Back to Square One

by Georgia Beers

It's never too late for second chances, even when you're Back to Square One.

Rowan Thomas wakes up after an accident with no memory of the last few years—including the end of her relationship with Evie Price. Evie is hers and everything is soft kisses and inside jokes. Only everyone insists they broke up years ago.

To try to cure her amnesia, Rowan tags along on an annual girls trip she apparently stopped attending (weird). Frozen margaritas and side-splitting laughter sounds like medicine, right?

But when Evie shows up looking gorgeous, and everyone starts acting a bit too cagey, what really happened between her and Evie isn't the only secret in play. And the more Rowan uncovers, the more she's sure of what her heart remembers.

Embrace the quintessential beach read and join award-winning author Georgia Beers for a summer of sun, swimsuits, and so much drama.

Genres: Second Chance, Contemporary, Romance, Lesbian Romance, Lesbian, LGBT

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2026

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

[JulesGP]

Rowan joins her 40 something year-old friends at their favorite lake for their annual get-together. This year is special because of Rowan’s recent accident and head injury. Everyone is of course happy to see her again and relieved that she is recovering. But to Rowan’s shock, her ex, Evie, arrives a few days later. Although Rowan’s amnesia plays a part early on in the book, the story quickly slips into a second chance romance after Evie shows up. There’s underlying sexual tension between Rowan and Evie with chock full of longing glances. Then Evie reveals a secret that changes everything.

What I liked best about the book are the tight friendships and the camaraderie among the women. It’s a fantastic thing to see the trust, the humor, and the no bs factor into their dinners, the fun times, and their adventures. The actual romance is kind of tough for me because we don’t get to know much about Evie. When Rowan and Evie finally communicate back at home, then their connection comes to life. A solid read for fans of second chance romances.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc. I am leaving a review voluntarily.

[Sharon]

Rowan Thomas had a head injury and has some retrograde amnesia. She is unable to some recall events occurring in the past 2-3 years prior to her head injury. One of the more significant event was that her girlfriend, Evie Price, broke up with her out of the blue. Part of her healing, Rowan joined an annual vacation with her group of friends, one that she has been skipping out on for the last couple of years since the breakup. Much to her shock and surprise, Evie was also there at the vacation.

A second chance romance…I liked both characters. Both are very flawed. This story is told only from Rowan’s point of view, and hence was interesting to see her confusion from the mixed messages that Evie was sending her. I do like the subtle longing you see between the 2 of them. Why then did Evie end things?

My favourite part of the story was in actual fact the friend group. I love seeing the friendship part of the group and how they are with each other. The holiday at the lake house was also so well written. What I didn’t like too much was Rowan’s initial reaction to the reason for the breakup. I also do not love the cover of the book.

Otherwise, it is definitely worth a read as it is quite different from the author’s other books.

I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Rosi]

Second-chance romance mixed with some drama and uncertainty due to the circumstances in which the two protagonists find themselves upon reuniting.

Rowan's condition causes strange situations within the group of friends spending a few days at the lake house. Even before Evie arrives, whom Rowan certainly was not expecting, since due to her amnesia of the last 3 years, she does not remember the painful moments caused by the abrupt breakup that Evie made of their relationship. And Rowan can only remember the breakup, without much else, but some flashes keep coming to her and each of them leaves her more confused. And Evie's current attitude also makes the confusion increase.

Despite the complexity of mixing the conditions of the two protagonists, leaving aside the lack of honesty and trust, reprehensible in an adult relationship like the one they had, he story has been overwhelming and emotional for the most part.
A pretty good romance.


Bold Strokes Books was kind enough to send me a copy via Netgalley for an honest review

[Maria]

This book was one of the best ones I have read written by Georgia Beers. The setup is intriguing with Rowan slowly recovering from her fall and amnesia that made her forget most things happening the last couple of years. Worst of all was waking up not realizing that Evie, the love of her life, had broken up with her and she does not even remember that.

Things start off well at the Airbnb, nice for Rowan to get together with her friends and feel normal again. Then Evie shows up when eight days still left of this vacation. Rowan is pining but also hurts so much seeing Evie again, Evie that broke up with her saying she didn’t love her anymore.

Evie is so nice to Rowan, touches her and look at her lovingly. This is so confusing to Rowan, Evie doesn’t love her so getting back to something with her would not end well for Rowan. Having sex with somebody you love who doesn’t love you back isn’t very smart. Things doesn’t look great for Rowan and Evie, is a second chance even an option. Then a big revelation from Evie on why she broke up with Rowan and things escalate even more which I fully get, what Evie decided to do back then not fair to Rowan.

The first half of the book was what hooked me, following Rowan and her struggle with her memory loss as well as the fact that Evie no longer is her girlfriend. The second half is interesting, but I think a bit more drama and angst would have been even better. I loved the read though so no big complaints.

I received a free ARC via NetGalley and voluntarily leave an honest review.

[Cheryl]

This story surprised me. I thought it was going to be a story about a woman with amnesia and how she starts remembering things. But that is just a minor part. The major plot is the mystery around her ex. This will keep you very off balance for about 75% of the story. But then all is revealed. Now your typical amnesia story would end right there. But noooo, now the story takes an interesting turn and morphs into another angle. Very clever and fulfilling.
As always Ms. Beers gives us lots of emotion, pathos, warm characters and romance.
This is a reunion, a mystery and a romance.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

[ReadingwithCaz]

This story is loaded with heart, all the feels and so much love. Add to that a second chance, an awesome friend group and some forced proximity, et voila, Back To Square One!

I received an advance copy from Netgalley for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A nasty fall on her head has left Rowan with a gap in her memory. The last three-ish years have vanished from her brain. Her new colleague of 1,5 years? Nope, never met him. The ups and downs of her best friend’s life? No clue. And worst of all? Rowan doesn’t remember the love of her life breaking up with her two years ago. She knows it happened, her bestie Stevie and her mom made sure of that, but the heartbreak? As painful as if it was yesterday. A nice vacation break in nature with a group of friends is just what she needs. Imagine Rowan’s surprise when Evie shows up at the lake house. HER Evie. Oh no, she isn’t hers anymore…

I feel connected to Rowan in a very personal way. I too have a brain injury and while I don’t have amnesia (or do I? 🤨), a lot of her experience felt familiar. Beers does an amazing job of making you part of Rowan’s experience.

