Cover Image: Camp Lost and Found

Camp Lost and Found

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Member Reviews

I am usually drawn to lighter romances but I can’t recommend this enough. Frankie Sisto is a few months into a caretaking job of an abandoned and rundown teen camp. She is enjoying the solitude as she works through overwhelming guilt.

Cassidy Clarke shows up with the owners permission as a guest. She came to the camp as a foster children for three weeks a few summers in her teen years. The camp holds deep memories for her. She is bringing her own grief and guilt to work through.

Frankie and Cassidy don’t have the usual romantic tropes bringing them together. They are both very likable, in their mid 30s and and share quiet time together. Their unexpected commonality, although from different circumstances, is a bond of its own. The friendship grows as they watch the snow, birds and deer. The story takes place in November and December and the winter weather is almost a character itself. I wanted to start a fire just so I could feel as cozy as I envisioned the MCs.

The few side characters add to the story. Jack the old caretaker, Duke the loving dog and Reiko the preteen who likes to drop by.

I can name several Beer's novels that I love. But I agree with others that this may be one of her best books yet. It is one I will remember and revisit. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Grief and guilt; are two emotions that are so difficult to overcome. Camp Lost and Found is deep and emotional because our two mains, Cassidy and Frankie are trying to navigate losses and are each embedded so deep in grief and guilt that they can hardly find their way out. They’ve each come to the run-down camp for different reasons but while there, together they find their answers.

Georgia Beers does a masterful job navigating difficult topics. Yes, the book is heavy and I teared up quite a few times, but there is an underlying lightness that holds the story up. Interspersed in the heavy, there are bits of humor, sarcasm, and lots of delicious food. Tips like using mayo instead of butter to make the perfect grilled cheese, using Hershey’s syrup and lots of cream and marshmallows to make the most delicious hot cocoa, are just a few tips from our author that add such delight to this book. Donuts, cookies, and perfect popcorn help Frankie and Cassidy make it through, as they should.

The scenery of the mountain is described so perfectly that it’s almost like you’re right there with Frankie and Cassidy. The supporting cast of characters Reiko, Eden, Luthor, Jack, and Duke really add to the growth of our main.

I believe Beers summarizes this book best when Cassidy says, I came here to deal with grief. Frankie was here to handle the guilt. And somehow, the Universe saw fit to push us together, no matter how much we resisted.” Bravo Georgia Beers, you’re amazing and I thank you for sharing this story!

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Two women who have been through a trauma find themselves sharing a house. Cassidy wants to find herself and returns to the only place she has ever felt like she belonged, while Frankie wants to lose herself and the guilt that plagues her, whether she's awake or asleep. The more the women open up to each other, the more they start to feel like the darkness is fading.

Georgia Beers books will always have a special place in my heart since she was one of the first authors I started reading when I discovered sapphic romance. I have several of her books that I revisit when I need a comfort read. This one will join that short list. This is easily one of Beers most emotional books and she portrays Cassidy and Frankie's pain in a way that was both heartbreaking and hopeful.

This one hit close to home and I found myself in tears several times. I wanted to give both of the characters a big hug and hang out with the good hearted supporting characters.  Camp Lost and Found will stay with me for a long time as will Beers dedication at the beginning of the book, "To all of us who have struggled to find ourselves. Don't stop looking."

An ARC was received from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for an honest review

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A pleasant read with believable characters. It is refreshing to read a romance that is light on tropes, no meet cute, workplace, age gap, fake dating, insta-love, or whatever. Yes, they are snowed in together, but the road is plowed the next day, so no forced togetherness. Just two grown women with personal experiences that make them reluctant to reach out for connection, but who manage to find each other.

It has touches of holidays, with Thanksgiving and some Christmas decorations, but it I wouldn't call it a festive holiday romance. It is more "set at Christmastime" rather than a "Christmas story", if you want to make those distinctions. Really, that is another trope dodged.

I thought the final meetup was a little unrealistic, I was getting ready for them to both go to Frankie's mom's house, but it led to a good kind of reunion.

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Camp Lost and Found is my favourite Georgia Beers book so far. At Camp Lustenfeld, two ladies; one desperate to lose herself after a traumatic tragedy and the other needing to find herself after loss meet and the unexpected happens.

I thought Georgia Beers added sensuality to the book through touch, smells, sounds and all the feels. If the first few interactions between the pair were frosty and filled with unspoken tension, the serene and picturesque surroundings of the campground effectively became a bridge for them. Somehow, even with self proclaimed needs to stay away from the other, they slowly crept towards codependency and it was a beauty to watch their relationship develop. I love that Cassidy who was there to find herself found Frankie who wanted to lose herself but found herself needed by Cassidy.

