Kayla Olson is now one of my must-read authors. The Lodge is such a sweet and well written romantic comedy. Once I started reading The Lodge, I didn't want to put the book down. I know it's only January, but I think The Lodge will be one of my favorite romantic comedies of 2025.

I think the “mystery” is easy to guess from the beginning, but I also think the book is good enough to make up for that. It’s fun, I like the main couple, and I think it’s a more realistic look at what fame can do. I don’t always love celebrity romance, but Olson is really good at keeping her celeb characters grounded and kind and interesting beyond their fame. Overall, really liked it

I picked this one up because I really enjoyed The Reunion by Kayla Olson and because I was looking for the winter-y vibes.

My favourite part was definitely the setting - a luxury ski resort in Vermont. The plot was very predictable (which is generally fine in a romcom) but the characters fell a little flat.

The Lodge was giving One Direction and not being a 1D girlie this definitely didn’t add to the enjoyment for me.

TLDR: it was cute

3⭐️

I enjoyed this wintery romance. I loved that there was a hint of mystery to it too (even if I did guess it from early on). The setting was perfect for this time of year! I'm not big on insta-love, but the characters were interesting individuals and cute as a couple.
I thought the miscommunication in this book was handled well. The miscommunication trope can instantly ruin a book for me when I'm yelling at the characters to just talk to each other like adults, but the situations felt realistic in this story. Fans of boy band drama will love it!

thank you netgalley, atria books, and kayla olson for this arc!

the lodge by Kayla Olson is a delightful blend of romance, mystery, and just the right touch of cozy charm. Set against the scenic backdrop of a luxurious Vermont ski resort, the novel offers a captivating escape into a world of snowy slopes, a touch of celebrity intrigue, and the kind of slow-burn romance that makes you smile.

this was a super cute romance, charming read that I enjoyed every second of! i found the characters to be extremely lovable, and the setting to be extremely beautiful! it was the perfect winter read and I would highly recommend this to anyone who love a fun romance with a dash of mystery!

4.5 ⭐️ - I devoured this like I was deprived water in a scorching, hot desert. LOVED it.

Thank you Atria Books Publicity via Netgalley for the ARC - all reviews are honest and my own.

I loved the premise of this book filled with boy bands and romance set at a snowy ski lodge. The setting was perfect for a January read! I enjoyed reading the first 65% of this novel and then unfortunately things went downhill from there. The ending was incredibly cheesy and unnecessary and I literally rolled my eyes while reading it, which is unfortunate because the characters were wonderful and I was rooting for them.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

༺𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠༻
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
sᴘɪᴄᴇ: Closed Door
ʀᴇʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: January 7
ᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ ɪɴ KU: No
ᴘᴀɢᴇs: 352

The Lodge is the perfect cozy winter read with just the right amount of romance, mystery, and nostalgia. Alix Morgan is living the dream, ghostwriting the memoir of Sebastian Green from the once-famous boy band, True North. When he offers her a penthouse in a luxurious Vermont ski resort to work on the book, she jumps at the chance for a peaceful getaway. But as she digs into Sebastian’s story, she can’t help but be drawn into the mystery of the band’s downfall—and the disappearance of its lead singer, Jett Beckett.
While Alix’s career is taking off, her personal life takes an unexpected turn when she starts ski lessons with Tyler, a hot ski instructor. Their chemistry is undeniable, and it’s easy to get swept up in their developing romance. But there’s something fishy about the way Sebastian talks about Jett’s disappearance, and Alix soon finds herself balancing love and career while trying to solve a mystery that could change everything.
What I loved most about this book was the combination of a fun celebrity romance with a little mystery. Plus, the Vermont resort setting is perfect for a winter read. The addition of voice memos, interviews, and social media posts made the story feel fresh and engaging, and I loved how they added to the story.
If you're a fan of boy bands, wintery settings, and mysteries that keep you guessing, The Lodge is for you. I had a blast reading it, and even though it starts slow, the pace picks up and leaves you wanting more. Cozy, fun, and packed with intrigue—this one’s a winner!

