A Winter in New York by Josie Silver @JosieSilver_ @PRHAudio

the setup…
Iris Raven is a culinary chef from London who decides to relocate to New York after the death of her beloved mother and to escape a toxic relationship. She’s given a job at a noodle shop and a place to stay above it by the wonderful Bobby and his husband Robin. She chose New York because it was the place her mother romanticized and dreamed of returning to but never did. When Bobby takes her to Little Italy for the Feast of Gennaro festival, she spots a gelato shop that looks similar to one in her mother’s photos and soon discovers it’s one and the same. It’s run by Giovanni (Gio) Belotti who is faced with closing it because the gelato recipe they’re renowned for is inaccessible since his uncle fell into a coma. Iris soon discovers after tasting it that it’s the same as her mother’s who swore her to never reveal it, a promise she made to Santo Belotti…Gino’s uncle who gave it to her.

the heart of the story…
It doesn’t take long for Iris to figure out that the Belotti family didn’t know about her mother’s romance with Santo, let alone that he broke the family tradition of never sharing that recipe. She’s torn between sharing a secret that is only Santo’s to tell in order to save the business…or not. Iris volunteers to help Gio figure out the recipe, coming closer to him and his wonderful family. I love the Belottis and really liked Iris but thought her deception went on far too long. She also allowed the widowed Gio to believe her “husband” had died and could certainly have cleared that up. It was annoying but that was all eclipsed by everything, especially the bond and spirit of Gio’s family. We get sort of a dual timeline as Iris’s deceased mother Vivien’s point of view took me back in time to when she lived in New York. That was fascinating.

the narration…
I liked the narrator’s voice tone and pacing but it was a little difficult distinguishing the storytelling clearly for lack of inflection. It was pleasant but could have had more energy.

the bottom line…
Even though Iris’s deception was bothersome, there was so much more to appreciate about this story. She had a lot of baggage and her move to New York, friendship with Bobby and developing relationships with Gio and his family had her come to life. I craved gelato from the onset, too. There are so many special moments that just made this a delightful holiday experience. It’s not all sweetness and light but the difficult events just gave it depth.

Book Info

• Release Date: October 3, 2023
• Narrator: Emma Appleton
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 40 minutes
• Publisher: Random House Audio

Listen to a Sample!

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm