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Monday, October 30, 2023

With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson

 
Cold World is a small tourist attraction in hot and humid Orlando, Florida, that offers visitors a fun taste of winter all year round. But numbers are down and it's in danger of closing if they don't come up with a plan soon to revitalize it and draw in more people. 

Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper at Cold World. She's reserved and guarded and likes to keep tight control of everything in her life, especially at work. She grew up in foster care and doesn't really know how to relate well with others. Though part of her longs for family and friends. 

Asa Williamson has worked at Cold World since he was eighteen, and he knows all the ins and outs of the place. He sports tattoos and blue hair and is friendly, confident, and a bit cocky. And he loves needling uptight Lauren, not realizing how often his teasing words hurt. 

Lauren and Asa aren't exactly friends. And Lauren absolutely does not want to work with Asa to save cold World. But fate keeps pushing them together. And as they spend time together, their relationship takes an unexpected turn. 

This is a very character-driven romance and I absolutely loved it. Thompson's writing drew me in right from the first chapter. Asa and Lauren are well-layered characters complete with flaws, hidden talents, and surprising depths. I enjoyed watching their journey together and how they each grew as characters. There are some fun moments of banter, cute Secret Santa gifts, and I really loved the game they invented the night they got trapped inside Cold World together. Their romance just made me happy. 

Melody and I read this one together. And it was so much fun. Be sure to check out her review.

Happy Reading!


34 comments:

  1. Great review, Lark! This book is so fun to read, isn't it? I loved the characters, too. I can't wait to see what Alicia Thompson will write next. :)

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    1. I'm excited to see what she writes next, too. Thanks for reading this one with me, Melody! It was a lot of fun.

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  2. This sounds like a really fun idea... a place called Cold World in the middle of Florida! 😁

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    1. The whole setting was unique and fun. I liked the humor of it. :D

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  3. Thank you for sharing. Regine

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    1. Hi, Regine! Hope you're having a good day. :D

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  4. This really was a fun one! I liked the characters and the setting so much. Her previous novel was really good too!

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    1. I've loved both of her books, and can't wait to see what she writes next. :D

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  5. Nice one! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

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  6. I can probably guess where this story goes, but the setting and characters make it worth the journey! Sounds so cute!

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    1. Yeah, it's completely predictable, but I was enjoying the characters and their interactions so much I didn't even mind.

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  7. A cold world amusement park set anywhere in the South makes me chuckle. Someone out there is probably just about crazy enough to try that idea in the real world...

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    1. It's kind of a good idea...though I don't know how feasible it would be. ;D

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  8. This sounds cute! I'm glad you loved it.

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  9. "trapped inside Cold World" That souns fun! And I can see that being a neat place to g oin Orlando in July ha!

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    1. There are some very funny moments in this story...and their getting trapped inside Cold World was one of my favs.

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  10. This sounds like so much fun! Great review, Lark! :)

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    1. Thanks, Ashley. It's an entertaining book. :D

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  11. Their Cold world heated up it sounds like. woo woo

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    1. :D They do get things warmed up a bit in there.

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  12. This does sound a good one. :)

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  13. I'd want a Cold World park if I lived in Florida, too! Sounds like a good enemies-to-lovers romance. Happy to hear it was a hit!

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    1. I just enjoyed the ride with this one. I could have happily read about these two characters for several more chapters.

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  14. I'm not a big romance reader, but this one sounds really cute. I might just have to check it out!

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    1. It was a very fun buddy read...and a nice break from all the scarier thrillers I've been reading.

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  15. Oh I love the sound of this! I really like a character based romance and this sounds wonderful.

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    1. There are some very fun things about this one...and I enjoyed watching the characters grow and their relationship deepen.

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  16. It sounds good and I enjoy character driven novels. It also sounds like Asa and Lauren have chemistry together and that's so important in a romance novel.

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    1. It is important. Asa's teasing of Lauren is a little annoying at the very first, but I love how he changed and started to really want to make her happy.

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  17. This sounds so good! I am glad you enjoyed it!

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