A New York Winter - Isla Gordon

Having read quite a few of Isla Gordons books now, I was super excited for this one as she always writes in such lovely descriptive ways and as this was set in New York I was particularly looking forward to reliving my honeymoon vacation spots. She did not disappoint! Location alone this book takes you into another world, but Ashling and River's back stories took this to a whole another level. I found myself rooting for both of them to make big changes in their lives and loved how their slow burn (close proximity) relationship panned out. The New Years Eve countdown was very enjoyed and a great tense read, leading up to their "happy ever after". Looking forward to future books from Isla Gorgon for sure.
Thank you very much Little Brown book group and Netgalley for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

You can trust Isla Gordon to give you a great cozy wintery read. Loved the descriptions of New York, having never been there I could picture everything, great cast of characters. Perfect easy and cozy winter read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the story in itself, I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the cast of characters in this one. The pace was also quite slow in the beginning, which made it a little harder for me to plow through. But once the pace picked up at around 30%, it really got a lot better and I enjoyed it more.

A fun festive read which I enjoyed to get me in the Christmas spirit. Some of the events were a little unbelievable, but it was enjoyable all the same.

Having injured herself, our main character is no longer fit to fly. Losing her dream job leaves her feeling somewhat lacking in purpose…so she decides to move to New York for three months and try to find her future.
Packed with New York winter cliches this is a light romance full of festive cheer.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this.

Review of A New York Winter 4 stars
This was quite a nice read with some good characters. The descriptions of New York were very good and I felt as if I had been there. However, the parts about Ashlings plan were quite repetitive. A nice cosy read.

I have read and enjoyed many Christmas stories from Isla Gordon and looked forward to experiencing a New York Christmas and a romance to boot in this book. The book itself has a lovely, colourful cover that beckons the reader in to experience views of New York and Christmas festivities. The story certainly pulled me in from the start and I found myself quickly lost in the Big Apple.



The story centres on Ashling, who is feeling down because she has now failed completely to accomplish four of the five lifetime goals she set for herself ten years previously. She decided on these goals while on a magical trip from London to New York with her now deceased grandmother, who had had a wonderful time in New York herself in her younger years. With her once successful career in tatters, the one remaining goal on Ashling’s list is to live in New York city, where she is confident that she will be inspired to realise where her life should lead now. She arrives in the city on a ninety-day visa waiver, but finding somewhere to live for that time proves difficult until an ex-boyfriend tells her of a colleague who is out of town and may let her stay in his apartment. The colleague, River, returns from his trip, but reluctantly allows Ashling to sleep on his sofa bed. Having very different personalities, their relationship is difficult to start with, but as time passes, Ashling begins to succeed in getting River to open up to her. As they become closer, Ashling begins to wonder whether they will truly admit their feelings towards each other before she has to return to the UK.



I absolutely loved this wonderful book that takes the reader on a Christmas break in New York city without leaving home. It covers everything that a visiting tourist would want to experience on such a break if they possibly could. The writing absolutely transported me to the Thanksgiving parade, the snow covered streets, the wonderful shop window displays, the ice skating rinks and the excitement of the ball drop in Times Square. Ashling was a really interesting character. Her world could be falling apart around her, but she just won’t let it go. How brave to set off on her own confident that everything will work out for her. She could hardly be more different from shy, reserved River. It was heart-warming to watch as a romance slowly developed between them, although time was running out and I began to despair of a happy ending. This is a lovely Christmas book, perfect for reading in the warm on a crisp winter’s day.

This was a little slow to start off with, but turned into the most beautiful and magical adventure in New York between Ashling and River. I will always reach for a cosy Christmas book set in New York and this one exceeded everything you could want. I loved it.

The perfect Winter Holiday Romance to curl up with this Christmas. A New York Winter was an absolute delight to read which pulled me in from the very beginning. I adored the writing style which was like talking to my best friend who was telling me all about her high-flying adventures and unexpectedly finding the man of her dreams. Isla Gordan really captured New York in all its wondrous glory. Oh how I want to visit this beautiful city and experience it for myself. This was a magical rom com that I didn't want to end.

A lovely Christmas story set in New York. Just perfect for a winters night reading on the run up to Christmas.

A New York Winter is a cosy, winter read full of swoon worthy settings in New York. Having just returned from New York myself, I found all the major sites mentioned took me back to my own adventures and left me feeling nostalgic for the magic that truly is New York. Ashling gets thrown into New York lift and her quest to find a new life path leads her to meet River. There are some really sweet moments between them that really heighten the tension and leave the reader turning the pages to see what happens.

A heart-warming and cosy seasonal read. Very engrossing and was hard to put down. There is something magical about festive books and this one is no exception.

This was a lovely cosy festive read to kick off the Christmas season.

Ashling was endearing and engaging from start to finish. I felt invested in her journey to rediscover herself more than I expected to and enjoyed watching her find a new direction. She was in a very vulnerable place emotionally, but still managed to be funny and confident - it was lovely that the author didn't play into the stereotype of having vulnerability be a weakness.

River was a great juxtaposition to Ashling's character, while also matching her in terms of vulnerability. Their chemistry was lovely to read, but at no point over-powered the self-discovery journey that they were both on. They complimented each other well and made for easy reading.

The cosiness of this book, for me, came from how New York was described. Having been to New York, I was able to picture all of the places that Ashling explored vividly in my mind, and the author did a wonderful job of adding a festive vivality to the whole thing by talking about things like ice skating in famous parks and taking part in the Thankgiving Parade, and of course, no book about New York at Christmas is complete without the ball dropping!

Very easy read, recommend for some festive escapism this Christmas!

I loved this book! I felt like I was in New York with Ashling! It was so well described and our heroine was lovable as well as likeable so you were rooting for her from the very start. A very enjoyable Christmas themed read that I would definitely recommend to others.

Perfect for reading over the festive period. An easy read following Ashling over three months in New York as she tries to find the new her. I loved the characters and I loved the setting. There is nothing more festive than New York over the holidays. I laughed a lot and I was rooting for our girl from early on to find everything she wanted. I really enjoyed the book and will definitely be looking for other titles from Isla in the future.

This was a little slow to start but once it got going, it was great.

A perfect festive read that transported me to New York and all the magic that it brings.

The characters were likeable and you were rooting for them to find their way,

A really enjoyable, heartwarming read!

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved reading this cosy read. It kept me hooked, turning the page to see what happens next.

The characters I felt you could like annd want in your life.

I recommend this book.

Festive, heartwarming, featuring a couple of characters that are hoping to get their life back in track.
It's cute read, perfect for an escapist afternoon
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What a fabulous cosy read. I have been to New York at Christmas so this was a perfect nostalgic read for me.
I really enjoyed the story, it kept me entertained and eager to know what decisions Aishling finally made. All the characters were likable especially River and I found it to be a very uplifting story.
Perfect scenery described wonderfully by the author and definitely a book I have already been recommending to others.

I read A New York Winter over a couple of days. It was a nice enough novel but I can’t say that it overly grabbed me. The story and the characters were pleasant enough but I just felt there was something lacking. Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown a book Group and the author for the chance to review.