I just reviewed Camp Lost and Found by Georgia Beers. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

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Frankie is holing up as the sole caretaker of rundown Camp Lustenfeld and is using the job to get away from everybody and come to terms with something that happened in the past. Unfortunately, her solitude is interrupted by Cassidy who is on a journey to find some answers of her own.

This is a story of two women dealing with both grief and guilt, two very sensitive issues that are holding both women back. Beers does a wonderful job describing the wintery surroundings, the sense of loneliness and the eeriness of the woods which blends well with the emotions of the women.

Obviously dealing with such heavy topics means the pace is a little slower than and beers takes her time unveiling the backstory that leads both MCs here. While I appreciated the time taken for the setup, I started to get the feeling that this would need a lot more book than there was available pages.

I’m a big fan of Beer’s books, but unfortunately this one didn’t quite connect for me. I found the resolution of some of these big issues too quick from a timeline perspective and simplistic without the characters adequately dealing with it or talking about it enough.

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

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Another great story of warmth, soul seeking and romance.
(I wondered why she picked the name Camp Lustenfeld...and then I got it....it sounds like Lost and Found. That was clever.)
Wonderful main characters with very sad events to get past. Very nice and picturesque town. One that everyone would love to be part of.
The ending is predictable and sweet.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

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Even though I enjoyed both characters and the story, I found it to be extremely boring. Maybe it was the pacing and the fact that even 40% into the book, nothing was revealed. I struggled to keep reading the story and even 8 pages from the end struggled. I usually enjoy Georgia Beer's novels, I guess this one was not for me.

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This is not a slow burn romance. This is a gradual warming romance, so throw another log on the fire.

The center of the story is Camp Lustenfeld, or "Camp Lost and Found". It's a summer camp for foster kids to go to and forget about their place - or lack of place - in society for a little while.

Fast forward twenty-something years.

Cassidy Clarke is headed for Camp Lost and Found with a task to complete, to find herself and to try and find absolution.

Francesca "Frankie" Sisto is in residence at the camp, and not expecting or wanting company. Frankie has her own demons and has burrowed herself away from the world, with the exception of mountain man Jack and his dog, Duke who live on the property in an old cabin.

This might be the best Georgia Beers book I've ever read, and I've spent several years reading her books. It's as close to flawless as it can be.

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Frankie Sisto has been the caretaker for a kids summer camp that is no longer running for the last three months. When Cassidy Clarke, a former camper, comes to revisit her past at Camp Lustenfeld she feels an immediate draw to the aloof caretaker. But both have exiled themselves out of guilt and aren't ready to forgive themselves.
This is my new favorite by Georgia Beers. These two characters, each going through a difficult time, have both decided being alone is the answer to their problems. The quiet strength of each of them draws them together and they begin to live again bit by bit. The scenery in this book was so perfect for their situation and for their quiet reflection on themselves. Their emotions are raw and genuine and it pulls you in more and more. Reiko adds her own special touch and brings some light hearted humor to the remoteness of camp Lustenfeld. Jack and Duke were wonderful as well and Jack's memories help pull the story along. These characters all feel so real and have such a depth that took this book from good to great. I loved it and will absolutely be reading it again in the near future.

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Another really good story by Ms. Beers. One of my favorite authors. I loved the setting and that both characters wanted to get away from people.

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Georgia Beers… did you have to do this to my heart? I guess you did.

Cassidy is going back to her old summer camp ground to scatter her friend’s ashes. It’s where they connected and she feels she needs to go there to find closure and deal with her loss. Frankie is already at the rundown camp, in a self imposed exile, she’s battling her guilt for something that happened. She doesn’t really want to be around people, doesn’t think she deserves to be around them.

This is a heavy story, characters dealing with loss and guilt, you can’t expect a happy go lucky type of thing. While these characters battle their demons they get to know each other ever so slowly. Once they warm up to each other it actually becomes a heartwarming story as well.

I wouldn’t recommend reading this book if you’re just looking for some lighthearted romance, it’s contemplative, heartbreaking and heartwarming, but never light. Although I do like the “comic relief” Reiko brings. I’ve really enjoyed this book even though I don’t understand how people could love a summer camp, but I guess when you take that away it’s just a favourite place to go and gather yourself or do whatever you need todo to feel cantered again, I do get that. This book is high up my list of favourites by Georgia Beers.

