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Love in Winter Wonderland
Will Trey and Ariel find their happily ever after in this hopelessly romantic love story?
Trey Anderson is popular and handsome, and he works at his family’s beloved Black-owned bookshop, Wonderland. Ariel Spencer is quirky, creative, and in need of a holiday temp job to cover her tuition for The Artists’ Studio. An opening at Wonderland is the answer . . . and the start of a hate-to-love journey for Trey and Ariel. When Trey and Ariel learn that Wonderland is on the brink of shutting down, can they get over their differences and team up to stop the doors from closing before the deadline?
Trey Anderson is popular and handsome, and he works at his family’s beloved Black-owned bookshop, Wonderland. Ariel Spencer is quirky, creative, and in need of a holiday temp job to cover her tuition for The Artists’ Studio. An opening at Wonderland is the answer . . . and the start of a hate-to-love journey for Trey and Ariel. When Trey and Ariel learn that Wonderland is on the brink of shutting down, can they get over their differences and team up to stop the doors from closing before the deadline?
Audiobook
First published October 3, 2023
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About the author
Abiola Bello
23 books402 followersAbiola Bello is a Nigerian-British, prize-winning children’s/YA author who was born and raised in London. She wrote her first novel at the age of eight and experienced her first taste of ‘being published’ after winning a school poetry competition at the age of 12.
Abiola is an advocate for diversity in books for young people. She’s the author of the award-winning fantasy series EMILY KNIGHT (EMILY KNIGHT I AM, EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED and EMILY KNIGHT I AM BECOMING). EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED was nominated for the CILIP’s Carnegie Award, won London’s BIG Read 2019, and was a finalist for the People’s Book Prize Best Children’s Book.
Abiola contributed to THE VERY MERRY MURDER CLUB, a collection of new mystery fiction from thirteen exciting and diverse children’s writers which published in October 2021 (Farshore/HarperCollins). It was Waterstones November Children's Book of the Month, Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, The Guardian's Children's & Teens Best New Novels.
Her debut YA, LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND, published Winter 2022 (Simon & Schuster UK). It was an Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, Amazon Editor's Choice for Black History Month 2022, featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels and was on an Amazon Billboard for Black History Month in Leicester Square. LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND was sold to the US, Germany and Poland. The US edition is a Junior Library Guild Pick and the German edition was shortlisted for Best YA and Best Cover for the Lovely Books Community Award 2023.
Abiola's latest book ONLY FOR THE HOLIDAYS published Autumn 2023 (Simon & Schuster UK). It was The Bookseller One To Watch, one of Waterstones Best Paperbacks of 2023 and featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels.
Abiola won The Black British Business Awards - Arts and Media 2023, The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2018. She is the co-founder of Hashtag Press, Hashtag BLAK, The Diverse Book Awards and ink!
Abiola has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Female First Magazine, The Mirror, BBC1XTRA to name a few. As well as being a writer, Abiola is a professional dancer. She has performed for more than a decade in prestigious venues including The Royal Opera House, The Barbican, Sadler’s Wells, Hammersmith Apollo, Unicorn Theatre. Abiola has also appeared on BBC’s The Apprentice, “Got To Dance” and Street Dance AllStars The Movie.
Abiola is an advocate for diversity in books for young people. She’s the author of the award-winning fantasy series EMILY KNIGHT (EMILY KNIGHT I AM, EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED and EMILY KNIGHT I AM BECOMING). EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED was nominated for the CILIP’s Carnegie Award, won London’s BIG Read 2019, and was a finalist for the People’s Book Prize Best Children’s Book.
Abiola contributed to THE VERY MERRY MURDER CLUB, a collection of new mystery fiction from thirteen exciting and diverse children’s writers which published in October 2021 (Farshore/HarperCollins). It was Waterstones November Children's Book of the Month, Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, The Guardian's Children's & Teens Best New Novels.
Her debut YA, LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND, published Winter 2022 (Simon & Schuster UK). It was an Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, Amazon Editor's Choice for Black History Month 2022, featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels and was on an Amazon Billboard for Black History Month in Leicester Square. LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND was sold to the US, Germany and Poland. The US edition is a Junior Library Guild Pick and the German edition was shortlisted for Best YA and Best Cover for the Lovely Books Community Award 2023.
Abiola's latest book ONLY FOR THE HOLIDAYS published Autumn 2023 (Simon & Schuster UK). It was The Bookseller One To Watch, one of Waterstones Best Paperbacks of 2023 and featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels.
Abiola won The Black British Business Awards - Arts and Media 2023, The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2018. She is the co-founder of Hashtag Press, Hashtag BLAK, The Diverse Book Awards and ink!
Abiola has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Female First Magazine, The Mirror, BBC1XTRA to name a few. As well as being a writer, Abiola is a professional dancer. She has performed for more than a decade in prestigious venues including The Royal Opera House, The Barbican, Sadler’s Wells, Hammersmith Apollo, Unicorn Theatre. Abiola has also appeared on BBC’s The Apprentice, “Got To Dance” and Street Dance AllStars The Movie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,234 reviews
November 6, 2023
4 stars
i just wish that tre believed her instead of that vile thing he called a girlfriend!
i just wish that tre believed her instead of that vile thing he called a girlfriend!
November 4, 2024
3.5/5 ⭐️
- This is a perfect book to read during the holiday season because it gives hallmark movie vibes! Kids banding together to save a bookstore? OH IM SAT!!
- Really love how much the author has you on the edge of your seat to see if they save the bookstore or not. Didn’t expect the little love triangle situation, but it kept the story moving at a great pace!
