Title: A Winter in New York
Author: Josie Silver
Genre: Romance
Published On: October 3, 2023
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: digital
Pages: 372
Synopsis:
A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love—and life—she’s been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice.
But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?
Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?
Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
If you’re a seasonal reader like me, A Winter in New York by Josie Silver is a charming and heartfelt romance that can help you make that transition into fall and winter reading. I adored getting to know Iris and the Belotti family with the autumn to Christmas setting in New York City in a novel that is also a love-letter to all my favorite rom-com films.
Silver’s novel from last year was one of my favorite reads for 2022, so my expectations were high for her latest book. It took me a few chapters to settle in, learning the characters, setting, and plot, but once I did, I was enamored!
Iris, a chef, has spent the last year in New York City just surviving, serving noodles in a noodle restaurant. She moved from London wanting a new start after a bad break-up and the devastating loss of her mother, Vivien. Iris chose New York because of her mother’s love for the city; Iris had grown up seeing the pictures and hearing her mother’s tales of performing with her band in the city, and she longed to feel closer to her mother again.
Thanks to luck or fate, Iris met George, the owner of the noodle restaurant, soon after landing in the city. He gave her a job and a place to live, and she’s been doing not much else but working. Thanks to her new best friend George, she’s finally venturing outside of her comfort zone when she recognizes the door to a gelato shop from one of her mother’s pictures. Stepping through the door changes Iris’s life, as well as the Belotti family.
When I started this one, the plot seemed a bit unbelievable, but Silver’s writing and enigmatic characters, her ability to make magic, had me believing. And while I thought the story would be fairly predictable, Silver managed to surprise me quite often. Most of the book is from Iris’s point of view, but we do get a few chapters about her mother’s time in New York, which was a cool throw-back to the city in the 1980s.
Iris and her mother loved to watch classic rom-com films together, and Silver alludes to several throughout the story. This romance gave me major While You Were Sleeping vibes, especially if you read the synopsis that mentions an uncle in a coma. In my advanced copy, there’s no coma, but the uncle has recently had a stroke and is in ICU. Also mentioned throughout the book: Meg Ryan, of course, the queen of rom-coms. But don’t let all the rom-com mentions make you think this one is strictly light-hearted. Like most of Silver’s romances, there’s depth and Iris’s and Gio’s lives have not been happy the past few years. They’re both dealing with trauma and grief.
“By my reckoning, everyone gets a handful of movie-worthy moments in their lives. Some people would probably pick out their wedding day or the birth of their child for their showreel, but for most of us it’s the unexpected moments life occasionally gifts our way that make for the best memories. This is one of my movie moments.”
Josie Silver, A Winter in New York
My only complaint—the title is a bit misleading since more than half of the novel is set during the fall, with the novel including Halloween and Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas, but maybe that’s a trend for Silver’s novels since her previous book, ONE Night on the Island, took place over several weeks and not just one night. But I have been known to overthink things… Don’t worry, however, there is plenty of New York Christmas magic and snow!
A Winter in New York had me consumed, especially the second half of the book, which I read almost in one sitting. It’s a love story I would happily re-read, as well, which is always a sign of a good romance, for me.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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Levels inspired by The Well-Read Librarian from Sourcebooks
About the Author
Josie Silver is an unashamed romantic who met her husband when she stepped on his foot on his twenty-first birthday. She lives with him, their two young sons, and their cats in a little town in England called Wolverhampton. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird.
A Song For A Book
Silver is always good to include music throughout her book, and especially in A Winter in New York since Iris’s mother is musical. I had plenty of songs to create a playlist, as well as adding a few of my own inspirations. I’ve chosen to highlight “Your Song” as performed by Ellie Goulding.
And you can tell everybody
This is your song
It may be quite simple but
Now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind
I hope you don’t mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is
Now you’re in the world
Have you read A Winter in New York? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I would probably question the title, too. I’m glad you can get past it to enjoy the book.
It doesn’t seem like too much to make a title (and cover) match the story, right?! Ha!
Great review! It is a little odd that it’s not more focused on Christmas though.
Yeah, I was happy with less Christmas since I’m reading it in October, but that title threw me off. 😃
You are not the first reader who mentioned the title. I wonder why she chose that? I don’t even think the mom’s storyline was in December. I loved this one too, and though the one storyline was not necessary (if you ask me), I loved the “eat glass” part.
I’m assuming the author had no part in choosing the title or cover. It was probably someone from the publisher who hadn’t read the book. That’s my theory, anyway. 😆 I loved the “eat glass” part, as well!!