The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh Review

 Happy Friday Sweet Friends :)

We've made it to the weekend, and I pray that you've all had a wonderful week.

Mine definitely had its ups and downs, but I'm looking forward to the weekend ahead as I hope to get some yardwork caught up, try some new recipes, and spend some quality time with my favorite people.

Before I dive into all that however, I'd love to share with you all a review for an upcoming release that I recently had the opportunity to read and review.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below for today's full review.

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: July 2nd, 2024

Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary/Chick Lit

Synopsis:

A near-death experience catapults workaholic junior editor Kelsey Worthington into changing her life--one yes at a time.

Kelsey Worthington always dreamed of being a writer, but she's settled into a routine of helping other people tell their stories in her job as a junior editor. She doesn't go outside of her comfort zone. Her relationships are safe. Her job is secure. Her existence is stable. And she's great with that.

And then, the accident.

While she's in the hospital overnight, she meets an older woman named Georgina Tate--a glass-ceiling-shattering, wildly successful businesswoman. Georgina sacrificed everything to become the woman she is today, but now, with a pair of failing kidneys and only a handful of months left to live, Georgina is forced to come face-to-face with her regrets. Kelsey is forced to reckon with her own list of "things I'll do someday," and she starts to ask a simple but life-changing What if I said yes to all the things I normally say no to? And The Yes Plan is born.

It takes some convincing, but Georgina finally agrees to go along with Kelsey on her Summer of Yes adventures. The two of them set off to see what might be out there waiting for them if they simply open themselves up to it. Together, they say yes to whatever comes their way--a whole day being tourists in their own New York City, dinner with strangers, a convertible that is far from practical but so much fun. But when Kelsey springs a surprise visit to Georgina's son Hayden and Georgina's ex-husband (who is not so much of an ex), the older woman is less than thrilled. But this is where the true journey begins.

Two stories of love, forgiveness, regret, romance, and finding a way to live a fearless life intertwine as these two women make an indelible impression on each other. And it all starts with a simple "yes."

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Courtney Walsh used to be one of my favorites. To this day, her SweetHaven Cycle books, and Hometown Girl remain on my list of favorite stories I've ever had the chance to read. However, I've found the new direction she's taking her stories lately to not really be my cup of tea, and I hadn't enjoyed the last couple I'd picked up. The premise of The Summer of Yes sounded promising though, so I decided to give it a go and hope for the best. Unfortunately, this one ended up being more like her last couple of books than her older ones, and I'm starting to realize that her new style perhaps just isn't for me.

Courtney does have a way of writing her stories that drags the reader right in, and I always enjoy how her fun personality shines through in her storytelling through witty remarks, pop culture references, and back and forth banter between the characters. Even though there was more that I disliked about this book than liked, I think it speak to the talent of the author's writing that I was still wanting to read to the end regardless.

The "finding ourselves through a road trip" plotline has been done many times before, and it's starting to feel a little redundant at this point. Unfortunately, nothing stood out about this one as original, and it ended up feeling like quite a few chick lit stories that have come before it. Sometimes when a plot doesn't feel that original, the characters make up for it, but that wasn't the case here either. Both main characters were honestly juvenile, unlikeable and one dimensional. I never grew to care for either one of them, and didn't think their growth felt natural or authentic unfortunately.

As this obviously is a "romance" novel, the romance should have been the main selling point, but both felt flat for me. The romance of our older protagonist Georgina didn't seem believable, and I had a hard time believing the way all the loose ties were wrapped up without any expected consequences. The romance of the younger protagonist Kelsey was insta love without a doubt, and as such, even though I enjoyed her love interest, it didn't feel believable or realistic for both to end up feeling the way they claimed they did.

Perhaps, however, what I disliked the most was the fact that this is marketed as Christian fiction, but it really wasn't. While I understand that Christian authors are often choosing to write clean, rather than faith based in this day and age, it just felt like with how heavy some of the storyline was, it was a missed opportunity to not have the characters come to terms with His never ending grace along the way.

Overall, this was a cute, summer beach read but it lacked depth, and isn't one I would find myself wanting to reread in the future. I've loved a lot of Courtney's earlier works, but this one ended up being a pass for me personally. Regardless, if you enjoy cleanish chick lit with girl boss main characters, then this might just be the title you've been waiting to curl up with this summer.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I pray you all have a wonderful weekend :)