Member Reviews
I feel like a broken record when it comes to Georgia Beers' books, but they're all are nice reads. They're like a warm, comfortable blanket on a cold day...
This one is quite the same. The characters are well thought out, and they're chemistry is apparent. Olivia and Hayley get along right away, then don't at all, and then do again. It makes for a fun read, to see how it's all going to settle. It's also not too overly dramatic. No one gets hit by a car, or something equally crazy to bring them together. It's just regular, old getting to know each other by working together.
My favorite part other than their storyline, was the one with Hayley and her father. It was interesting why he was so hard on her, and I wish there were more scenes between the two. It added an emotional depth to the story.
Overall, a solid book.
I would not describe myself as a romantic, so why was I reading this book? I read Georgia Beers to learn how to write settings well, how to write characters that stand out in memory and to be entertained. But not for the romance.
Until this book came along.
The settings, both interior and exterior are vivid and capture the reader's imagination. The characters, even the front desk clerk and chef and Olivia's Mom, stand out as unique, likeable and unforgettable. And Walter....oh Sir Walter captured my heart in one easy bound through the snow. And while Ms.Beers completely charmed me with her snowy woodlands, working art studio and a resort I'd love to spend time in...what won me over the most was the romance.
I am not a romantic person -- except with my partner. But I ate up the dynamic between Hayley and Olivia. I cheered for them when they worked together and by Christmas Eve, I wanted them to get over themselves and admit there were sparks. I LOVED the romance in this, Ms. Beers best book yet.
If I ever give a romance book five stars, it has never been for the romance angle. This book changed all that.
This is the very first book I have ever read in my life that I actually said "awww" aloud when I finished it.
The. Very. First.
This is Georgia Beers at her best.
Why are you still here? Go read it!
Georgia Beers is back with another wonderful romance novel.
Olivia is the hard working woman who keeps a beautiful resort running. Hayley is the gorgeous heiress to the hotel empire who has just landed the manager position that Olivia thought would be hers. The is tensions and resentment, but with an unwavering attraction, and a bit of personal growth, there could be something between these two.
With is chilly winter setting, spanning Thanksgiving and Christmas, A Walk in Winter feels like a warm hug in a novel. If they start doing movie adaptations of Georgia Beers novels (and I would binge them all) this would feel right at home as a Christmas romance.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
Olivia has worked at The Evergreen Resort and Spa since she was at college she feels as though she deserve to run the resort because she believes she make it more better. She is blindsided when she gets pass over the manger position to someone new. Even though she doesn't get the position things start looking up when she meets a attractive woman in the woods while walking her dog as they strike up a conversation they exchange numbers to set up a date.
Hayley had been cut off financially by her father who believes she needs to learn to work when he give her the task to learn running one of his resort turn it around in four months. She feels she out of her element and when she meets Oivia she thinks something good can come out of this but when they learn they be working together things get complicated.
Olivia and Hayley are likable characters you feel for them as Hayley believes her father is setting her up to fail because he wasn't a great parent to her, Olivia believing she should have gotten that promotion. I like their romance it was some angst with Hayley not telling Olivia who she really is the owner daughter with Olivia feeling resentment that she has to help Hayley when it's clearly doesn't know what she doing.
There's something about Georgia Beers' novels that I always find relaxing, like sinking into a warm bath after a long day on a particularly cold night: dependable comfort. This novel delivers on that dependable comfort. The story is sweet with enough angst and desire to keep things interesting. If you have read and enjoyed other Beers' novels you will likely enjoy this book as it has many hallmarks of other novels: workplace forbidden relationship, career-focused heroine, salt-of-the-earth main character, small-town setting, and, of course, a cute dog!
Olivia has worked at The Evergreen since college and her goal in life is to manage the struggling resort. When she loses out on the open management position to an unknown new boss, she is distraught. A chance meeting while walking her dog in the woods leads her to Hayley, a beautiful woman who immediately draws her attention.
The chemistry of Olivia and Haley's sweet meeting in the woods is interrupted when Hayley shows up for her first day of work at The Evergreen as Olivia’s new boss. Hayley struggles with the job and pressure from her father (the founder of the corporation that owns the resort) and her attraction to Olivia. Olivia for her part struggles with her attraction to Hayley, as well as her frustrations with what she sees as Hayley’s shortcomings as the manager of the resort.
