Another excellent novel from Backman. His writing style is one of my favourites and has me intrigued and encapsulated from the off. This is a brilliant addition to the Beartown series with more rivalries and heartache and broken characters trying to find their way.

It is breaking my heart to put 3 starts to Fredrik Backman as he is one of my fav writers. I loved Beartown (the first book), but I did not like the second one. I was excited to be approved for the third one because it is Backman. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel connected to the characters as much as I was in the other two books. It took really long to finish it. The book is just overlong.

There are even more characters than in previous books and sometimes it was really hard to track them all down. Though I liked we had a family from Hed, and had a chance to see their point of view.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what an outstanding book this , This book will make you cry , many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for this review

I have sat down to write this review several times, and each time I've been at a loss for words.

Let me preface this by saying I've been waiting a long time for this book. Backman is my favourite author, and his Beartown trilogy will forever be my favourite books. That being said, I was nervous going into "The Winners", afraid that I had set my expectations too high. Finalising the series of books I love so much would be a difficult task for any author, and I had almost impossible expectations for this book.

I was not disappointed.

I devoured this book in two days, and it's not a short book. I laughed, I cried (a lot. And I mean a lot. Invest in some good quality tissues before you read this - you'll thank me later), and I exclaimed out loud.

This book simultaneously broke my heart and healed my soul - and there is nothing more I could have asked from it.

I could go into great detail about the plot and the characters, the satisfying arcs and the perfect places we left each character, but I won't. I'll simply urge you to read this book. I can almost guarantee that it will change something in you. Backman's way of capturing the simple essence of what makes us human (and using beautiful metaphors while doing it) is absolutely unmatched. I finished this book as a different person to the one I was when I started it.

If you read three books in your lifetime, let them be "Beartown", "Us Against You" and "The Winners".

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Simon & Schuster UK and Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

SPEECHLESS!

Literally speechless.. I had no words for a while after finishing this today, I had to have time with my thoughts as I honestly felt like I was in that story, that I had been through everything my favourite characters had been through.

When I realised a book 3 was coming I knew I needed it, more than I need my coffee in the morning - [ & that's huge!! ]
Beartown and Us Against You have been my all time favorite books since I read them. This joins them! So now I guess I say my all time favorite series!!!

This book completely broke me, it unearthed feelings that I've had buried so deep for a long time. The characters that Backman has created will be with me forever.

For first time readers people will think they don't want to read about Hockey, but this book is so much more. Its about love, loss, grief, its about fighting to the end for what you want and what you believe in, about protecting those you love and grow to love. Its about being a parent, being a child, its full of hatred and fear, its about doing the wrong thing but making it right but above all its about forgiveness and second chances.
This book will rip you apart.

Fredrick Backman has outdone himself once again and I know that this book will be on many readers top 5 lists of books that are a must read. It's definitely on mine!!!

Huge thank you to the author himself, Netgalley and Atria Books for giving me the chance to read this fantastic digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

For goodness’ sake don’t read the last part of this book in public. Not unless you look absolutely stunning with a swollen nose, blotchy red cheeks and a face full of tears. And make sure you don’t finish it just before you’re about to go out. I’m supposed to go for a run now, and I’m going to need a hat and some big dark glasses, maybe a scarf. It’s not even sunny. Or cold.
Backman had me in tears before the end of the first paragraph, damn him.
The Bear Town trilogy is right at the top of my Most Favourite Reads list. I knew before I picked this book up that it was going to hold that spot. There’s nothing I can say that I haven’t already said about this beautiful story and the way Backman writes. His ability to capture emotions with words that are so relatable is a gift. His characters are perfection.
There will forever be a Benji-shaped hole in my heart.
Massive thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster U.K. for the ARC and my broken heart.

