I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

There are some authors that just click, I guess we have a certain style and tone we really like, and for me Karis Walsh is one of those authors. I love her settings in the Pacific North West, the animals that are so much part of the stories, and the depth of her characters. “Liberty Bay” is another great read, interesting characters who become our friends, gorgeous backdrop of the farmland outside Seattle and the clash of a woman who makes her living in the most modern way possible, as a social media influencer, and another who’s childhood and family relationships were blighted by her dislike of technology. The attraction is instant but neither can conceive of it ever being more.. and they will both have to compromise to make it work. Thoroughly enjoyable reading as always from Ms Walsh.

There are so many social media stars/influencers in the world now, that it was interesting to see that profession make it to the pages in a lesfic romance. I really felt for Gina and her loss of self as she had to leave her world behind. Of course, that led her to the ranch of one (ice queen?) Wren.

Wren likes her life the way it is. Not interested in changing anything, even though she needs to in order for her business to stay afloat.

Where this book shined most was the flirting and banter.

2.5
I'm afraid this story wasn't for me. It was lacking something, it was just a little too plain and simple for what I love to include when I'm reading a romance story. There seems to be little romance, a lot of banter between the 2 main characters, which I do like in a book, but that was about it. There was a lack of description too, whether it was to do with places/area and/or of the people in the storyline. This is just me tho... I like my books with plenty of information, lots of chemistry, and reasons behind the storyline, laughter... emotion.

This is a good fun read with likeable, interesting characters and a well paced plot. Ms Walsh uses the current zeitgeist of social media to develop a relationship between a social influencer and a technophobe with a horse farm. But maybe Wren knows more about computers than she’s letting on? Why is she so averse to the whole idea of her farm having a website? Gina needs somewhere to disappear to for a while after she is exposed and doxxed and it causes her to look at her goals but while she’s waiting on the police finding her stalker, she stays with Wren to help grow her business and bring in some much needed cash.

There is a lot going on here with Wren being an expert in dressage and teaching horsemanship and Gina being an expert in coding and SEO and putting things in front of thousands. She also has a community in the city and friends in other major cities so her farm visit is a short interlude - or is it?

Ms Walsh is a very good writer and her storytelling is showcased in this opposite attract romance.

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Although well written this was an opposite attract but don't really belong together.

It's just hard to see how an urbanite social media influencer and a horse trainer who wants nothing to do with technology are meant to be together. Especially considering why Wren hates technology. While it is a nice read for a week-end the story did not make a lasting impact.

Four and a half stars.
I really liked Gina. Wren was great too, but I think it was easier to get attached to Gina because we started from her perspective, and the story arc is mainly about her. Plus, I'm an urbanite.
I didn't really love them together. Yes, they clearly have chemistry, but Wren seems to like Gina because, "Oh, she lives on the internet but she isn't shallow!" I understand where she's coming from, and her backstory ties in perfectly, but there could have been more. Or at least, Wren shouldn't have posed all of her likeable qualities as "in spite of the tech thing."
It took a little too long to set up the living situation. We were still looking at the moving in segment, 40% into the book. I didn't think it had to be shorter, per se, but I would have liked seeing them spend time together just living out the daily routine. I don't know if that would have been boring, but even one more scene would have been nice.
Last criticism, I swear: the main conflict and resolution. (spoilers) I know there's no compromise on this, but I really, really wanted to see it here. But moving on. I did try to consider Wren's perspective. I acknowledge that she wanted to preserve the integrity of what they had by refusing to try long distance. I also think that's crap. The author could have emphasised that it was just Wren's experience, that she specifically couldn't do LDR, not that LDRs are automatically inferior. It's not the same, obviously, but there are lots of people who make it work, and have stronger relationships because of it. Gina is able to sustain her relationship with her best friend. Instead of monologuing after the fact, not budging an inch but expressing her regrets belatedly, I would have liked to see Wren deliberate in the moment. That would have made me empathize with her a lot more.
So why four and a half stars? The writing was terrific. The characters were fully fleshed. I got invested in the conflict enough to rant about it, even though I'm starting to hate the opposites attract trope. Well done by the author, even if it wasn't my cup of tea.

Couldn't really connect with this book at all. I started it several times but couldn't get past a few pages.

Gina Strickland is an influencer who needs a break and some time away from her current home. Wren Lindley loves her life in her off the grid horse farm. That is until the social media star Gina shrives on her farm to help her market it.

I really liked the start of this book. I thought Gina was very interesting and although the inner dialogue was a bit much, compared to the dialogue with others, I was interested enough to keep reading. Wren however, I found a bit hard to connect with. I also found the lack of actual interaction and the vast amount of inner dialogue/description was a bit too much for me. Eventually I was bore and I was just turning pages.