Rowan is part of an amazing friend group. I really liked getting to know all of them as individual people while still being focused on Rowan’s story. The humor and vibes of these friends together is fun. I would have loved a seat at that campfire! BFF Stevie is the friend that all of as wish to have. She is kind and caring but also asks the hard questions when it’s needed.

And then there is Evie. Evie is hard to pinpoint but her continued interest in Rowan from the start is very obvious. As a reader you’re struggling with the same lack of information Rowan has and that ads so much depth to the story. At one point I even cursed at Evie out loud because, what the hell happened for her to break up with the woman she clearly is still in love with?! I won’t give more spoilers, but let me just say, Evie’s reasoning makes her deeply human.

Back To Square One another great read from Georgia Beers. It will leave you with a sweet smile on your face and a set of new favorite characters.

[Nikki]

This book follows Rowan, who loses all of her memories from the last three years after a tragic accident, including her breakup with her girlfriend Evie. To hopefully reconnect with her past, she spends a week at a lake house with her closest friends and her ex. As some traumatic memories slowly start coming back, secrets are revealed, old feelings resurface and everyone has to figure out how to move forward.

I have such mixed feelings about this one.
I absolutely loved the first half of the book. I’d never read an amnesia romance before, so I was immediately hooked by the premise. It had the perfect summer atmosphere: a cozy lake house, campfires, s’mores, found family and reconnecting with old friends. It was such a comforting read and I loved how Rowan’s amnesia was handled in the beginning. Her friends were constantly checking in on her, making sure she didn’t overdo it and it felt like her recovery was taken seriously. I especially loved the whole friend group, and Stevie was definitely one of my favorite characters.

Unfortunately, the second half didn’t work quite as well for me. I never really felt the chemistry or romantic tension between Rowan and Evie, so their relationship didn’t completely convince me. I also thought it was a little odd that Rowan’s amnesia was such a big part of the story at first, but then it almost faded into the background. In the beginning everyone was so careful with her, but later on she was suddenly able to take care of someone else and it just didn’t feel entirely believable to me. The ending also felt a bit rushed.

Even with those issues, I still enjoyed this book. The writing was lovely, the summer vibes were immaculate and now I kind of want to rent a lake house with my friends. I also really appreciated the chronic illness representation and how it showed both the physical and emotional side of living with it.
Overall, this was a fun, emotional summer read, even if it didn’t quite stick the landing for me.

Thank you so much netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the Arc!

[Bings]

This was okay.

I just wanted more... longing, pining, more time with the main couple....

And less predictability.

An overall good read... I just wanted... more from the couple.

Full review to come.

[Jeimy]

I was hesitant to pick this one up because my sister experiences memory loss as the result of a traumatic brain injury, and I worried that the premise might hit a little too close to home. Thankfully, Georgia Beers treats Rowan's amnesia with realism and care so I was able to enjoy the story without finding it triggering. There was one moment when I stopped, horrified that an author I respect so much might actually be using one of the most overworked plot devices in amnesia stories, but thankfully Beers was just having a little fun with the trope.

And there is plenty of fun here. This is Rowan's first year returning to the annual lake-house trip since her breakup with Evie, except Rowan doesn't remember the breakup—or the years that followed it. I particularly loved watching Stevie care for Rowan and seeing the rest of the group try to understand what her amnesia actually means rather than assuming they know what she needs. But once Evie arrives, the relaxed atmosphere becomes charged with tension. Beers begins dropping hints that there is more to their breakup than Rowan currently understands, creating a sense of unease beneath all the good food, time on the water, and easy camaraderie of longtime friends.

It's difficult to say much more without spoiling what Beers is doing, because the misdirection here is worthy of a magician. I will say that I have very little patience for characters who make supposedly self-sacrificing decisions on behalf of the people they love without bothering to consult them, and Evie's choices tested that patience considerably. I'm not sure forgiveness would have come quite so easily for me. Rowan, however, takes some advice from her mother and ultimately decides what she is willing to forgive in pursuit of the life she wants.

What I appreciated most is that Beers doesn't follow the usual romantic trajectory. These are two people who already fell in love, built a healthy and committed relationship, and broke apart years before the novel begins—except one of them no longer remembers the breaking. As Rowan and Evie spend time together again, the routines and intimacy of their former life begin returning almost like muscle memory. There is something lovely about the idea that familiarity can work a little like riding a bike: the gestures come back, the rhythms reassert themselves, and suddenly you're slipping into a comfort you may not consciously remember but that feels familiar. It made for a clever variation on the second-chance romance.

[Rach]

We follow Rowan who for some reason decided one random day to clean her gutters, on a ladder, on her own. One mishap later she’s lost her memory of the last 3 years. Frustration at her memory loss and her mother being slightly overbearing, she agrees to go on a girls trip to a lake house. She cannot understand why she’s missed this trip for the last 3 years but her friends love the fact she’s back. It’s all laughs and smiles until Evie appears then it becomes a tad awkward as not only is Evie her ex but her slow recovery of some of her memory returns. Leading to a painful recollection of why she hadn’t been back here but at the same time why is Evie flirting and doing everything she can to be close with Rowan when she broke her heart.

This is really a story of two half’s, it is a second chance romance but it’s all due to miscommunication the worst trope out there. I won’t spoil it as it is an interesting spin but I do think personally you can guess fairly early on where this maybe heading.

