Falling Like Snow

Bramble Falls #2

by Misty Wilson

A girl juggles planning her town’s first-ever winter festival and untangling her complicated feelings for both her best friend and the star hockey player in this charming book in the swoony Bramble Falls series that started with the New York Times bestselling Falling Like Leaves.

After Bramble Falls’s wildly successful Falling Leaves Festival, Sloane Sullivan is looking forward to some downtime—especially kicking back and marathoning Nora Ephron movies with her best friend, Asher. But they barely make it through Sleepless in Seattle before Sloane’s mom calls an emergency tourism department meeting; it’s all hands on deck—Bramble Falls is having its first ever Falling Snow Festival!

Sloane may still be recovering from the last seasonal event, but she’s also excited. After all, Christmas is the best time of year! And she’ll have her whole crew by her side, including her cousin Ellis and, of course, Asher. But when irresistible, hockey-playing Micah catches Sloane’s attention, she finds herself a bit distracted. The emotions her unexpected flirtation brings up make Sloane feel confused about Micah…and Asher.

She’s never thought of Asher as more than her best friend, but even if Sloane is seeing Asher in a new light, what does that mean for her and Micah? Uncertain and more than a little overwhelmed, Sloane throws herself into festival preparations, hoping to get a little Christmas magic in return that will help her figure out where her heart lies.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Young Adult, Contemporary, Cozy, Holiday Romance

Audible Audio

First published October 6, 2026

About the author

Misty Wilson is the New York Times bestselling author of Falling Like Leaves and the award-winning middle-grade graphic memoir Play Like a Girl. She is a teacher, a registered nurse, and a voracious reader. She loves binge-watching television series and adores rom-coms. She lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

✧˖*°࿐ TL;DR: The vibes were vibing, but the lack of communication and jealousy kinda ruined the Christmas cheer I was trying to enjoy.




〖 ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como, The Fontane Sisters, Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra 〗
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺ 1:03 ───ㅇ───── 2:35




✧˖*°࿐ Before I start to ramble on about the positives and negatives of the book (because, let’s be honest, that’s all I do in my reviews), I think we should set the mood and have a little fire going so I can stay in the joy and awesomeness of Christmas for just a little bit longer. A little bit of ignoring reality never hurt no one. 😉




This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Even though it was about best friends falling in love (my least favorite trope), I was so excited and ready to head back to Bramble Falls and experience the magic and beauty of Christmas in the quaint little town with Sloane as the heroine. Granted, I didn’t remember Sloane or her bff Asher (my brain felt like it was going to explode from how hard I was trying to remember these two), but I remembered enough to sit back and see what would play out between Sloane and Asher. And, boy oh boy, I should’ve had a plate full of sugar cookies and a mug of hot chocolate on hand to drown my frustrations while I read this book. Buckle up, y’all. This sleigh ride is going to get a little bit bumpy.



Let’s start with the positives because I don’t want to think about the negatives at the moment. 😅 This book solidified my love for Christmas. Like, I know why it’s my favorite time of the year, and it’s because of all the wonderful things you can do, the giving of gifts, and just the overall spirit of the season and goodwill toward men (and women) that makes the world seem not as bad as I thought it was. This book proved all that, and I had sooo much fun thinking about all the things I’m going to do for Christmas. 🥰🎄

The side characters and relationships were also great. I loved the friend group, Sloane’s Mom, and Sloane and Asher’s friendship. It was all so sweet and fun, and I still shook my head and chuckled about Jake. I definitely remembered him. 😂

Although the middle part of the book really, really frustrated me (I’ll get to that in a sec), I really liked the beginning and end of the story when we were all living in harmony and were communicating like human beings should.

And the cover?? Absolutely adorable! I can’t stop looking at it. 😍

But what really dampened the mood and made this book not so jolly were the characters’ actions and feelings. Look, I liked Asher and Sloane. I really did–I have no complaints about them as individuals or as best friends. They were cute together, regardless of whether they had feelings for each other or not, because friendship as close as theirs is always sweet. And I should add that I have nothing against flawed characters. I actually love flawed characters because they’re relatable and they feel real. So please, give me more of them. But there’s a difference between flawed characters and characters who can be annoying. You can be flawed and not annoying. If the character is both, then I’m obviously going to say something about it because I can and it’s my opinion. So let’s talk about Sloane and Asher.

Sloane herself wasn’t annoying, but her jealousy and anger towards Asher were. Like, girlfriend, a rift between you two was bound to happen if you got into a romantic relationship. That’s just how it goes. You won’t talk as much or hang out as often, and yeah, there are some things you won’t tell your best friend that concern your romantic relationship, and vice versa. But instead of being happy for him, you're mad and jealous. And that’s fine, I suppose. Those are natural feelings to feel about a change in y’all’s dynamic, but if you were being left behind and all alone, I’d have more sympathy for you. BUT YOU LITERALLY STARTED IT!! You’re mad at Asher for something that you did first. The lack of communication?? The off being somewhere with someone they possibly like??? All you, queen. Asher just decided to do his own thing, and you’re mad about it? What happened to just being friends? You sound like a jealous ex, honey, so you might as well just realize that you like the guy and find out if he feels the same way about you because this game that you’re playing sucks and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. Everyone can see it except you.

Gosh, my patience is wearing thin for this trope. I think I hate it at this point. 😭

But Sloane isn’t the only one at fault here. Oh no, no, no. Asher didn’t help either–him and his secrets. 🙄 And that one scene at the water tower? Hello??? Are you alright there, my guy? I mean, I get it, but then I don’t because that was totally uncalled for. 😭🙏🏼

I was literally shaking my head and furiously writing down notes on why they were in the mess they were in. I swear, I should get paid for this counseling session because I was staying away from this book like the plague because of their incessant need to dance around each other and walk on eggshells instead of just talking like good friends should, instead of letting their anger and misunderstandings fester into something bitter and resentful. It ruined the whole romance, if there was one to begin with, since most of the book was Sloane wanting to be with Micah while harboring conflicting feelings about Asher. It’s probably very realistic, and that’s great, and all, but Asher and Sloane were so cute together as friends, and all the things he did for Sloane were the sweetest ever. I wanted to see them be cute together as a couple, even if it was for one chapter. The “romance” felt so flat and not even the slightest bit romantic because Sloane was so oblivious and adamant on them just being friends, all the while wondering why her heart fluttered around Asher AS SHE FLIRTED WITH MICAH. I was so confused about this girl’s feelings and intentions. 🤦‍♀

But Micah can go jump in a lake. I couldn't care less about him and his feelings. Sorry, not sorry. That’s what you get.