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𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁.

I've never been a social person even as a child. I was never comfortable going to school camp. So I can't exactly say that I'm able to relate to any attachment to an old summer camp but I do acknowledge that it's a place where some people bond and form memories.

This story is about two strangers who have come to live in an abandoned campsite and both are burdened by memories of their past. For Cassidy, memories of her best friend are tied to that campsite, so she is there to scatter his ashes and seek some closure. For Frankie, this is the place she has escaped to, to battle her guilt over something that has happened alone.

This book is heavy as both characters deal with loss and guilt and it is also contemplative. At the same time, it's heartwarming that both women are brought together somehow to help each other through the most difficult period of their lives. Frankie and Cassidy are also really sweet with each other once they get to know each other better.

Overall, this one is a nice romance.

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Grab a warm blanket, a cup of cocoa, and some tissues because this book packs a feels punch straight to the heart. Two strong main character's find their paths indelibly intertwined as they attempt to forge their own ways through a quagmire of emotions. It becomes a beautiful story of being lost then found at their own pace, on their own timelines. An ice queen chef Yetti's away at a mountaintop deserted camp and is soon joined by a self-made, business woman that has her heartstrings firmly attuned to the same land. It's so enjoyable to watch these two find themselves, dig their way through the heavy hearted emotions, and take a chance on life and new love. The supporting characters color their winter journey and life lessons served up by a 12-year old are hilariously humbling. Absolute enjoyable read with steamy scenes bound to melt away any remaining heart frost.

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A sweet romance with some depth in the storyline. The main characters seek solace in an isolated place to come to terms with the grief they face. There they find a growing attraction that flowers into love. Some of the detail is predictable, but the characterisation is good and makes this a worthwhile read

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This story has been above average for me, so I am going to give it the highest rating, of course tastes are personal and not always shared, but in this case I am not going to hesitate to recommend this book fervently.

Not only did I find two main characters immensely likable today, their past history is worth discovering and what they start from when they meet at this ramshackle summer camp has been no less interesting.

These two women believe that they need something, they are sure of it, that something is to distance themselves from their environment and from their daily life, from their work, from their family. But that isolation is soon shaken by simple coexistence, forced at the beginning, sought after, favored by the winter environment that sometimes makes it difficult to be alone and at the same time leads to sharing moments.

I liked it from beginning to end, I liked the secondary characters a lot, but what I have enjoyed the most has been the naturalness with which things have flowed, without drama, without fanfare.

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This is the best Georgia Beers book I read, as tory about two women running away from guilt. Tragedy and grief is what brings them together at Camp ‘Lost and Found’ but also what binds them together in the relatively short time they spent secluded in the Adirondack Mountains. The story of Frankie and Cassidy is one that captured my full attention, a story about forgiveness, the hardest one there is- forgiving yourself. I couldn't put it down, reading recommended.

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I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This was an enjoyable read. This was story about Cassidy and Frankie two people one who trying to lose herself the other trying to find themselves and in the end they both found each other. I like that this story angst was about dealing with guilt and forgiving yourself. I enjoy the supporting characters especially especially 12 year old Reiko she was hoot.

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Frankie Sisto finds herself at an abandon summer camp as a temporary caretaker as she works through a heavy burden of guilt she's been carrying around.
Cassidy Clarke has made the journey back to the one place she loved as a child to finish a final task for a dear friend while carrying her own guilt.
Neither was expecting the other to step into their misery but now they must try and get along as they finish what they each started.
Being in the same place with no one else around they start to tolerate each other. That will lead to one of two ways. They'll either walk away or come to like and enjoy being together. But what happens when they have to go back to the lives they have?
This is a great story of working through your toughest situations in life to coming out the other side of them.
Great read
Thank you #NetGalley #BoldStrokesBooks for this ARC

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Franki is three months into her caretaking job at a crumbling down former summer camp. After a life altering tragedy, all she wants to do is settle into her guilt by isolating herself from family, friends and her career.

Cassidy is grief stricken about the death of her life long friend Mason. She has chosen to spread his ashes at the place they met and spent the happiest time of their lives, summer camp.

There is an unexpected gravitas to this novel in which I swaddled myself like a weighted blanket. The solemnity creates characters who are substantive and compelling. Beers gifts us with their attraction, romance and love which you will feel to your very core.

Having read every one of Beers’ novels I can honestly say that Camp Lost and Found is her best book yet.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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