Okay, uh. Now that I've gotten my stronger feelings about One Walk in Winter out of my system, it's time to do my more standard book analysis in order to come up with ideas for my own stories and such. Though if you were wondering, even outside of the weird Protestant stuff, there wasn't much actually good in this book to learn from. But! We shall persevere!
The rest of this post contains SPOILERS for One Walk in Winter by Georgia Beers. Though, since it is a comfort romance, perhaps you will find it more comfortable to know what happens before it happens. As always, this is being done as part of Sapphic Book Bingo 2023.
And as always, if you're not planning on reading the book, you don't have to read it to get something from this post! I try to provide background on everything that might need it!
Romance Stuff
Okay, I usually start with my list of ways that the story shows that two characters love each other, so let's start with that.
- Characters having horny thoughts about each other basically from the word "go", with varying degrees of how much they chide themselves for having these thoughts based on the particular situation at hand.
- Characters stopping to reflect on why they care about another character, if they haven't given it much thought before.
- Characters show that they feel comfortable around each other by showing emotions to each other that they don't show to other characters... though uh... we'll get into how this book handles that idea in a bit.
...And that's it for this time around. I'm going to use the rest of this section to outline the various ways that this book was limited in how it illustrated affection and romance.
Unreciprocated love
Though both Olivia and Hayley are physically attracted to each other from the beginning, Olivia spends a lot of the book resenting Hayley for taking the job she wanted and handling it poorly. Hayley never stops wanting to be on Olivia's good side, though. This felt very off-balance to me!
I get that unreciprocated love is a trope that sometimes appears in romances, and the appeal is that it's all about how the protagonist is gonna win over their love interest, or something like that. I think that would've made more sense if we only ever saw things from Hayley's perspective, but we don't. We're supposed to feel equal sympathy for the other protagonist, and she just does not seem interested outside of that ill-advised physical attraction. If anything, because her side of the story is introduced first, Olivia feels like the primary protagonist more than Hayley.
They NEVER talk to each other
Olivia and Hayley initially don't communicate with each other about much other than work topics. This makes sense, initially. But then they happen to go for a walk in a nice area, see a deer, and then start making out with each other. They continue to not talk to each other after this, other than to say "I enjoyed making out". Then they eventually have sex. They continue to not talk to each other after this, though they do continue to have sex whenever they can find the opportunity.
So, two major problems from this. The first, clearest one is that they are taking actions to escalate the relationship without ever stopping to have a talk about where they want the relationship to go, or where they expect the relationship to go, or exactly what it is they're feeling for each other, or any boundaries or anything like that. So the two remain in a perpetual state of confusion and stress about why they're even doing it. Not the healthiest kind of relationship to be in!!
The second major problem is that Hayley is holding onto major secrets that Olivia really deserves to know about if she's going to be in a close relationship with Hayley. For example, how Hayley's dad owns the resort that they both work at. And how Hayley sent Olivia's budget proposal to her dad without telling Olivia about it first. And how Hayley has an ex-girlfriend who thinks the two of them are still in a relationship and won't leave her alone about it. So instead, Olivia ends up learning about all three of these things simultaneously by herself.
Okay yes, I get that this could also be framed as the author hastily putting together a misunderstanding in order to create drama and tension just before the resolution of the story, and only being able to do it by having one of the protagonists act like an asshole. But it still normalizes the idea of acting like an asshole in a relationship!! It shows that it's bad, but doesn't ever really outline why (answer: respecting people's agency)! If anything, it continues to try to play it off as reasonable stuff to keep secret about!
And another issue: Since the only thing they ever do in private with each other is make out or have sex, Olivia soon realizes that she can't even look at Hayley without thinking about sex. Of course not, Hayley has shared nothing else with you in person! This isn't just objectifying, it makes it harder for them to work together around other people without things quickly getting uncomfortable for everyone involved.
They DO talk to other characters
It's not that the romantic escalation comes completely out of nowhere (although it does feel like it anyway sometimes). While our protagonists are trying to sort out how they feel about each other, they talk it out... with their friends. This is what leads them to experiencing the particular emotional revelations that they need in order to take the relationship to the next steps.