Anyway, aside from that, everything else was fine. ☺ The writing was easy to read and really painted a picture of what Bramble Falls looks like for Christmas. The plot itself kept me engaged for the most part. Nothing was exciting, surprising, or groundbreaking. It was just a straightforward, seasonal read that could honestly be read in one sitting if I weren’t the way I am and didn’t refrain from finishing this. The common denominator is me, so I’m the problem here. 😅

I can’t say that I’m utterly disappointed with this, but I do wish I could have loved it. But I still liked it and kinda had fun, so I think 3 stars is fair. 😌 And even though I didn’t love it, I still recommend it if you are looking for a quick, Christmassy read. I sincerely hope you love it. 💙

၄၃ Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing | Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own. ၄၃

《 Content Warnings 》
Death of a parent (off-page), blood, & sexual assault (kissing and groping without consent).
Swearing: Yes
Spice: Kissing. (🌶/5)

[Tori{LovesReadingRomance} · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎄❆🗽

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:10
Now playing ⋆｡˚୨You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton୧˚｡⋆

-ˏˋ⋆ ᴡ ᴇ ʟ ᴄ ᴏ ᴍ ᴇ ⋆ˊˎ-
Okay so first of all thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc (aka my very first one!!!)
This was definitely one of my top reads of the year! It was so amazing I loved it so much. Sloane and Asher were amazing! The book was hilarious (as you can tell from the quotes and notes section of this review lol) and this is a mostly spoiler free review!! Happy reading!!
P.s this song is perfect for them btw lol

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Sweet gingerbread made with molasses
My heart skipped and I reacted
Can’t believe this is happening

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

‧₊˚✧Characters✧˚₊‧

Sloane: honey this is why you never date the guy your friends say is a player.
Anyway I get way you were jealous of Asher and Daphne hanging out together, but you should have told him how you felt after you figured it out! And why would you spend him back to the dance after he saw you leave it after the whole Micah thing and he wanted to stay with you. Honey. Asher was trying so hard not to go back there and beat the life out of Micah. And I literally almost cried at the cemetery scene , and I never cry while reading. I think that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten.

Asher: okay what are you doing buddy, you turned Bramble falls into Sloane’s dream winter break vacation and she still couldn’t see that you loved her come on man step it up. Also the whole water tower thing I’m still mad at you for that, and you leaving before Sloane even woke up, even tho I know that you didn’t want to move or leave her cuddles. Come on man. I just know that if we had gotten his pov of the kiss/ afterwards he would be so happy and never wanting to leave her but forcing himself too because he thinks she only kissed him for practice and is really into Micah. (He’s amazing but I like Cooper better sorry!)

Micah: liked him and then I was meh and then I greatly dislike him a ton (go to themes section to find out why) that is all I’m saying thank you very much

Others:I’m not writing everyone else down so here’s my top side characters!
Hannah: loved her!
Hannah’s grandmother: look at the quotes and notes she’s a hoot also loved her!
Ellis and Cooper: still love them from The first book wished we saw them more together tho
Jake and Fern: if we’re getting a third book (which I think we are) i hope it’s abt them! (Edit: we are getting a third book and it is abt them!!!! (Also the blurb is in German but I translated it and it sounds amazing))
Sloane’s mom: love her she could be a little less “I’m going to bury myself in town work so I won’t have to talk abt my feelings” but I think she’ll work on it. And I lowkey hated how she came up with the whole new festival to put together in a few days thing right when she knew Sloane was really looking forward to and excited abt her and Ellis’s trip to nyc.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Like a present sent from God
Sleigh bells singing hallelujah
Stars are shingling on us too

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

‧₊˚✧Themes✧˚₊‧
Okay so the themes were a tad darker than Falling Like Leaves were.
Sloane grieving her father, some sa when Micah would not stop kissing or touching her and she has to push him away and gave him a black eye and a bloody nose
Minimal cursing (maybe like 10 to 15 in the whole book)
2/5 spice (kinda steamy kisses (good steamy not bad steamy iykyk) and mentions of teen pregnancy in a joking and then in a kinda joking way oh and she accidentally gave him a hickey)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

I wanna thank you, baby
You make it fell like Christmas
(Ooh, ooh)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

‧₊˚✧Plot & Progression✧˚₊
The plot was really good and so was the progression. We picked up probably abt a month after Falling Like Leaves ended.
It never really got slow too much there was always something happening and I really liked that it didn’t give me time to get boarded lol

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

You make it feel like Christmas

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

‧₊˚✧Things that stood out✧˚₊‧
I loved all the holiday festivities and I can’t wait to get my own physical copy when it releases so I can reread it for Christmas!!
Asher and his ideas to make Sloane get thru December
That mistletoe kiss sigh I need something like that one day

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

‧₊˚✧Quotes & Notes✧˚₊‧

11%
“We’re here, Mom. What more do you want?” Hannah’s dad asks, the ring under his eyes and the slump in his posture telling a story of exhaustion. “What would make this more exciting for you?”
“I don’t know!” She crosses her frail arms. “Perhaps mud wrestling. Or streaking.”

A laugh barrels out of me at the unexpected comment. “Now that would exciting to watch, I suppose.”
A crease forms between her eyebrows. “No, dear, I don’t want to watch. I want to participate.”
“Grammy!” Hannah exclaims, appalled. Her dad grips the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and sighs.
“Don’t be such a killjoy Hannah.” I laugh. “Let the women run naked through the streets.”

Hannah looks at her grandma. “You’re eighty two, Grammy. You’d probably break a hip doing either of those things.”
Her grandma lifts her chin. “Oh hogwash. See, this is why you’re not my favorite grandchild.”
“I’m your only grandchild.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

(Note: I love Hannah’s grandma lol she seems like she would get in a lot of trouble if left alone lol.)

17%
I’m climbing down when Asher returns, and Ellis pulls Cooper under the dangling evergreen leaves and clusters of white berries.
“Oh shucks look where we ended up,” she says, looking up at the mistletoe. “Guess we have to kiss—it is the rule.”
He grins at her. “Darn it, I guess so.”
She presses up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on his lips.
They’re so sickeningly adorable, if I didn’t love them, I’d hate them for it.

(Note: aww my babies, I love them so much)

19%
Micah Cook
He pushes his light brown hair out of his concerned, piercing green eyes.
“Damn, you have pretty irises,” I blurt.
I slap my hand over my mouth.
He laughs “Um, thanks…” my cheeks flare as he offers his hand. I let him pull me up.

(Note dann Sloane smooth real smooth)

19%
“Hey” the now-familiar voice calls from behind me. I pivot to face Micah. “You have pretty irises too, Sloane Sullivan.”
With that, he walks away, leaving me wordless.

(Note damn again)

20%
“Very successful,” Hannah chirps. Then her smile vanishes. “Minus Sloane buying Grammy a thong.”
Asher’s eyes swing to me. “Uh, why would you do that?”
“Because she’ll get a kick out of it!” I say laughing. “I’m not a very good present giver, but the thong is a great present.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right,” Hannah grumbles, shaking her head.
“It’s why I’m her favorite fake grandchild.” I say proudly.
She sighs. “Also correct.”

(Note I stand by what I said earlier about Hannah’s grandmother)

34%
“You aren’t replaceable, Sully,” he says, calling me by the nickname he only uses when he’s serious. His voice is somehow soft and firm at the same time, like he wants me to know he’s not mad but also needs me to know he means every word.
“You can worry about your grades and finals and studying. You can worry about making sure your mom is happy. You can worry about your dad’s upcoming anniversary. You can worry about what needs to be done for every Bramble Falls festival event. You can worry about Micah’s weird comments and mixes messages. But do not worry about us.”
“Even if you and Daphne start dating ?” The question burns like acid in my mouth. Am I really that scared of having to scare him? Am I seriously that selfish?
“It seems more likely that you’ll be dating before I will,” he says. “But yes, you’re my best friend no matter what. Forever and always.”