Going to keep this review brief, as while I can appreciate why many others love this book, it really was not for me (I also do not want to spoil the series!). I had listened to the audiobooks of the previous installments of the trilogy and enjoyed them (and it was good to have recaps of the previous books in ‘the winners’, otherwise this would have been a tricky read!). However, this book is hefty, and for me honestly too long. The story is repetitive, and I did find that tedious to read. A big part of the storyline also is sports which I know nothing about, so it was hard for me to connect with that element!
One of the highlights of this book and of Backman’s writing is the characters. I became attached to the characters, which made for some devasting reading, and I liked the new ones introduced in this book like Johnny and Hannah. However, I did sometimes find it hard to keep track, especially with the different POVs.
Overall, I do think this was a super emotional, and thought-provoking read, and a highlight of Backman’s writing is his characters. Although this final installment wasn’t for me, I do still love the series and that’s why I think this book has a higher star rating, but without giving spoilers, I just really didn’t like where this story went.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for this arc!

Was really happy to receive an ARC of this book, and a fine finale to an amazing trilogy book series. I really enjoy the authors way with words, and how real the characters are.

Personal rating:
3.25🌟, rounded to 3🌟


I love Beartown (the first book, not this whole series lol) because it discusses important topics but in a way that allows you to think for yourself. But my personal favourite is Us Against You for a number of reasons including the introduction of Teemu Rinnius. I'm still lowkey crushed that he didn't end up with Adri btw but whatever.

Enter The Winners. I was pretty dang excited when I got approved for an e-arc of this because ya kidding me? More of Backman + Beartown could never mean a bad thing! Oh, you sweet summer child, you.

My first ‘oh boy’ was when I found out this book has nearly 700 pages in total. But I kept a positive mind. The second ‘oh boy’ came when at ±300 pages, barely anything of consequence has happened. By then my interest has steadily gone down and I started thinking maybe too much of Backman is not such a great thing after all.

Once I finally reached the end and read his acknowledgements, he mentioned feeling lost etc. while writing this book and I definitely felt that in the story. This book should be thinned down more imo, large parts of it felt like you're going nowhere. Two weeks—the duration of everything that went down in this book icymi—has never felt so long. I couldn't care less about the parts that have to do with the editor-in-chief and all the politics. Matteo's part took so long to develop that I pretty much lost all interest by the time it actually happened.

Oh and did anyone else feel weird when Maya and Ana (Maya especially) suddenly acted like longtime best friends with Benji in this book? Because I sure do.

In the end, I think if I ever reread this series, I'm just gonna pretend it's a duology and that this book never existed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I was so happy to get the Arc of The Winners, I've been a huge fan of Fredrik Backman, and the Beartown series has been amazing!
The Winners was a great read just like the first two books, emotional and uplifting. It was great to meet all the much loved characters again.
As usual it is beautifully written and is a memorable read.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I still can't believe this actually happened. I mean, I LOVE everything Fredrik Backman writes, and I have several of his titles on my list of all time favorites. While the Beartown series hasn't been among my absolute favorites, I did love the second book more than the first. I didn't realize that there was going to be a third book to be honest, but of course I wasn't going to be able to resist a new book by one of my absolute favorite authors. I was SO excited to have The Winners appear on my kindle, and I literally dropped everything to start reading it straight away. Not even the whopping almost 700 pages could deter me... But somehow I ended up having mixed thoughts instead. Trust me, this is something I still cannot wrap my head around myself either!

I'm starting to think that this is one of those series that should have been left alone. True, the sequel did work better for me than the first book, but Us Against You had a solid ending and the fact that I never expected a third book says it all. It's hard to keep up with the magic of the first two Beartown books, and I personally ended up feeling that that special spark was missing in The Winners. It's not a bad read (it's Backman we are talking about after all) and I still love his writing style and way of wording things. His style is easy to recognize and I basically knew that I was reading another of his books immediately... But somehow it wasn't enough for me this time around. I'll try to explain briefly what didn't work for me.

One of my main issues is the fact that The Winners is simply way overlong, and as a consequence the pace itself is extremely slow. It felt like the author wanted to show every little detail about the lives of just about every single character, and it made the story surprisingly slow and tedious to read. Not that I didn't like the new characters, and I understand what their role is in the plot, but still... I did think that a lot of the already known characters lost their spark a little, and as a consequence I wasn't as invested what happened to them. I mean, I basically went through a box of tissues with the second book, but I didn't even cry once while reading The Winners (and trust me, there are plenty moments that would fit the bill). It might just be because I've been in a strange reading mood lately, but still.