᪥ Fictional Boy Band
᪥ Small Town Romance
᪥ Musician x Journalist/Ghostwriter
᪥ Mystery
᪥ Secret Identity
᪥ Single POV

I love the cover of this book. Aaaannnddd that's where my love for it stops. I was so. incredibly. bored. reading this book. The characters are perfect, the setting is perfect, there is ZERO conflict to make me invested. There is really no question that the characters will end up together, so there was little reason to root for them.

A cute and cozy winter read! The story exudes warm, fluffy Hallmark vibes, complete with snow-covered mountains, heartwarming moments, and a touch of nostalgia thanks to the fun boy band plot.

While the book is undeniably cute, some parts of the story do feel a bit rushed and skipped through. Overall it’s an easy read for the cold winter months, perfect for anyone who loves lighthearted rom-coms.

I went into this book blind and had such a fun time reading it. I loved the first person POV chapters interspersed with other media (Reddit posts, news stories, etc.) and the premise of decade old boy band drama just sucked me in from the start. While there were a few characters that grated on me, I think those relationships came to satisfying resolutions. I do wish there had been more context to the overall resolution to the story — it felt a bit abrupt — but I enjoyed the book enough that I’m not mad about it.

3.5 stars!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mini Review!

THE LODGE [Kayla Olson]
This was an adorable romcom I didn’t know I needed. Alix is a ghostwriting a memoir for hot boyband member Sebastian Green. The job of a lifetime! She takes a getaway to write in peace when a dreamy ski instructor catches her eye. Also- the FMC’s sister Lauren drove me absolutely bananas. This book was a delight!! No spice though, maybe a quarter hot pepper out of 5 hot peppers.

Thank you to @netgalley/@atriabooks for the gifted digital ARC of The Lodge- OUT JAN 7! I’m ecstatic to have read it early.
Thank you @librofm for the audiobooks, as well.

How is your ‘end of the year’ wrapping up?!

📚📚📚

January/February read alert! Set against the picturesque backdrop of a cozy, snow-covered mountain lodge, it is full of cozy vibes, perfect for this time of year.

The background of the boy band was really fun and interesting to read about, and I really enjoyed the little media snippets between each chapter - articles, social media posts, etc.

I really enjoyed the progression of the romance throughout this book.
Both Alix and Tyler are well-developed characters, with lots of depth and an organic connection. The Lodge has the perfect combination of heartwarming moments, emotional depth, and romantic chemistry.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I just had the BEST time with this cute, cheesy, cozy romance. Is it wildly impractical and unlikely? Absolutely, but isn’t that the fun of reading sometimes? To turn your own mind off and just fall completely into a story?
I loved Alix and Tyler’s characters. The setting was PERFECT for this time of year, and now I want to get myself a hot chocolate
I highly recommend this one if you’re in the mood for a quick, easy to read wintery rom-com.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
“For anyone who is still in their boyband era and, frankly, doesn’t intent to leave”

This was quite an entertaining read! Was the drama a little questionable near the end? Yeah, but I still had fun. The romance was sweet. It was cute and cozy & I loved the snowy vibes! Perfect snowed in, wintery season read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books & Kayla Olson for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review ◡̈

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy of this book.

This was my first read by Kayla Olson and I ended with mixed feelings. Overall, it was cute. Nothing groundbreaking or Earth-shattering, just a cozy little winter story. As a skier, the Vermont ski lodge setting, hot ski instructor, and dreamy cover art are what initially sucked me in. The FMC/MMC had good chemistry and communication (which we all know can be so rare in the genre) and it did hook me to see how the ending played out. Unfortunately, I don't think I vibed with the author's writing style - it was a little too, IDK, formal? It felt like she was aiming for conversational, but it ended up feeling like a term paper.

For me, it was the plot that was the saving grace. I enjoyed the boy band drama, but I did not enjoy the annoying little sister (and how much the FMC placated her - tell her to grow up already!) Even if I didn't vibe with the writing, I really did want to see how it ended. (Spolier, HEA!)