- I haven’t been gravitating towards young adult books lately, but this didn’t even really feel like it was one! The characters were so mature and I’d definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a cutesy Christmas read.
- This is a perfect book to read during the holiday season because it gives hallmark movie vibes! Kids banding together to save a bookstore? OH IM SAT!!
- Really love how much the author has you on the edge of your seat to see if they save the bookstore or not. Didn’t expect the little love triangle situation, but it kept the story moving at a great pace!
- I haven’t been gravitating towards young adult books lately, but this didn’t even really feel like it was one! The characters were so mature and I’d definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a cutesy Christmas read.
October 24, 2024
the plot was a little too cheesy for me and the writing style was weird imo i was expecting ✨🎄hallmark🎄✨but this wasn’t giving
December 9, 2022
3.5⭐️
This was a sweet YA Christmas romance and I was living for the Black British rep!
I loved how wholesome this storyline was in terms of 2 teens coming together and using the power of social media to help save a Black owned indie bookshop from closure.
I loved how natural the 2 MC’s chemistry was, they clearly became good friends while working together before the romantic feelings and it didn’t feel forced to me.
Ariel really carried this book for me, she had so many layers to her personality and was dealing with a lot like weight issues (binge eating), grief (losing her dad), applying for her scholarship to art school and also dealing with bullies.
All while being an amazing friend to Trey and saving the bookshop.
Meanwhile Trey had me on the fence, beyond saving the bookshop and his stage fright I felt like I barely knew him. He was in a relationship with Blair 3/4 of the book even though he acted like he barely liked her, forgetting her birthday, leaving her at a party without saying goodbye, dancing with another girl in front of her on her birthday.
His final straw for me was when he refused to believe Ariel in the 3rd act break up. I was rolling my eyes SO hard and he didn’t even grovel! Ariel approached him and fixed things!! I wish he was written better because he’s not an ideal book boyfriend.
Overall I would recommend this book to 14-18year olds, older reader might find it reads a bit young but I think its still a great Holiday read
This was a sweet YA Christmas romance and I was living for the Black British rep!
I loved how wholesome this storyline was in terms of 2 teens coming together and using the power of social media to help save a Black owned indie bookshop from closure.
I loved how natural the 2 MC’s chemistry was, they clearly became good friends while working together before the romantic feelings and it didn’t feel forced to me.
Ariel really carried this book for me, she had so many layers to her personality and was dealing with a lot like weight issues (binge eating), grief (losing her dad), applying for her scholarship to art school and also dealing with bullies.
All while being an amazing friend to Trey and saving the bookshop.
Meanwhile Trey had me on the fence, beyond saving the bookshop and his stage fright I felt like I barely knew him. He was in a relationship with Blair 3/4 of the book even though he acted like he barely liked her, forgetting her birthday, leaving her at a party without saying goodbye, dancing with another girl in front of her on her birthday.
His final straw for me was when he refused to believe Ariel in the 3rd act break up. I was rolling my eyes SO hard and he didn’t even grovel! Ariel approached him and fixed things!! I wish he was written better because he’s not an ideal book boyfriend.
Overall I would recommend this book to 14-18year olds, older reader might find it reads a bit young but I think its still a great Holiday read
November 20, 2023
✨Infidelity in Winter Wonderland✨
Spoilers below.
Listen, did I like his girlfriend? No. But Trey was a major asshole to both her and Ariel. He was majorly emotionally cheating, checking Ariel out, and literally thinking he was going to dump his girlfriend FOR Ariel. Then his girlfriend is rightfully mad at him, is VERY shitty to Ariel, Ariel then tells Trey at 80% what the girlfriend did, he doesn’t believe Ariel, goes and has sex with his girlfriend who he was going to dump until he got into a fight with Ariel, and doesn’t breakup until 90% of the book.
He then proceeds to blame everything on his girlfriend and take no responsibility for what he’d done. He was like “I didn’t confide in you because I didn’t think you’d care” when he was angry at her for not knowing about his life. It was gaslighty and majorly off putting. Trey was also just a major jerk to Ariel for absolutely no reason throughout the entire book and the poor girl had a crush on him for so long she didn’t stand a chance.
The only parts I really liked were the importance of saving their bookshop—which was Black owned and absolutely charming—and the Christmas playlists at the beginning of each chapter. The audiobook was also superbly narrated, despite a plot I really didn’t like. Nneka Okoye is definitely a favorite narrator of mine!!
⭐️⭐️/5
Thanks so much to the publisher for an ALC copy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.
Spoilers below.
Listen, did I like his girlfriend? No. But Trey was a major asshole to both her and Ariel. He was majorly emotionally cheating, checking Ariel out, and literally thinking he was going to dump his girlfriend FOR Ariel. Then his girlfriend is rightfully mad at him, is VERY shitty to Ariel, Ariel then tells Trey at 80% what the girlfriend did, he doesn’t believe Ariel, goes and has sex with his girlfriend who he was going to dump until he got into a fight with Ariel, and doesn’t breakup until 90% of the book.
He then proceeds to blame everything on his girlfriend and take no responsibility for what he’d done. He was like “I didn’t confide in you because I didn’t think you’d care” when he was angry at her for not knowing about his life. It was gaslighty and majorly off putting. Trey was also just a major jerk to Ariel for absolutely no reason throughout the entire book and the poor girl had a crush on him for so long she didn’t stand a chance.
The only parts I really liked were the importance of saving their bookshop—which was Black owned and absolutely charming—and the Christmas playlists at the beginning of each chapter. The audiobook was also superbly narrated, despite a plot I really didn’t like. Nneka Okoye is definitely a favorite narrator of mine!!
⭐️⭐️/5
Thanks so much to the publisher for an ALC copy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.