(Note
Awww Asher you love her!! And Sloane you love him too as more than a bestie and you know it.)

35%
Who knew hockey was such a hot form of art?

(Note
Girl all us hockey romance readers out here that’s who)

59%
“Excuse me, no one is banging, or boning, or boinking anyone tonight,” I say. “There will be no teenage pregnancies occurring the only night my mother has ever let me have a co-ed sleepover.”
“Oh my god, you sound just like her,” Ellis says, chuckling.
I pause. “Ew. I totally do. Fine. Teenage pregnancies for everyone!” I declare.
Jake’s faces contorts. “No thanks.”
The room fills with laughter.

(Note
I was cackling so hard at this lol)

97%
He tears his mouth away. “We should stop.”
I freeze, “Oh. Okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to—“
“Sloane, you didn’t nothing wrong. Quit apologizing.”
“Then why are we stopping?” I ask, pretty sure I wasn’t the only one enjoying this best friend make-out sesh.
“Because we don’t want a teen pregnancy. Our parents would kill us, and I’m not ready to have a kid.”
I kiss the corner of his lips. “You do know how babies are made, right?”
He laughs. “Yes, Sloane. But seeing as I ended up with semipermanent marks on my neck the last time we ‘just kissed,’ I say at least one of us needs to practice some self-control.”

(Note
Well yeah at least you think ahead Asher or else this would be very different lol)

[ryliekate_reads · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

Review of Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster.
Publication Date: October 6, 2026

3.25 stars!
Wintery, sweet, and cozy, Falling Like Snow is an adorable friends-to-lovers YA romance by Misty Wilson! So many moments of “aww” mixed with the longing and frustration of just wanting them to confess their feelings, which creates all the slow-burn and yearning. Was this the best? No. Was still cute? Yes!
Sloane’s sweet authenticity and spunk, and Asher’s kind-heart and tender spirit truly endears them to the reader. Oh my gravy, Asher?!? He is so genuine and respectful, and just an altogether good guy. Sloane and Asher’s friendship is one-of-a-kind in the best way, and thoroughly loved getting to see where it took them. Now Micah… I am honestly really confused about him, but overall NOT a decent boyfriend and needs some maturing. His moment at the end left me quite confused— which is totally a me issue as I have difficulty figuring it out in real-life— about whether or not he WAS genuinely apologizing and expressing with Sloane. Now, while I understand why Sloane and Asher didn’t confess their feelings all this time, I didn’t love the blow-ups and frustrations it caused in their friendship. Sloane and Micah’s relationship felt very uncomfortable (no means no), but it is one of those things as a reader when you see what the characters do not in that moment.
One thing to note is while this is a Christmastime rom-com, the plot revolves around the town’s new snow festival and events that have a blend of Christmas and just winter activities. Also, Sloane deals with much grief after losing her dad, so it is a hard time of the year for her and she struggles between wanting to engage in memories and/or avoiding them.
I will say, due to certain content in the book and being a bit uncomfortable, the star rating is lower than it potentially would be otherwise. Of course, everyone has different convictions and levels of comfort— which I respect— and kindly, there was some in this novel that crossed my line(s). In this, NO hate and/or ill-will is intended towards the author or anyone; these are my personal thoughts/feelings and I hope my tone comes off kind because that is my intention. I try to note ANY potential content concerns or considerations in my reviews so that a potential reader doesn’t end up uncomfortable or caught off guard due to a book’s content, especially as someone who has been in that position and ended up a book I wasn’t okay with reading (due to my beliefs/convictions) but didn’t know before buying. Thank you!
~Content~
Romance: No-spice! Moderately descriptive kisses (level 3), physical touch (non consensual and consensual), physical attraction, frequent innuendo, and attempted s*xual assault (forced kissing and groping; no r*pe). Sloane and Asher do snuggle in bed together and sleep on a couch together, but nothing happens with that. While being snowed in, Sloane’s cousin and her boyfriend share a room, and other potential couples are also present which results in talk/jokes of teen pregnancies. References to steamy movies.
Violence: Attemtped s*xual assault, Sloane almost gets a concussion while dangerously sledding, punching, and the movie “Die Hard” is mentioned and quoted.
Other: Moderately frequent coarse language (h*ll, d*mn, sh*t, and the f-word are all used throughout as are s*xual jokes/words), death of a parent (past), parental neglect, deception, miscommunication, jokes surrounding alcohol/drugs (I I remember correctly, there’s no direct usage), reckless choices, and breaking into school to borrow/use something. LGBTQ+ side characters are present; a couple same-sex relationships pertaining to side characters, and there is someone referred to as “they/them” only present in a few scenes).
Christian: None. The characters don’t celebrate the birth of Christ as the meaning of Christmas, which was disappointing to see. Instead, it focuses more on how Christmas is a time of friends and memories. There is a passing mention of the “original” tradition of the winter solstice, and the town follows that tradition as one of the festival events.
~Final Thoughts~
Falling Like Snow is a cozy read bursting with larger than life characters. Overall, it may not be the first wintery/Christmas season book I recommend, however if you enjoy swoony friends-to-lovers, festive, teen-years feel, fun, and sweet seasonal reads (which of course are lovely for any time of the year)! As always, honor your beliefs/convictions about what content you read, and use discernment.
Happy reading :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Books for providing this complimentary e-ARC in exchange for a free, honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

[★—jay—★{🍉🇵🇸}{we fell in love in october}]

GIMME GIMME GIMME
🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼🧎🏻‍♀️‍➡️🧎🏻‍♀️‍➡️🧎🏻‍♀️‍➡️🧎🏻‍♀️‍➡️🛐🛐🛐🛐

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRE-RELEASE

I need this book rn! I loved Falling Like Leaves soooo much I don't know how long I can wait to read this book.

AFTER READ:

Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson 5/5⭐

AWWW so cute! This is THE christmas/winter rom-com of the season!!

Don't forget to follow me on YouTube, where I post all about my favorite clean books! https://www.youtube.com/@ItsRenity

✨Plot✨

Sloane is helping her mother plan the Falling Like Snow festival after the crazy success of the Falling Like Leaves festival. As she and her childhood best friend, Asher, run around town, go to school, and help Sloane's mom for the first time, they start liking and dating people. Sloane is talking to her crush she's had since forever, and Asher is talking to a pretty girl at school. But what happens when Sloane realizes who she loved might've been in love with was Asher the whole time?

Loved the tropes and the book overall!

✨Characters✨

I loved seeing the friend group and Ellis & Cooper again. The character development and overall personalities of the characters shined through. I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to get the next one in the series.

✨Romance✨
The miscommunication was aggravating at times, but it was so cute and sweet and wholesome. The build-up was so worth it!!

✨Writing Style✨
BEAUTIFUL. I was with the characters the whole time, and I loved every second of it! Once I started, I couldn't put it down! I still can't believe this is only Misty's second rom-com; they are amazing!!


✨Would I Recommend It?✨

YES! This is THE christmas/winter rom-com of the season!!!

[jo ❣︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

huge thanks to netgalley for the arc

such a fun wintery vibes novel! even though friends to lovers IS my least favorite romantic trope ever, i did really like the way it was woven throughout this story and love the fmc and even how the cameos from falling like leaves! perfect read for christmas season/winter!

