Alicia Thompson - With Love, From Cold World

Alicia Thompson - With Love, From Cold World 

5⭐

Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Queer 

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback Proof  

Publisher: Penguin Random House 

Date Published: 3rd August 2023

Huge thank you to Penguin Random House  for sending me this book to read and review.

 

Book Blurb: 

She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn't on it--yet somehow he's become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.

Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that's always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it's ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it's a fun place to work, even if "fun" isn't exactly Lauren's middle name.

Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World--whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn't know how to enjoy herself, he's surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn't serious about anything, she's surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.

As Lauren and Asa work to save their beloved wintery spot, they realize the real attraction might be the heat generating between them.

My Review: 

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

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

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

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

About the Author:

Alicia Thompson is a writer, reader, and Paramore superfan. As a teen, she appeared in an episode of 48 Hours in the audience of a local murder trial, where she broke the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children.

https://www.aliciathompsonbooks.com/about