A Winter in New York Review

by Josie Silver

Rating: 3/5

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.

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.

---

This was a cozy, sweet winter romance that would be perfect to read during the winter or holiday season. 

We follow Iris, who moves to New York from London after losing her mom, and to get away from her toxic ex, looking for a fresh start. New York was her choice after knowing it was her mom’s favorite place when she was Iris’ age. Then, unexpectedly, Iris stumbles across a door from a photo of one of her mom’s most cherished memories. In an attempt to feel closer to her mom, Iris returns to check it out, only to be thrust into a close-knit Italian family’s legacy.

The entire premise is very bittersweet. I loved following Iris as she navigates life. Trying to find where she belongs. Seeing her interact with the Belotti family was so endearing. Definitely a more traditional Italian vibe, the big, warm-loving, everyone is always around, accepting type of family.  But at the same time, also very much, family always comes first.

My only problem with this one was that everything felt very convenient and easy. Even the drama we see unfold. At the climax of it all, I expected a much stronger reaction from our Italian family to the deception. But there really wasn’t any. It was kind of just an “eh, it happened. Let’s move on” kind of vibe. I don’t really want to say more than that without spoiling it. I just genuinely expected a much bigger blow-up from the Italian side of things, especially after all that happened.

Given that, it also felt like a sort of “meh” resolution, at least for me. As I said, it all felt too easy. 

Other than that, I found this to be a cute, cozy family-oriented read. The romance is very tender and a heartwarming slow burn. With a few tasteful spicy moments sprinkled into it. If you enjoy winter or holiday romances, I would definitely suggest considering picking this one up!