It’s fun, a bit of spice and a great cast of side characters who also could have communicated a bit better to her about a major thing that happened to her! But everything is built in the first half which for me did drag out far too long and the second part was just a bit dull and a slightly convenient way to wrap the story up. It was good to have an epilogue but think it would have been better to have seen a bit further into the future. It does cover some serious medical issues but at the same time is not too over the top and can still be lighthearted but a lot of this would have been solved if they would have just talked openly and honestly! I would say more but I will end up accidentally spoiling it which I don’t wish to do!

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an opportunity to read prior to general release.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos]

A House With No Stairs
How Georgia Beers’s “Back to Square One” Turns Lost Memory, Chronic Illness, and a Second Chance at Love Into a Question of Who Gets to Design the Future
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | August 6th, 2026

Devastation returns to Rowan Thomas in six words: “I don’t love you anymore.” She has heard them before, though she cannot remember hearing them. A fall from a ladder fractured her skull and erased roughly three years; now, at the lake where Evie Price once ended their relationship, the sentence rises intact from the dark. The scene is real. Its explanation is not. Georgia Beers later reveals that Evie never stopped loving Rowan. She lied because she mistook self-erasure for devotion. In “Back to Square One,” the missing years start the plot. The more troubling question is why Evie believes love gives her the right to draft Rowan’s future without her.

Evie, as Rowan remembers her, is still hers: soft kisses, private jokes, familiar coffee, a body understood without directions. Everyone else insists they broke up more than two years earlier. Four weeks out of the hospital, still subject to headaches, sudden fatigue, and blank patches that announce themselves only when she collides with them, Rowan joins a nine-day lake trip with the queer friends she apparently stopped seeing. Familiar faces and a familiar place may coax the missing years into view. The rental house also contains the ex she does not remember losing, the best friend guarding that ex like a municipal secret, several coolers, one pontoon boat, and enough frozen drinks to make memory seem briefly negotiable.

Memory survives here as choreography. Rowan may not remember why Evie cut her hair, when she bought her house, or what happened during their final years together, but she can read a tightening jaw, roast a marshmallow to Evie’s exact shade of gold, and fall into an old physical grammar with unnerving ease. Preference remains in the hand after its history has vanished from the mind. The romantic wager is plain: Rowan’s mind lost the file; the rest of her kept a copy.

Even Beers grows suspicious of that wager. Evie, it turns out, was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis while they were still together. Convinced that Rowan would one day become less lover than nurse, she hid the diagnosis and manufactured a clean break by claiming her love had vanished. Rowan names the act more accurately. It was not sacrifice. It was a seizure of choice. Evie converted private terror into authority over Rowan’s life, deciding alone that illness, uncertainty, and possible dependence could not belong inside it.

The theft changes the terms of reunion. Chemistry is no longer the difficult part. Liane Moriarty’s “What Alice Forgot” also places a woman inside a recent life that other people remember more securely than she does, while Talia Hibbert’s “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” refuses the notion that chronic illness cancels desire or ordinary pleasure. Beers is narrower and more openly consoling than either. What follows is a quieter quarrel over care: at what point does sheltering someone become speaking over her?

Rowan has already met that danger before Evie’s secret comes clear. Her mother, Kelly, nearly lost her and now turns recovery into a tender little surveillance state, monitoring medication, movement, sleep, and risk. Claire, Evie’s closest friend, performs a parallel patrol at the lake, issuing reminders about rest, pain, balance, and pills while controlling Rowan’s access to the truth. Both women are sympathetic. Both are exhausting. The early joke that Kelly has become Rowan’s “smother” rehearses, at comic volume, the violation Evie has committed in earnest.

In this novel, feelings seldom travel without identification. The close-third narration moves through short-to-medium sentences, quick exchanges, fragments, and candid internal commentary. Characters say “babe,” swear freely, ask the question already forming in the reader’s mind, and usually receive an answer before silence grows troublesome. Rowan is funny without becoming breezy, especially when joking about her “noggin crack,” her zero-star experience of amnesia, or the indignity of discovering that everyone else has kept better notes on her own life. Catastrophe must share a kitchen with bad puns, beer, and the practical question of who is driving home. That social ease keeps the book from turning Rowan’s injury into a solemnity machine.

Physical tasks and household objects bring the writing into its finest focus. A hand that will not grip, a nap apologized for, a pizza chosen because it requires no utensils, Greek eggs that unlock a vanished Christmas, a bottle opened for someone whose fingers have betrayed her – these moments carry more than the book’s many declarations of sorrow and devotion. Food becomes memory and flirtation. Rest is a bodily necessity freighted with shame. Beers is most persuasive when love looks like logistics with good lighting.

A problem follows from that candor: the prose distrusts what those details have already accomplished. A feeling is named, registered in the body, then certified through dialogue. Hearts pound, throats tighten, voices soften, gazes hold. Scenes of very different magnitude arrive wearing the same emotional uniform. The effect is warm and readable, but rarely surprising at sentence level. Readers accompany Rowan’s feelings rather than discovering them in the pressure between what she notices and what she cannot yet say. The directness suits the novel’s hospitality; it also leaves every room a little too brightly lit.

Piecemeal knowledge makes every ordinary mishap unstable. The reader notices discrepancies as Rowan does: Evie dropping a glass, tiring abruptly, losing balance on a paddleboard, bristling at Claire’s supervision, living in a one-story house. When the diagnosis arrives, those details stop looking incidental. Every clue comes with a custodian. Somebody knows, somebody withholds, somebody decides Rowan is not ready to hear. The dropped glass becomes a symptom; Claire’s hovering acquires a history; the breakup is exposed as a decision made by one woman for two. The lake itself performs a similar double duty, first as refuge, then as the place where Rowan’s recovered sentence reopens a wound she cannot yet understand.

Around the lake, that secrecy is stretched across nine days. There are swims, wine tastings, campfires, cornhole, skinny-dipping, and one exquisitely awkward hallway kiss. Forced proximity earns its fee. Yet the middle often returns to the same arrangement: Rowan notices Evie watching her; Evie displays a symptom; Claire intervenes; Rowan wonders whether the two women are involved; the truth remains upstairs with the medication. The outings keep the secret alive after Rowan, Evie, and Claire have begun repeating rather than revising their positions.