Fair warning though, if you're coming here hoping for any spice, you're out of luck. There are a few decent make-out scenes, but our couple never "goes the distance" - on or off the page. There were so many ideal opportunities too... cozy fires, power outage, epic snow storm. C'mon! I would have even settled for some closed-door spice.

This one was a bit of a miss for me, but would be a home-run for many.

📚Trope(s): Secrets (including identity), Sibling conflict, HEA
What you get: 🎿🚡🏔️❄️🎸👩🏼‍💻
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 3/5
🌶️Spice: 0.5/5

The Lodge by Kayla Olson
Format: eARC
Genre: contemporary romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❄️Cozy winter lodge setting
❄️Journalist main character
❄️Boy bands
❄️Sweet romance (no spice)
❄️Unexpected drama and a bit of mystery

This one is perfect to curl up with this winter!! Alix is hired as a ghostwriter for a famous celebrity (and former member of the boy band True North) and is set up in a beautiful penthouse in the snow to write his memoir. Her next door neighbor is a hot and incredibly sweet ski instructor who she quickly falls for. Tyler is so swoony and Alix is so relatable. I LOVED the Vermont ski lodge setting - it was dreamy!! The mystery aspect added some extra drama and fun to the book. I liked that blog posts and articles were sprinkled in between chapters. It made this fictional boy band seem real!

Thank you to Atria for my eARC of The Lodge! It’s out 1/7! Pick it up if you’re looking for a fun winter romance that pairs perfectly with a cup of hot cocoa.

"The Lodge" by Kayla Olson was phenomenal!!! I am in awe of her Olson’s writing. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump for the past few weeks, and this is the book that pulled me out of that slump (and the first book i ever read on my new kindle!) I give this book a 4.5/5 * rating! here are some of my thoughts:

I know a book is good when I miss the characters after i'm done reading it, and I will miss Alix and Tyler. They were truly crafted to perfection, and the ending was exactly what I envisioned for them!! I also appreciate when a book doesn't take what feels like years to introduce the love interest and spark some chemistry, and Olson timed everything perfectly. I was never bored, and I never wanted to put it down.

I always get post-Christmas blues, so I wanted to read a book that wasn't Christmasy but was wintery. "The Lodge" is a PERFECT late December/winter months read. the only reason I docked this book half a star is because I desperately wanted Lauren to be HUMBLEDDD but I never felt quite satisfied with how that was resolved. That doesn't take away from how much I really loved this book, though!!! "The Lodge" was one of my favorites I read this year!

“Where do it sign up for that? Right here.” 😍😉

As soon as I saw the cover I was like OMG the perfect cold snowy day read!

This was a cute romance novel. I wouldn’t call it a romcom but a cute romance novel that made me smile as I listened to it.

I loved the pacing of the story and all of the characters, even Seb grew on me.

I also appreciated that the author didn’t go the easy route in this book and make it all miscommunication and isntalove. KO built the relationships without filler, they all had a natural (although fast but not Instalove fast) progression. I also loved that Tyler was such a mature & self-aware character, because let’s face it we rarely get to see that with males in romance novels.

It was fun to see everything play out and was a perfect pallet cleanser for all of my darker reading.

I definitely recommend that you check this one out. Plus that cover is so Instagrammable!

Short Synopsis:
Alix is a writer. More specifically, she’s ghostwriting a memoir of Sebastian Green, a former boy band member of True North. Sebastian puts her up in a ski lodge for a month to write the memoir and instantly connects with her ski instructor, Tyler.

My Thoughts:
This was so cute. And perfect winter vibes. Alix and Tyler had such perfect banter. The ski lodge was such a beautiful setting with lots of moments to snuggle up to.

Olson did a beautiful job with including emails, texts, news articles and gossip columns mixed with the story which added a fun level of entertainment to the story.

What You’ll Find:
Boy Band
Ghostwriter
Romcom
One liners
Found family
Irritating siblings
Celebrity romance