I also wasn't a fan of the constant character and POV hopping. I don't mind multiple POVs and it's a great way to see things from different perspectives, but somehow in The Winners it was just too much for me and especially when it happens a lot WITHIN the same chapter. Spending more time with each character at a time makes it a lot easier to stay invested in them... It's true that we already know most of them from the previous books, but still. Another thing that bothered me was the constant repetition of past events; for example with what happened to Maya in the first book. It became really tedious to see the whole 'scandal' mentioned over and over again... Not to mention it slowed down the pace even more. The same goes for the importance of hockey, how much Hed and Beartown hate each other etc. etc.

As a whole, against all expectations I ended up having mixed thoughts about The Winners. I still love his writing and he is still one of my favorite authors, but I do hope he will leave the Beartown series alone in the future. Reactions have been mainly positive so far though, so it's probably just me who is the problem; I blame my recent fickle reading mood.

Fredrik Backman ´s The Winners was a worthy finish of the trilogy! Fredrik Backman has brought them back for one more emotional roller coaster of a story.

'The Winners' is the final volume of Frederik Backman's trilogy set in Beartown, a hockey-obsessed town deep in the forests of northern Sweden. The story picks up two and a half years after the events of 'Us Against You'. In the intervening years, the fortunes of Beartown have picked up - the hockey team is doing well as is the economy. Meanwhile their bitter rivals in the neighbouring town of Hed have found their prospects have declined. The book opens with a terrible storm that causes widespread destruction in the region and sets of the tension between the two towns, with dramatic consequences.

If you've read and enjoyed the first two books you will want to read this conclusion. Readers new to the series would do better to go back to the first novel ('Beartown') and read in sequence. Backman does give a decent recap of previous events within the text, something I appreciate in sequels as it's hard to remember the details of books you might have read several years ago.

The characters are interesting and usually likeable or even loveable. Despite having a large cast of characters built up in the previous books, Backman does introduce a few more here, although all with a purpose in the story. A big draw for previous fans will be finding out how things turn out for the young people they have followed since the first book, and Backman doesn't disappoint, giving insight into their future lives as well as where the finish the plot in this book itself.

The plot is compelling, particularly towards the end. I found the first half slow and it took me a while to get into it, especially given I'd already read two books in the series before. That's partly because of the sheer volume of characters and plot threads, meaning you have to read a long way before any have had enough page time to start to draw the reader in. But towards the end it's hard to put down as events spiral towards the finale.

So the characters are good and the plot is good, what's the down side? As with 'Us Against You', it's the writing style. I don't remember having the same irritation with 'Beartown', but all the things that frustrated me about the second book have continued in the third. Firstly, there are the portentous statements that act as mini-spoilers within the text - something that always drives me mad. Just tell the story. It's not a film trailer, you don't need to litter your novel with teasers. Secondly, there is the oddly repetitive style. I'm not sure if it's intentional, to create a sort of rhythm, or not. But it certainly gets on my nerves, particularly in the earlier part of the book before the plot had gained enough momentum for me to notice and care less. It isn't 'just his style' as I've read other books by him written differently, so perhaps it is conscious decision Despite that, if you can wade through it, there are plenty of little observational gems. At his best Backman is able to express things I have often thought or noticed but never been able to articulate.

Overall, the book gets a four star rating from me as I always consider plot and characters more highly than I do style. This novel just serves as proof though that to be really excellent, you do need all three.

In a Nutshell: A fitting finale to one of the best series of recent years. Slow paced, thought-provoking, exhilarating, depressing, brilliant. This is literary fiction at its finest.