Despite the circling, Beers understands conviviality. Justine cooks, Lizzie supplies volume, Stevie steadiness, Becca and Jasmine affectionate counterpoint, and everyone drinks, teases, and worries in plausible proportions. The group gives the romance a life beyond the couple: marriages, pregnancy, exes, careers, chronic illness, cats, old resentments, and people willing to drive three hours because your voice sounded wrong. Several remain broad but likable social types, yet the house feels inhabited rather than stocked. These friends also hold pieces of Rowan’s missing life. They become an imperfect external memory, generous in what they restore and presumptuous in deciding which pieces she can bear. Their meals and jokes are therefore not just atmosphere; they are the medium through which Rowan’s recent life is returned to her, one anecdote and omission at a time.

Inside that crowded house, the most revealing parallel is bodily. Rowan and Evie both live with fatigue they cannot bargain down. Both need rest and resent apologizing for it. Both discover that independence can vanish in small, humiliating increments. Both are watched by people who confuse vigilance with permission. Rowan’s anger is therefore not the optimism of someone untouched by dependence. She has recently become the person everyone wants to protect, and she knows how quickly concern can begin narrating another life in the first person.

More troubling is that Evie’s fear is credible. She imagines mobility loss, intimate care, medication schedules, and a younger partner gradually consumed by responsibility. Illness can alter work, rooms, routines, and the ordinary arrangements of a day long before it produces the catastrophe someone dreads. But fear does not gain authority by renaming itself sacrifice. Evie treats the worst possible future as settled fact and Rowan’s judgment as irrelevant. Her motive makes the betrayal sadder. It does not make it smaller.

If accepting care must mean surrendering freedom, Evie can imagine only two roles for herself: equal lover or dependent burden. Rowan proposes a messier arrangement in which partnership survives changing ratios of assistance. Needing Rowan is not what diminishes Evie; being denied the right to choose is what diminished Rowan. Money and institutional care stay mostly offstage, and the couple remains comparatively sheltered from pressures that would make these decisions harsher. Beers keeps her argument in kitchens, bedrooms, and doctors’ offices: help need not erase the person receiving it. Rowan’s care is persuasive precisely when it is modest – water within reach, food Evie can hold, a willingness to let fatigue alter the evening without turning it into tragedy.

The amnesia creates the crisis and then, less innocently, clears away much of the resistance to repair. Rowan remembers loving Evie but has lost much of the period in which she grieved the breakup, stopped eating, struggled to function, and slowly learned to live without her. Stevie can report that devastation; Rowan cannot feel its full accumulation. The premise returns Evie to the Rowan who loved her before the betrayal while blurring the scar tissue that might most credibly resist reunion. Amnesia does not wipe the slate clean, but it has done some suspiciously helpful dusting.

Rowan and Evie also resume physical intimacy before Rowan learns why they separated. The scenes are erotically convincing, and Rowan knows the relationship ended, but she does not know that Evie concealed a major diagnosis and fabricated the loss of love. Rowan can choose the present encounter without understanding the manipulation embedded in the history to which her desire is returning. After the diagnosis, however, the novel almost never looks back at the sex or asks Rowan to reinterpret it. That silence is striking because the concealed diagnosis does not cancel Rowan’s desire; it changes what she knows about the woman who elicited it. Desire arrives before knowledge. Its consequences arrive later than they should.

Once the truth is known, practical repair proceeds quickly. Rowan researches multiple sclerosis, confronts Evie, takes a short time to think, then returns with groceries and a schedule. Meals, appointments, movies, naps, and bad-grip days rebuild trust more credibly than a speech could. But years of deception receive weeks of visible repair and a one-year leap. The mistrust that would make this a true second chance rather than a resumed first one mostly occurs offstage, inside therapy, routine, and elapsed time. The book knows what care looks like once trust exists. It is less patient with the uglier interval in which trust must be made possible again.

Perhaps Claire pays most heavily for that haste. She has cared for Evie through the diagnosis, watched her suffer, developed inconvenient feelings, and been asked to help erase Rowan from Evie’s daily life. The position contains a harder, stranger character than the novel allows. Instead Claire is repeatedly drafted as bodyguard, gatekeeper, rival, interrupter, and eventual emergency caller. Her pain is real, but the plot keeps putting a paddle in her hands and posting her at the dock. Beers sees enough of Claire to make the reduction noticeable, and not enough to let her experience of care truly trouble Rowan’s certainty.

Only after the secret is exposed does the book find its strongest scene. Evie falls at home, fractures her wrist, and again tries to send Rowan away. Her feared future suddenly has broken glass, failed balance, an emergency room, and another person needed. Rowan does not answer with heroics; she answers with a boundary. Evie may be frightened, but she may not turn fear into another unilateral breakup. When the doctor asks who Rowan is, she says partner. The word names a relation Evie had tried to deny her and gives Rowan’s choice a witness.

Uneven as it is, “Back to Square One” earns 76/100, or 3/5 stars. Beers’s sentences do not always match the acuity of her central conflict. The middle circles too long; reconciliation arrives too soon. Still, the chemistry is strong, Rowan’s limited perspective is used intelligently, and the tenderness has been built from meals, fatigue, touch, and time rather than applied as a finish. Its best idea continues working after several of its scenes have stopped.

Late in the novel, Rowan and Evie move into a single-story house chosen partly for accessibility. Earlier, Evie attempted to design Rowan’s future alone by removing herself from it. Now they choose the rooms together: wide passages, ordinary plans, a cat inspecting corners, no stairs where stairs may someday become a problem. Preparation is no longer surrender because neither woman has drawn the floor plan for the other.

Once that house appears, “square one” changes meaning. It no longer names a blank beginning or a sentimental return to the couple they were. Their old life contained love but not truth; their new one contains fear, accommodation, damaged trust, and an explicit choice to remain. Beginning again means beginning where knowledge has placed them, not where memory would prefer to leave them.

