“Home Again for Christmas”, also listed as “A Winter Wish”, is Emily Stone’s 2024 Christmas novel.
Lexie never stays in one place long. When she was younger her family would travel together but then her Dad left and had a new family. When she finds out her father has passed away she has mixed emotions. When she finds out he left her half of his travel agency, she doesn’t want anything to do with it. But life is not that easy - the other half was left to a grumpy guy named Theo who dislikes her at first sight. But if she walks away, Theo also loses his half.

They begrudgingly agree to work together for the one year required by the will. It is harder than Lexie thought it would be, especially when she starts to trust Theo, reconnects with her half sister, and learns how her view of the past may not be the full story.

This book and its main characters slowly developed to a satisfying end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy of A Winter Wish.

⭐️4.5⭐️
Rounded up to 5 stars.
 
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
 
Home Again for Christmas is a lovely, feel-good, festive read. The characters are likeable and relatable, and their dialogue is realistic and believable. I loved the different settings featured in the book. The story is well plotted and nicely paced, which kept me hooked from start to finish.
 
Another fantastic read from Emily Stone.

Many thanks to Emily Stone and Headline Publishing for the arc of Home Again for Christmas. Emilys seasonal books are becoming a staple of mine to get in the festive mood for the last few years and her ease of writing has popped her on my auto-buy list quite easily.

Emily is able to convey such a wide range of emotive subjects without it becoming bogged down in it, and still remain that lighter festive romance also. We deal with separation, abandonment, death and the repercussions Lexie faces whilst overcoming these obstacles and finding love along the way.

Again another enjoyable read - thank you.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Having read other books by this author I was looking forward to reading this one and I wasn't disappointed. The characters were well drawn and the story was great, I will be recommending this book.

This was an enjoyable festive read about family relationships and the lingering effects of family fallouts. While its storyline may be considered predictable, it is ideal for this time of year.

When it comes to festive reads Emily Stone is a go to author for me, so I had a feeling I was going to love her latest book, Home Again For Christmas - and so it proved! Stone always writes such poignant stories that combine great characters and an interesting storyline with a charming festive feel and that is certainly true in this case.

Lexie is estranged from her father Richard - he left the family when she was young , and after years of feeling let down by him she cut him out of her life. When she finds out that he has died, she unexpectedly inherits half of his travel business - but must spend a year working with her co-owner Theo, an existing employee of the business. With very different perspectives on Richard, the two clash from the outset - but as they get to know each other sparks soon fly ….

But the story is about more than just romance. It is about how people navigate grief and loss and in particular Lexie’s personal journey as she learns more about the father she has always felt let her down - and in doing so, develops a new perspective on her own life.

Add to that a great supporting cast, some fabulous sounding destinations across Europe and plenty of festive vibes, and this is a heartwarming read perfect for this time of year.

Emily Stone has become a mandatory author to read during the Christmas Season. Her books are always poignant, beautiful with a touch of that whimsical Christmas feel.

Home Again for Christmas absolutely captured me through Lexi's story and how she navigated the grief of someone so important but not so loved, but that he should have been. I felt the melancholy and bittersweet feelings, as well as the fun and heartwarming parts with Theo and Lexi's family.

I truly enjoyed getting to know Lexi who was a strong character but with flaws and vulnerabilities that made her a great character. Theo was marvellous and I loved their dynamic!

I'm eager to continue reading Emily Stone's future books!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The perfect cosy romantic read for a cold winters day. Her writing is perfection and the storyline has you hooked from beginning to end. Read it in one sitting and already can’t wait for the next!

Wow, this book gave me itchy feet! The European tour, the picturesque Cotswolds, I want to visit them all! I thought I was in for a cosy Christmas read but this was so much more. As someone who has lost a parent, I sympathised with Lexi and related to her complicated grief. I’m not ashamed to admit I teared up in places. The romance side of thins was great. Enemies to lovers, fun banter and sizzling chemistry. Really enjoyed Home again for Christmas and will recommend. Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher

This was a fun and easy listen that kept me entertained. I liked Lexi and Theo as a couple and was rooting for them from the start. Some secondary characters, like Ange, Fran, and Harry, were very entertaining and often made me giggle. The holiday company sounds amazing and I was in awe of some of the experiences they offered. Overall, I enjoyed this one but not as much as the author's previous work.

