Five Winters

A Novel

By: Kitty Johnson

Narrated by: Bronwen Price

A bighearted novel about motherhood, friendship, moving on, and love of all kinds.

Ever since Beth Bailey was a girl, she’s been in love with her best friend’s older brother, Mark. She’s continued to hold out hope that maybe, someday, he’ll love her back. But now Beth is thirty-five years old, and on the day of Mark’s wedding to another woman, she finally accepts the wake-up call she needs to move on.

Beth’s dream of marrying her first love may be over, but her other biggest desire is still within reach: becoming a mother. Having lost her own parents very young, there’s nothing Beth wants more in life, and nothing she’ll stop at to make her wish come true.

Over the course of five years, and with unexpected twists along the way, Beth will come to startling realisations about family, friendship, the meaning of love, and most importantly, herself on the winding path to happiness and, she hopes, to motherhood.

©2023 Margaret Johnson (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Kitty Johnson’s Five Winters features such a warm, relatable protagonist in Beth and is a wonderful story about finding yourself—and love, of course! I very much enjoyed this read.”—Emily Stone, author of Always in December

“This book is such a tonic. Entertaining characters, a heartwarming story line, and an ending guaranteed to make you smile.”—Imogen Clark, bestselling author of Impossible to Forget

“Told in a fresh and original voice, Five Winters is a moving and hopeful study of one woman’s quest for love and motherhood. Readers will adore Beth and cheer for her all the way. Kitty Johnson’s book follows the tradition of all the best Christmas books: it gives you that warm feeling that, if you try hard enough, you can make all your dreams come true.”—Anita Hughes, author of A Magical New York Christmas

My comfort read

This is the third time I’ve listened/read to Five Winters and I’ve had the same emotions just as the first time. It’s such a wonderful book. It’s funny, sad, & happy. Bronwen Price does an excellent job in narration, I could listen to her voice all day.

3 stars

Five Winters by Kitty Johnson had me both hating and loving it, so I settled on a 3 star rating. I like the middle and end, but I don't care for the emotionally abusive relationship not being addressed for being just that. All romance is closed door, which isn't my preference. Also, the characters showed very little growth during the five years.

Speaking of the time span, I like the concept of us only checking in at the beginning of each winter; however, the execution made everything feel disjointed. It seems to be done for shock value and to keep readers intrigued, but I don't find it to be sustainable in that aspect. Sometimes I was bored out of my mind and would zone out, other times I was enraptured and wanted to catch every word. I prefer books that maintain an even flow throughout.

I understand this is Kitty's debut novel, so if she writes something that seems interesting, I will give her another try to see how she has honed her skills.

Bronwen Price is enjoyable to listen to.

Cozy Charmer

The heroine's pining for the hero for so many years is believable because of the nature of the family dynamics. She sees him constantly, and there is no real way for her feelings to subside. I would like for more to be said between her and Mark in the last chapters, but I am satisfied with the ending, the narrator, and, really, the whole book. I especially like the heroine. I think she is very appealing in her warm ordinariness. There's some humor and a good supporting cast of sid characters.

Worth the listen

Great book very entertaining. Definitely worth the read. Listen to the whole book in under two days

A Pure Treat!

I loved it from the moment I started! This story keeps you entertained and captivated. I felt like the main character was my best friend and her family. The writer knew how to create the scene and yet surprised us with her ideas that flowed very well! You will not be disappointed!

Wonderful Story

What a great buck. Definitely never had an exact age agenda just real life. Wonderful.

LOVE, FINALLY!

Lovely rendition of young peoples struggles to find TRUE love. very believable and qell done

Recommend reading/ listening to Five Winters.

I so loved reading this novel. The characters all left an impression. Especially Beth, Rose and Mark.are

Cute

Nice little love story. Predictable as many romance stories are. I enjoyed the English accented narrator.

Beautiful love story

Loved the Audible version of this book. The characters were believable and the story was realistic with moments of joy, sadness, and laughter. A book I’ll remember and recommend.