This is an excellent follow-up to Beartown. Set a few years after the rape and reassessment of the Hed and Beartown communities , feud, attitude and hockey lifestyle, this book revisits those same people and finds a community trying to rebuild and improve itself. Gang, Town and family loyalties are key to the interactions and actions of the characters.
Fredrick Backman takes us by the hand and we weave our way through the towns, explore the layers of loyalty and circumstances along the way, and drops small foreshadowing detail throughout.
So we see what will happen, but not how or why. As the story unfolds more is revealed and we are pulled deeper into the torn communities, their strengths, weaknesses, prejudices and failings.
This is one of my favourite books of the year. The depth of characters and the tightly woven tale had me deeply invested and at times anxious for certain outcomes.

Thanks to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.

When I reviewed ‘Us Against You’, I wrote that the first quarter of the book felt as if it belonged to ‘Beartown’. This is the third book in the series, and again - a little less than half the book felt as if it belongs to the previous two books, though it does introduce some new characters very well. Not that I care actually – with writing like this, why would I?! This has been an amazing series – the best in recent times, and this book provides a great finish!

All the characters we loved in ‘Beartown’ and ‘Us Against You’ are covered – Ramona, Peter, Kira, Maya, Leo, Benji, Amat, Bobo, Ana, Zackell, Teemu & the pack. This book introduces some new characters and gives them good space – Johnny (a fireman), his wife Hannah (a midwife) Hannah, their kids, Lev (dealer), Matteo (raked with painful memories as his sister faced abuse and took her life), his mother, Mumble (now Beartown goalkeeper), Aleksandr (a new promising hockey talent from outside) and Alicia (young girl under Sune’s wings aspiring to play hockey). Many of the characters are introduced to provide us the Hed side of the story, which the previous books did not do much of.

As of the last book, Benji had moved on from Beartown, and so had Maya. A tragic demise of a person they loved and respected brings them back for a visit. The rivalry between Beartown and Hed is as is – but circumstances have changed. Beartown is the big brother with its club doing well financially. There is talk that the club at Hed will close, or quite possibly there will be a new combined club. Amat continues to aspire big, but finds that the road to the top league brings lots of challenges. Peter now works for his wife Kira, but hockey continues to be his passion. There are some local reporters who sense a big story with some of the goings-on in the Beartown club. I was a little disappointed with the fading of Peter and Sune’s character in the second book. But this book strikes a great balance of covering all of the characters, though I would have liked to see more of Sune.

The book continues to focus on many issues the previous books raised – prejudice, rivalry, egos, abuse, violence and certainly character, values & love. In an interview while discussing this series, Backman said that he set the story in a small town since you have to face the issues which come up. In big cities, you can avoid the process of dialogue, self-discovery & growth by sticking to groups who hold your point of view. Both sides merrily speak of the other side with contempt & derision on social media, and the distance among people grows. This makes perfect sense, and in this series – Backman ensures that the characters do face up to the views they hold and the choices they make. In the afterword, Backman says he gave this series all he had – and he certainly did. A large book – but great continuation and closure. In the last sections, I almost felt I was in town with the rest of the characters.

This is a series all must read!

If you are a fan of the Beartown books, you can't miss this! We catch up with Benji, Amat, Maya and Peter, not forgetting everyone else. Hard to say goodbye to such great characters, I wish this wasn't the last book in the series.

🏒The Winners by Fredrik Backman🏒

The conclusion to the Beartown series is here and Backman has delivered the finale that this fantastic series deserves.

Be prepared for all the ups and downs you'd expect if you've read Beartown and Us Against You. This book weighs in at almost 700 pages and it meanders it's way towards a conclusion that left me shocked, surprised and mourning the fact that I won't be visiting these characters again.

The characters are the strength of this trilogy. Backman's gift is that he makes us care for them despite all of their faults. The themes in these books are universal and that's why they touch you so deeply.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was an ARC from @netgalley 🙌

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #thewinners #fredrickbackman #fredrickbackmanbooks #beartown #usagainstyou #constantreader #contemporaryfiction #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #bookstagram

As this is the latest in the series it is hard to review it without spoiling earlier books.

This was so good. I never want this series to end. I never thought I would care as much as I do about a rural, Swedish, hockey town.

The ending devastated me.