However, the author is a good writer and I have liked some of her other work. So, I'll be looking forward to her next book.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first started reading this book I admit I was looking for a simple romance. Something I could read and enjoy. You know a book exactly like this one by Ms Walsh.
Gina Strickland was making a go of it, or so it seemed. Her following online has been growing as she spends her time writing about her life while promoting the products her sponsors wanted her followers to perhaps go out and buy their wares. This is the type of career Gina dreamed about while growing up in a small town where she constantly put down. She got to make some ‘friends’ that she didn’t have to meet. Meeting new people was hard for someone as shy as Gina. That was until she started getting threatening feedback from some nut who was following her blog. She has to get out of Seattle and give the police time to find and stop the threats.
Wren Lindly lives in the small community of Poulsbo, Washington. She has gotten away from her family, not because she didn’t love them, it was more like they were always so wrapped up in their careers working with promoting their apps. Sure they made lots of money but all it meant was less time spent with Wren. Horses were her escape. She loves them, working with them preparing them for the ring, showing off their talents. She had a few clients wanting to learn how to handle a horse but not enough to keep her farm afloat. When a friend suggested finding a way to promote her business using computers but that would mean working with them. Something she just refused to do.
Wrens friend Dianna knew she needed more money coming in if she wanted to keep her small farm. When she suggested finding Wren some help, Wren didn’t know she was also expected to find a place for this woman to work but also a place to live. Now Gina was at her farm. How was she ever going to handle this.
Ms Walsh tells us exactly how she will do it by writing about two women who are both very likable. What we get is a fun, nicely paced read. Very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

This story is good enough, it’s one of which I usually enjoy reading, but I have to say I didn’t like it as much as it could basically because there’s too much hesitation and too little interaction between the two women who star in it. And that's a shame because the two of them have made a very good couple and the little they interact has been wonderful. But the fact that they are so seldom together throughout the story makes their ultimate relationship too unrealistic.

The approach has almost everything, two beautiful women inside and out, single, who for painful circumstances for one of them meet a little casually and connect instantly. Gina is a woman a little traumatized by her childhood in a small rural setting, from which she fled as soon as she could to live in a big city like Seattle. Wren is a woman who has apparently always lived in an area far from big cities and technology, dedicated in body and soul to horse training and dressage, much to her chagrin to train riders also for economic reasons. And for economic reasons that’s why Gina and Wren have to live together, as Gina in exchange for a place to live, just temporarily, has to help Wren promote her business so that it doesn't go bankrupt.

Gina is shy enough and Wren is too guarded, so initially the agreement must be not to interact too much with each other, Gina taking photos and videos to upload to social media and Wren to train and care for your horses. But then, unexpected facts in the past of the two women cause the relationship to change direction, but as I say with too little action and too much introspection and doubt.

It could have been a perfect romance and has only been left in a passable one. Perhaps a short story could have been more appropriate the way it has unfolded.

Good, quick, easy to read, romance. Gina lives in Seattle and works hard at being a social media influencer. When an online threat occurs she temporarily needs to relocate. Wren lets her move into an apartment in her barn in exchange for helping set up an online presence for her horse farm. Wren hates the internet and computers and is living a very organic life. But she needs to board more horses and teach lessons to keep her riding stables going.

Both characters are likable and they quickly develop an easy friendship. They both know the situation is only temporary but attraction is there. The talking is fun and playful. The conflict comes down to how much can they bend so they can follow their dreams. I felt the book got repetitive as they each kept thinking of reasons why it would never work out long term instead of building on what could work. It was as if they never thought to discuss the future with each another. The book was on the mild side of steamy (PG-13) and had very little language.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

𝗜𝗳 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 "𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁", 𝗜'𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵.

I struggled to get through this one, which was a shame because I started this book on a grueling day and needed some respite from the world just like what social media influencer Gina needed when she became a victim of doxing. Wren was actually nice even though she tried not to be when Gina arrived at Wren's horse farm with the intention of being hired to market the farm through social media in exchange for temporary housing. And I enjoyed how considerate Wren was even when Gina and her social media feeds turned her isolated life in the farm upside down. And I loved their banter.

But that was about it, and I nearly gave up on the book after that because of how repetitive it was. I understand how much the author wanted to show us that Gina and Wren were polar opposites but Wren's constant whining about technology and Gina's jibes about how old-fashioned Wren was became stale after a while. And if I had a dollar each time I read the words "edit me out" (of Gina's online videos) from Wren, I'd be rich. We were constantly reminded of how big a technophobe Wren was. And honestly, Wren was worse than my 90 year old grandma. It was a pain because Gina's one job there was to create a social media account for Wren to market her horse farm. So imagine that.

The worst for me was how both Gina and Wren were convinced right from the start that they had no future together in a long-distance relationship without even discussing it with each other. And their reasons for why things wouldn't work out even though commute to the city was only an hour away was a joke to me and it just showed how inflexible they really were. So basically, they made an issue out of a non-issue.

This is my first book by the author and I feel that I should give her other books a shot to determine what her writing style is like. But for now, I know I didn't enjoy this book as much as I should have.