Some memories remain gone. The house, however, stands open before them – level-floored, inhabited, ready to shelter what comes next and leave the choosing to them.

[Vita L. Licari]

Rowan was in an accident at home falling off a ladder and hitting her head. She has amnesia of the last 3 years. Hoping her friends can help her, she goes on a week vacation to the lake with them. When she gets there she remembers her (ex) girlfriend Evie broke up with her the last time she went on vacation with her friends. They're waiting on Claire to arrive. When she does she has also brought Evie, Rowan's ex.
What a glorious book! It has a twist that makes it more special.
I love a book that makes you think, and this one does. This is a FAVORITE!! More than 5 stars!

[Brigitte]

This was a sad, but in the end happy read. I don’t know but Rowan came on to me as a sad person. I don’t know if it was the accident or if she was like this before that, but the whole book had such a layer of sadness over it.
This was the first book I read by Georgia Beers. It tells the story of Rowan, who after she took a dive from a ladder, hit her head hard and ended up with a gap of 2 years in her memory. She doesn’t remember her and her girlfriend Evie broke up. She also doesn’t remember how she felt after the break up. In her memories, they are still happy, together as a couple. She’s halfway recovering when she decides to join the yearly trip her group of lesbian friends make to the lake. The last couple of years, after the break up, Rowan didn’t join any more, so her best friend Stevie is happy to take her this year again. She meets the new partners of her friends. Meeting new people is nice for Rowan because she doesn’t have a memory gap for the events that happened in their life the last 2 years. Unexpectedly Evie shows up as well at the lake house. Together with her over protective best friend Claire.
When she’s at the house, Rowan suddenly remembers a moment from her memory gap. The moment Evie broke up with her. It was here at the lake house where Evie said: I don’t love you anymore. But it leaves Rowan with more questions.
Evie seems to take a new interest in Rowan and likes to join her on lake activities. Like taking out the boat. Even though Claire tries to avoid Rowan and Evie to get close together, she can’t keep Evie from following her. Rowan notices Evie has problems with her hand sometimes, and that she gets suddenly tired. She overhears discussions between Claire and Evie as well. Wondering if they are maybe in a relationship together, but none of her friends can confirm it.
Rowan still feels the pull between Evie and her. And Evie seems to feel it too. They get close again, really close. But then Evie backs away. It’s then that she discovers the real reason Evie broke up with her. She is stunned and leaves the lake house early.
Can they repair what they have?
I thought Back to Square One was a nice read. It had a slow pace. The yearning was present. There was only one for Rowan. I was a bit pissed with Evie for leaving Rowan like that. And then leading her on, but breaking up with her again. It wasn’t fair. She made decisions for Rowan. Never gave her a chance.
I loved the friendgroup of Rowan. Lovely sidecharacters. I was also a bit pissed with Claire. It was clear she was in love with Evie too, but why the overprotectiveness.
The book deals with illness and how it can hit you when a loved one is ill. How Rowan showed up for Evie was great.
The book is a bit spicy, but a slow-burn. It was well written.

Thanks to #NetGalleyUk and #BoldStrokesBooks for the #ARC

[Megan]

I have to say that I enjoyed this book far more than I was anticipating. I mean, I thought I would like it just fine like all of the author’s books, but this one was a standout amongst them for me.

I’ve probably read nearly twenty books from Georgia Beers at this point. I've always thought of her books as pretty formulaic--two women meet, they're quickly attracted to each other, they fight it for a bit, they give in, they break up for a usually ridiculous reason, and they get back together a few chapters later...and there's animals. And I'm not saying any of that as a knock against the author. I generally read these books because they’re always well written, enjoyable, and I do know what I'm going to get, which is sometimes all I’m looking for in a book. This one deviated from that formula, though, which ended up being a nice surprise. Yes, there are elements of it there, but this felt a little more original.

I liked both Rowan and Evie and thought they had excellent chemistry. I also liked the friends (though maybe there were a few too many to remember who was who) and enjoyed the lake house setting, which I thought was a nice change of pace. I was happy things didn’t just magically get waved away after the reveal since I thought the reason for their breakup was stupid and unfair, so I was glad things weren’t just automatically okay once the truth came out, and I think I would have reacted in the exact same way. I also thought things were well paced, though I was dying to know what had happened in the past.

No major complaints here. I did think the book was a little redundant at times with people asking if others were okay, which seemed to happen way too much. I also wish we'd gotten a little more toward the end. Maybe one or two more chapters before the epilogue since I thought it ended a little abruptly before that.

For me, this was four and half stars (rounded up) and definitely one of the better Georgia Beers books that if read, if not my favorite one.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Parker]

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with a digital advanced readers copy via NetGalley to be able to read and provide an honest review.

Rowan is suffering from amnesia having lost the past few years after a head injury, including that the love of her life, Evie, broke up with her out of the blue two years ago. As she struggles to grasp onto memories, Rowan goes on the annual summer trip with her friends, and who shows up, but Evie. The amnesia makes it hard to remember they aren't together anymore, but it seems like Evie also is forgetting their break up.

The group of friends made this book for me. The author made them all fully formed, dimensional characters and I understood immediately the love, care, and affection they all had for one another. In fact, can we have a prequel where we learn how Becca settles down for Jazzy and the introduction of Stevie to Sara after a disastrous date with Rowan? Please!

Everyone needs a best friend like Stevie! She stole every scene with her kindness, compassion, and humour. On the other side of the relationship is Claire, Evie's best friend, who I spent the majority of the book not liking, but by the end I'd say she makes for an incredible best friend as well.

The mystery behind why Evie broke up with Rowan really drives the story, and the reason brought out a ton of emotions for me. I completely understood why but was also angry about it too. I'm not going to reveal it here, but believe me that it is worth the build up.

I did find the story ended abruptly, I still had some questions that weren't answered even in the epilogue. I know all stories need an ending, but I would have liked even just two more chapters to close out some of the story lines for the various characters.

