What Matters Most

by Georgia Beers

Starting a new life in a new city is never easy, but Kelsey Peterson is managing. She owns her own specialty shop, she's made some new friends, and she's finally feeling like she's ready to put down some roots in this small Chicago suburb. She's even struck up some regular flirtatious banter with that sexy blonde she continually runs into at Starbucks. But when her business and personal life unexpectedly collide, Kelsey's confidence in her newfound happiness starts to slip through her fingers, and the hardest part is figuring out what matters most...

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Lesbian Romance, Lesbian, Queer, Femme Femme, Lesbian Fiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2017

About the author

Lambda and Golden Crown Literary Award-winning author Georgia Beers lives in Rochester, New York. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, and published her first lesbian novel in 2000.

Reviews

[Sprinkles · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? Georgia Beers drops a hot new book and I immediately read. This author has me whipped.

This story is interesting in that it certainly adheres to a model of lesbian romance, which I look forward to in this instance. It's cozy, warm, and escapist enough for me to delve in for blissful hours. On the other hand, there were story and pacing choices that pleasantly surprised me and I tip my invisible hat to you for that, Beers.

For starters, there's more angst than I anticipated. And if you're someone who pulls their hair out at relationships affected by bad communication...I suggest you wear a wig and read this anyway! It's a sexy, heart-tugging story with a HEA that lacks a cloying touch. There's a muted sort of grit in this, where all issues aren't wrapped up in a pretty bow.

Theresa, the main character Kelsey's love interest, is so sexy, my phone gave me an overheated alert. Her style, femininity, straightforwardness, and attitude were right up my alley. I found Kelsey very relatable, even when I wanted to shake sense into her.

Kelsey and Theresa's string of first encounters at Starbucks easily grabbed my attention. So flirty and cute and clever. Beers really knows what she's doing.

I considered her friend Hannah annoying; this may be an unpopular opinion. Same for Kelsey's cousin. Oh, well.

I love that her novels don't stray from mentioning arousal and profound attraction. This makes the story a juicier read without needing a ton of sex scenes. Although, I can't not bring up that lengthy love scene. Yum.

Also yum: Lovely scents! In true 'A Little Bit of Spice' fashion, Beers shows us another hipster interest! Specialty cruetly-free scents! As I scrolled, I wished I could one-click purchase Kelsey's products. Really. I'd spend real money.

I feel like I said a whole lot of nothing because I was so elated about this book...and I finished it in a few hours. It was just what I needed. Keep putting out stellar lesbian romances, Georgia Beers!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the chemistry between Kelsey and Theresa, loved the build-up to their romance and LOVED the sexy scene which is really HOT!

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

“What Matters Most” is that I quit stalling and write my review. I really enjoyed the characters and the story and put up with the annoying narration….until the 80% mark. After that, the annoying narration was better than the characters or the story.

Kelsey is a likable small business owner who decides to try an online dating service. Her experiences are hilarious! The banter she shares at the coffee shop with Lisa is flirty and fun. Her friend Hannah really wants to be in a relationship with Kelsey, but Kelsey isn’t attracted to Hannah as anymore than a friend.

Three storylines are interwoven. Kelsey is confronted by the possibility of being evicted by the daughter of the elderly landlord, cousin Chris has a job interview in town and meets Hannah, and Kelsey finds instalust with Theresa. Lots of fun banter, and enjoyable in a lighthearted way.

There’s a build up to the moment of angst, predictable to the reader but not Kelsey…and then the book goes off the rails.

So once it was clear that Theresa was the real estate person working to effect the sale of the building to the daughter, and then to developers, Theresa was partly responsible for Kelsey and others having the leases terminated and being evicted. Theresa feels badly that Kelsey lost her business, and sends text after text to Kelsey to reach out. Okay, so far, Beers could’ve worked with that and continued a good story.

But, the way Theresa was presented as “just doing her job” and “it’s only business” sounded like a mobster apologizing to a friend just as he pulls the trigger. Theresa’s actions also destroyed the decades-long family dry cleaner in the building. No remorse for that. So the message is that it’s okay to be a real estate predator, so long as you’re sorry the person you’re sleeping with got hurt.

And then Kelsey. WTF did Beers do with Kelsey’s personality? Kelsey went from a confident person who was hurt emotionally and financially by her girlfriend, to an apologetic groveler, begging forgiveness of Theresa for being mean to her after Theresa killed her business. Really?