Isn't that... weird? Not that it's weird to get help from other people to sort out your own feelings, I think that part is actually a good thing. What's weird is that they do not then talk about those same revelations with each other. They do not bring those feelings into the relationship as a shared thing, they merely act on those feelings independently. It's like they're opening up about their feelings with their friends in place of doing it with each other. Like they're having romantic talks with their friends and family and then having sex with each other as the conclusion to those talks.
Love exists in the broader world, but it's not clear how
Hayley's mom ends up being one of the more important characters in the story. She passed away two years before the book takes place, both Hayley and her dad miss her a lot, and this point becomes critical in how the central conflict of the story is created and resolved.
But like... Everything said about Hayley's mom just felt like more of those postcard moments, those Hallmark movie moments. Another case of someone representing nothing more than the role that they embody, in this case "dearly departed mom". It's obvious that Hayley and her dad both feel strongly towards the mom, but I just kept thinking, nothing about this really feels real. I don't really know what kind of unique connection they had with her that made them love her so much.
And I feel a little ill-equipped to back up this point. Who am I to say what does or doesn't make someone feel close to someone else? But I feel like it's perhaps a side effect of that problem I mentioned in my other review, of no characters representing anything other than what their personal jobs entail. It just gives the broader impression that no one in this story has actual unique feelings of their own, has their own place in the world, they're all just playing out the base emotions that would be expected from actors playing a part in a story.
In such a world, where love itself feels more like an expected product of the workers within, as opposed to anything belonging to those workers, it makes it harder to believe that even our main protagonists could hold any real love for each other, either. (Especially, again, because the relationship progresses from receiving worldly advice from their friends instead of actually fucking talking to each other!!!)
One particularly weird comment from Olivia's sister
In my initial list of ways to illustrate romance, I noted that one of the ways of doing it was by showing how two characters are comfortable enough around each other that they can show emotions they don't show to everyone else.
So, uh. Here's the specific passage in the book that inspired that particular observation:
"It means that you like [Hayley], too."
A scoff escaped Olivia's lips before she could catch it. "Oh, really? You had one dinner with her and me at the same table, and you were on your phone most of the time. Plus, Mom said I was rude. Please tell me how you came to the conclusion that I like her."
Ann Marie went on as if she hadn't heard, picking an ornament from the box, hanging it on a branch, repeating. "I know what Mom said, but you work in the hospitality industry, and you have since you were a kid. You know how to be smiling and kind even when you can't stand somebody. So, the fact that you were kind of openly rude to Hayley speaks volumes." At Olivia's puzzled expression, Ann Marie rolled her eyes. "Please. If Hayley'd had a ponytail, you'd have been tugging it."
This statement is not analyzed any further than this. Olivia can't think of anything to say in response to it, implying that the argument is bulletproof.
I feel like this is a stereotype of romantic relationships that was normalized in media by cishet couples who are unhappy with each other. "You two fight like an old married couple." "You're trying to get her attention by annoying her like a schoolboy on the playground." I mean, just look at the statement as it's made in the book. "I can tell you like Hayley because you were rude to her."
So like, first off, this normalizes the idea that it's romantic to fight with your partner, which it's not, at least not by its most basic definition. Second, it trivializes the emotions that come from being upset, poking and prodding at someone to be like "Aw but you're not actually unhappy about this, are you."
Stop this bullshit. Yes, it's good when couples are comfortable enough with each other to talk about their differences with each other without getting seriously upset about it. Playful fighting is cute when it's mutual. But in this case, Olivia and Hayley were nowhere near being in anything other than a work-related relationship with each other when Olivia was rude to her, and Hayley was hurt by it and had to go elsewhere to get away from it.
If someone is willing to overcome their usual veneer of politeness to be rude to someone, yes, it can be a sign that person feels comfortable around the other person. It could also be a sign that someone is so fed up with the other person's bullshit that they can't even make themselves be nice to that person anymore.
If someone is mean to someone else, and you do not have any other information on how that person feels about the other person, take it at face value and assume that person dislikes the other person. Do not assume the two of them are in a romantic relationship.
...And, I dunno. I feel like this exchange also potentially carries an implication that all niceness is fake, and you can't tell if someone's being honest and real with someone unless they're being mean and rude. Like bitterness is the only true emotion and everything else is just keeping those emotions under the surface. The passage may not have been intended that way, but there are definitely people out there who feel this way, and this kind of exchange just reinforces those kinds of feelings. Normalize the idea of kindness being genuine!