I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes second chances, best friends who wants what's best for you, and a little bit of angst.

I will also firmly be in the burnt marshmallow crew.

[Aaron]

OK, back to back amnesia stories that are also kinda second chance but kinda not? (The other being The Rewind Effect, which I also thought was great). Trying to recover the memories lost after a head injury, Rowan goes for a week at a lake house with her closest friends. Then who should show up but her ex-who-she’s-still-with-in-her-memories, Evie. This was the most fun part of the story: the beach house, the friends, the activities, the friends, the food, the friends… maybe you get the idea.

Except for two things, which set up the rest of the story: Rowan shortly recovers the memory of the brutal breakup a couple years back… and Evie-of-the-present isn’t exactly behaving consistently with that. Plus, there’s Evie’s maybe-BFF-maybe-GF Claire, whose laser eyes aren’t helping matters…. And then the second half is figuring out what the hell is actually going on here, and then trying to find a way forward.

So on the one hand, it’s kind of a second chance. On the other hand, it feels more like we stepped right into the third-act breakup on page 1? I mean, not really but… it didn’t feel like a first chance and a second chance as much as… well actually I can’t think of a way to say that doesn’t lean toward spoilerish? It just felt like part of their story. And, once we hit the big reveal, I liked it. I liked the cause, the damage done, the fallout, the endgame… it was a great story to tell.

Really my only gripe is there was a large and wonderful friend group, but only a few of them were really important to the main story. I’d have liked to spend more time with more of them, and maybe get more of a peek into Claire’s future… Perhaps there will be spinoffs, lol.

[Kaye]

(3.5 Stars) Rowan Thomas had a fall that has caused some amnesia. She is missing most of the last few years of her life. Slowly things are coming back. She has a great friend group and decides to go on their annual girls trip to the lake. They are a fun group, caring and familiar with each other. But they are surprised when Rowan’s ex, Evie, shows up with one of the group and they are sharing a room. For Rowan their break up is fresh and new as she has recently recalled it.

I am a fan of Beer’s and have read more than half of her 44 book catalog of stories. This story excels with the reality of the friend group. I could relate to them. I have a friend group that has been going to a cabin for over thirty years. We laugh and cry together. This group is teasing, caring and concerned for each other.

The romance is the weaker part of the story. Everything is told from Rowan’s POV and we hardly get to know Evie. This is a second chance romance but with limited views of their first time around together. Only their meet cute and general feelings are shared. So I didn’t feel invested in there previous time as a couple. And I didn’t feel that pull of will they or won’t they. I guessed correctly where the story was going and I love that they feel safe with each other and how the story works out. I especially like that the smothering mother gives good and doesn’t stay an easy to laugh at side character.

If you like second chance romances you will probably enjoy this one. Beer’s is a consistently good storyteller. For me the romance didn’t hit it out of the ball park but I am happy to have read the story. I thought it interesting that two romances featuring amnesia came out in the same month from the same publisher. But each story is unique. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the digital copy and I am leaving an honest review.

[Andrea (looseleftlesbian)]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Georgia Beers really knows how to write a good story! I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with Back to Square One, but this was a story that kept you wanting to read to find out more. There were secrets that were obviously being held and I loved that we were able to see glimpses and clues along with Rowan. We only get her POV and think that helps as well.

Overall, loved it. Loved the found family, loved how the author explored amnesia, the girls’ trip aspect of it all was so cute and wholesome. I found myself wanting more after the secret was revealed. Rowan’s mom and friends bring up a lot of concerns they they have with the situation (not spoiling, sorry) and they are very warranted. I wish that we had been able to explore that a little more and see more of Rowan and Evie after the reveal. I would’ve loved to see those dynamics, the ups and downs a little more.

Poor Claire is all I’m going to say. While she can be overprotective and a little mean to Rowan at times, I get it. I know what it’s like to be in her position, to be in love with someone who doesn’t love you that way back. She also had been keeping Evie’s secret for three years and I don’t feel like that was fair to her and honestly kind of sh*tty of Evie to ask of her best friend.

Like I said, I loved this, I loved the multitudes of representation the story gave, I think both Rowan and Evie’s stories were important to tell. I just wanted a little bit more of their second chance romance to be explored. There is a lot of credit towards Georgia’s writing because I am usually not a fan of second chance romances but this one, I loved and could get behind.

[SusieQ]

When Rowan wakes up after an accident with no memory of the past few years, she’s certain of one thing: she and Evie Price are still together. Soft kisses, inside jokes, that easy kind of love — it all feels real, present, hers. Except everyone insists they broke up years ago. Determined to jog her memory, Rowan tags along on an annual girls’ trip she apparently stopped attending, hoping frozen margaritas and old friendships will help her piece things back together. But when Evie shows up looking as gorgeous as ever, and the people around her start acting suspiciously cagey, Rowan realizes her amnesia isn’t the only secret being kept from her.

What struck me most was how genuinely the connections between the characters come through, whether it’s deep friendship or the lingering pull of an ex. There’s real emotional depth here — themes of fear, of putting others first, and of the choices we make (or avoid making) ripple through the story in a way that feels honest rather than heavy-handed. The exploration of friendship is especially well done, and the eventual reckoning with love, and what it truly means to choose it, lands with warmth.

That said, this wasn’t my favorite from this author, though it’s absolutely still above average. At times I wanted more clarity: why certain characters reacted the way they did, how Rowan’s memory recovery was actually progressing, and why choices made now differed so sharply from those made three years ago. These gaps kept me from fully sinking into the story the way I wanted to. Still, it’s a heartfelt read with a satisfying emotional payoff — I’m giving it 3.5 stars. I voluntarily wrote this review after receiving a free copy of the book.

[Mar]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance. All opinions are my own.

Apparently memory loss is becoming a theme in my reading this summer, because *Back to Square One* is somehow the third book I've read recently where it plays a significant role. Thankfully, this one really worked for me.