And then, after Kelsey begs Theresa for forgiveness (I couldn’t make this character personality shift up on a dare!), she begins texting Theresa frequently. Naturally, since Theresa felt miserable when Kelsey ignored her deluge of texts, she now ignores Kelsey’s deluge of texts. What are we, in 4th grade all of a sudden?

Finally, the whole daughter-buys-building-from-elderly-parent-and-then-flips-to-developer-for-fast-profit plot device is elder abuse, pure and simple. The daughter took financial advantage of her elderly parent, buying the building at less than FMV and flipping it for her own profit as an early inheritance. Theresa and her “reputable” real estate company would be part of a legal investigation against the daughter. You can bet that one of the evicted tenants would make a point of bringing the elder abuse to the attention of the police. Yes, flipping to a developer and evicting tenants could be done, but if Theresa participated in the way described with the daughter’s involvement, then Theresa is even less likable.

So 4.5* for the first 80% of the book, 1* for the last 20%, and 2* for the narration. Georgia Beers disappoints with “What Matters Most”. 2.5* rounded to 3*, though I am very tempted to rate this as 2* because Georgia Beers is talented and experienced enough that she should not have finished this book in the way she did.

[Velvet Lounger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and easy to read as always, Georgia Beers’ latest is a classic traditional romance with a sweet likeable heroine.

Kelsey has moved city and started a new life away from family and her ex, opening her own business and making new friends. When she meets a gorgeous woman in her local Starbucks there is an instant attraction that quickly leads to more. But Kelsey’s shop is soon under threat from an unexpected change of landlord, and suddenly her dreams and her personal life are in tatters.

Kelsey thought she had her life sorted, or at least moving in the right direction, but she soon learns how quickly things can fall apart, and, more importantly, what really matters the most.

Georgia Beers has a talent for making a fairly straightforward traditional romance come alive and making her characters feel like old friends. We engage so easily with her main characters that we feel part of their lives and are soon rooting for them to sort things out. Kelsey is no exception, we feel her pain, but also the frustration of wanting her to get over her hurt and ‘do the right thing’.

Kelsey’s speciality, selling perfumes, adds a layer of unusual interaction, everything for her is led by scent, how she interprets people and interacts with them. This adds an interesting nuance to the story and a depth of sensory colour that fills out the background very nicely.

Another sweet and charming romance from one of the best, always an enjoyable read and a happy ever after resolution.

[Starsandsun18 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hate to give this a low rating because I love Georgia Beers! But the storyline is really not for me.
I don't know how to react without spoiling the book.
Their start is cute but somewhere in the middle I was kinda pissed at Theresa and I also feel bad for Kelsey.
Or maybe I was pissed to both of them I don't really know.
The ending is also meeeeh! Like, Really? that's it?
Don't get me wrong the book is okay but it just didn't sit well on me.

3.5

[Yoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story. Wonderful and relatable characters, great dialog, nice romance, but knowing who the author is, this is no surprise.
The only bad thing about finishing a Georgia Beers book is having to wait a few months for her next one.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Beers. Nice romance. Nice circle of characters. All around solid read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I, like so many others, am a huge fan of Georgia Beers. I read em all. This is my 15th book by Beers. If you are looking for a bit of an escape over the weekend this book is perfect. I enjoyed the characters, and the story. It was a fast read, but overall a solid 4 stars. I will read again, which makes most of Beers novels a bargain for me.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice read. Makes me want a pool.

[Gaby LezReviewBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and entertaining romance. As usual, Ms. Beers delivers a book that has romance, great characters, superb chemistry and hot scenes. Just a little rushed at the end.

Overall, a very good read. 4 stars

See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.com

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4- I WANT MORE!

I was enjoying this story very much and then it just ended. WTF

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

This was a super sweet read. I love a good meet cute, and a flirty interaction at Starbucks fits that description perfectly. From those first through fun and flirty interactions, I was in love. Kelsey and Theresa’s flirtation made me want to giggle like a school girl. Although this isn’t my favourite Beers novel, she is undeniably talented at forming a warm and chemistry-driven romance. It will take me a while to get through Beer’s massive backlist of works, but I am well prepared. I’ve had a terrible couple of reading months, so a genuine, down-to-earth and heartwarming romance like this helped lift my spirits. I just loved how normal it all felt, as if Theresa and Kelsey are out their having coffee together as a write this. It was a great blend of escapism and heartwarming romance that had the touch of reality that I enjoy in romances. I admit that I didn’t enjoy the ending of the book very much (in terms of the drama at around 80%), but my love for the first half means that I generally consider this a win.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This needed to be a little longer, I think. One of the "hurdles" to the romance is brought up a few times by Kelsey - she doesn't know Theresa very well. And by the end of the book, I still didn't know Theresa very well, and still feel Kelsey didn't either. I would have liked to get to know her more.