There’s a lot to like about this book. The main characters are sweet, likable, and honest (for the most part). Also, both handle conflict maturely and talk to each other, which is always refreshing. Add in the action of the novel taking place over the holidays and this book comes away as feeling very cozy and just a little bit magical. The plot didn’t surprise me and I wasn’t blown away by the chemistry but I found the book very enjoyable.
I'll definitely recommend this book for any readers looking for a sweet, fairly low drama romance, especially during pumpkin spice latte season.
One of the sweetest stories Georgia Beers has ever written. This was another amazing read, which was not a surprise since her stories never disappoint.
I enjoyed this book because the characters were likable and the story was interesting. I wasn’t sure where the author was taking the story toward the end, which I enjoyed, because it wasn’t totally predictable. I found the details in the plot to be original and there really was only point toward the end that I thought was a little too sentimental.
Another fine romance by Ms Beers. A Walk in Winter is a perfect book to transition into winter, a warm and sweet romance to read while curled up under a blanket or by a fire while the first snow starts to fall.
To say Olivia is blindsided when she finds out Corporate has hired a brand new resort manager to fill the position she has been working for since she was a teen is an understatement. That this new manager is the attractive woman she met earlier that morning while walking her dog - you know the one she exchanged numbers with for a tentative date - just makes matters worse. For her part, Hayley Boyd is out of her depth - her father has cut her off financially and insists she take the reigns of on one of his properties to prove herself. With no experience in actually running a resort she's overwhelmed with the role and responsibilities and the belief that her father expects her to fail.
Despite the set up, this isn't an antagonistic romance. Olivia and Hayley are both likable and you can't help but sympathize with both of their situations. There's also a wonderful undercurrent of chemistry as they work together that slowly builds as the novel progresses.
A wonderful read.
This is only the second Georgia Beers books that I've read, but nonetheless I was expecting more than just a sweet romance. For me the characters lacked in depth, development and most importantly chemistry. I just didn't feel that ultimate pull between Haley and Olivia that I experience with a better than average read. So I'm leaving this book with 3 stars for this lesbian holiday Hallmark read.
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Olivia Santini, hardworking assistant manager at Evergreen Resort and Spa, has been managing the resort even while a good-for-nothing manager was in place. He’s been gone for six months and Olivia is hoping to be made manager and is shocked to find one Haley Boyd making a surprise appearance as the new manager. Just before meeting Hayley the Manager, Olivia had met Hayley the Photographer in the Woods and there was an interest on both sides. Bad enough Olivia has been bypassed for the promotion, but to make it worse Hayley seems to be completely clueless about running a resort.
Olivia and Hayley are immensely likeable characters and we loved that the feelings of both for the other are fully described so we are privy to the mutual attraction. That always helps is getting a feel of the budding romance. Hayley is strangely young and her vulnerability comes across so strongly that you feel a sense of protectiveness about her rather than irritation. Olivia is simply lovely – though we can’t even begin imagining her level of frustration with her workplace.
This is a low – very low – angst read and we loved that. We by far prefer no-to-low angst rather than forced conflict. We enjoyed the attraction and chemistry between the MCs and the secondary characters too. There is a breeziness in the writing especially in the first half which makes it so easy to read.
We’re not sure why the scene where Hayley is breaking Guin’s heart is there. That is so unnecessary and we’d rather not have had that little no-so-nice insight into Hayley. But apart from that one scene, this is an easy, romantic read.
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.
This is a nice romance from Beers. Here we have MC Olivia, who is an assistant manager at a resort in upstate New York, who has recently been passed over for the manager’s role she thought should be hers (she’s right). She meets the other MC, Haley, while walking in the woods, and they flirt and make plans to get together again, only to discover the next day that Haley is Olivia’s new manager.
Of course, this doesn’t please Olivia, but she’s less pleased by the fact that Haley appears to be a total flake, who is completely unqualified for the role (she is). It also rightfully annoys and confuses Olivia that she’s been passed over for Haley.
Meanwhile Haley is actually the daughter of the owner, who has been going off the rails with spending in the wake of her mother’s death two years earlier and has now been exiled to the resort with an ultimatum to turn it around within the next four months, even though she’s an artist, and knows nothing about running a resort. She’s also hiding her real identity, so Olivia doesn’t know she’s the boss’s daughter and this was the ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’ element, which was as annoying as it usually is because I just kept waiting for the reveal.