[🌷Holly · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Well netgalley apparently approved my request!! but I have a few books on my TBR to get through first 🥹😂🤭 Plan to read after falling like leaves, and my current read!

[Belle · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

OK, I’m honestly so disappointed by this! I was so excited for this new release in this series, but so many things just didn’t hit for me, or I don’t think were executed in the best way. I will still be continuing with this series, because I believe this author can write a really great book, but I think that this one definitely missed the mark on a lot of things.RTC

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane and Asher barely make it through Sleepless in Seattle before her mother calls an EMERGENCY TOURISM MEETING because apparently Bramble Falls considers finishing a Nora Ephron movie less important than inventing an entire Christmas festival with several weeks' notice.

I had never met these people before, and within minutes I was being informed that Bramble Falls recently had a wildly successful fall festival and has therefore decided the only reasonable response is to DO IT AGAIN. But colder. At Christmas. Immediately. Sloane was supposed to be enjoying some downtime with her best friend Asher, but her mother is the tourism director and has apparently never met a season she couldn't turn into a community-wide obligation. Everybody grab your mittens and report for festive duty.

Sloane, to be fair, is not exactly dragged kicking and screaming into this because she LOVES Christmas. She is stressed, she is busy, she would probably benefit from lying horizontally for several business days, but somebody says "Christmas festival" and this girl's internal event planner sits straight up. Her cousin Ellis is involved. There's Cooper and Jake and Fern and this whole group of people who clearly have history together, and coming into Falling Like Snow without reading the earlier books basically felt like being brought to somebody's holiday party where everyone already knows each other. Give me ten minutes and a cookie. I'll figure out the relationships.

The one relationship I figured out IMMEDIATELY was Sloane and Asher because please. These two are best friends. BEST FRIENDS. They marathon Nora Ephron movies together. He knows her moods. He knows when something is wrong. He's built into her life to the point where she barely seems to notice how much space he occupies in it. And Sloane is walking around like, yep, that's Asher, my completely ordinary platonic best friend whom I am absolutely not going to start thinking about differently the second another boy enters the situation. Sure, Jan.

Enter Micah. Hockey player. Cute. Interested. Sloane notices. Micah notices that Sloane notices. We are flirting now. Great! Have fun! Be teenagers! Except Sloane is having her cute little Micah moments while also maintaining a completely unnecessary awareness of what Asher is doing at all times. Then Daphne gets anywhere near Asher and suddenly Sloane's brain opens a case file. Who is she? Why are they talking? Why do I care? I DON'T care. Anyway, what are they talking about? Girl, you are tracking this man's movements like his mother asked you to pick him up from the airport.

And ASHER. Buddy. You aren't fooling anybody either. Micah can barely exist in Sloane's general vicinity without Asher developing the emotional posture of someone who just bit into a lemon but doesn't want anyone to know. He is trying so hard to stay inside the Best Friend boundaries while every cell in his body is filing an objection. These two spend a frankly impressive amount of time being jealous of people they technically have no right to be jealous of and then returning to each other like, anyway, friendship! Friendship is going GREAT!

Sloane keeps trying to sort all this out while simultaneously helping create an entire Christmas festival because apparently emotional avoidance is easier when you have decorations to hang. She likes Micah. But Asher feels different now. Except maybe he doesn't. Except why does Daphne bother her? Except Micah is right there and uncomplicated. Except Asher knows her in that deeply annoying way only somebody who has been beside you forever can know you. I wanted to take the remote from these two, pause Sleepless in Seattle, and ask what exactly they thought they had been learning from all these movies.

And Micah eventually does something that made me sit up and go, oh, NO, we're not doing that. No spoilers, but I had been perfectly willing to let this hockey flirtation play itself out until a boundary got crossed and my goodwill packed its little Christmas suitcase and left. What I liked was Sloane didn't need anybody else to tell her how she should feel about it. She knew. She handled herself. Whatever confusion she has about her heart, she still knows when someone makes a choice involving her that isn't theirs to make.

Then there's Sloane's dad. That part got me because Christmas is genuinely her favorite thing, and missing someone doesn't politely wait until you're finished enjoying yourself. You can be excited about the lights and movies and traditions and still suddenly feel the empty space where someone should be. Sloane doesn't need to stop loving Christmas for her grief to be real. She gets to carry both. That's it. That hurt.

And honestly, that's why I gave Sloane and Asher some grace while also wanting to shake them gently underneath the mistletoe. If you fall for some random person and it goes badly, you lose the romance. If you fall for your best friend and it goes badly, you could lose the person you'd normally call afterward to say, "You are not going to BELIEVE what happened." Of course they're scared. Of course they're being weird. Unfortunately, I still have to watch them be weird, and there were stretches where I wanted everyone to stop communicating through jealousy and just use their indoor voices.

Falling Like Snow landed at 3.5 stars for me. I hadn't read Falling Like Leaves, and while I could tell some of these people had already lived an entire book's worth of business before I arrived, I never felt completely lost. I wanted a little more time with Sloane and Asher just being the best friends who made all those complicated feelings matter in the first place, but I still had a cute time watching two dedicated Nora Ephron viewers somehow fail the practical exam.

Merry Mayhem Prize: For Making an Entire Christmas Festival Stand Around Holding Garland While Two Best Friends Discover Jealousy and Immediately Refuse to Identify It

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC and for introducing me to Bramble Falls, a town where apparently weather cannot simply happen. It needs a committee, a festival, several dozen decorations, and at least one teenager realizing her best friend has been looking suspiciously boyfriend-shaped this entire time.

[Jessica Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

So as you’re all aware, FALLING LIKE LEAVES was a perfect autumnal romance so my hopes for FALLING LIKE SNOW?? Sky high! Misty Wilson did not disappoint. Asher and Sloane made my heart sing, made me scream “admit your feelings, already!” and melt into a puddle of candy cane goo when they finally, finally had That Talk. This is a romance I’ll be comfort reading every winter, and I suspect many of you will be too! FLS is cozy from start to finish and if only all future partners were like Asher. The THINGS he does for Sloane in this book?? You’re not ready. ❤️

[elovebooks · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

3,25 ★ —

Je crois que je n'ai jamais autant eu l'impression d'être plongée dans l'esprit de Noël en écoutant un livre ✨

C'est vraiment le genre de livre réconfortant qui donne l'impression de regarder un téléfilm de Noël sous un plaid, avec un chocolat chaud à côté. C'est une romance très Young Adult, toute mignonne et douce, qui peut être lue dès le début de l'adolescence.

L'histoire d'amour prend son temps, c'est un sloooow burn comme on les aime quand on aime voir les sentiments se développer petit à petit.

Ce livre se prête particulièrement bien à l'écoute ! J'ai vraiment adoré cette façon de découvrir l'histoire. La voix donne vie aux personnages et à l'ambiance de Noël.

Une histoire toute douce, cosy et réconfortante, parfaite pour se préparer à l'arrivée de Noël 🎄

*écouté en audio sur @ecoutezlire dans le cadre d'une collaboration commerciale*

—
IG : @elovebooks

[Sydney]

Pre release:
AHHHH I CANT WAIT FOR THISSS!! AND I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE ABOUT ASHER AND SLOAN!!!