October 4, 2023
Love in winter wonderland is a beautiful and heartwarming YA romance book. This Christmas love story takes place in a London Black-owned bookshop. I rooted for Ariel all the way. Blair was a selfish person towards Ariel and Trey. Trey deserved better. Trey and Ariel are a good couple. Trey and Ariel come together to save a Black Indie bookstore from closure. Ariel was dealing some personal issues such as grief, binge eating, and bullies. I like that each chapter is accompanied by a Christmas song by a Black Artist such as the Temptations, Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross, etc.
The book addresses the importance of supporting bookstores that are owned by marginalized groups and the significance of Independent bookstores.
The book addresses the importance of supporting bookstores that are owned by marginalized groups and the significance of Independent bookstores.
December 23, 2023
This book is a perfect reminder for me of why I still pick up some YA novels even as a woman in her thirties. Love in Winter Wonderland centers around a London Black-owned bookshop on the brink of closing its doors. Trey Anderson's grandfather opened the bookshop years ago, but after a corporate bookstore moves in down the street, Trey teams up with Ariel, an artistic classmate in order to try and keep Wonderland from having to permanently close its doors.
This story was made for book lovers! In the age of big corporations and the fight to keep independent bookstores open, this story feels so appropriate and timely. I also really appreciate the focus around the importance of supporting businesses owned by marginalized groups. This book also contains very real depictions of grief, everyday struggles, and romantic hardships as college students Trey and Ariel work together to try and save Wonderland. I knew that this was going to be a five star read for me early on in the book and I found myself unable to put it down. Although the main characters drove me a little crazy at times, I ended up appreciating them more as characters because there was a very real and human element to them.
While this book does have a romantic element, I really loved the focus on family and community coming together to try and save a beloved bookstore. This book is now one of my go-to holiday recommendations and definitely a favorite this year. I can't wait to check out other works from this author!
This story was made for book lovers! In the age of big corporations and the fight to keep independent bookstores open, this story feels so appropriate and timely. I also really appreciate the focus around the importance of supporting businesses owned by marginalized groups. This book also contains very real depictions of grief, everyday struggles, and romantic hardships as college students Trey and Ariel work together to try and save Wonderland. I knew that this was going to be a five star read for me early on in the book and I found myself unable to put it down. Although the main characters drove me a little crazy at times, I ended up appreciating them more as characters because there was a very real and human element to them.
While this book does have a romantic element, I really loved the focus on family and community coming together to try and save a beloved bookstore. This book is now one of my go-to holiday recommendations and definitely a favorite this year. I can't wait to check out other works from this author!
December 22, 2024
Such a perfect Christmas, YA romance with characters that you can’t help but root for. It’s Black and British, a book about books and art and music and I felt right at home.
The audiobook was amazing for this as well. I couldn’t stop once I started.
CW for: loss of a parent through cancer & fat shaming.
The audiobook was amazing for this as well. I couldn’t stop once I started.
CW for: loss of a parent through cancer & fat shaming.
August 28, 2022
A Black romance set in a Black-owned bookstore at Christmas time—yes please! The chemistry was palpable. The pacing kept me turning pages all night. And the story has stayed with me long after putting it down—the perfect gift for Black girls who crave a screen-worthy holiday romance.
December 13, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley, HearOurVoices, and SOHO Teen for the e-ARC and audiobook copies.
This was my first Black YA Christmas story. I love Christmas, so this read was a no-brainer, even though it was September.
We are introduced to Trey Anderson first, who is battling to support his family's bookshop while also wanting to pursue his dreams as a singer. One thing is standing in the way: he has stage fright. Ariel, my favorite character, is an artist with the goal of getting into a distinguished art program. The one thing holding her back is money. This is where Wonderland, the indie family-owned bookstore, comes in. Wonderland is in need of saving as it is struggling to keep up with the competition. The author sheds light on not only the struggle of owning a minority business but also the factors that go up against them in the book industry.
Ariel carried this book for me; she was multi-layered and compared to Trey, who drug a relationship he wasn't interested in for 90% of the book. I did not particularly like him entirely because of that, but I understand they were kids, so I give grace there. Someone on here said emotional cheating occurred, and I 100% agree. Ariel dealt with the grief of losing her father, binge eating, bullying, and financial struggles. Ariel was just more interesting as a character overall because of the adversities she faced.
I loved the 66-track Black Christmas playlist, but that may have been the only thing that really reminded me of Christmas. The story just lacked that Christmas feel for me, so if you are looking for that in this novel, I wouldn't recommend it for that purpose. The audiobook was great and helped me fly through the story. I loved Ben Bailey Smith and Nneka Okoye as the narrators for this story. It was perfect and I'm glad I requested it.
I would recommend this book if you love bookstore-centered stories and books set in the UK.
This was my first Black YA Christmas story. I love Christmas, so this read was a no-brainer, even though it was September.
We are introduced to Trey Anderson first, who is battling to support his family's bookshop while also wanting to pursue his dreams as a singer. One thing is standing in the way: he has stage fright. Ariel, my favorite character, is an artist with the goal of getting into a distinguished art program. The one thing holding her back is money. This is where Wonderland, the indie family-owned bookstore, comes in. Wonderland is in need of saving as it is struggling to keep up with the competition. The author sheds light on not only the struggle of owning a minority business but also the factors that go up against them in the book industry.
Ariel carried this book for me; she was multi-layered and compared to Trey, who drug a relationship he wasn't interested in for 90% of the book. I did not particularly like him entirely because of that, but I understand they were kids, so I give grace there. Someone on here said emotional cheating occurred, and I 100% agree. Ariel dealt with the grief of losing her father, binge eating, bullying, and financial struggles. Ariel was just more interesting as a character overall because of the adversities she faced.