The secondary characters include Olivia’s two best friends who also work at the resort and her family who all live in town (her mother is a hoot), while Haley’s BFF and one of her brothers appear during brief phone calls. Her main connection is her father, who is also having trouble dealing with her mother’s death and they do not relate to each other at all.
The two MCs spend a lot of time together due to their roles, and early on this is fraught by Haley’s lack of interest in the role and Olivia’s resentment of her. They do become closer though and end up giving in to their mutual attraction. This then leads to the ‘drama’ portion, which actually zigged when I expected a zag, and didn’t bog the story down as I had thought it would, so I was happy that the conflict did not play out at all the way I thought.
My main issue with the story was Haley’s character, she’s 30, and completely dependent on her father to pay her bills, which is kind of... pathetic for a grown ass woman (although I also couldn’t work out if she was being paid to work at the resort). She also half asses her way through her job, does no preparation before arriving, and little once she gets there, it’s at least a month before she really starts doing anything of note, she just lets Olivia do the heavy lifting. She does improve, but it took me awhile to warm to her. Even in the epilogue when she makes a rather large purchase, I had to wonder who actually paid for it.
Anyway, that aside, I enjoyed the setting, the romance between the MCs was sweet, and I give points for not following the usual ‘get them together to break them up’ formula. It’s probably around the 3.75 star mark, but I’m rounding up to 4 because it’s Beers
Olivia Santini, Assistant Manager of Evergreen Resort and Spa;
Hayley Boyd Markham, the new Manager of the Evergreen, a property owned by her father.
Olivia is walking her dog in the woods one morning and meets up with an attractive woman who is taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery. The women both sense an immediate attraction to each other. They exchange phone numbers and promise to meet for coffee later.
When Hayley's father installs her as Manager of the Evergreen Resort and Spa, it is with the intention that the young and inexperienced Hayley will fail and then her father, Benton Markham can sell the property off and be rid of the cash cow that is The Evergreen.
The trouble is, Olivia was certain she would get the job as Manager, having worked at the resort for seven years, so the resentment is palpable when Olivia realizes she has been passed over for the job. When she realizes that Hayley, the woman she met in the woods is the new Manager, Olivia is confused and upset. To make matters worse, she has to train Hayley.
There is just enough angst and drama in this story to make you want to keep reading to find out how it all shakes out, which is the trademark of a Georgia Beers book, and it's a device Beers uses with talent and style.
This is a really nice story, well written and entertaining.
<B>LIKE READING A HALLMARK MOVIE... 🙃</b>
So. I picked this one up because I was feeling Christmas-y and wanted to cute girl-on-girl romance. Sure, this book has both of those things but it just didn't wow me in any way. While reading it I had the distinct feeling that, besides from the queer aspect, I already knew this story from about 4-5 different Hallmark/Lifetime movies... Actually it is also very reminiscent of the Netflix movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHfgIeCqDu0">Christmas Inheritance</a>. That was a big letdown...
<b>👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎</b>
<u>Characters</u>: Well, first of all, this was a short book. And compared to the length of it there was simply way too many characters! Many of them only made an appearance for a couple of pages and that's it. Made it too complicated for the length. Secondly, the characters are, in humble opinion, flat and lifeless.
<u>Plot</u>: Yes, romance is nice, very nice. But often I am looking for something a bit more. This had no deeper plot to get me excited. Made me quite bored.
<u>Unoriginal</u>: Like I started of saying, I have definitely watched this movie multiple times. It just felt like a cliché wrapped in a queer packaging.
Georgia Beers’ books are basically the only romances I consistently read - I’m not really into romance. But there’s just something I really like about the way she writes and the characters she creates. Also, her books generally have nice dogs in them, which is always a bonus. (This one’s called Walter.)
The main characters here are Olivia and Hayley (thank you, Georgia, for giving them normal names - for some reason protagonists in lesbian fiction often have really awful names. Really, really awful.). Olivia’s the assistant manager of the Evergreen Resort, and has basically been managing the place because the actual manager was hopeless. When the manager leaves, Olivia experts to get the job and is disappointed when it goes to a stranger, Hayley, who seems to have little idea what she’s doing. Of course, the two women are strongly attracted to each other; equally of course, Hayley is keeping some secrets.
Olivia’s attitude in the beginning was a
bit annoying - I can certainly understand how frustrating it is to be passed over for a job which should be yours, but it’s not usually the fault of the person who actually gets the job. Then again, we’re all only human.