Anyway, I took the most good-faith interpretation of this exchange possible (the whole "being comfortable around each other" thing) and included it in my own list of ways of showing romance. But if I were to illustrate this idea in my own writing, this would absolutely not be the way I handled it.
What did we learn from this?
Okay, so the book didn't provide many good examples of romantic feelings. Can we take the opposite of what the book did and come up with romance tips that way?
- Show that two love interests are mutually interested in each other
- Show that romantic partners are closer to each other than they are to their casual friends and coworkers
- Treat characters as real humans with individual feelings, rather than automatons
- Do not normalize emotionally harming your loved ones
- Fuckin... COMMUNICATE
Is this useful information? Does it all make sense? Should I go into more details about it??
Additional issues with the book
Plot contrivances
I think I mentioned in one of my reviews of Treasured that I like it when plot contrivances put characters into sexy situations with each other. I now say this with the caveat that it is done in a way that is tongue-in-cheek, or in a way that can be considered tongue-in-cheek, in order to provide otherwise optional fanservice or some form of absurd comedy to a situation.
Because there's some plot contrivances in One Walk in Winter, but it feels like they were used because Hayley and Olivia needed the hand of god to push them into more encounters with each other so their relationship could develop, because they don't actually have enough of a connection to just do it themselves.
The very beginning of the book feels like this especially. Hayley and Olivia were already going to meet on the job, there wasn't really much cause for them to meet out in a winter wonderland, crush on each other, look into each other's eyes, fall and catch each other, etc. I can't call this fanservice when we have been given literally no time to become fans of these characters yet.
Another example of a completely unnecessary chapter where the two meet up with each other only by coincidence was the chapter where they both randomly decide to go to a club, and we'll get to that chapter in a bit.
Too many characters
There are way too many named characters in this book, mostly random guests and employees at the resort. Most of them don't appear after their initial introduction, but many do, so I had to keep track of all of them to ensure I didn't miss anything.
This is enough characters that it doesn't leave enough time for the majority of them to get fleshed out as real characters in any way, though of course this is also related to the book's issue of treating all characters as robotic workers/actors filling a role as part of the capitalist mindset. I am unsure as to the direction of causality here.
But I will say this isn't the first book I've read with this many characters, who are treated kind of like this. And at some point I drew the conclusion that this is supposed to be part of the appeal, and not just due to the capitalism thing. I get the impression that there is a certain kind of book where part of the escapist fantasy of it is that the protagonist knows all of these different people by name, and everyone knows her, and so it only makes sense for them to exchange a pleasant greeting with each other as they pass each other by. It reinforces the idea that the protagonist is a central part of her community, an active part.
Personally, though, I never understood the appeal of just "knowing" people in and of itself. Relationships tire me out when they consist of nothing but pleasantries. I have to get to know people better than that before I can feel comfortable with them. So I guess I'm willing to acknowledge this kind of book as just not being for me, and focus more on the stories that dive deep into more complex individual relationships instead.
The importance of family gatherings
Olivia's mom is consistently shocked and appalled to hear that Hayley has no plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and insists that Hayley have dinner with her own family on both occasions.
It's maybe a little unfair for me to present this as an "issue", because it is certainly something that exists in real life. And it's made clear that Hayley is thankful to be spending time with people during these holidays when her own family is unavailable. But I can't help but be aware of how many people out there who have bad relationships with their families and see such family gatherings as one of the worst parts of the year.
You could take the angle that, in this case, it's nice of a non-dysfunctional family to offer to have dinner in place of a worse gathering. But why such intense focus on the idea that these holidays have to be spent with a family of some sort? It's that kind of assumption that leads families to gather together even when they hate each other. And it makes people who spend these holidays alone feel like there's something fundamentally wrong with them or like they're missing out on some important component of the human experience.
I don't know. Do other people feel differently about this? Does something good come out of placing such heavy emphasis that families have to gather on these holidays? I just can't help but view it as yet another extension of the heavy Protestant/capitalist mindset of this book.
Clubbing
Okay, this is a part where I really feel out of my element and am still wondering if I'm just missing something fundamental about how other people experience life.
