With this book Alicia Thompson definitely made my list of "authors who's next release I'm picking up without knowing what's it about" because this was the second book by this author that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm sure I'm going to love whatever she writes next just because I like her writing so much and - so far - her romances were really fun reads. What made this one so special was the setting which was really really fun but I also adored the characters and their relationship (development). Especially the female main characters was really relatable for me personally a lot of the time!

Sadly, this just didn't work for me and despite multiple attempts, I had to leave it be. I couldn't connect with the characters, and the writing felt clunky and unfinished.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC! I’m going to be honest the first thing that drew me to this book is the cover. It’s STUNNING. I’ve loved all of the covers of Alicia Thompson’s books to be honest.

You definitely need to manage your expectations going into this one as although the cover leads you to believe this is a cute, Christmas rom-com and while, yes, it definitely delivers on that aspect, there are also some extremely triggering plot lines and topics discussed. I really like it when a romance does this because it gives the characters more depth and makes them feel more realistic to me. The obstacles and challenges they face in their relationship feel more corporeal because you can see exactly why they would be apprehensive or flighty in a relationship or why they struggle with certain issues because of their past. I liked how Lauren’s experience in the foster system and Asa’s experience with his homophobic parents related to their current struggles and situations and the author showed how deeply these situations can affect a person for life and in future relationships.

I like Asa as a character, he was warm, funny and respectful of Lauren’s boundaries. I didn’t really like Lauren all that much though. Her back story was really heartbreaking and I definitely felt warmth towards her on that front but I just thought she was kind of…boring. I could understand if she was boring at the beginning and then part of her character arc was her finding herself and her passions but she literally had no personality from start to finish. This book also suffered from the insta love trope which I don’t usually mind too much but I kind of got whiplash with how quickly these two suddenly had feelings for each other. They’ve worked together for a long time from what I gathered and in the space of a couple of days suddenly decide they like each other. The third act conflict also felt kind of forced and awkward.

I still recommend this because I had a good time overall. I wish I’d read this in the winter or around Christmas because the vibes were perfect. If you’re looking for a Christmas romance with some deeper themes then look no further. This came out on 3rd August last year.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of With Love from Cold World by Alicia Thompson in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, after attempting to read this book multiple times I have decided to DNF this book. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and didn’t like any of them. The premise seemed intriguing but I quickly lost interest and had no compulsion to continue.

Growing up in Central Florida, I was so excited to see this as the setting! I loved the rep in this book and found the premise really interesting/unique. Also, obsesssed with the cover. So cool.

I thought I would try and give this one a go, after sadly dnf-ing another book by this author however I've just come to the conclusion that this author isn't for me and it happens!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I had high hopes of me loving this but I didn't. I found no explanation for why Asa fell in love with Lauren, which I would have liked, and there was no smooth transition from enemies to lovers. Also, I would have loved to learn more about Laurens relationship with Eddie.

I left this one to the Christmas run up so I had something festive to read.

It was a solid romance with fun characters and I would absolutely recommend to my friends.

Love this author! Such a fun, unique read and you really root for the characters - can’t beat an enemies to lover story.

I think a lot of people go into this book thinking they’re getting a romance thriller, but this book is pure romantic comedy.

Phoebe is obsessed with true crime, that’s her personality, and she suspects her sexy neighbor of being a serial killer for about 5 minutes. That’s the extent of the “thriller” aspect.

This is a light read, for pure enjoyment only, the stakes aren’t high, and the romance is sweet, with an undertone of just “be yourself” mentality. A good palate cleanser between all the horror I read..

5 stars because I truly enjoyed reading.

I was a bit unsure about this book at the start, but by the end, I ended up loving it. The storyline was fantastic, and I loved the characters. Would recommend.

There's just so much heart in an Alicia Thompson book!

Did I feel more for the gorgeous, funny, big-hearted but wounded Asa or the fragile, guarded, out-of-step Lauren? So hard to say.

A beautiful, emotional read and a great follow up to Love in the Time of Serial Killers.