Really enjoyed this, a much needed light read. It's an opposites attract romance, Gina is an online influencer who has to leave the city after being doxed, Wren lives off the grid across the bay from Seattle where she has a smallholding and trains horses. Wren needs to make more money and her friend suggests she has an online presence to her market her business, Gina is the best applicant and soon moves in above the horse barn. There is mutual attraction, however, it's the witty banter between them that sells this book, it is a different way to show a relationship building and I enjoyed that. I also really liked that they learnt from each other and that their opposing positions were a bonus and helped rather than hindered their relationship. Not sure i've seen that before, especially when Wren is sympathetic to Gina's experience rather than huffy about the online experience. The presentation of city life versus the quiet country life is also well argued, no secret which the author is promoting and you could see why! Lovely life enhancing story.

With thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ – Karis Walsh‘s books are hit-or-miss for me, and while this one is not as much of a miss as for other reviewers, it’s not a huge hit either.

Gina is an influencer, the internet is her safe place. Until a disgruntled follower doxes her, forcing her to lay low, at least temporarily. Wren loves her life off the grid, with her horses and not much else. She needs to find a way to pay her bills, however, so when her friend and accountant Dianna sends Gina to help her set up a marketing strategy to bring more students her way, Wren has no choice but to welcome her.

I was wary at first of the whole social media influencer thing but I really liked how the author wrote Gina. She’s not in the least shallow or superficial, she takes her work very seriously and I can see how, after the childhood she’s had, she would care so much about her career and her life in the city. I also like that Wren is as wary as I was at first but quickly learns there’s more to Gina than meets the eye (what meets the eye seems quite nice too).

Gina and Wren couldn’t be more different, and it’s what makes them perfect for each other. They’re both sweet and respectful of the other’s choices and wants. I like the way Walsh writes the inevitability of the first kiss and all that comes after.

The writing, however, is a bit repetitive, as if the author felt the need to insist on why her characters should resist the attraction. And once they do get together, the focus is, once again, on how they want different things (or think they do). I would have liked a little more of their time together as a couple beyond the physical aspects.

If you’ve never read Karis Walsh’s novels, I’d recommend Sit. Stay. Love., which was one of my favourite books last year.

ARC provided to Les Rêveur for an honest review.

I hate to give a review that's not great. However this one was a bit slow for me but interesting at the same time. The banter between Wren and Gina were quite funny. For me that was the highlight of the book. The scenery was great and made you wish you could get a chance to go the farm and relax. Apart from these two things it fell a little flat in my opinion.


Thank you NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books Inc and Karis Walsh, Liberty Bay

I absolutely love the way Karis Walsh writes. Her books are always set in the most beautiful locations and I can always easily visualize them from her descriptions. Her prose is just lyrical and pleasant to read.

This is an opposites attract, city-vs-country, sweet romance with a fascinating premise. Apparently, I had no prior knowledge of the life of an "influencer", but there was a ton of research done and it was so interesting to read. Gina and Wren become a part of each other's lives just when they need each other most, then they are each secretly bowled over by the other. This is not the book you want to read if you're looking for super-hot, richly detailed sex scenes, but for me it totally worked here. Also, I love the cover and font and think it adds a lot.

I'm never disappointed when I pick up a story by Karis Walsh.

I liked this book. I could really relate to Wren, the off grid curmudgeon who only wants to be alone. There were so many times through out the book that make me chuckle or laugh out loud. The interplay between the main characters was fun and real. The descriptions of the environs made the book richer. I am never disappointed when I read a book written by this author. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Liberty Bay by Karis Walsh is a gentle and easy to read romance. It’s just thing I needed to read considering what is going on in real life lately.

The author gave this story the perfect setting, a horse farm located near a small town in Northwest Washington State. The description of this place alone drew me to the story and made me want to go there in real life.
The characters kind of remind me of the old fairy tale about the city mouse and the country mouse. Gina Strickland is the city mouse character since her goal in life is to live in Seattle and make her living being an internet/blog personality. Her life revolves around high tech. When her real identity is posted online by a stalker, she has to retreat to Wren Lindley’s horse farm until the stalker is caught. Wren (the country mouse character) hates anything to do with high tech, but the there is an almost instant attraction between the two women, even as they both try to resist it. How could these two very different people fall in love?

I connected with these characters quickly. I enjoyed how they interacted with each other, especially their conversations. They had this gentle teasing quality as they communicated that was just adorable and often funny. It helped them to be more realistic in the tale, and made the overall story more entertaining.

I really enjoyed reading this lovely romance. If you need a novel that will give you a little break from reality and take you into a beautiful world with a sweet romantic tale, then try this book.

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

Usually romances have a conflict. In this book, there isn't a big one. The one with the tech life and the one that doesn't want a digital life did not really made a big deal for me. What really comes in between Gina and Wren is the inability of living in the present and thinking about what comes next. Also, we spend more than half of the book reading about a romance that is steaming up and we expect it to boil, and when it does, the scene is very quick and suddenly they are drifting off to sleep.
There is something that annoyed me when reading it. I DO understand the meaning of having the name WREN for the book, but while reading the romance, more than once I read it as WHEN and had to read the sentence again, as the meaning did not come on the first time.