I don't like the idea of clubbing. I've been to bars only a couple of times, and most of that time was spent waiting for when it would be okay for me to go home. I don't like loud noises and I don't like big crowds. And the idea of meeting new people in these contexts sounds scary to me, especially given all the horror stories I hear about what can happen with strangers in these places. I can't imagine hooking up with someone at one of these places.
But clearly, lots of people do it. It's an extremely popular thing to do, worldwide, across all cultures. I'm not going to say it's impossible for the majority of humans to collectively participate in something that is fundamentally unenjoyable or a bad idea, but when this many people do it, it does make me stop and wonder if I'm missing something.
The entirety of chapter nine was spent on Hayley and Olivia going to a club. Here's the events that took place, from my point of view (content warning for irresponsible handling of a drunk friend):
- Hayley goes to a club by herself.
- Hayley talks with a guy who hits on her in a way that makes her uncomfortable, so she calls him creepy, goes somewhere else in the club, and hopes he doesn't follow her there (he doesn't).
- Hayley unexpectedly encounters Olivia at the same club and just stares at her dancing for a while.
- Olivia notices Hayley and tells her to dance with her. Hayley doesn't enjoy dancing but she does it anyway.
- Olivia is lost in the music and in the alcohol that she's already had up to this point. Hayley continues staring at her, just while uncomfortably trying to dance this time.
- Hayley and Olivia go back to the two friends that Olivia came with. Hayley keeps buying everyone drinks, to the point where Olivia gets more drunk than she intended to be.
- As a reminder, Hayley is Olivia's boss. And Olivia is already thinking through how she's uncomfortable with her boss being there, combining her work life with her personal life.
- Because she is more drunk than she should be, though, Olivia can't stop thinking about how sexy Hayley is. As a reminder, Hayley is Olivia's boss, and also won't stop buying her drinks.
- It is obvious to everyone that Olivia is too drunk, so her friend Tessa is about to take her home, before Hayley stops her and offers to take Olivia home instead.
- Tessa is worried enough about this that she asks Olivia twice about whether she's really okay with this. Olivia is too drunk to do more than mumble a vague acceptance of it. Tessa then tells Olivia to keeps her hands to herself.
- Hayley calls an uber and rides to Olivia's home with Olivia. Olivia is not 100% sure what's actually happening, so Hayley walks into her house with her.
- Olivia lies down on a couch. Hayley lets Olivia's dog into the backyard, gives Olivia some Advil, water, a blanket, and a saucepan, then leaves.
- Olivia thinks to herself, "What a weird, wonderful night," then throws up in the saucepan.
I found this entire chapter to be incredibly uncomfortable. Is that a problem with me? Is this what people enjoy about clubs? Was I supposed to feel sexy and excited or something? Or like this was cute and funny? What am I supposed to be feeling here??
What I learned for myself
For me, the biggest purpose of the Sapphic Book Bingo is to get me thinking about stories in a way that will help me with my own writing, so let's get into some of that.
Sapphic romance tropes
I'm still trying to keep track of tropes that happen across different books, as I notice them appearing. Here's what I noticed in this book:
- Like Taryn from Treasured, Olivia has two presumably straight best friends, one girl and one guy. They're... not as interesting, but she has them.
- Perhaps it's not exactly a "trope", but I feel like characters rolled their eyes an awful lot in this book. I remember it happening a decent amount in the beginning of Treasured, too. I guess this leaves the question of whether this is a trope of sapphic romance, or if this is just how people other than me will gesture at each other normally.
- Olivia's scent is at one point referred to as being like "cinnamon", yet again making me think of how the taste and smell of characters can be compared to scented candles.
- This is the second or third time (though not during the Bingo) that I've seen a protagonist specialize in one of the arts, and then help a kid learn how to partake in that art as well.
- Surprisingly, this was the first book to subvert the trope of moms being awful. Olivia's mom is supportive of the relationship as soon as she first hears about it. She is still nosy and judgy in other ways, but then again, so is every other character that has anything to say about Hayley and Olivia's relationship.
- Hayley's dad still sucks, though. Even though they try to pretend he doesn't at the end.
