Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.
Fredrik Backman never disappoints me. Such a moving and emotional series.
This took me awhile to read at 600 pages.

Fredrik Backman's "Beartown" is one of my favorite novels of all time, and the finale in the series was a bittersweet read. As always, Backman's prose and attention to character are top-notch. He does an outstanding job weaving together a community that we care about and have a difficult time saying goodbye to. Another emotional read.

Fredrik Bachman is truly one of the best writers, internationally, of our generation. Sometimes he writes about quirky, warm relationships. Sometimes about hard topics, as with this novel. I would recommend anything that he writes

This was an amazing conclusion to the Beartown series. You will cry and laugh and cheer and hope for the residents of Beartown and Hed, two rival hockey towns in the forest. It's so good, you'll almost forget it's nearly 700 pages or more than 21 hours of listening. It has a slow but steady pace through the early pages, so stick with it!

When a terrible storm damages the rink in Hed, their teams must practice in the rink of their mortal enemies. Meanwhile, there are politicians who want only one team in the area, or worse, none at all. Meanwhile, there's a shady scheme in Beartown with proposed rinks and factories and buybacks and now the local paper is looking into things.

Maya and Benji are back home now after being away for the previous two years. Friends and families are reunited and there is a lot of love, no matter the town. But there is darkness, too. There is a 14 year-old who has so much anger after the death of his sister, he is willing to risk everything. There's a 7 year-old who finds little kindness at her home, but finds a savior in an old hockey coach.

The friendships (and marriages) in Beartown are enough to make a person want to live there. These are people unafraid to show their love for one another, people who will do whatever they can to keep their families and their communities safe.

One thing I really like about Backman's style is how he begins describing a person or situation in the present, and somehow - seamlessly - gives the reader a peek into the future before bringing it back to now..

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent read, as always! Frederik Backman is one of my favourite authors. His dry humour and heart warming stories never fail to delight!

Perfect conclusion to this trilogy. Loved this book and perfect conclusion. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I waited so long to read the final entry in the Beartown trilogy because I did not want it to end, but when I finally started, I could not put it down. Fredrik Backman delivers a story that is so moving and emotional that I found tears in my eyes throughout and literally sobbed at the end. This is such a good conclusion, featuring characters readers already know and care deeply about, and adding new ones to the mix. I literally recommend this series to everyone and now I will do so even more. Very highly recommended.

Something wicked blew in with the major storm. Nothing would ever be the same in Beartown or Hed again. The story of two rival hockey towns comes to a head as a major winter storm rips away the tangled webs hiding the secrets of the two towns: the shady business deals, cooked books, what really happened the night of the rape, and the mental and emotional abuse happening behind closed doors in the name of religion.

Backman has a unique ability to drop the reader into the characters lives immediately at the onset of the story. His books are always my favorites, but sometimes so troubling because of the unavoidable emotional involvement with the characters! I feel like I have known them all my life and am sick when the hardships life throws hits them. Filled, as usual, with many great quotes and thoughts, this is a book everyone needs to read. If not this one, then at least read one of Fredrik Backman's books - it should be a bucket list thing for everyone!

This book is a gift that keeps giving and giving and giving. Yes, it is very long...but every word invoked emotion. It's beautiful and clearly a book the author put SO much effort and thought into. One of the best books of 2023 without a doubt.

Well, it’s Backman. I love his writing. The people are living and breathing. He warms my heart with the humanity of his characters. He ripped out my heart and made me cry so hard. I can’t give this book 5 of my stars only because of that. The Andersson family. The foreshadowing. The foreshadowing. Yes, I said it twice.
Thank you to Net Galley for letting me review this very good book.
#netgalley #TheWinners #FredrikBackman

The Winners by Fredrick Backman was everything I wanted the ending of this trilogy to be. While I did not want the story to end, I felt that Backman did a fantastic job concluding the story. I will read anything that Backman writes at this point and I am so glad that The Winners was a book that I loved and could not put down. It is a lengthy read though, coming in at 688 pages. You will need to put aside some time to finish The Winners, but in the end, it is worth it.

Beartown was for me a near perfect book. In a way it is interstate to keep visiting tye characters but I also think it diminishes the power of the original story. Also, this one was a little too sad for me.

Out of all of Fredrik Backman’s novels, this one was hardest for me to get into and I’m not entirely sure why. I’ve read all the others in the Beartown series. The one thing I will add is that the ending did make me tear up quite a bit so it was worth pushing through.

Frederick Backman is brilliant. Once gain we see Beartown and Hed, their citizens, and the human sides of them. He has such a way of conveying all the things one would feel through all circumstances.
UNREAL!!

The Winners by Fredrik Backman is book three in a trilogy. Beartown introduces us to the town. Us Against You becomes about the sport. The Winners brings the book back to the people. I want to love this book for how much how much I loved some of the other works by the author. Unfortunately, I enjoyed Us Against You a little less than Beartown, and I find myself even less the reader for The Winners. I will, however, continue to look for Fredrik Backman's books.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/11/the-winners.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

The Beartown series is one of my favourites of all time. I love Fredrik Backman’s writing style so much. He made me care about hockey! But really he just writes about people in such a real, human way. The complexities of every character, they are flawed and lovable. I’ll miss you Beartown!
Thank you Atria Books for the copy through NetGalley!

Fredrik Backman strikes again with a heartwarming and heartbreaking book. His books are always so raw and human, and this one is no exception. I hadn't read the other Beartown books, so I don't know if that would enhance your enjoyment of this one. I didn't feel lost without that background information. If you don't like books that deal with serious topics or sad scenarios, this is not the author for you. A community is faced with a great deal of issues and has to come together to solve them and support each other. This book discusses lots of human relationships and things that can derail a person, and what they need to get back on track. This book has strong A Man Called Ove vibes.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

It's hockey season once again in Beartown, and tensions are high between rival clubs Beartown and Hed as one club faces closure, and the other unrivalled success despite both sides sharing the same amount of passion and grit fir their teams. As a storm rolls into town, someone will be dead and by the time the A-Teams play in a week's time, another tragedy will take place and more young lives lost.

The final book of Beartown and this one did no disappoint - it was full of all the emotional angst and torture I would expect from Fredrik Backman who has skillfully crafted a town and its neighbour to life so well, I felt like I was part if it all. The characters in this book are so sad, happy, lovely and tortured all at the same time - every single one of them is going through something whether they be at the end of their long lives like Ramona and Sune, the middle like Hannah, Kira and Peter or at the beginning like Maya and Ana.

We see events from Book One which revolved around Kevin and Maya come back into focus as we learn about another girl who wasn't as 'lucky' as Maya and a brother who was left alone to be tortured about what happened to his sister. Backman shows what makes a hero and what doesn't - in acts of true bravery such as forfeiting a life for others, and other small ones like paving the way for others behind, admitting when you're wrong and swallowing down long-held grudges for the happiness of your children.

I thought I'd might have been 'emotionally manipulated' out by the end of this book as we all know what's about to happen - we have been told constantly what's going to happen since the start of book one yet when it did happen I was still devastated. And seeing the pieces of everyone left behind, and the shadow that was left, the friend they always felt walk beside them but could never see UGH!

I really loved this trilogy - so expertly crafted and you can tell the author put everything he had into this and all the characters. I'm not sure I'll ever be emotionally ready to read the books again but I do know I'm not ready to say goodbye for good.

The most perfect wrap up to the Beartown series. I loved this so much because it focused on the characters story so much more than just the hockey atmosphere. I'm going to miss this series immensely.