Falling Like Snow by Misty Wilson Book Review
Winter festival, first love, and a town that feels like home
Falling Like Snow returns to Bramble Falls for a winter story about the complications that emerge when friendship and attraction stop lining up neatly. Sloane Sullivan is helping plan the town’s winter festival after the autumn events of the earlier series entry, while sorting out her feelings for her best friend Asher and hockey player Micah. The result is a young-adult holiday romance where the seasonal sparkle sits beside grief, friendship, and the very real awkwardness of choosing what to say.
This release-week assessment draws on Simon & Schuster’s description, the author’s series information, and public advance-reader reactions rather than a claim of personal ARC reading. The publisher lists October 6, 2026, for publication, a 352-page length, and a recommended range of ages fourteen and up. Goodreads’ advance snapshot is around 4.18 from 136 ratings, which is encouraging but still early.
The book’s most appealing promise is emotional warmth without pretending that growing up is tidy. A winter festival gives the characters a shared project, hockey brings its own team and schedule pressures, and the central romantic uncertainty asks Sloane to understand her own feelings before the town’s holiday lights come down.
The story: feelings become harder to keep private
Sloane is at the centre of a changing social map. Asher is her closest friend, a relationship built on familiarity and trust, while Micah brings the distinct energy of a hockey romance and a new kind of possibility. When a story places a protagonist between two people, the important question is not simply which one is more appealing; it is what each connection reveals about her needs and how she wants to show up in her community.
The winter festival offers a natural structure for those feelings to surface. Planning an event means managing tasks, public expectations, and the small crises that can make a group of friends feel like a team or expose a fault line. In a YA romance, those practical details are useful because they make the characters’ relationship choices part of ordinary life rather than isolated dramatic set pieces.
The Bramble Falls setting also matters as a return to a community with seasonal rhythms. The series can use autumn and winter as more than backdrops: each season changes what the town gathers around and how the young characters imagine their futures. New readers can follow the core premise, while series readers have the added pleasure of seeing the next chapter in a familiar place.
Grief under the holiday lights
Publisher and review coverage indicate that the story carries the loss of Sloane’s father and the way grief affects her relationships. That element can make the title’s soft winter imagery more emotionally grounded: celebrations do not erase absence, and a town’s traditions may remind someone of the person who is missing. For teen readers, that contrast can feel especially honest when the story allows sadness and joy to share the page.
Early readers have praised the cozy seasonal feel and the emotional handling of grief, while some have noted that the romantic triangle and supporting cast can make the story feel crowded. Those reactions point to the book’s balancing act. A festival, hockey storyline, friend group, and bereavement arc can create an inviting ensemble, but the narrative needs to keep Sloane’s inner life clearly in focus.
The friends-to-lovers possibility is compelling precisely because it has consequences beyond a first kiss. A friendship built over time can feel safe, but changing it risks losing the ease that made it meaningful. If Asher and Sloane’s history is given weight, the romantic shift can become a coming-of-age question about honesty and vulnerability rather than a predictable choice between two boys.
A young-adult romance with multiple entry points
Falling Like Snow brings together several popular YA romance ingredients: small-town winter atmosphere, hockey, a close friendship, a romantic triangle, and a protagonist managing grief. That mixture widens its appeal beyond readers looking for a straightforward holiday love story. The seasonal framing makes it an easy pick for a winter reading list, while the emotional material offers something more durable than decorative snow.
The book is intended for teen readers, with the publisher’s age recommendation beginning at fourteen. Adults who enjoy contemporary young-adult fiction may also appreciate its focus on friendship, family memory, and the vulnerability of first love. Because the characters are teenagers, the romantic tensions are likely to be pitched toward emotional discovery rather than adult-romance heat.
Readers who like the Bramble Falls community should start with the earlier series title, Falling Like Leaves, for the clearest chronology. Those more interested in hockey romance can also explore novels where sport creates the social world around the couple. Explore hockey romance books on Amazon
Content notes and early response
The clearest content consideration is grief related to a parent’s death, alongside romantic jealousy or uncertainty and the pressures of small-town social life. The available publisher copy does not provide a formal exhaustive content-warning list. Readers who are sensitive to bereavement may want to look through detailed advance reviews or read with support.
The early Goodreads response is positive, and Kirkus has described the book as a heartfelt teen holiday rom-com for ages fourteen to eighteen. Advance readers have praised its atmosphere and tender treatment of grief, while some wish the love-triangle and ensemble threads were more focused. That is useful calibration: the book’s warmth is a consistent strength, while its crowdedness may be the main point of difference in how readers respond.
A reader seeking sharp, high-drama rivalry may find the tone gentler than expected. A reader looking for a reflective winter romance where community, memory, and friendship all shape the relationship may find exactly the right season in Bramble Falls.
Verdict: heartfelt winter fiction for teen romance readers
Falling Like Snow sounds most distinctive when it lets seasonal comfort coexist with grief. Sloane’s effort to plan a festival gives the story movement, her feelings for Asher and Micah supply romantic uncertainty, and the memory of her father gives the winter setting emotional depth. That is a promising combination for readers who want their holiday romance to include a real coming-of-age question.
The caution is that multiple threads can crowd a compact YA novel. Readers who want a focused single-couple slow burn may be less taken with the triangle or the wider cast, while readers who enjoy a lively town ensemble may see that texture as a strength. Early responses suggest the emotional tone lands well even when the plot carries a lot.
Falling Like Snow is scheduled for October 6, 2026, from Margaret K. McElderry Books, at 352 pages. Check availability via Amazon, and read more about the book on Misty Wilson’s official website.
About Misty Wilson
Misty Wilson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Bramble Falls books and the graphic memoir Play Like a Girl, according to her publisher biography. Her official site includes Bramble Falls news, events, and preorder information at mistywilsonwrites.com.
For related recommendations, visit That Love Podcast’s snowy small-town romance books, hockey romance books, holiday rom-com books, and best holiday romance books ranked.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Falling Like Snow come out?
It is scheduled for October 6, 2026.
How many pages is it?
The publisher lists the print edition at 352 pages.
What is Falling Like Snow about?
Sloane Sullivan plans Bramble Falls’ winter festival while navigating feelings for her best friend Asher and hockey player Micah.
Is it part of a series?
Yes. It is part of Misty Wilson’s Bramble Falls series and follows Falling Like Leaves.
What age group is it for?
Simon & Schuster recommends it for ages fourteen and up, with a grades 9+ listing.
Is Falling Like Snow a hockey romance?
Hockey is one of the story’s threads, alongside friendship, a winter festival, grief, and a romantic triangle.
What tropes are included?
Friends-to-lovers tension, small-town romance, holiday atmosphere, hockey, and a love triangle.
What content warnings may matter?
The story includes bereavement following a parent’s death and romantic jealousy or uncertainty.
What are early readers saying?
Readers have praised the winter setting and grief themes; some find the romance triangle and ensemble crowded.
Where can I buy Falling Like Snow?
Check availability on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/9781665989831.
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