[Jessica Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

Georgia Beers has created another great read. I have read, and in many cases reread, all of her works. She is one of my favorite authors, and I look forward to purchasing anything she writes as soon as it is released. This latest book did not disappoint. She never fails to convey real feeling in her characters, and she offers well developed stories of substance. Upon finishing this book, I am left with two regrets. One, I wish the story included a sit-down between Theresa and Hannah where they hashed out their feelings about each other and patched up their relationship. Neither one of them knows how the other feels. Second, I regret that I now have to wait for the next Georgia Beers release!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although What Matters Most is a romance—and trust me, it is—it’s really Kelsey’s book. It’s told in the third person from her perspective, so we learn everything through her. Kelsey is immediately likeable, the kind of person I could easily see myself befriending. We go on quite the journey with her as she deals with things like risk to her business, trying to keep boundaries in place with a friend who wants more, and moving from flirtation to relationship with Theresa. I didn’t always agree with how she handled things, but those were the moments that kept her human and led her to who she was by the end of the book.

Theresa is a fabulous romantic interest and I maybe have a crush on her (yes, fine, of course I do). The way they meet at Starbucks, each with the wrong name on their cup, is adorable, and their chemistry is delicious every step of the way. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that when the crisis hit, I was 100% team Theresa all the way even as I sympathized with Kelsey.

Full review: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/matte...

[Cab · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy stereotypical romance read. I think I liked the character of Theresa better than the others and she was less annoying. Which may not sound like a ringing endorsement but if you like romance novels this definitely for you. If straight up romance is not your thing then I'd say skip this.

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very close to "love it!" She writes so well, pulls me in & holds me riverted for the whole journey, laugh & tears. Wonderful.

[Ayse · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing as always from Georgia Beers. I really loved the interaction between Kelsey and Theresa even if it was a little unbelievable. the beginning and flirting at Starbucks was excellent, but the ending was a little rushed with a big jump that seemed in character but unlikely. I read the whole thing in one day basically because the writing is so compelling. I read this as a panacea after reading a few really terribly written romances and Beers delivered as expected. can't wait for the next one.

[Judikt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually write reviews unless I adore a book, however not only did I not adore this one but once I finished it the only feelings and thoughts I was left with were disappointment and insatisfaction.

Let me start by saying that in my opinion the characters seems to be in lust rather than actually being in love, frankly the characters don't really know each other and neither do we as readers, for a romance book it's kinda anticlimactic. If that wasn't enough, the book dragged where it should have moved forward and moved forward where it needed more depth, I would say the editing was sub-par from the usual quality we are used to from Beers.

Some plot points where left unchecked (the fathers and sister issues where never resolved and served as obvious plot device), the side character didn't have any soul and personality of their own ( one dimensional commentary/token was all they were).

Honestly, although it wasn't a good book by any means, it was at least readable enough that I actually finished it and I guess at least there is that.

I really hope that Beers' next book will be decent enough otherwise I may just give up on getting any of her books anymore.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Georgia Beers and will always be on my list of must read authors. This book didn’t reach top notch for me. The concept and the meeting of the main characters was great. I think the thing that lacked for me was that although they have great chemistry and hot sex they never learn a lot about each other before the end of the book. I liked Theresa, but I don’t feel I got to know her very well. I wanted more of her story. 3 1/2 Stars.

[A Shrimp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

I usually like books by Georgia Beers, but this one had me disappointed. I just found it to drag on with no end in sight. There are no surprises - it's about as generic as it gets, and you just read on waiting for the obvious "plot twists" to happen.

For starters, the characters are instantly in love. You know the deal: constant cringeworthy inner monologue about how the protagonist doesn't understand how she immediately feels incredibly comfortable with her love interest, how she doesn't understand why she already loves her instantly... at that point, the author should've noticed something doesn't add up. I prefer actual character development... why write a love story, if you don't bother writing about - I don't know - people falling in love? This had me rolling my eyes during most scenes involving the love interests.

Lots of sex, which I found to be more annoying than helpful. It's kind of used as a substitute for the characters actually getting to know each other. But I guess they don't have to get to know each other, if they are already magically in love...

I don't want to go into detail because I don't think this book deserves it. All I can say about the plot is: it's obvious. Every single turn of the story you can see coming a mile away. Nothing in this book will surprise you, nothing will keep you on your toes. And to me, that makes a story incredibly boring. Why read a book if you already know all the things that are going to happen.