I loved the 66-track Black Christmas playlist, but that may have been the only thing that really reminded me of Christmas. The story just lacked that Christmas feel for me, so if you are looking for that in this novel, I wouldn't recommend it for that purpose. The audiobook was great and helped me fly through the story. I loved Ben Bailey Smith and Nneka Okoye as the narrators for this story. It was perfect and I'm glad I requested it.
I would recommend this book if you love bookstore-centered stories and books set in the UK.
November 11, 2023
Mega komfortowa ksiazka
October 7, 2023
3.5 ⭐
It's a really cute story, I enjoyed Ariel as a character a lot, and I LOVED that it was set in a bookstore!
Trey was 50/50 for me in some scenes I loved him and then in others I was like who is this character.
The Chemistry between Ariel and Trey was soooo good I loved them together! HOWEVER Trey was with Blair for almost the entire book, and it felt like he was just cheating on Blair.
Blair's character was really well written, you're meant to not like her and boy did I hate her.
The book has a dual POV which I love in a romance, the audiobook also had two different narrators which is always a huge bonus when it comes to audiobooks!
overall it's a really cute bookish holiday romance!
Thank you Netgalley, Abiola Bello as well as the publishers for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
It's a really cute story, I enjoyed Ariel as a character a lot, and I LOVED that it was set in a bookstore!
Trey was 50/50 for me in some scenes I loved him and then in others I was like who is this character.
The Chemistry between Ariel and Trey was soooo good I loved them together! HOWEVER Trey was with Blair for almost the entire book, and it felt like he was just cheating on Blair.
Blair's character was really well written, you're meant to not like her and boy did I hate her.
The book has a dual POV which I love in a romance, the audiobook also had two different narrators which is always a huge bonus when it comes to audiobooks!
overall it's a really cute bookish holiday romance!
Thank you Netgalley, Abiola Bello as well as the publishers for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
December 12, 2023
Simply could not get invested in a romance where the MMC has a girlfriend almost the entirety of the book.
November 8, 2023
it was cute and cozy but lets be real as much as the book tried to make trey’s gf a villain, he was still basically borderline cheating on her the whole time and thats not cool!
December 17, 2023
Dieses Buch haben wir als Dezember-Lektüre im Buchclub gewählt und am nächsten Mittwoch ist die Endbesprechung - die hoffentlich online stattfindet, damit ich daran auch teilnehmen kann.
In "Love in Winter Wonderland" geht es um Ariel und Spencer, die sich im Abschlussjahr der Schule befinden. Ariel möchte nach der Schule die Kunsthochschule besuchen, die auch ihr Vater schon besucht hat. Das einzige Problem? Ihre Familie ist nicht gerade gut betucht und ihr fehlt das Geld, um die Studiengebühren zu bezahlen, sollte sie angenommen werden. Und sie weiß, dass ihre Chance auf ein Stipendium gering ist. Also beginnt sie, in der kleinen Buchhandlung "Wonderland" zu arbeiten. Was sie nicht weiß? "Wonderland" soll demnächst geschlossen werden, denn auch Treys Familie hat Geldprobleme. Für Trey ist das eine Katastrophe: Er ist mit dem "Wonderland" aufgewachsen und auch, wenn es ihn manchmal nervt, dort aushelfen zu müssen, kann er sich ein Leben ohne diese Buchhandlung nicht vorstellen. Deswegen beschließt er: Er muss "Wonderland" retten. Und gemeinsam mit Ariel macht er sich an die Arbeit...
Dieses Buch war eine leichte Lektüre, die ich recht schnell gelesen habe. Einfach mal so hundert Seiten am Stück zu lesen, war hier kein Problem. Und das war auch wieder mal schön - und meiner Meinung nach eine der großen Stärken dieses Buches. Dazu kommen Protagonist:innen, die überraschend viel Tiefe bekamen und mit denen ich über weite Teile des Buches mitfühlen konnte. Vor allem Trey ist mir ans Herz gewachsen, aber auch Ariel mochte ich.
Spannend finde ich, dass wir hier Repräsentation einer Essstörung finden: Ariel hat mit Binge Eating zu kämpfen. Meiner Meinung nach wäre es aber schön gewesen, noch tiefer in die Materie einzutauchen und diese Essstörung und die damit einhergehende Störung der Eigenwahrnehmung an mehr als nur ein oder zwei Stellen zu zeigen. Das hätte für mich persönlich diese Repräsentation glaubwürdiger gemacht - vor allem, weil Ariel selbst beschreibt, dass sie erst seit ein paar Monaten auf dem Weg der Genesung ist. Ich kann aber verstehen, warum die Autorin sich hier dagegen entschieden hat. Das hätte doch die Stimmung des Romans von Grund auf verändert und mir ist klar, dass es das Ziel der Autorin war, einen gemütlichen Weihnachtsroman zu schaffen - und nicht eine realistische Schilderung von Essstörungen.
Was ich etwas schade finde, ist, dass die Autorin leider an einigen Stellen auf Klischees zurückgreift. Das Buch hätte meiner Meinung nach auch ohne diese Klischees funktioniert - vielleicht sogar besser als mit ihnen. Gerade die Mean Girls, also die Gruppe an Mädchen, die gemein zu Ariel ist, sieht man doch in sehr vielen Jugendromanen. Und die hätte es hier meiner Meinung nach einfach nicht gebraucht.