[Fifi’s Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said this for Falling Like Leaves and I’ll say it for again for this. This series is the absolute best of the books of this type in this genre. You know, the small town Gilmore Girls Hallmark movie type romances. And it’s not to say I haven’t tried other ones, or the viral ones. I’ve read many in this style to chase the kind of feeling these kinds of books give: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, If It Makes You Happy, etc. And I’m not trying to play a comparison game or anything, but in my opinion, of any book in this cozy Gilmore Girls/Hallmark type genre, this series is the greatest. It pulls off what the more viral autumnal romance books try to do but don’t do as well as these books.

Falling Like Leaves last year was everything I wanted (one of the most Gilmore Girls-y Hallmark-y autumnal books in existence) and though the focus is on Winter rather than Autumn, the novelty isn’t gone at all. It’s got the SAME vibes the SAME coziness the SAME feeling of what made the first book so special. I clocked that from the very first chapter. Plus, the only thing better than small town fall is small town winter. Sloane and her mom are so painfully Lorelai and Rory too (down to the poptarts) it just ugh makes me wanna rewatch Gilmore Girls all over again.

Falling Like Snow takes place immediately after the previous book, and ugh Bramble Falls just made me crave small town life in New England all over again. Picture living in a quaint town where you can hear kids playing in the leaves, neighbors holding hot drinks on their porches, the scent of cinnamon and spice from a local coffee shop, and a quant downtown area complete with cat cafe, library, and diner. Complete with a huge annual autumn festival, and now, a Falling Snow festival too, preceding an annual Snow Ball on Christmas Eve amongst other cozy Christmas festivities such as holiday market, and cozy activities at the Bramble Inn. Serious question, which small towns (preferably in New England) are similar to this because I think I need to find an hyperfixation town, since Bramble Falls unfortunately isn’t real.

The best way I can describe this book is it just makes me feel nostalgic for a time that doesn’t exist anymore. It’s not a 90s or early 2000s book or anything but it kind of gives off that kind of energy somehow? Maybe it’s because of the small town vibe. It just feels like a time where life felt slower and back when we had just the right amount of technology. This book made me miss being young and going out to diners with my best friend, miss the feeling of being part of a big friend group when you’re young and making friends was easier, miss the innocent of when life felt simpler. Books like these are the only way I can get even a semblance of that feeling back, and I think that’s why I feel so drawn to YA sometimes. I actually love that it’s YA, because it brings this spark of a reminder of when life felt easier. It gives me the same spark of a feeling similar to time I lived before and never will again. It’s just so cute, so innocent, so cozy, and makes me miss being this young. Ugh I sound old.

This book is a standalone but I highly highly recommend reading Falling Like Leaves first for full immersion. I loved seeing Ellis again, and good ole Jake (who I still feel kinda bad for, if you’ve read Falling Like Leaves ikyk) and Cooper of course. I feel such an attachment to my babies Ellis and Cooper who already got their happily ever after. Admittedly friends to lovers isn’t a favorite trope of mine, but Sloane and Asher’s dynamic was SO cute, their chemistry insane, and honestly, I was just happy to be back in Bramble Falls. My only real complaint was that Ellis and Cooper took a huge backseat to this story and it felt like the other secondary characters played a much bigger part, but I think that is because they’re being set up to have their own stories later in the series. I just am biased and I miss my babies!

One of the most fun parts of reading this was theorizing who the couples for books 3 and 4 will be, but I have my theories 🫢 I will read ANYTHING Misty Wilson writes at this point. Bramble Falls forever!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

[Alice TUET · Rating 3 out of 5]

l’absence de réalisme m’a tendu mais c’est ok
en vrai je l’ai quand même avalé (oui j’ai terminé hier soir à 23h, alors que j’avais à peine commencé) j’avais envie de savoir la suite (le guilty pleasure). un peu de représentation aussi, c’est toujours bien. bon apres les personnages principaux étaient insupportables, Sloane fait tourner tout le monde en bourrique sans se questionner, on dirait moi en 5e mais sans les garçons autour lol 🤙🏻 pour une fois j’ai plus deteste une meuf que les hommes du livre, qui pour le coup se remettent en question, mais elle je compte charge her pour mon cringe. Par ailleurs, qui crée une patinoire avec un tuyau d’arrosage en plein milieu de la ville ? Aussi les réf à Gilmore Girls et la main characterisation pathologique c’est stop

[Krista ⟡ Ever Bookish · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

⟡ Thank you for the free book, Simon Teen.

I loved returning to the charming little town of Bramble Falls. While Falling Like Leaves captured the coziness of autumn, this second installment put me in the holiday spirit. This sweet YA romance had plenty of heart and an ending that left me smiling. I look forward to more from this author.

[ᴄᴀᴛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4☆ | not sure if I liked this one or Falling Like Leaves more, they were both so good in their own ways. Both were equally charming and had different settings as they're set in different seasons.

I typically don't mind love triangles, but in this book it just annoyed me, because like..the obvious choice is clearly Asher, not Micah. The whole book I was just waiting for them to finally get together.

I love how this author writes friendships and family relationships in her books, I really loved those moments in the book where Sloane and her family were jsur hanging out together.

I LOVE Sloane and Asher, and they're adorable together. But OH MY GODDD the secrets and jealously was getting on my nerves😭 like please just TALK. Just talk it out and we wouldn't have to deal with that.
But Asher really annoyed me with that water tower/cake scene. Like I was genuinely so annoyed when I read how he was reacting to a cake that was MADE FOR HIM.

Really didn't like Micah, every scene with him in it I wanted to put my phone down and stop reading because ew get off my screen, I don't like you.

Also...books 3 and 4 when? Because likee, I need more 😇

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to have an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Alexandria Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling Like Snow gave me the cozy, nostalgic, small town holiday feeling I wanted. It’s giving Gilmore Girls meets a Hallmark Christmas movie, except everyone is young, adorable, and apparently incapable of just admitting who they’re in love with.😂

And Sloane…Girl.😭You are planning an entire Christmas festival, dealing with grief, trying to figure out your feelings, AND expected to make sense of a love triangle situation? Babe. Sit down. Have some hot chocolate.
The second Micah enters the picture Sloane starts looking at Asher a little differently and her longtime best friend doesn't feel quite so… platonic anymore.👀

ASHER. You had ONE job. You have known this girl forever. You know her better than anyone. You are always there for her. You are basically attached at the hip. And yet both of you spend SO much time circling your feelings instead of just saying them.😩

And then there's Micah. At first, I was like 👀 okayyyy hockey boy, I see you.
The flirting was cute. The chemistry was there. I was entertained. And then he crossed a line and I immediately went….Oh. Absolutely the hell not. I appreciated that Sloane didn't need someone else to tell her what happened wasn't okay. She knew her boundaries, she stood up for herself, and that was important to see.


Sloane loves Christmas. She loves the traditions, the magic, the excitement… but she's also carrying the loss of her dad. And I loved that the book allowed those two things to exist together. You can be excited. You can laugh. You can love the holidays. And you can still miss someone so badly it hurts. That felt very real. ❤️‍🩹

If you haven't read Falling Like Leaves yet, I definitely recommend starting there. While this can technically be read on its own, you'll get so much more out of returning to Bramble Falls when you already know the people, relationships, and history.