Starting with the pseudo love triangle involving Hannah (and later involving Chris), continuing with the work place trouble... all of it takes the most generic, obvious route the author could've come up with. If you have read a single romance book ever, you know exactly how things are going to play out. Weird, unrealistic but convenient coincidences, shoehorned in drama, obvious foreshadowing on every turn... if you play romance trope bingo, this is your book.

I'm really disappointed with this one, because usually Georgia Beers doesn't stick that close to the generic romance formula. Usually she's one of the authors who actually try to do some creative work. Not on this one, though :/

[Alealea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the way both character meet and their exchanges.
It's fun and sweet.

The rest is big jumble with some tropes Beers seems found of and me not so much.
Still it was a quick and entertaining read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it a lot more than the book description suggested I would, but then of course I did. Who likes having the whole plot spoiled on the book jacket? Ideally that's how these things go, right? Anyway, this was a solid book but I wish it was longer.

I like the idea of strangers making up stories about each other based on their looks and Starbucks names. It's like what every people-watcher does, but you actually get to flirt at the same time! Genius! I'd also like to think that Kelsey and Theresa still call each other Shelley and Lisa sometimes, just as a playful in-joke because that's kinda cute and it seems right to me.

Theresa and Hannah being related wasn't how I was expecting this book to go, so good on you Georgia Beers for slipping one past me. I'm not sure how I didn't see it coming, as it's a trope I've seen often; but I'm not mad at it either so it's an ok use of a trope in my book. Totally saw the whole "Theresa's selling Kelsey's store thing" from a mile away though. But that was basically written in the book description so I can't complain too much.

So, did Kelsey never get to use the bathroom at the barbecue? Hannah showed it to her, they ran into Theresa, and she was just so surprised to see Starbucks girl there that she didn't need to pee anymore? Kelsey did need the facilities right? She wasn't just going to reapply makeup or anything?

I'm glad there are butcher women in this book.

I can forgive Kelsey for driving over to Theresa's house to blow up at her (kind of,) but then ghosting her for two weeks after? That's cold. Frigid, even. Kelsey should've done that timeout trick again after figuring out Theresa's involvement, maybe then the confrontation wouldn't have been so angry and definite. And then maybe Kelsey wouldn't have ignored her for half a month. My mom taught me not to make life-altering decisions with my emotions. It's good advice, it's helped me loads, but I think it should also just be common sense.

It wasn't really necessary for the plot, but I wish there could've been some reconciliation between Hannah and Theresa. Or at least some acknowledgement. I know that not all loose ends need to be tied up by the end of the book, but their dynamic was interesting to me. And they were only together like, once in the whole book!

[wopphicreviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beers Always Keeps Us Guessing

Here’s a fun, easy, summery read. No overt cheesiness. No over-the-top corniness. It’s a good page turner, because you’re kind of anticipating the next words. But then, Beers, as she’s so great at doing, drops mini bombs that threaten the reader with sleep deprivation if they read before lights out. Much like her other works, What Matters Most, is delightful, sexy, and just a little suspenseful. Lots of modern-day issues, and Beers is crafty in weaving in today’s social devices.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think perhaps 3.75 stars. This is a gentle love story with a bit of angst that gets resolved in the end. Kelsey is a Chicago transplant who opens her own business and Teresa is a commercial real estate agent and they meet each other over a Starbucks or two. Instant attraction pulls them together a amidst a sea of unhappy family relationships. It is Georgia Beers so you get love, you get sex and you get HEA. Nice read.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one held such promise with such strong chemistry that I was rather disappointed with the inevitable fight to drive up the tension. I didn't care for the resolution, since it involved one character completely forgetting another character had ghosted her in favor of blaming herself.

Positives: I did like how the main character (Kelsey)'s job situation was dealt with. Denial, anger, grief, and acceptance.

[Sarah L Talson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great feel

I love reading books by Georgia Beers, her stories are so related to "me". I feel like I can relate to the warmth and reality of each story. I smile constantly and I don't want the story to end.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!! If I didn't love already "The neighbors wife" I could easy say this one was my favorite. Lovely story, intense, and read in a day book. For sure in the pile "to read again" ❤☺

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleep-deprivingly addictive! I loved every millisecond of the time that this book and I spent together.

[Alena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid romance with likeable characters and twists I really didn’t see coming.

I‘m glad books can’t deliver scents, otherwise this book probably would have given me a major headache 😉