Ein Punkt, den ich persönlich auch nicht mochte - was aber einfach Geschmackssache ist: Trey hat die meiste Zeit der Handlung eine Freundin. Ja, sie streiten. Ja, diese Freundin wird hier nicht unbedingt als sympathisch dargestellt. Aber sie ist trotzdem seine Freundin und sie führen eine monogame Beziehung. Und auch, wenn ich diese Figur nicht mochte, hat sie es trotzdem nicht verdient, dass ihr Freund einer anderen schöne Augen macht. Das hat niemand verdient. Und das hat dann auch meine Freude über das Happy End etwas gedämpft.
Mein Fazit? Eine nette Weihnachtsgeschichte, die aber leider die ein oder andere Schwäche mitbringt.
In "Love in Winter Wonderland" geht es um Ariel und Spencer, die sich im Abschlussjahr der Schule befinden. Ariel möchte nach der Schule die Kunsthochschule besuchen, die auch ihr Vater schon besucht hat. Das einzige Problem? Ihre Familie ist nicht gerade gut betucht und ihr fehlt das Geld, um die Studiengebühren zu bezahlen, sollte sie angenommen werden. Und sie weiß, dass ihre Chance auf ein Stipendium gering ist. Also beginnt sie, in der kleinen Buchhandlung "Wonderland" zu arbeiten. Was sie nicht weiß? "Wonderland" soll demnächst geschlossen werden, denn auch Treys Familie hat Geldprobleme. Für Trey ist das eine Katastrophe: Er ist mit dem "Wonderland" aufgewachsen und auch, wenn es ihn manchmal nervt, dort aushelfen zu müssen, kann er sich ein Leben ohne diese Buchhandlung nicht vorstellen. Deswegen beschließt er: Er muss "Wonderland" retten. Und gemeinsam mit Ariel macht er sich an die Arbeit...
Dieses Buch war eine leichte Lektüre, die ich recht schnell gelesen habe. Einfach mal so hundert Seiten am Stück zu lesen, war hier kein Problem. Und das war auch wieder mal schön - und meiner Meinung nach eine der großen Stärken dieses Buches. Dazu kommen Protagonist:innen, die überraschend viel Tiefe bekamen und mit denen ich über weite Teile des Buches mitfühlen konnte. Vor allem Trey ist mir ans Herz gewachsen, aber auch Ariel mochte ich.
Spannend finde ich, dass wir hier Repräsentation einer Essstörung finden: Ariel hat mit Binge Eating zu kämpfen. Meiner Meinung nach wäre es aber schön gewesen, noch tiefer in die Materie einzutauchen und diese Essstörung und die damit einhergehende Störung der Eigenwahrnehmung an mehr als nur ein oder zwei Stellen zu zeigen. Das hätte für mich persönlich diese Repräsentation glaubwürdiger gemacht - vor allem, weil Ariel selbst beschreibt, dass sie erst seit ein paar Monaten auf dem Weg der Genesung ist. Ich kann aber verstehen, warum die Autorin sich hier dagegen entschieden hat. Das hätte doch die Stimmung des Romans von Grund auf verändert und mir ist klar, dass es das Ziel der Autorin war, einen gemütlichen Weihnachtsroman zu schaffen - und nicht eine realistische Schilderung von Essstörungen.
Was ich etwas schade finde, ist, dass die Autorin leider an einigen Stellen auf Klischees zurückgreift. Das Buch hätte meiner Meinung nach auch ohne diese Klischees funktioniert - vielleicht sogar besser als mit ihnen. Gerade die Mean Girls, also die Gruppe an Mädchen, die gemein zu Ariel ist, sieht man doch in sehr vielen Jugendromanen. Und die hätte es hier meiner Meinung nach einfach nicht gebraucht.
Ein Punkt, den ich persönlich auch nicht mochte - was aber einfach Geschmackssache ist: Trey hat die meiste Zeit der Handlung eine Freundin. Ja, sie streiten. Ja, diese Freundin wird hier nicht unbedingt als sympathisch dargestellt. Aber sie ist trotzdem seine Freundin und sie führen eine monogame Beziehung. Und auch, wenn ich diese Figur nicht mochte, hat sie es trotzdem nicht verdient, dass ihr Freund einer anderen schöne Augen macht. Das hat niemand verdient. Und das hat dann auch meine Freude über das Happy End etwas gedämpft.
Mein Fazit? Eine nette Weihnachtsgeschichte, die aber leider die ein oder andere Schwäche mitbringt.
October 3, 2023
Happy release day-
Thanks to Soho Press through Netgalley for a copy of this to review before it drops on October 3rd.
2.5 rounded up for the vibes, definitely not Trey's character design.
I'm sorry, guys, another ARC flop for me.
Super cute cover. I very much enjoyed the British setting and focus on a Black-owned independent bookshop, as well as the looming specter of gentrification threatening its existence. That read very charming and realistic. I also liked some of the pop culture references, like Trey's playlist putting Boyz II Men on the first page of the story. Every chapter alternates Trey and Ariel's POV with an accompanying song by a Black artist from their playlists. They like a lot of 90s which was a fun feature.
But. Considering the book opens with Trey forgetting his current girlfriend's birthday until a last-minute reminder from a friend, he was not off to a strong start with me as a reader. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence for his next relationship. And fair warning - second British Christmas book in a row I've read with this happening - Trey is with that girlfriend until the ninety percent mark. So if you enjoy a very long will-they won't-they paired with what felt like at least emotional cheating, go for this.
The volume of slang in characters' speech and internal dialogue felt like overkill, and made the characters seem even younger than their college-going ages.
Not for me, hope this book's readers find it.
Thanks to Soho Press through Netgalley for a copy of this to review before it drops on October 3rd.
2.5 rounded up for the vibes, definitely not Trey's character design.