This was CUTE. COZY. FESTIVE. EMOTIONAL. ❄️🫶🏾
It made me laugh. It made me want to move to a fictional New England town where apparently every season requires an elaborate festival.😂 And most importantly, it reminded me why I love YA contemporary romance. There's something so sweet about watching characters figure out who they are, what they want, and what happens when the person you've always seen as your best friend starts looking a whole lot like the person you might want forever.


🎄 Christmas Romance

🫶🏾 Best Friends to Lovers

🏒 Hockey Player

👀 Love Triangle

🏡 Small Town

✨ Cozy YA Romance

🎅 Christmas Festival

❤️‍🩹 Grief & Healing

👯‍♀️ Found Family / Friend Group

💋 First Love

[lydia {67} ୨ৎ · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

review:

thanks to netgalley, publisher, and author for this arc in exchange for my honest review!


✨✨✨ ~ 3.5 stars


this book was cute. yes, it was very cliche, but that's the kind of book it is and I honestly wouldn't change that. I really did enjoy it, and I think if I hadn't read 3 books with very similar plots (cozy christmas ya romance) in a row, this would have easily been a 4 or 4.5 star book. the characters were written pretty well and there was some development. my favorite part was the dedication which was to people who listen to christmas music before thanksgiving (me!!) which started the book off well and it did not go downhill from there! I think my biggest ick was that sloane was just dumb, and yes I know I said this was your typical girl doesn't know her boy bff likes her book, but it was still SO annoying and sloane just needed to lock in and maybe open her eyes a little 😭 overall a cute book, and I love that it tied back to the first bramble falls book!



preread:

hehehehe i got the arccc and the first book was lwk good so i'm so excited. plus its a christmas romance which are my 2 fav things so i'm readyyy

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet friends to lovers small town holiday romance set in the town of Bramble Falls. I adored this YA love story - the second in the series - just as much as the first book and I'm excited for the 3rd book coming next Spring! Asher and Sloane were adorable together. He falls first while she's a bit clueless. A cute read for the holidays. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

[emily ⋆☕︎(school s-ia + slowly getting out of slump)]

GUYS THE COVER OMGGGGGGGG IM OBSESSED 😝

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading and loving Falling Like Leaves last year I was so excited to get my hands on another book set in this charming small town — and a Christmas book no less!!!

Let me tell you, if you want Christmas vibes, look no further than this book! It was full of so many fun, Christmassy activities. It made me long for the Christmas season — and it made me wish that I live in a town that goes all out for Christmas like that.

Plotwise, I liked the first book more, but I think that’s because I’m just not a fan of the “friends to more” trope. Sloane and Asher were so much more than friends and it was almost painfully obvious. It reminded me a bit of a YA version of Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune in that Sloane was almost comically oblivious to her feelings for Asher (and his for her). There were so many things he did that had me thinking “a guy would never do that for someone he was just friends with!” And then Sloane would say that they were just friends, she wasn’t attracted to him, etc. Asher’s whole “give her a trip to NYC” was a perfect example. He would never have done that if he wasn’t completely in love with her.

I also didn’t really like the situation with Micah. It felt like Sloane led him on for almost the entire book. She was very flirty (especially over text) and ran hot and cold with him. I felt bad for Micah for most of the book. And then, just when it felt like Sage was the “bad guy” in her own book, the author decided to have Micah become the bad guy by kissing her without consent. I will say, he wasn’t right for doing that, but I was also glad he called Sloane out for leading him on later.

Basically, there was a lot of drama in the relationships in this book. I didn’t really care for Asher because he seemed very unrealistic for a teenage boy and Sloane definitely took Asher for granted.

I did really like Sloane’s relationship with her mother and the book was also poignant at times as it deals with the loss of a loved one around the holidays. While Sloane loves Christmas, it also makes her sad because her father died during the Christmas season. I also liked Sloane’s friend group and how they were always there for each other. And of course I loved the Christmas elements. I just wasn’t wild about all the relationship drama.



Thank you to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[The Bookish Elf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Bramble Falls book belonged to Ellis, the city girl sent to spend an autumn in her mother's tiny Connecticut town. Sloane Sullivan was the cousin who showed her around, the mayor's daughter with a pun for every occasion. Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson hands Sloane the microphone, and it starts by taking away the one thing she wanted. The day after Thanksgiving, her mother calls an emergency meeting around the kitchen table and announces that the town, newly famous for its viral autumn festival, will now stage a winter one. December starts in two days. Sloane's winter-break trip to New York with Ellis quietly dies on the spot.

What happens next is the book's best idea. Asher Yoshida, her best friend since kindergarten, decides that if Sloane cannot go to the city, the city will have to come to her. He starts with a dinner in his back yard, inside an igloo he has spent a week building by hand and lined with fairy lights.

What Falling Like Snow Adds

The first change is tone. Sloane narrates in a breezy present tense full of jokes, film references and text-message exchanges, and she is funnier than Ellis was. The second is weight. Her father died three years ago, in December, and winter is now the season she loves and dreads at once. Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson is at its best when those two things sit side by side: Sloane laughing at a party, then coming home to find a stocking with her dad's name on it and putting it back in the box.

The third change is the romance itself. Where book one built its couple from scratch, this is friends-to-lovers, and Wilson leans into every beat of it. A popular hockey forward, Micah Cook, flirts with Sloane after she crashes into him on a sledding hill. Asher, meanwhile, starts tutoring a theatre friend called Daphne and keeping secrets. The reader knows exactly where this is going. The fun is supposed to be in the getting there.

What works
Asher's gift is the heart of it. Each stage of his Night in New York City arrives as a surprise, and Wilson makes them inventive and cheap in the way teenagers' gestures really are. A rink he floods in the town square to stand in for Rockefeller Center is a highlight.
The grief is honest. A scratched blue ornament her father once said looked like an S for Sloane, and her mother's habit of filling every hour with work rather than talking about him, are handled without melodrama.
The mother steals scenes. Naomi Sullivan is a mayor who births festivals overnight and teases her daughter mercilessly, and the relationship between them gives Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson its warmest material.
Micah gets more than one dimension. He is more than the wrong boy. He screen-prints Sloane's pun T-shirts in his garage and volunteers when he does not have to, and Wilson resists turning him into a cartoon.
Where It Gives Ground
The middle runs on misunderstandings. In Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson, secrets are kept for no good reason, a lie goes unexplained, and nobody checks an assumption. A single honest conversation would settle most of the second half, and the book half admits it.
Sloane's inner loop repeats. From roughly the halfway point she cycles through the same worry about losing Asher, and the same stomach flips and racing pulses, more often than the plot needs.
Threads are left for later. A flirtation between Jake and Ellis's friend Fern is set up and then parked, presumably for the next book.
Do You Need Falling Like Leaves First?

No. Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson explains everything it needs in the opening chapters: who Ellis is, why the town is suddenly busy, and how the friend group fits together. Reading book one first adds some pleasure, mainly in watching Cooper and Ellis as an established couple and catching references to the autumn festival. But Sloane's story is complete on its own, and it is a perfectly good place to start.