What does defy credibility a bit is that nobody ever seemed to ask Hayley where she’d worked before, which seems a highly natural question to ask a new colleague. Surely the first thing you’d ask a new hotel manager is what hotel they’d last worked in. Nobody ever seems to ask Hayley this question. (I’m not sure what she’d have said if they had.)
Anyway this was a light, easy, warm read with a lovely snowy atmosphere - perfect escapism.
I love Georgia Beers books. You know 9 out of 10 times you are going to read a quality romance with good, if not great, characters. This one about Hailey, a 30 year old resort heiress whose father tries to teach her lesson, and Olivia, a 29 year old assistant manager at said resort Hailey is being taught a lesson at. The story is nothing new: girl meets girl, instant attraction, discovery that girl is now boss and has something the other girl wants, fought attraction, and so forth and so on. Despite all that, I fell in love with both characters. Sympathizing with Hailey being thrown into something she has no idea how to do. And also sympathizing with Olivia being denied what she sees as her dream job.
I loved the setting and secondary characters really added to the romance of two. I was glad that there was only little drama and not something that dragged on through out the emtire book. Fans of Beers will enjoy this one. Its a happy romance thay will end up putting a nice smile on your face
One Walk in Winter was another sweet romance by Georgia Beers. It began with a tranquil setting in the woods as Olivia and her dog Walter enjoyed the cool autumn weather while newly transplanted Hayley photographed nature’s beauty. When Walter sensed Hayley’s presence, he took off and immediately bonded with his newly acquired friend-and it so happened-so did Olivia who asked Hayley for a date. But that tranquillity and happiness soon gave way to agitation and anger when the two women met again shortly after their walk.
Hayley Markham was a 30 year old NYC resident who was just trying to be good enough for her very demanding rich father. The death of her mother and his wife 2 years prior left a void that neither daughter or father fully addressed. In order to teach Hayley a lesson in responsibility, her father placed her in charge of one of his less successful resorts, with her true identity concealed. He expected her to fail since Hayley knew next to nothing about running a resort.
Olivia Santini was the 32 year assistant manager of that resort who mistakenly thought she would be made manager after the previous incompetent manager resigned. Obviously, Olivia was not too happy when she discovered that Hayley was now her new boss and appeared to also be very incompetent. Their potential relationship and date soon became nonexistent.
I liked how the characters evolved during the course of the story, especially Hayley who initially appeared to be a spoiled rich girl. The author slowly allowed Hayley’s true persona to take shape and with the help of Olivia striped away her insecurities and emotional scars. There were also many other emotional scenes throughout the story. But the ones I found the most powerful were actually the shortest and with the least spoken words. Those scenes involved phone calls between Hayley and her father. When the call ended, Hayley was an emotional mess. With each sob she tried to hold back, you could feel her pain, her loneliness…her longing for a father’s love. It was extremely well written.
Overall, the storyline was interesting, the characters were likable, and the setting was beautiful. Highly recommended!
When it comes to Beers’ work, I’ve quickly come to expect a feel good romance with great chemistry between the two MCs and quality writing, and this is exactly what One Walk in Winter delivers!
I wasn’t in the best of places mentally-wise when I picked it up, but this book was everything I needed at the time. It’s a cozy, comforting read that made me smile, laugh and cry.
Olivia Santini has worked her whole life toward her goal of one day managing the Evergreen Resort and Spa. With the manager position recently vacated, Olivia is certain she’s finally getting the job of her dreams. So when Hayley Boyd comes in out of nowhere and get the job instead of her, Olivia is rightfully angry. More so when it becomes painfully obvious that Hayley has no experience managing anything, let alone a hotel.
Beers’ main and side characters are all well-developed and have a certain depth and authenticity to them; they feel like real people you want to get to know and spend more time with. They’re all flawed and over the course of the pages, they grow in realistic ways. I absolutely loved MCs Olivia and Hayley (I have a little crush on her) and found their attraction believable. There’s a tension between them, and you can feel Olivia’s internal conflict, torn between her obvious attraction to Hayley and her resentment towards her.
Of course, every small town romance isn’t complete without at least one adorable pet. Walter seemed like such a little cutie. I wish he had more page presence! He deserved it since he basically brought the leads together.