I'm sorry, guys, another ARC flop for me.
Super cute cover. I very much enjoyed the British setting and focus on a Black-owned independent bookshop, as well as the looming specter of gentrification threatening its existence. That read very charming and realistic. I also liked some of the pop culture references, like Trey's playlist putting Boyz II Men on the first page of the story. Every chapter alternates Trey and Ariel's POV with an accompanying song by a Black artist from their playlists. They like a lot of 90s which was a fun feature.
But. Considering the book opens with Trey forgetting his current girlfriend's birthday until a last-minute reminder from a friend, he was not off to a strong start with me as a reader. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence for his next relationship. And fair warning - second British Christmas book in a row I've read with this happening - Trey is with that girlfriend until the ninety percent mark. So if you enjoy a very long will-they won't-they paired with what felt like at least emotional cheating, go for this.
The volume of slang in characters' speech and internal dialogue felt like overkill, and made the characters seem even younger than their college-going ages.
Not for me, hope this book's readers find it.
March 25, 2025
Was randomly looking up this review that i made a while ago and omg it got barely any attention bc it was more of a personal review but this is my favorite review i’ve ever made i think it’s so sweet
November 30, 2023
3.75/5
Bardzo lekka, słodka i komfortowa książka idealna na 2 wieczory. Ma super świąteczny klimat, połowa akcji odbywa się w księgarni, więc czego chcieć więcej? Bardzo polecam jeśli macie ochotę rozerwać się i wrzuć się w klimat Bożego Narodzenia.
Bardzo lekka, słodka i komfortowa książka idealna na 2 wieczory. Ma super świąteczny klimat, połowa akcji odbywa się w księgarni, więc czego chcieć więcej? Bardzo polecam jeśli macie ochotę rozerwać się i wrzuć się w klimat Bożego Narodzenia.
December 2, 2023
Adorable! ADORABLE!
Yall know I barely read synopsis so I didn't know this was YA and I didn't know it took place in England. Neither of those are bad things but I'll just say I was super confused at first by 17 year olds in college, but then I saw that the author lives in London and it made sense.
This book is just so cute and it's a quick read. The book is described as Enemies to Lovers but Ariel and Trey are not enemies, they just run in different social circles but I was all in. I love Black romances they just hit differently for me and this book is so cozy and romantic but in a cheesy way.
4 stars but if they had been grown it would have been a 5 star read!
Yall know I barely read synopsis so I didn't know this was YA and I didn't know it took place in England. Neither of those are bad things but I'll just say I was super confused at first by 17 year olds in college, but then I saw that the author lives in London and it made sense.
This book is just so cute and it's a quick read. The book is described as Enemies to Lovers but Ariel and Trey are not enemies, they just run in different social circles but I was all in. I love Black romances they just hit differently for me and this book is so cozy and romantic but in a cheesy way.
4 stars but if they had been grown it would have been a 5 star read!
December 29, 2024
This was a pretty good book. I really liked the dual point of view, and I really enjoyed Trey’s character. I think that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could’ve because there were other books I wanted to read more. I made myself finish this book before I read more, so it kind of felt like work to get through. I also think that there was a lot times where it felt like there was nothing going on. Because obviously they’re trying to raise the money which is exciting, but other than that the stakes felt really low.
November 28, 2023
This one's a cute addition to your holiday romance TBR. It's wholesome, inspiring, and lighthearted enough to warrant a sequel. London? Check. Bookstore? Check. Representation? Check. A sure, romantic winner.
4/5
4/5
December 8, 2023
3.5 ⭐ cute romance, which sometimes had me like this 🤨 though, but which was what I needed to get through two horrible train journeys through Germany and now being sick at home 🤧
October 9, 2023
Super cute, feel good read that really gets you in the mood for the holiday season!! I love the sense of family and community that was displayed throughout this story. How they all came together to help save one of their own.
Side note: The songs listed as chapter titles will make one heck of a holiday playlist!!
Definitely one to add to your holiday reading list!
Side note: The songs listed as chapter titles will make one heck of a holiday playlist!!
Definitely one to add to your holiday reading list!
December 17, 2024
Such a cute winter read to get me into the cozy winter mood. Also, it revolved around a bookshop? Of course I couldn’t just ignore this one.
I admired Ariel a lot because of her passion and kindness. Trey was kind of more mid, but still a decent guy. Just wish he’d broken up with his mean girlfriend earlier. Can’t believe how those two ended up together anyway (Trey and his girlfriend for most of the book). Plot was fast paced and I liked how they focused on saving the bookshop more than the romance because it was a nice change of pace from most romances I read.
I can’t wait to read more cute winter romance reads!
Read my full review here: Click Here!
I admired Ariel a lot because of her passion and kindness. Trey was kind of more mid, but still a decent guy. Just wish he’d broken up with his mean girlfriend earlier. Can’t believe how those two ended up together anyway (Trey and his girlfriend for most of the book). Plot was fast paced and I liked how they focused on saving the bookshop more than the romance because it was a nice change of pace from most romances I read.
I can’t wait to read more cute winter romance reads!
Read my full review here: Click Here!
November 19, 2022
3,5 ✨
First of all: Thank you to the publisher, for providing me an eArc via Netgalley!
I‘m usually not the contemporary reader, let alone a romance reader!
But the synopsis sounded very interesting, I don‘t read books that revolve around christmas - I like it warm and sunny 😌
But a book about an independent Black-owned bookshop? A family-owned bookshop? Count me in!
One thing that always annoys me about Christmas is how white it is (no, I don‘t mean the snow :‘)), at least the commercialised Christmas.
We see movies about white families, read books about white protagonists, hear music by white artists, man they even made Jesus a white guy.