I loved the friend group and the warmth and history they brought to the story. The tension between Rowan and Edie at the beginning of the trip was especially good—there's clearly something happening beneath the surface, but Georgia Beers lets you gradually figure out what you're seeing rather than immediately explaining it. She does a great job of dropping small clues about Edie and Claire along the way, and I found the eventual reveal both effective and emotionally satisfying.

**Spoilers ahead:** Edie's MS diagnosis was particularly meaningful to me because my wife has MS. I was impressed by how authentic the portrayal felt, including the uncertainty, fear, symptoms, and complicated process of adjusting to a diagnosis that can change how you imagine your future. There were moments that felt very true to experiences I'm familiar with, and seeing that represented with such care made this story especially touching for me.

I also appreciated that the book ultimately approaches healing and change through relationships without suggesting that love magically makes difficult things disappear. The friendship, romance, and support surrounding these characters give them somewhere safe to land while they figure out what comes next.

This was warm, romantic, emotionally satisfying, and filled with characters I genuinely enjoyed spending time with. An easy five stars and a particularly meaningful read for me.

[Nia]

I love second-chance romance stories; that’s no secret.
But this story was so much more than that—it was packed with a bit drama, jealousy, awkwardness, also fun and profound themes.
While Rowan’s memory loss is treated somewhat normally—since the plot picks up after the accident has already occurred and she is well into her recovery, making the amnesia simply part of her daily life—there are nuances: she remembers some things, yet an incredibly painful chapter of her life—her breakup with the love of her life—has been completely erased from her memory up to that point.
The story opens with a get-together involving her best friends and their partners. It is a long-standing tradition, though there are gaps in the timeline; there appear to be years when she couldn't or wouldn’t be part of it.
There are things she knows and things she doesn't, but she gradually realizes there are secrets known to everyone else but her.
And then there are matters that seemingly only a very few people are aware of.
The sudden appearance of Evie, her ex, brings a great deal to light—and not just regarding her memory!
It is difficult and sad in more ways than one, though—and I won’t give away any spoilers.
Claire was a difficult character for me at times, yet understandable, and I sort of hope she finds her own happiness.
You can’t help who you love... as for the two main characters, I can only say they belong together.
And no matter how much time passes, you simply can’t ignore deep-seated love and passion forever.
Thanks so much for the review copy to Bold Strokes Books and Georgia Beers 🫶🏼

[Tempe Luvs Books]

Georgia Beers’ books are always a joy to read, and I was pleasantly impressed with this story about a character with amnesia and those who hovered over her to protect her and another who wanted to protect her by hiding a truth, resulting in some drama.

Rowan Thomas and Evie Price had been in a serious, loving relationship. When Rowan fell from a ladder, hit her head and ended up with amnesia. Everyone was curious about what she did and didn’t remember. She was actually experiencing having some things just click back into place, as the doctors had explained would happen.

When Rowan had been in the hospital she had asked for Evie, not remembering that they had broken up. That was typical for what she was dealing with, not remembering certain things, yet having some things suddenly reappear. One horrible flash occurred when she did suddenly remember the breakup and Evie’s hurtful statement that she didn’t love her anymore.

Rowan was finally able to join her loyal group of friends on their annual Air B&B trip to the lake. Not expected, but one who surprised everyone with her appearance was Evie, tagging along with her best friend for many years, Claire. This created a lot of drama and mystery for everyone, which I will not discuss, other than to say it involved the mysterious wonderings of why Claire was acting in a certain way.

Although this was a HEA, there was an unsettling revelation that Rowan learned that was upsetting and demanded the need for communication before it was resolved. The author handled it well, resolving the issue.

Again, yes, I really enjoyed this book and thank NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[teaguebean]

4/5 ⭐

second chance, summer vibes, found family,

to begin, rowan is dealing with retrograde amnesia and no longer remembers the last few years. this includes her now ex-girlfriend evie breaking up with her. she has no idea who or how she was broken up with, just that she was. rowan's best friend stevie gets her to come on the annual summer group friends trip to the lake and that's where the pieces starts to fall back together. memories starts to fall back into place.
both rowan and evie apparently had spent the last 2 years since their break up avoiding the friend group and they really missed rowan and are happy she is there with them again.

in the lost memories, rowan was told by her doctors to trust her intuition, trust her gut feelings. but is it safe for her to trust the ones saying that she is still in love with evie? or will those end up with her being crushed with all of the other apparent secrets being kept between the friends?

the ending felt really abrupt. it didn't feel like things between rowan and evie were actually smoothed over. rowan shows up and then suddenly we are at the epilogue a year later and we don't really get any answers in there either other than that they are still working on their issues.

p.s. i'm firmly on team perfectly toasted marshmallow. i'm the patient one like rowan who with sit and make them perfect for everyone else sitting around the fire who don't have the patience to wait for them to perfectly toast.

thank you to netgalley and bold strokes books for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review

[Scott Cutlip]

Georgia Beer’s Back to Square One almost immediately brought to mind Christmas on My Mind, the Hallmark movie about a woman who has an accident and loses the memories of the last few years. Of course, that’s not the only movie or book that has used this trope. I was familiar enough with it that I went into the book with expectations.

The book subverted them, though. For one, the book comes across a bit more serious than I was initially expecting and the amnesia in the book isn’t so much a focus point, but is instead a tool to highlight the focal point.

Rowan goes to an annual trip with her friends, although she has not been on one in a few years. After she and Evie broke up, although Rown of course doesn’t remember them breaking up. But Evie isn;’t going to be there, supposedly, and she thinks this might be a good way to work on her memories. But then Evie does show up.And Evie has secrets of her own. Such as why she actually broke up with Rowan.

Interestingly enough, this is the second book this week I’ve read that has Evie’s secret (I won’t give away that book’s title, as it has the secret on the blurb for it), which is not a common trope I’ve found in sapphic romances, at least the ones I’ve read.

‘If I could point out anything as a fault, I would say that the blurb does make this book seem like it would be more humorous than it actually is.