And don't get me started on the fact that these are two of my favourite covers of all time

3.25/5 stars! I loved the cover of this book. It is simply stunning. Unfortunately, the story didn't match the vibes of the cover for me. It felt like it would be a cozy, holiday romance with humor and playfulness. This story is extremely deep and at times heavy. I still enjoyed the story but I felt like I had whiplash from the cover vs the story. That being said, I loved my first book by this author so will definitely still check out her next book.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers, Alicia’s previous novel, was one I saw all over Instagram and after reading it I could see that it was worth the hype it was getting. This one is no different, it’s a great romance book and Alicia feels like a fresh voice in this market. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to seeing what she writes next


Massive thanks to Transworld for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I admit, it is not a memorable novel, as was her previous book that I read, but Alicia Thompson's stories were still able to keep me company.

A perfect romcom!

Alicia Thompson writes imperfect, spiky and vulnerable characters with such heart - I loved this book. And the setting of Cold World worked brilliantly - it brought together a cast of quirky figures, and (despite the title) plenty of heat!

This book started out strong for me, The idea being it and the build up were great, however everything suddenly felt rushed and I felt a disconnect with the characters. It was a cute read, just not for me I think!

This one left me rather cold...

I didn't feel any chemistry between Lauren and Asa and did not care what happened between them, and the plot wasn't particularly exciting either.

I'm taking this as a sign that the author's books aren't for me.

With both, enemies to lovers &reverse sunshine and the grump, this rom-com is so cute and adorable. It is a perfect winter rom com, that a reader can enjoy during a hot summer. I also adored how Thompson sensitively approached very heavy topics such as foster care, sexuality, and anxiety. I loved the slow growth of friendship between the two main characters, and then their relationship and chemistry. This book honestly captured me from page one and didn’t let me go until the acknowledgements.

The story follows Lauren, who is socially anxious, a workaholic and loves being organised. She is also romantic and shy and has a very boring job at the Cold World winter wonderland in the middle of Florida. She doesn’t have many friends and likes to keep herself out of the limelight. Her coworker Asa, however, is the complete opposite of Lauren. He's brave, outgoing, friendly and is the soul of the Cold World. Asa thinks Lauren is an uptight ice queen, and Lauren thinks Asa is always making fun of her because he hates her. One day, out of the blue, their boss asks them to team up to come up with ideas on how to save Cold World from bankruptcy. Thus, these two, worlds apart have to now put their differences aside and work together for the Cold World, a place they both call home.

I loved the dual POV in this book as it showed perfectly how both characters grew so much throughout the book, and how their relationships developed. I loved both of the main characters, they were so cute and adorable, both flawed but also so relatable. I also adored that one of the main characters is bi, as this kind of representation is needed more in rom-coms. The chemistry between the two main characters, their banter and getting on each other's nerves and in each other's way was so believable and entertaining. Also, the scene setting and the fact that the book was set in such a cute romantic location were just adorable.

Overall: Super cute and adorable rom-com. So much more than just romance was covered in this book (I won't talk about that much because of spoilers), such as foster care, sexuality, anxiety, etc. It was also such a quick read and although the book is set in a winter wonderland, it was also a perfect read during the summer heat. Love this book so much and can't wait to see what Alicia Thompson will write next! Also, I couldn’t stop singing Paramore’s Hello Cold World whilst reading this book, so that like another star…

I read a lot of romance, particularly with the enemies to lovers trope. I think the reason I enjoyed this one so much is because for the first time reading this trope I properly felt like this romance could happen in real life. They didn't actively hate one another and then fall in love despite that, it was human misunderstanding of not quite getting what goes on in another person's mind to make them act like that.

Both characters, Lauren and Asa were fully developed with their histories and flaws and dreams. The chemistry between the two of them was subtle and the humour was real.

I enjoyed watching the growth of both characters and empathised with Lauren's anxiety around people and gift giving and general need for control.

I liked the realism of Asa's reunion with his family, but a hope that things might get better and the strength and kindness of the two main characters to both do something with their lives that help people in their situation that they lived through.

Whilst the romance happened quickly, I also felt this had an element of realism as they'd known each other for years and love in that case can happen fast once the feelings change from acquaintance to friendship to more.

It was overall an enjoyable read.