3.5 (RTC)

3.5 stars
An enjoyable read for Christmas. Of building and rebuilding relationships and understanding the complexities of family dynamics.
The holidays talked about sounded amazing and I thought the company idea was brilliant.
Lexi and Theo had great chemistry from the start and I really enjoyed seeing their relationship build as Lexi got to know and love the company.

Yes it’s October and yes I’m reading Christmas books but they make me happy and that’s Defintely what is needed right now
Emily Stone is a terrific author, an auto buy author and I have read her previous Christmas novels and loved them all. This was again no exception
In this book we meet Lexie and Theo. Enemies who are forced to manage a business together
It has all the key components that make a perfect festive read, including hope, fun, laughter, emotional, thought provoking and family/love.
I absolutely cannot recommend this enough and really enjoyed the emotive storyline
A perfect novel to cozy up with around the Christmas tree

I love Xmas books and this one was no exception.

Lexie, the main character was relatable, likeable and a little bit messed up. I just loved her.

Did I know where the story was going? Absolutely. Did it make a difference to how much I enjoyed it? Not one bit.

Loved it, thank you!

Lexie is always on the move till she receives a call one day that could change her life.
Her estranged dad has passed away and left her his business . However the rules are she must work with Theo for a year.
Does their time together bring them closer together or push them further apart ?

A cute read which will keep you absorbed into it.

This is a gorgeous story which spans an entire year, beginning and ending at Christmas. Lexie unexpectedly inherits half of her estranged father’s travel business and finds that she has to help to run it for a year before it can be sold. She has to work with Theo, her father’s protégé who dislikes her at first sight which gives us the perfect entry for a enemies to lovers romance.
I’m not convinced that the plot of this novel would actually be legal in real life but once I got over that hurdle, I loved the story. There is a slow burn romance between Lexie and Theo and I liked the fact that the reasons for Theo’s dislike were realistic and it was easy to see how he had formed his opinion of Lexie.
Lexie herself was a brilliant protagonist. She found it hard to stay in one place and feeling forced to settle in Bath even for a year was so hard for her. Her feelings for her father felt very believable too. She had a very fixed view of him after being let down so often as a child but gradually came to see that he had been a very different person.
One of the things that l loved about the story was the cast of secondary characters. Angela who seemed to be the person who actually ran the business, Lexie’s mum, her friend Fran and her half sister Rachel were all brilliantly written and really gave the story a depth.
I also loved the travel that took place during the story. We go from the Austrian Alps to other stunning locations in Europe including a lemon festival in France and a trip to Vienna. The locations were all vividly described and I immediately wanted to go and visit every one of them.
Although this has Christmas in the title, it could be perfectly well read at any time of the year. Christmas is more of a beginning and end point rather than being the focal point of the story which I really liked.
This was a lovely, heart-warming story about grief and relationships just as much as being a romance and I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you as always to Net Galley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lexie doesn't like staying in one place for too long. She has spent her life travelling, working seasons at resorts and then moving on to the next place.
After her estranged father dies, she learns she has inherited half of his holiday business, on the condition that she spend a year working there and turning a profit.
If this isn't bad enough, she has to share the business with Theo, who seems to hate her.
As she tries to find a loophole in the agreement, Lexie realises that her Dad wasn't the person she'd always thought he was and starts finding more and more connections between herself and his company.

Another amazing book by Emily Stone! I absolutely loved the story from beginning to end and devoured it in a couple of sittings.

A comfortable love story read. Enjoyable but predictable. Nice story line and went put together. Not to complicated, nor too many characters.

Apologies for the delay in reviewing.

Enjoyed meeting Lexie and Theo. Both had parent issues that had sent them off in different directions but suddenly they found themselves working together. Loved how the story evolved and for the great travel ideas. An uplifting story with a will they won’t they keep working together storyline

A thoughtful story about grief, with both the romantic couple and supporting cast on character arcs through that grief, while sprinkled with cozy holiday vibes.

Okay but Emily Stone is now my absolute favourite auto buy author. I adored her book The Christmas Letter last year and I’m obsessed with this one now. I’m definitely going to reread and I’ve got a paperback already as well. Her writing is phenomenal. The descriptions, the characters, the pacing — all of it was just *chefs kiss*

I can’t wait to read more of her work