Overall, a great book, as long as you don’t go in expecting it to be something it isn’t.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Sue Plant]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

we first meet rowan not really knowing what happened to her but knowing something had happened because of her loss of memory, and that she was off on a break with her friends for 9 days.... 9 glorious days that she could chill and relax and not be smothered by her mom who was her main care giver

but it was also hard for rowan as she was yet again experiencing all those losses yet again and trying to fathom some of them out.... she was told not to rush her memories back to just accept what came back naturally. but finding out the love of her life was gone was so very hard for her....

stevie was rowans best friend and picked her up and together they went to the place they had rented by the lake.... some things never changed and their friendship was one of them plus their friends who were all glad to see rowan again....

what nobody was expecting when claire turned up was that she would bring evie..... evie was rowans ex and it was up to rowan to lead the way to make sure evie felt welcome.. what helped was the memory loss ... she couldnt recall the loss and pain and just went with it making sure everyone could relax...

but she knew evie and the looks she was getting from her didnt add up... what was going on.... tense times ahead and not as relaxing as she had hoped....

ohhh man when this keg exploded it certainly exploded and it leaves everyone reeling with shock....

not a bad read though i have to say not my fav but its still a good read... with an interesting theme

[Fran Sappharc]

I recently read quite a heavy book and followed it up with what I hoped would be a light palate cleanser. The book I picked, (not this) was a bit mad cap but didn’t quite work for me. I should have gone for a Beers chaser that pretty much always hits the spot. The start of this has me believing I made (eventually) the right choice!
Beers does dialogue that entertains but doesn’t exhaust, information that illuminates while entertains….. in short she writes books I want to read!
I loved almost everything in this book, but fantasy or dream scenes rarely work in a book for me. This was no exception. I did appreciate that as the reader I knew more than the main..... or thought I did. I would have liked the mains to have an open conversation to move things along but I did enjoy the gradual clearing of the fog.
The expected plot development happens around 65% and I am not a fan of one mains reaction. I keep telling myself she needs time to process but I am still not a fan. This reaction of mine means I am seeing the characters as real people, which is great.
This novel deals with a difficult subject. It doesn’t shy away from fear of the future but I particularly loved the ending, which isn’t a surprise in a romance, but some beautiful lines crafted by the writer particularly around the meaning of partner. That alone makes me round up to 5.

[Natalia]

Too many emotions in a book; from the moment I read the first page, I was hooked on Rowan and every sensation and feeling she experienced.

The feeling of not knowing something everyone else knows—and trying to trust your instincts—is so intense that I spent the whole time trying to figure out what was going on.

Rowan had an accident at home and, as a result, she cannot remember the last three years. When she asks to see her girlfriend and is told they haven't been together for a while, she tries to piece things back together.

However, when her best friend insists on visiting the cabin where they used to spend their summers with their group of friends she decides to go along with it.

Everything feels strange yet familiar at the same time; everyone around her is acting oddly—and things get even more complicated when her ex-girlfriend arrives

I devoured this book—literally. And while I didn't see that twist coming, I loved that it wasn't the usual things.

Miscommunication, friendship, and unbreakable bonds define the vibe of this book, which feels like a wonderful summer vacation with a little of angst and drama to season a good ending

Thanks to Georgia Beers and her team at Bold Stroke for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

[Sam]

Would you believe me if I said I read this book in a single day (8 hours to be precise), which is equivalent to devouring the story so well written you don't realize where time went? I have read previous books by Georgia Beers, like Aubrey McFadden is never getting married, so her style of writing is not new to me.
Needless to say, I enjoyed Rowan and Evie's story. There are different layers and eras that both of them had to go through to have their happy ever after. It's not all a bed of roses for them; yes , it's 2nd chance romance but even in that, there is a layer of hurt and a much more cruel truth hidden that takes the story on a whole different tangent. We don't get to see the era of 1st time they fell in love or any snippets, hardly and that's because there is so much to unpack in the current situation and for the future. No complaints from me! It's refreshing to see 2nd chance romance and not go down memory lane for once!
One thing Georgia does really well is building her characters! I adore how each character is a complex array of emotions and a 3D personality but somehow manages to be smart, empathetic, and understanding.
It's def. a 4-star for me!!
Thank you for providing me with the Arc!

[Jackie D]

I’m always hit or miss when the story line involves amnesia. Unfortunately, for me this one is going to be a miss. I don’t like that Rowan never got her memory back and Evie kind of took advantage of the fact that Rowan couldn’t remember everything that happened. Evie treated her terribly and kept trying to justify it as not wanting to be a burden but she told Claire…..
The secondary story line of Claire being in love with Evie was garbage. It did not add anything to the story. Evie pretending not to notice and always blowing it off annoyed me. Her acting shocked that everyone thought her and Claire were together after how they had been acting wasn’t believable. It just felt like she was using Claire and then was done with her when Rowan came back. No real resolution came about after all the things Claire said to Evie or Rowan. Didn’t like Claire, but she deserved better.

This story abruptly ends after a text conversation between Rowan and Stevie saying the friend group would step up and be ready to help Evie. Then the epilogue was the next page and it time hopped a year into the future she still never got her memory back and they were moving into together…

The only thing I enjoyed about this book is the cover is really, really pretty.

[Michele]

Rowan Thomas wakes up with no memory of the last few years of her life including the demise of her relationship with her girlfriend, Evie Price. Rowan is now awaiting a girl’s summer trip to a lake cabin. When Evie shows up at the lake house, Rowan begins to wonder what drove them apart.

Although some people may enjoy this book, I generally found that the two main characters lacked vital chemistry and simply seemed boring. I felt this way when they were at the lake house and especially when they returned to their lives following their vacation.

A few quirks that also bothered me included naming two characters similar names, meaning Stevie and Evie. Finally some small details were inconsistent like Rowan’s lake house bed description in chapter one as a queen and in a later chapter a king. Consistency matters.
3 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.