Ideas for my own stories
- At the beginning, Olivia hates Hayley for taking the job she wanted, and Hayley's dad is mad at Hayley for reminding him too much of her mother. In other words, Hayley is being judged for associations that others have with her that are outside of her control. That is a genuinely compelling plot point with some good messages behind it about how unfair it is, and I think a good story could be made that goes into deeper explorations of how and why that kind of thing can happen, and how it gets resolved.
- On a similar note, but not exactly the same, I think it could be interesting to explore how Character A's opinion of Character B is informed entirely by the opinion of Character C, who Character A is on good terms with. But while Character C hates Character B based on their own standards, in reality, Character B is someone who Character A ends up really happy with for their own reasons. That's not exactly what happened in this book, but it still made me think of it as a potential plot to a story.
- I mentioned earlier that it was kind of weird that Olivia and Hayley get closer to each other due to conversations they had with characters other than each other. But in truth, there is nothing wrong with getting help from friends and family about how to build a relationship if you're struggling with it on your own. And I think a good book could be centered around that idea, so long as the two protagonists also clearly have their own relationship that is deeper and more personal than anything they have with their other friends.
- This point only sort of belongs in this section, but... I keep thinking back to the idea that a story has to be this conflict-free in order to present a world where sapphic relationships can be accepted as normal and okay. Through metaphor, a book can easily explore issues related to rejection from society without literally making that society prejudiced against sapphic relationships or even queer people in general. The same holds true for other issues that queer people face in reality. I dunno. Just something worth keeping in mind.
Stuff I enjoyed
Not this book lol. But seriously, I'm still keeping an eye open for when story moments make me feel giddy inside, even in books like this that are mostly painful for me otherwise. I wanna dig through that dirt to find the priceless artifacts and put 'em on display!
- I enjoyed hearing about the pools at the resort. I guess I have weirdly fond memories of pools from my own childhood, for reasons I don't think I even really understand myself. Maybe I could try to explore those feelings in a deeper way in a bigger story.
- The bit about fluffy cinnamon rolls made me crave fluffy cinnamon rolls.
- There is a location in the book called The Fairy Trail, which is basically an outdoor museum: a place where local artists have created a variety of sculptures centered around the idea of actual fairy houses existing in nature. I thought that was a genuinely cool idea, seeing how different artists provide their own interpretation of a theme, and providing a space outside where anyone can see them on display. I like the idea of a setting that cares about art that much.
- Once again, it is reinforced to me how much I like hearing about cuddling. And I have to give this book credit for providing the most detailed accounts of cuddling I've seen so far!
- The book mostly takes place at a resort, which... Okay, aside from the pools, I don't actually like that part. I don't fantasize about staying in places where rich people wanna stay. But it made me think of where I would fantasize about being, and it would be places with a more abstract or sentimental atmosphere. Something that connects to personal emotions, perhaps with a sense of magic attached, rather than a more generic feeling of costing a lot of money.
How would I have written the book differently?
...But, setting nearly the entire book itself aside, I do like the idea of a book idea being prompted from "How do you capture the essence of winter in a story?" That could go in a ton of different directions depending on who writes it, depending on what winter means to them.
Winter itself represents a stage in the cycle of seasons, the gradual transition of death to rebirth. Entire species go into hiding, creating a sense of stillness and quietude. It's cold, white. The outdoors become less hospitable, while the indoors become more representative of warmth and safety.
If you want to focus on the holidays associated with winter, there's even more themes that come from that. I've already alluded to family, religion, and commercialization. A more general idea of "gift-giving" could be given focus. There are also innumerable myths and stories associated with the holidays that can serve as inspiration, just look to the catalogue of Rankin/Bass Productions for some examples.
There are so many different ways that these themes could be explored through the use of romantic relationships. Themes could be represented within the relationship itself; there's already a trope called "ice queen", and cycles of death and rebirth could be explored through second chance romances. These elements of winter could be explored in more literal ways, showing the impact that they can have on a relationship, whether for good or for bad.
I don't even know what direction I'd go in. I'd have to start with exploring the various options available to me and see which ideas appeal to me the most. And honestly, I could probably get more than one book out of it, since I doubt I'd be able to explore every potential theme in a single book. Most of these themes are complicated enough that just one theme would be enough for an entire book to explore, if not multiple books.
...Or I guess I could just write about how winter is about managing a high-class resort and spa, what the FUCK