What Stays With You

It is predictable, and it knows it. The middle takes the long way round, and the triangle never threatens the ending anyone can see coming. What stays is the kindness of it: a boy who could not afford a plane ticket and built his best friend a city instead, a girl learning to say her father's name out loud, and a mother who finally sits still. Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson is the cosiest YA romance of the season, best read under a blanket with the snow coming down.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Key takeaways after reading the Advanced Reader Copy of this second title in the Bramble Falls romance series:

*Sloane and Asher were a small part of the season opener and their close friendship was firmly established but is it more than that? And what about hunky Micah who clearly is interested in Sloane who is definitely flattered by her first real attention from possible boyfriend material and absolutely enjoying the view of this gorgeous hockey player.

*Sloane still feeling the aching loss of her dad even after three years but mom won’t talk about it, do any of the things the three of them did together, or acknowledge the feelings that come when a loved one dies. Sloane and her mom ARE able to talk about dating, kissing and how to know if you like someone in the kissing kind of way and by the book’s end, are finding a way to talk about the loss of her dad.

*Flirty texts between Sloane and Micah are funny, ever so slightly suggestive but never about more than kissing.

*Plenty of laugh out loud comments, game playing mishaps, smore’s making over cinnamon scented candles, and parental interjections mixed in with the romance, friend-fun, relationship confusion and town festival events.

*”Consent” a part of Sloane’s story but without rape or attempted rape. Even kisses can be unwanted and no means no regardless of the level of physical contact.

Overall thoughts by this adult reader of YA? Filled with realistic life choices of juniors and seniors in high school, heavy on the swoony romance including great kissing only, nice mix of highly supportive parents as well as those who need to do better, includes great variety of people without making race, economic level or identity a theme, and is likely to be very popular with high school romance readers.

Recommended for those in grades 9 and up.

*Profanity: Only one curse word in the first 50 or so pages and that was in the context of a movie quote but it did step up as the festivities and love/friendship triangle becomes more defined but only 5 f-bombs and about 30 milder curse words throughout the 352 pages with many of those during two high intensity scenes where some profanity seems well-placed.

*Violence: an aggressive male who does not seem to understand the kissing is unwanted despite a clearly vocalized “no” culminating in a well-placed fist to his face

*Representation: Daphne has brown skin, Asher is mixed race (Japanese/Caucasian), friend Preeti’s name has Hindi roots, various interests among MC Sloane’s friends (sports, choir, drama) as well as varying economic levels; family configurations diverse (widowed mom of one child, dad/grandmother/one child home, divorced but basically single mom, traditional two parent)

*Sexual content: Some heart palpation-inducing descriptions of a few kisses and some close proximity male-female positioning but clothes are always on, no sex on or off page, and hands are never in a more than a PG location; Sloane’s mom questions if condoms need to be in her daughter’s bedside table (and the answer is an emphatic “no.”)

* LBGTQ+: Sterling uses they/them; Parker upset about a breakup with her girlfriend but Chloe may be interested in filling that now vacant role; all references are references are casually included and not integral to the plot.

*Other notes on content: a quick reference to a beer pong game happening in the background of the main action at an after hockey game party at a high school player’s home

It is not necessary to have read the series opener Falling Like Leaves, but after reading Falling Like Snow, many will want to know more about Ellis and Cooper’s story and the Fall Festival in Bramble Falls, the focuses of the first installment.

Thanks for the arc, Simon & Schuster.

[KKono_The_Booknerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of Advanced Copy received from NetGalley





Thank you so much to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, and the amazing author herself, Misty Wilson, for this advanced reader copy! My review is down below:


Title: Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
Tropes: Childhood freinds to lovers, found family, cozy winter vibes
Song to describe this book: My Favorite Things by Julie Andrews.


Okay! I have so many thoughts on this review. I am going to start positive, because I have some other things to say, but wanted to keep it nice first!

This book was very cute! I was enjoying the winter vibes, it felt so cozy! It was nice to be back in Bramble Falls, especially with such a fun winter setting! It made Bramble Falls even more cozy, and all of the winter activities that were planned and set througout out the book, were enjoyable, creative, and fun to read about, especially as a fan of Christmas myself. I loved how we got to see Sloane and Asher’s relationship develop through this winter season. The writing was really good and it made me even more excited for the next book (which, I think I know who it’ll be 😉) I liked that there was so much pop culture references, rom com and Christmas movies, and Christmas songs!
Okay, on to the main characters! I loved the found family in this! It felt like we got to see more of the main group, which was nice! I loved their dynamic, and I am excited to see more of them. It really added to the cozy vibes of the story. Sloane and Asher, they were perfect! I love a good friends to lovers, and it was so cute! Sloane was pretty relatable, especially the people pleasing part. She grew so much, which reminded me of the character growth in Ellis from book one. And Asher, he is just so sweet! The little things he did for Sloane, I really loved it (readers, you know what I’m talking about with the whole New York thing). It was sweet seeing their relationship grow and they were so loveable. I hated a certain guy, and enjoyed all the time that Sloane got with her mom (especially the conversation at the end!)
Normally, I feel like I would be upset by the miscommunication and the problems that Sloane and Asher were facing. But as someone that was in a friends to lovers, miscommunication kind of situation, I think its important that these issues are highlighted and talked about in books (especially in a young adult, high school romance).That not every day in high school, or even with your best freind, is going to be good. There are going to be days when you don’t talk about anything, or have feelings for someone else, or avoid a certain conversation. And that is okay. I really liked that part. It was nice to see Sloane and Asher really work through those problems, which is very necessary, especially being in high school. It teaches you and prepares you for relationships in the future. So I loved seeing that! All of that was written so perfectly!
I have some negative things, but I’ll just list them. I love Misty Wilson and her work so much, and Bramble Falls will always hold such a special place in my heart:
—I felt it was a little confusing and felt kind of rushed
—Sloane spent a lot of time with Micah, and that was something I got a little annoyed with
—Micah.
—I wish Sloane could have spent more time with Ellis!
—So much conflict (But, that is how they grow, so this one is more 50/50).

Overall, it was so cute! It was enjoyable rom-com, especially the fact it was holiday themed! I am so grateful I got to read this and I’m so excited for Bramble Falls 3!!

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling Like Snow - Misty Wilson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎵: I Knew It, I Knew You - Taylor Swift

Thank you netgalley, simonteen, and amazing Misty Wilson for this arc!!

Falling Like Snow is the second book in the Bramble Falls series, but definitely can be read as a stand alone as I have not read the first book. The book is about Sloane Sullivan, the mayors daughter, and Asher Yoshida, her bestfriend. They live in a cute little town in Connecticut called Bramble Falls. It is quite literally Stars Hollow (the town in Gilmore girls) in a book. Every year they do a fall festival and after gaining a lot of traction this year, Sloane’s mom decides they should do one for the winter. As Sloane and all her friends scramble to plan & work all the events in this festival, we get to see how Sloane & Asher navigate their friendship after a boy becomes interested in Sloane.

I LOVE the amount of references in this book!! From musicals to romcoms to Taylor swift, this book had it ALL. I was absolutely obsessed and couldn’t put this book down. WOW MISTY WILSON YOU HAVE DONE YOUR BIG ONE.