What I really really liked was how every chapter is accompanied with a Christmas song by Black artists, such as Destiny‘s Child, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Usher, the Queen of Christmas songs Mariah Carey and so many more Black artists I grew up with!
This highlights how not only white people pull off Christmas songs, but Black people do them too - in a WIDE variety! From Jazz over pop and r‘n‘b all the way up to rap.
However… I don‘t know but it just lacked something? There wasn‘t enough culture… I‘m used to white books having a lack of culture, but this book is set in London - a hella diverse place but we don‘t get to see anything of it :/
We have two Black families, there was a lot of potential to give us cultural insights but that opportunity was missed :/
Also, the Christmas vibes were unfortunately rather… I didn‘t really feel it.
This book could‘ve played in January or smth like that :/
The writing-style was very easy to follow, and we got slang in it, which makes it even more accessible for a YA audience.
I think the book addresses many important issues, such as the significance of independent bookstores - especially bookstores that are owned by marginalized groups.
The focus here is on the role of larger brands or chains and what role they play in pushing out smaller bookstores.
The story sort of starts with Trey's best friend Boogs giving his girlfriend a book as a present, admitting he got it from the competition who lure customers in with ridiculous coupons and discounts - much to the chagrin of smaller bookstores.
From there we see Trey doing everything he can to help Wonderland get started, with initial difficulties that only make Wonderland lose even more money, the SaveWonderland project begins to bear fruit after Ariel is able to land a part-time job and includes her own ideas (with the help of her friends) and includes suggestions that will actually make Wonderland stand out and even get the attention of well-known authors and stars like Rihanna.
At the same time, we accompany the two protagonists in their everyday life, which consists of university, friendship and love.
Ariel has been saddled with a lot of burdens since her father's death, while trying to enroll in art school and work her job teaching art classes.
And then there's love, her year-long secret crush on Trey - with whom she's suddenly been spending a lot of time since her job at Wonderland.
What I really liked about Ariel is that she‘s a plus-size Black woman.
I‘m neither a Black nor a plus-size woman, so I‘m not in the position to say anything regarding the representation.
But there were some scenes that made me rather uncomfortable, for example when Ariel spilled some of her food and scooped it up to eat it - I feel like this kind of plays into the stereotype of big people always eating? But Idk
Ariel is fierce and rocks her red braids, she‘s a talented artist and I wish I could see her mural of Black writers and the Anderson Family in real life 😩
There were some parts in which I found her to be rather… annoying :/ but nobody‘s perfect, right?
And then we have Trey, who is set to eventually take over Wonderland - much to his chagrin - he belongs to the popular students at university and has a complicated, toxic relationship with Blair - another popular student, who‘s also rather self-centered, petty AF and doesn‘t really give a shit about Trey‘s thoughts and the bookshop - hence why he doesn‘t even tell her about the problem at first.
As the book progresses, we witness his thoughts drift more and more towards Ariel.
The chemistry between Trey and Ariel didn‘t convince me at all - there was not one moment in which I was rooting for them.
Who I was rooting for were Boogs and Santi!
What also made me mad (not at the book lol, but at Blair and the others 😩) were the moments in which Ariel was bullied by Blair and her fake-ass, petty and shady friends, who even secretly bully each other.
Who I LOVED were Boogs and Santi - please, PLEASE let there be a book about the two of them - I NEED IT 😩
Santi is Blair‘s identical twin sister and the complete opposite - she‘s all sunshine, good vibes and just a pure soul, genuine, she loves books, is an intellectual, she actually cares about the people around her and she cares about the bookshop - She even scolds her boyfriend Boogs after Trey lets her know that Boogs didn't shop in Wonderland, he shopped at the competition!
Boogs is a former gang member and decided to turn his life upside down by staying away from all that and focusing on himself. He‘s also one of the popular kids in university - but above all he‘s a very good friend to Trey and will go out of his way to help Wonderland after learning that Wonderland is about to be sold - which goes all the way wrong at first butttt he‘s finally gotten the hang of it lol.
All in all this book had a lot of potential but it just didn‘t quite reach it fully.
First of all: Thank you to the publisher, for providing me an eArc via Netgalley!
I‘m usually not the contemporary reader, let alone a romance reader!
But the synopsis sounded very interesting, I don‘t read books that revolve around christmas - I like it warm and sunny 😌
But a book about an independent Black-owned bookshop? A family-owned bookshop? Count me in!
One thing that always annoys me about Christmas is how white it is (no, I don‘t mean the snow :‘)), at least the commercialised Christmas.
We see movies about white families, read books about white protagonists, hear music by white artists, man they even made Jesus a white guy.
What I really really liked was how every chapter is accompanied with a Christmas song by Black artists, such as Destiny‘s Child, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Usher, the Queen of Christmas songs Mariah Carey and so many more Black artists I grew up with!
This highlights how not only white people pull off Christmas songs, but Black people do them too - in a WIDE variety! From Jazz over pop and r‘n‘b all the way up to rap.
However… I don‘t know but it just lacked something? There wasn‘t enough culture… I‘m used to white books having a lack of culture, but this book is set in London - a hella diverse place but we don‘t get to see anything of it :/
We have two Black families, there was a lot of potential to give us cultural insights but that opportunity was missed :/
Also, the Christmas vibes were unfortunately rather… I didn‘t really feel it.
This book could‘ve played in January or smth like that :/
The writing-style was very easy to follow, and we got slang in it, which makes it even more accessible for a YA audience.
I think the book addresses many important issues, such as the significance of independent bookstores - especially bookstores that are owned by marginalized groups.
The focus here is on the role of larger brands or chains and what role they play in pushing out smaller bookstores.
