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A review by brooke_review
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
5.0
Josie Silver has done it again! She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors for swoony romances with heart. Her latest novel, A Winter in New York follows a young chef freshly arrived in New York, who finds herself embarking on a year of discovery after recognizing an iconic gelateria from an old family photo and becoming entangled with the magnetic Italian family who runs it.
Iris is fleeing London to escape her controlling ex, and it's no surprise that she finds herself settling on New York, the city that her effervescent mother, who recently passed from cancer, loved more than any place in the world. Her mother spent some of the best years of her life here, singing in a band before Iris was born. Iris has grown up hearing the stories of her mother's adventures in the Big Apple, and she can't wait to visit some of her mom's favorite haunts and make memories of her own.
One thing Iris was not expecting was to come across a gelateria that looks strikingly familiar. As it turns out, it is the exact same shop that featured prominently in her mother's photo album. Iris and her mother loved to make vanilla gelato together using their special secret recipe, so gelato holds a special place in her heart. Iris can't resist venturing inside only to discover that the family that owns the shop - the Belottis - are in the midst of a crisis. Their patriarch, Santos, is the only one who knows the recipe by heart, and he in a coma. As the Belottis are known for and only serve one flavor of gelato - vanilla - the fact that the recipe is lost is monumental. Without the recipe, the gelateria faces imminent closure.
As Iris begins to put the pieces together, she soon discovers that her mother is somehow tied to the Belotti family and the recipe that so many of Iris's memories are tied to is in fact the missing family gelato recipe. Iris doesn't know how to tell the Belottis that she is in possession of their super secret recipe. Desperate to uncover her mother's tie to the Belottis, Iris volunteers her services as a chef by helping Gio Belotti, the swoonworthy nephew of Santos, find the missing ingredients in his family's gelato recipe. Iris quickly finds herself not only falling for the warm and inviting Belotti family, but also Gio, who is everything that her ex wasn't.
Iris risks losing everything the longer she keeps her secret from the Belottis. As her life becomes more and more entwined with Gio's, she knows that she can't tell him the truth without losing him forever. Can she find a way to keep her secret and the man she loves?
As a prolific reader, I appreciate and respect Josie Silver as an author with great talent for writing well-developed, vibrant characters who are multi-dimensional and relatable. I am always immediately drawn into her books, which are evenly paced and sprinkled with thoughtful, compelling plot points throughout the course of the story. As I journey through one of her books, I am always enraptured by Silver's sense of style and her intimate way of writing human connection.
A Winter in New York is no exception. This Christmas-adjacent story takes us through the fall and winter seasons in New York City, and while the holidays play only a small role in this touching tale, it is still a fitting read for the Christmas season. With an atmospheric setting and a lively cast of characters, A Winter in New York will find its place in the heart of many.
Iris is fleeing London to escape her controlling ex, and it's no surprise that she finds herself settling on New York, the city that her effervescent mother, who recently passed from cancer, loved more than any place in the world. Her mother spent some of the best years of her life here, singing in a band before Iris was born. Iris has grown up hearing the stories of her mother's adventures in the Big Apple, and she can't wait to visit some of her mom's favorite haunts and make memories of her own.
One thing Iris was not expecting was to come across a gelateria that looks strikingly familiar. As it turns out, it is the exact same shop that featured prominently in her mother's photo album. Iris and her mother loved to make vanilla gelato together using their special secret recipe, so gelato holds a special place in her heart. Iris can't resist venturing inside only to discover that the family that owns the shop - the Belottis - are in the midst of a crisis. Their patriarch, Santos, is the only one who knows the recipe by heart, and he in a coma. As the Belottis are known for and only serve one flavor of gelato - vanilla - the fact that the recipe is lost is monumental. Without the recipe, the gelateria faces imminent closure.
As Iris begins to put the pieces together, she soon discovers that her mother is somehow tied to the Belotti family and the recipe that so many of Iris's memories are tied to is in fact the missing family gelato recipe. Iris doesn't know how to tell the Belottis that she is in possession of their super secret recipe. Desperate to uncover her mother's tie to the Belottis, Iris volunteers her services as a chef by helping Gio Belotti, the swoonworthy nephew of Santos, find the missing ingredients in his family's gelato recipe. Iris quickly finds herself not only falling for the warm and inviting Belotti family, but also Gio, who is everything that her ex wasn't.
Iris risks losing everything the longer she keeps her secret from the Belottis. As her life becomes more and more entwined with Gio's, she knows that she can't tell him the truth without losing him forever. Can she find a way to keep her secret and the man she loves?
As a prolific reader, I appreciate and respect Josie Silver as an author with great talent for writing well-developed, vibrant characters who are multi-dimensional and relatable. I am always immediately drawn into her books, which are evenly paced and sprinkled with thoughtful, compelling plot points throughout the course of the story. As I journey through one of her books, I am always enraptured by Silver's sense of style and her intimate way of writing human connection.
A Winter in New York is no exception. This Christmas-adjacent story takes us through the fall and winter seasons in New York City, and while the holidays play only a small role in this touching tale, it is still a fitting read for the Christmas season. With an atmospheric setting and a lively cast of characters, A Winter in New York will find its place in the heart of many.