This is literally stars hollow in a book and you can’t convince me otherwise. This book makes me think that I need to move to a small little town that gets snow during the winter and I’m from the south!!!

Speaking of, it is the middle of summer and now I’m just wanting Christmas to be here already. I wish my town did all these festivities for the holidays.

In books, I get very annoyed when the author makes the main character (specifically the woman) unable to defend herself and just be so obnoxious and honestly, pathetic. So when she did what she did at ball (spoiler free review) I WAS JUMPING FOR JOY! She clocked tf out of that boy and we love to see it.

When this book comes out, RUN do not walk to go pick it up and read it. You will not be disappointed!

[Katie Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you @simonteen @simon.audio for the books! #simonteeninfluencer #simonaudioinfluencer

Sloane’s in the middle of planning Bramble Falls’ first Christmas festival when she suddenly crashes her sled into the school’s hockey star.Asher’s in the middle of helping his best friend Sloane, like always, when he realizes said hockey star has started flirting with her.Now all three of them are in the middle of a love triangle even less predictable than Sloane’s sled ride.

This picks up about a month after FALLING LIKE LEAVES, but you could absolutely start here. Though honestly, both are worth reading because Bramble Falls has that rare fictional-town quality where it feels like people actually live there.

The vibes are doing serious work: Stars Hollow-level town activities, outdoor skating, mistletoe kissing, and every wildly specific activity Asher manages to orchestrate. But it’s really the writing that keeps all of that from feeling like a checklist. You’re not just watching the town be festive—you feel dropped directly into it with them.

I’m talking-
He watches Nora Ephron movies with her
Every widely specific nyc winter activity remade
Hockey boy complications
Mistletoe
Snowed in sleepovers

Micah’s behavior made me furious, but I was also yelling at Sloane a little because she’s actively trying to untangle her feelings for Asher while continuing to flirt with him like that is somehow going to make things less complicated.

Meanwhile, Asher is the actual shining Christmas star of this book, and watching Sloane slowly catch up to what everyone else can already see is half the fun.

If you love teen angst, tiny festive towns, and best friends very inconveniently realizing they might be something more, grab this immediately for your holiday TBR.

Similar:
Catching Feelings by Emily Charlotte
Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
Mint to Be by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

🌶️closed door romance, mild innuendo
⚠️explicit language (infrequent), previous death of a parent, kissing & groping without consent, underage drinking

[Read_with_Beans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing me with an ARC of Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson.

Falling Like Leave was my favorite fall read and YA romance of 2025, so when I saw the author had a new winter/Christmas themed YA romance, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. I am incredibly grateful for the ARC, but I have already purchased a physical copy so I can re-read it later this winter season.

This book is a standalone, interconnected YA romance. It takes place in Bramble Falls and mentions the characters and the fall festival that Falling Like Leaves centered around. Fortunately, you don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

The main characters are Sloane Sullivan and Asher. Sloane’s mom is the mayor of Bramble Falls, so the Winter Festival and its success fall on her shoulders, keeping her busy and stressed. Sloane and her best friend Asher are as sweet as the candy hot chocolate they sip throughout the book. This book is about best friends who are starting to have feelings but are scared to face them or even admit them. Throw in Sloane’s father’s passing three years ago, Asher’s absent father, jealousy, and teenage issues, and this book packs more than just a sweet, sugary romance.

This book is wholesome and will warm your heart. The sweet things that Asher does for his best friend Sloane will make you wish you had an Asher to call your best friend. This book will appeal to readers of young adult books, both young and old.
This is a kisses-only romance between high school students.

I highly recommend picking this book up this holiday season, and if you haven’t read Falling Like Leaves, what are you even waiting for?!?!?!

[Mella aka Maron]

DNF at 27%

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC but I must be a Scrooge because bah humbug, I’m bored.

I don’t really like Sloane at all. She’s obnoxious and not in a good way. She’s so oblivious to things and I can’t take her “there are no feelings” mantra. I don’t believe that she would suddenly grow feelings for her friend within the next few weeks. I much prefer mutual attraction but reluctance in my friends-to-lovers, not obliviousness.

Her insta-attraction to the hockey boy was so out of nowhere too. She’s lived in this small town all her life and only just is like “oh hey, he’s hot” when he talks to her? If you really cared to get to know him, you would have in such a small town. I was hoping it would have been someone not from there so it would make sense.

Asher is a very typical “I’d do anything for this girl but she has no idea” simp. He’s not particularly interesting though. Their friendship banter is boring too. There is no underlying flirting. It’s legit just two friends talking. 🙃

The plot is … frustrating. It’s the same plot as book one except it’s a Winter festival we decided to do in the span of two days!!! ☠️☠️☠️ And the mom plot… ugh. As someone who knows grief has different ways of showing itself, this ideology that the mom is in the wrong for not doing things the same way as her dead husband… I hate it. I hated the parent plot for book one too so that’s 0/2 😂

Anyway, I think for this one, it’s just a whole bunch of stuff coming together into a book I didn’t really like and have no desire to continue. I might give Wilson one more shot but as a library read and with a different series, not Bramble Falls.

[Courtney Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misty Wilson can do no wrong. I absolutely loved being back in Bramble Falls for the winter season, and this book truly has all the perfect cozy vibes. The friends-to-lovers trope was top-tier here with Asher and Sloane. I could tell how much they cared about each other from the very first chapter. I also am not 16 anymore, but I feel like Misty encapsulates all the confusion and strong feelings that teenagers really experience. I loved all the winter festival activities and the Stars Hollow vibe. It was meta enough to include actual Gilmore Girls references without overpowering the story. I also really enjoyed the side characters and the friendships that are so important and prominent throughout the book. It helps round out the story, and Misty did that so well. Something about her writing is just so impactful, and by the end of Sloane and Asher's story, I was in tears. The communication and the vulnerability between them were done beautifully. I would have loved to see them exploring their romantic relationship a smidge more, but I thought the development and pacing were really well done. Plus, I know there are two more books in this series, so I'm sure I'll see more of them to come! This is one of my favorites for sure, and I can't wait to see what Misty will do next. Thank you to Simon Teen for the ARC to read and review!

[Nicole · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

3-3.5 stars. First things first, while you couldn’t pay me to go back to high school, I do still enjoy reading YA novels from time to time. I thought Falling Like Leaves was adorable and fun last year, so I was excited to return to Bramble Falls in Falling Like Snow. Ultimately, I wish I had enjoyed it a bit more than I did.

I thought Asher was so sweet. He was a great friend to Sloane, and he consistently showed up for her in above and beyond ways. Friends falling in love is not always my favorite trope, but what I really wanted here was more time with Sloane and Asher figuring out their feelings without the extra people involved.

Teenage emotions and decision-making can be so messy, and I always try to keep that in the forefront of my mind when I’m reading YA and give the characters a lot of grace. That effort had to work overtime while reading because, oh boy, were there a lot of frustrating choices being made. Things eventually worked out the way they were supposed to, but with nearly the entire book being spent with Asher and Sloane spending time with other potential love interests instead of each other, it was hard for me personally to get too deeply invested in it.

Shoutout to Swiftie Jake, love you a lot buddy. I do want to read more in this series because the side characters are full of personality and I have a lot of interest in them.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.