The story sort of starts with Trey's best friend Boogs giving his girlfriend a book as a present, admitting he got it from the competition who lure customers in with ridiculous coupons and discounts - much to the chagrin of smaller bookstores.
From there we see Trey doing everything he can to help Wonderland get started, with initial difficulties that only make Wonderland lose even more money, the SaveWonderland project begins to bear fruit after Ariel is able to land a part-time job and includes her own ideas (with the help of her friends) and includes suggestions that will actually make Wonderland stand out and even get the attention of well-known authors and stars like Rihanna.
At the same time, we accompany the two protagonists in their everyday life, which consists of university, friendship and love.
Ariel has been saddled with a lot of burdens since her father's death, while trying to enroll in art school and work her job teaching art classes.
And then there's love, her year-long secret crush on Trey - with whom she's suddenly been spending a lot of time since her job at Wonderland.
What I really liked about Ariel is that she‘s a plus-size Black woman.
I‘m neither a Black nor a plus-size woman, so I‘m not in the position to say anything regarding the representation.
But there were some scenes that made me rather uncomfortable, for example when Ariel spilled some of her food and scooped it up to eat it - I feel like this kind of plays into the stereotype of big people always eating? But Idk
Ariel is fierce and rocks her red braids, she‘s a talented artist and I wish I could see her mural of Black writers and the Anderson Family in real life 😩
There were some parts in which I found her to be rather… annoying :/ but nobody‘s perfect, right?
And then we have Trey, who is set to eventually take over Wonderland - much to his chagrin - he belongs to the popular students at university and has a complicated, toxic relationship with Blair - another popular student, who‘s also rather self-centered, petty AF and doesn‘t really give a shit about Trey‘s thoughts and the bookshop - hence why he doesn‘t even tell her about the problem at first.
As the book progresses, we witness his thoughts drift more and more towards Ariel.
The chemistry between Trey and Ariel didn‘t convince me at all - there was not one moment in which I was rooting for them.
Who I was rooting for were Boogs and Santi!
What also made me mad (not at the book lol, but at Blair and the others 😩) were the moments in which Ariel was bullied by Blair and her fake-ass, petty and shady friends, who even secretly bully each other.
Who I LOVED were Boogs and Santi - please, PLEASE let there be a book about the two of them - I NEED IT 😩
Santi is Blair‘s identical twin sister and the complete opposite - she‘s all sunshine, good vibes and just a pure soul, genuine, she loves books, is an intellectual, she actually cares about the people around her and she cares about the bookshop - She even scolds her boyfriend Boogs after Trey lets her know that Boogs didn't shop in Wonderland, he shopped at the competition!
Boogs is a former gang member and decided to turn his life upside down by staying away from all that and focusing on himself. He‘s also one of the popular kids in university - but above all he‘s a very good friend to Trey and will go out of his way to help Wonderland after learning that Wonderland is about to be sold - which goes all the way wrong at first butttt he‘s finally gotten the hang of it lol.
All in all this book had a lot of potential but it just didn‘t quite reach it fully.
June 18, 2024
2024 reads: 164/250
trey is gutted to learn that his parents’ bookshop, wonderland, might be shut down due to a neighborhood gentrifier. he works with ariel, classmate and coworker, to raise enough money to keep the shop from closing.
books about books/bookshops are so special to me, so i was very excited to read this, even though it’s set around christmas and i don’t want to think about cold weather right now. i really enjoyed how passionate trey and ariel were about the bookshop, especially ariel since she just works there. ariel also loves art, and it was lovely seeing how this was shown throughout the story. my only complaint (even though it’s not something that bothered me a lot) is that trey was with another girl for the majority of this book, which i wasn’t expecting since this is a romance between trey and ariel! still, i liked seeing their relationship develop, and i’d recommend this to any YA romance readers.
trey is gutted to learn that his parents’ bookshop, wonderland, might be shut down due to a neighborhood gentrifier. he works with ariel, classmate and coworker, to raise enough money to keep the shop from closing.
books about books/bookshops are so special to me, so i was very excited to read this, even though it’s set around christmas and i don’t want to think about cold weather right now. i really enjoyed how passionate trey and ariel were about the bookshop, especially ariel since she just works there. ariel also loves art, and it was lovely seeing how this was shown throughout the story. my only complaint (even though it’s not something that bothered me a lot) is that trey was with another girl for the majority of this book, which i wasn’t expecting since this is a romance between trey and ariel! still, i liked seeing their relationship develop, and i’d recommend this to any YA romance readers.
November 20, 2022
I did not finish this book. I read a lot of YA novels and very rarely do I feel "too old" to read them. This was one of those times.
Additionally the idea that a 16year old, in 2022 would consider "Twilight" to be the best love story of all time when it has been being panned across the world for years for its unhealthy depictions of relationships, and when the last movie came out in 2012 - when our main character was 6? Just didn't make sense. Not only did I feel too old to read about the teenagers in this book - it felt like Abiola Bello hadn't met a teenager maybe since they had been one.
Additionally the idea that a 16year old, in 2022 would consider "Twilight" to be the best love story of all time when it has been being panned across the world for years for its unhealthy depictions of relationships, and when the last movie came out in 2012 - when our main character was 6? Just didn't make sense. Not only did I feel too old to read about the teenagers in this book - it felt like Abiola Bello hadn't met a teenager maybe since they had been one.
November 17, 2022
Black love + book worms +holiday season w/some good playlists? What is it not to love? I mean, there was a pre-breakup scene that was annoying but overall? It was a really good holiday romance
Read
December 8, 2022Decided to dnfit as I just don't feel for Christmas romances this year
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