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.

This has been an excellent book going right to the top of my favorite books from this author without any doubt. Lately I've had some issues with her books mainly caused by her need to introduce a dramatic point at about the 80 percent of the story, without fail in every book. It became repetitive and almost expected, always using the same formula. And luckily this does not happen here. 

This romance could be considered as christmasy in a way, for the setting and because it also takes place at that time.  So if you read it on those dates you will surely enjoy it even more.

The story is sweet from beginning to end, with some misunderstanding along the way. The two main characters are initially incompatible because of their different family background and living place. Olivia has always lived in the mountains and dreamed of managing the resort in wich she works. Hayley is a rich girl who lives in Manhattan and has little obligations but because of loosing her mother and a straint relationship with her father, she has started to live a little too much wildly. And her father as a punishment forces her to asume the direction of the resort in wich Olivia works.
Both women meet before they know they are going to have to work together but that does not prevent them from being attracted from the first moment.That said, it is clear that there have to be conflicts and some disagreements, but they even make the story more interesting and I really liked discovering both women little by little.

So I enjoyed this book a lot, another perfect romance for me, one of those that I really like

Georgia Beers is an expert at writing romance stories that just melt your heart as you read them. I always have high expectations for Ms. Beers’ romance novels. Thankfully, One Walk in Winter met all of my expectations and more.

This is the story of Olivia Santini and Hayley Boyd Markham. Olivia has lived in Evergreen all her life and for several years has been the assistant manager of the Evergreen Resort and Spa. When the manager’s position opens up, Olivia is sure she will get the job. She has all the qualifications and the experience at the resort. Hayley is the youngest daughter of the owner of Markham Corporation which Evergreen is a part of. She is admittedly spoiled by her family and often thinks everyone views her as a “screw-up”. After an expensively embarrassing social situation, her father lays down the law. He sends her to Evergreen Resort as the new manager, even though she has no experience working in that position. There are also rules she must follow. She can’t tell anyone she is the daughter of the owner. She must use the name Boyd instead of Markham, and she must show her father she can make the resort profitable.

The two women have a chance meeting on an early morning woodland walk the day that Hayley is to begin her new job. There is an instant attraction between the two, but will that continue when they meet again later?

Ms. Beers uses that great writing rule which says, “Write what you know,” when she creates the setting for this book, and it shows in her writing. Her descriptions let the reader use their senses to be part of the setting. We smell the clean scent of the pine boughs. We feel the cold, crisp air in our lungs. We watch the glide of the falling snowflakes, and we even hear the snowflakes as they hit the snow covered ground. (They actually do sometimes make a puffing sound when they land, but you often can’t hear that unless you are in a very quiet place.) This setting and her description of it is perfect for this novel.

The characters are well developed and easy to like. It was nice to watch the two grow closer in spite of the circumstances surrounding their jobs. There is also just the right amount of angst for the story.
This is a beautiful romance; perfect for a snowy winter evening before the fire with a large cup of hot chocolate…with marshmallows of course. Seriously, it is a great read for any time or place.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was another great read by Beers. Being immersed in the life of the hotel and watching as Hayley struggled with her position were very enlightening. The characters made this story even better and the chemistry between Hayley and Olivia was amazing. Fantastic love story.

Olivia Sandinista is the assistant manger at Evergreen resort. She is expecting to become the manager because she has been doing the work for the last couple of years. Before going to work, she always takes her dog for a walk. On this morning she comes across a beautiful stranger Hayley Boyd. They are attracted to one another and before they depart one another Hayley asks her on a date. Things are looking up. Hayley Boyd is really in town to take the manager position at the Evergreen. Her father the owner of the resort has forbidden her to give her real last name and has also thrown her into an impossible situation because she has never really worked before and he is planning on either selling or closing the resort in the summer. All of this has come about because Haley has been irresponsible for the past couple of years and spending too much money.

So now that we have got threw that, I overall thought the romance was cute and sweet. I really liked both Olivia and Hayley. I even liked the premise of the story. I only had one problem. It was sort of boring. Sure it was a solid read, but nothing really popped until I got to the angst towards the end. As I was reading, I was just wish there was more of a push and pull between Hayley and Olivia. More passion or longing or something. I still really like Beers writing and like her romances.

Anyway, I am going to give this a 3.75.

This novel takes place from Thanksgiving to New Years and is set in the charming town of Evergreen Hills in northeastern USA so we get a lovely stretch of winter scenes and holidays. The timing and setting are wonderful and make a quaint and special backdrop for a slow-burn romance.

For the first half of the book, our MCs are fighting their mutual attraction and they have a few scenes where things could heat up but nothing too intense happens. Both of them are unwilling to take the next step. Their working relationship makes acting on their attraction difficult, as well as the fact that Olivia is resentful the job she wanted was given to Hayley, who harbors her own secret she can’t reveal to Olivia.

This is a safe, pleasant read with an interesting and diverse cast of characters including Olivia’s dog Walter, who adds a fun touch. This novel won’t rock the foundation of your life but neither will it traumatize you.

Three point five stars.


ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

This was another solid romance from Georgia Beers. I found Hayley to be completely endearing and felt for her throughout the book, which I wasn't expecting when first reading about the book. Olivia was the one I struggled to warm up to initially she was simple rude at times. However as the book did progress I found myself warming up to her and enjoying the interactions between the two characters.

I found the storyline to have a good pace that continued to develop for both characters. The ending was rounded out well which I have had issue with in previous Beers books.

Few things are better than the anticipation of diving into a new Georgia Beers novel. One Walk in Winter satisfies that anticipation perfectly. Olivia and Hayley are so different but somehow their chemistry works, as does their enemies to friends to lovers story, with a little help from Olivia’s lovable mutt and Hayleys uncanny artistic ability to capture nature’s perfect moments. It’s Hayley’s laser focused ability to capture Olivia’s beloved Adirondack Mountains and winter forest in a photograph or painting, a reflection of her playful personality, that eventually pulls her hopelessly into her orbit. Olivia becomes captivated and even changed by seeing her world, then their world, through Hayley’s art. Sigh - so romantic. It’s always time well spent in this author’s stories, every time.

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Georgia Beers' bibliography. She made an amazing progress as a writer during years, and it's been a wonderful journey being able to follow it through, reading book by book. This book is no exception. You can actually see the improvement in dialogue's effortlessness, banters, scenery description... Albeit I would have loved to witness more of their relationship early development - somehow, the whole trouble crescendo came all too quickly after their wonderful night together - this is still a very, very good romance book. Especially all those Christmas time snowy depictions makes you wanna curl up by the fire with a good, hug cup of hot coffee, warm blanket, and this book in your hands. smiling on all those cute Olivia - Hayley moments.