Georgia Beers

A powerful new romance from a best-selling writer of lesbian fiction.

96 Hours

"Beers gives a welcome expansion to the romance genre with her clear, sympathetic writing."—Curve magazineErica Ryan is flying home from London after a disastrous business trip. Free spirit Abby Hayes is flying into New York City to visit her mother before jetting off again. Both end up in Gander, Canada, when their flight is diverted because of 9/11. For ninety-six hours they share a rollercoaster of emotions and find themselves drawn to one another. Will their nascent connection survive everyday life when they return home?Georgia Beers is the author of eight lesbian romances and has won the Lambda Literary Award and the Golden Grown Literacy Award.

Cheri Fuller

I bought this book when it first came out because I'm a fan of Ms. Beers' work. I also kept putting off actually reading it because I didn't know how the 9/11 aspect would be handled and, well, I just wasn't ready to read it. 

I think this may be the best book she's written - at least of those I've read. And I've read all but her most recent novella/short story compilation, Slices of Life. I got choked up many times and, in some ways, 11 years disappeared. While that's the backdrop and the reason behind many of the emotions displayed by the characters, the focus of the book is the changes that the characters, to include the secondary ones, experience. Of course, the building relationship between Abby and Erica is front and center and the author does a great job of building the tension.

I definitely recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the author's work.

Gracelyn Dottellis

Carol Bailey

I had the pleasure of meeting Georgia Beers in PTown during women’s week. She was promoting 96 Hours. As a good rule of thumb I will read anything that she puts out because I like her as an author. However, and this is a big “however” I really couldn’t foresee that I would read this one. In fact, I told her that there was really no way that I would be able to read it. Using 9/11 as a backdrop for a story is pretty brave, but I know that I personally still get incredibly emotional even discussing 9/11 so I couldn’t imagine putting myself in a situation where I would willingly read a story that revolves around those events. Thus, the avoidance began. Except it keeps popping up in my recommended to read lists and finally someone I know on Goodreads wrote a review that they liked it. So, I decided to suck it up and be brave and read it.

I read the book yesterday and yes there were several spots that made me cry; the brief recounts of the planes striking the towers and the aftermath. Thank God I was smart enough to read it when I was not suffering from PMS or I might have shorted out my Kindle. Having said that, I think Georgia Beers handled the book in a way that lets the reader understand the events that throws Erica and Abby together without overwhelming them. The best description I can say is that she handled it sensitively while letting the characters work through the tragedy and make connections to each other and the people around them.

I’m glad that I read the book. I liked how Georgia Beers handled the characters and how they were changed by the events. It felt real and relatable because I don’t know anyone who was not changed by those events in large and small ways. Would I recommend other people read it, absolutely, with a small caveat: if you were in or near NYC on 9/11 maybe read it with a box of tissue, a glass of wine, and when you are not PMSing.

Megan Cooper

A very short (200 screens on my e-reader) and sweet romance. Abby, a carefree young woman travelling around the world, and Erica, an uptight scientist returning from a business trip, are passengers on a New York bound flight that is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on September 11th. You wouldn't think that 9/11 would be a great premise for a romance, but Beers focuses more on the impacts of that day and the aftermath on the passengers and how it changed so many people. There are some sad moments, and I will admit while reading it I kept having flashes of my own memories of the omnipresent news coverage, but what shines through is the innate goodness that also came out of that - as demonstrated by the support, compassion and kindness of the people of Gander. Both Abby and Erica go through their own transformations and realizations in a short amount of time (96 hours) and those changes follow them as they return to their "normal" lives and family. 

I debated on three or four stars ... three for the brevity, four for the way she handled the subject matter. I'm rounding it to four.

96 Hours

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