New York and to be honest, I'm not quite ready to leave.

Such a wonderful book.Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was nice to travel to a remote Irish island with Cleo and Mack.

This was just what I needed this week. Cozy without being sickeningly sweet.

This novel had some very nice moments and at other times, just seemed a bit repetitive. It was heartwarming in way it depicted Gio and his family, all supporting each other and eventually, Iris, too. But the hiding of the secret gelato recipe that Iris had from her mom and the gradual “development” of it by Iris and the others just got tedious. The story is a quick and easy read, and the characters, except for Adam, are all likable. There just isn’t much of a plot, and yet, the author manages to string the tale along - and the gelato secret - for many, many pages. Still, the book kept my interest enough for me to finish the book.

I thought this would be a rom-com love story about two people, Cleo & Mack, ending up sharing a cabin on Salvation Island because of a booking mistake. The first half dragged and left me rolling my eyes. I stuck with it and found a story rooted more in reality than Hallmark. The best part is definitely the Irish island and the community that lives there. Cleo and Mack grew on me and matured as characters, which made the book worth it.½

I finished this one day before Christmas, and what perfect timing. Heartwarming, well-written, flawed characters that you still root for. Reminded me a lot of those holiday romance stories, Love Actually, The Holiday, etc, and that was definitely part of the charm. Wonderful story about meeting the right person at the wrong time.

The story spans 10 years in the characters' lives and it was a joy, and sometimes heartbreaking, to watch them evolve and grow throughout the years. It's told in first person, alternating between Laurie and Jack's POVs.

Although the HEA was expected, it was still a joy to read to the end! Kept me turning the pages and wanting to know how the next plot point developed.

The only issue I had was the ending. It ended too...abruptly? I would have liked a little more to close out the story at the end.

Otherwise, highly recommended if you're any kind of romantic!

Ok, second book I've read by Josie Silver and she is really, really good. Keeps the plot moving until you understand it will be ok if it doesn't all work out. And then maybe a twisty ending ?? I enjoy her love of all landscapes and can't wait to read her one other book I haven't gotten to yet.

What great surprise for me, an author I've never read and with 3 books out to boot! I loved the plot and story line, run away to New York to start again and the tangles thrown in are fun and keep the pace quick. I had to stop and try to figure out how I would handle the mess I had made if it were me, what a great way to read a book! I'm off to read another of hers I already have and order the third!

This isn't the first book I've read by this author, but as much as I loved her first book, I may love this one even more! The story resonated with me on so many levels and is one I'm buying so I can read it again (and again!) Yes, the story sometimes stretches reality, but don't most stories? Who cares? I want to live on Salvation Island!!! The author paints loveable, quirky, realistic townspeople you feel you know, people you want to invite to your house.
Cleo and Mac pack plenty of baggage with them as they travel to the island where they're both hoping for some alone time to figure out their life. Of course, that doesn't happen as they find out they've both booked the same quaint lodging out in the middle of nowhere (if that's at all possible on a small island!)
This story's underlying message, to me anyway, was to embrace the little things in life. To live simply, love without expectations, and follow your heart in all things.
If you're looking for a fun (and binge-worthy) story full of heart and hope, I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with one of the best stories I've read!

Such a sweet story! I love that one of the major focuses for the story was loving oneself, but it is also okay to find love with someone else too.

Pepper Scale rating

Excuse me while I wipe my tears. This book started off a little slowly, but not in a bad way. Iris ran from London leaving behind an abusive ex. She begins to find her way in New York City, following her beloved mother’s footsteps and carefully making new friends.

I enjoyed reading as Iris was enveloped by the loving Belotti family, so different from her own family experience, being raised as the only child of a single mother. I also loved her relationship with Bobby and Robin. What I didn’t love were the secrets she kept from Gio, the sexy, romantic Italian gelato maker.

I’m so glad I read this book, it was charming and poignant with the best feel good HEA.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballentine for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Loses 2 stars because it's written in present tense (pretentious).

Spoilers involved:

Girl sees boy from train and falls instantly in love. Boy sees girl on train and falls instantly in love. They meet up 1 year later because he is with her BBF. The book follows them for 10 years, giving them chances to be together, but something always gets in the way.

I cried at the end.

Love at first sight? When Laurie sees someone at a bus stop while riding the bus, they lock eyes, and she instantly feels a connection. She tells her best friend Sarah that she has found her soulmate, but since she didn't get off the bus, she doesn't know how to reach him. She spends months looking for him. Then, one day, Sarah brings home a new beau, and yes, it is him, her bus boy. Naturally, she can't tell Sarah, and nurses her broken heart.
Years pass and the 3 friends do many things together, but Laurie is secretly pining for Jack. She realizes that it will never work, goes to Thailand and meets someone new, Oliver. As their lives change over the next few years, will true love win out?
I loved this love story of stops and starts.

What an amazing yet different book! This was not a fluffy love story, it was about finding and loving yourself.
Cleo is turning thirty, she is a dating columnist and her boss has insisted she go to Salvation Island on a self-coupling trip.
Mack is there to find out about his ancestors.
Disaster happens when they are double-booked in a small cottage and there aren’t any more available. The two do not hit it off while staying in the same cabin, but can things change?
I really enjoyed this because it was so different, the characters were likeable, and felt real to me. The story flowed really well and I really liked the ending, it wasn’t a typical ending that you would normally get with this genre.

This book wasn’t what I wanted it to be which I wasn’t the books fault. But a fascinating look at two people’s lives and how they cross.‬

Pleasant enough but I wish I hadn’t wasted my time when I have other things in my TBR.

Too predictable?