Even though One Walk in Winter is a typical enemies-to-lovers romance in every way, it’s a really good one that will definitely give you that happy feeling. I highly recommend you pick this up in the days leading up to the winter holidays, curled up on the sofa with a cup of hot cocoa and the Christmas lights on.
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review
I have to say, I didn’t want this book to end. You know how I’ve talked about the way I read, masking the page with my hand so my eyes won’t go faster than my brain (#dyspraxia), especially when I’m so involved in what’s happening? I had to make myself stop reading a few times to allow my eyes to reboot, so to speak.
Olivia Santini fell in love with the Evergreen Resort and Spa when she was a teenager and has basically lived and breathed Evergreen ever since. She’s worked her way up to the assistant manager position, thanks to her work ethic and her love for the place. For the last six months, she’s been acting manager and totally deserves the job. But life’s not always fair and someone else is the new manager. Hayley Boyd Markham is the youngest child and the only daughter of Benton Markham, the owner of the Evergreen resort (and many more hotels, most of them bigger and more successful). Unlike her much older half-brothers, she doesn’t really care about the family business. Her happiness comes from painting, a talent she’s inherited from her mother. Since her mother’s death two years ago, Hayley has lost her way, spending too much of her father’s money on nightclubs and parties. Her father’s way of teaching her a lesson (and of punishing her for looking and sounding so much like the love of his life) is to send her to Evergreen, asking the impossible from her.
When they first meet, Olivia and Hayley don’t know they’re going to work together, or that Hayley is reluctantly taking the job Olivia believes should be hers. The attraction is immediate, and the chemistry is obvious from the start. Georgia Beers is excellent at describing those feelings, the way they grow, the hope and the doubts. She’s also done a great job of making the setting part of the story. The walk in winter of the title is not just for show, it’s where the whole story begins.
There’s something magical about snow. There’s also something very romantic about snow and quite a few of my favorite lesfic novels have a totally sweet and sexy snow scene. Kiss the Girl by Melissa Brayden for example has one of the best. In One Walk in Winter, the snow is almost a character in and of itself. It has its own sounds and silences, almost like feelings (I’m all for feelings, they’re why I read).
This is a sweet romance, with a little angst but not so much. Still, I was whispering « No no no » at some point (you’ll probably know when when you read it) and my sigh of relief was a huge one. And don’t even get me started on Hayley’s relationship with her dad. Both are lost in their grief since her mother died and can’t seem to be able to communicate nor understand what the other is going through. This leads to Hayley basically being all alone, without a family, another contrast to Olivia’s life and her very present, warm and loving Italian family.
This book is not perfect but my ratings are not meant to reflect perfection, they reflect how affected I have been by the book I’m rating. This one gave me all the feels so it gets 5 stars.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
A sweet story to pair with the holidays.
Olivia works at the Evergreen resort. She should have been the next in line to become manager but she was passed up for someone new. On a snowy walk one morning, she meets a charming woman taking photographs, Rachel. There is an immediate connection. But that connection becomes challenged as Olivia finds out that Rachel is the person who stole the job from her. And to make matters worse? She really sucks at it.
There are plenty of 'moment's in this book that make the heart sore. Just what I like in a romance. Situations where sparks fly, hearts fill, and tears fall. This book shined with cute fairy trails and swoon worthy Christmas gifts.
I enjoyed the drama between Rachel and her father. We even get to sit in Mr. Markham's head space every now and again. Usually I wouldn't care for that, but it really worked for this story. There was a lot of focus on family. The contrast between Olivia and Rachel's relationships with family members was stark. I felt bad for Rachel and wanted her to experience the love and protection she deserved.
In fact, this was an extremely well rounded book. Some romance, a bit of family drama, some friendship support, chasing dreams, finding purpose, etc.
There were times when this book slowed down a bit. The main characters would spend some time on their own and have internal thoughts that were very similar to each other so it felt a little repetitive.
There was some explicit sex but not a lot. The scenes were fairly quick, which I appreciate.
And I feel a little let down that the chef and the bartender didn't create any moments of their own.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. It would have felt REALLY nice and cozy if read in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Covered in blankets. By a fire.
I recommend this to those who like to read about romance, holidays, snow, hotel management, photography, family drama, dogs, keeping secrets that undoubtedly come out eventually, and meatballs.
<I>I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.</i>
A dull read that may turning the pages a challenge. Not badly written but at times does not seem to go anywhere. The story is there, just needs refinement.