Love Ms Walsh's stories...especially this one. Have recommended it to all of my reading friends...and libraries.

Y'all, Just Look Up maybe my favorite Courtney Walsh book. I know that's hard to believe because Paper Hearts is phenomenal (not to mention her others), but I'm picking Just Look Up because I literally devoured it.

From the moment I read the opening line I was hook. Ms. Walsh effectively created tension on the very first page. I knew something was coming, but what? Side note: I don't read blurbs, unless I have to.

Every part in the story created more tension, more intrigue. Lane seemed to have a heartbreaking background. I empathized with her and wanted to give her a hug. :) 

And Ryan was the perfect hero for Lane! Perfect, I say!! His wit, charm, and loyalty was refreshing. Even more interesting, her family loved him like their own.

Y'all, there is so much more to this book than just the romantic feels. Although, Ms. Walsh wrote them in spade! Ryan and Lane both have a past to overcome and a God who can put it all into perspective. You'll love Just Look Up.

*I received an ARC copy via NetGalley. This is my own, honest opinion.

This was a sweet, uplifting read. As someone working in a creative field, it really touched my heart. I would LOVE to read more like this.

Such a great novel! I thought the heroine, Lane, was a very well-crafted character. She struggled to outrun her own backstory, yet the frantic pace of her work life impacted her health and she was forced to confront her unresolved issues. Her social anxiety juxtaposed against her intense drive and successful design skills made her a plausible, yet flawed character. Ryan is a delightful hero, humorous and easy to like, yet saddled with a painful childhood and living in constant fear that his own father might have carelessly harmed a family Ryan truly cares about. My favorite aspect of Ryan's character was how he loved Lane well. Selflessly. Their second-chance-at-love will make fans of inspirational romance very pleased. The overall theme of Just Look Up resonated with me, as well. Lane grew to learn that the best stuff of life is NOT the stuff or the achievements, rather we are made in the image of God to love others well, and not to earn His affection or praise through our striving. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

This is a wonderful contemporary Christian novel that has a very simple message. The characters were all well developed and believable. It's easy to get caught up in the story as it moves along quickly. Courtney Lane is a very likeable character that everyone will be pulling for throughout. Very enjoyable! Highly recommended!

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book. Courtney Walsh has does an absolutely excellent job here. The characters are so well developed that they seem real even from the first page and the emotions that she has placed in them just felt so incredibly real. Not like people on the pages of a book.

Lane Kelley left her hometown after graduation and hasn't been back in 7 years when she receives horrible news about her brother that compels her to return back home to the quaint tourist town that's full of memories she would rather never revisit. She intends to keep focused on her work while in her hometown, check on her brother and leave. After all, she's in line for a huge promotion at her Chicago interior design firm.

Ryan Brooks has settled in Harbor Pointe, Michigan after being discharged from the military because it's the only place that felt like home. He is deep into a renovation project that will hopefully boost tourism for his town and he is thrilled to see Lane again, the girl he has secretly loved for years.

Ryan can't find that girl in Lane anymore. She is driven, independent and completely closed off. He begins to chip away at he walls Lane has built when secrets from his past collide with a terrible truth even he is reluctant to believe. Ryan, however, hopes that Lane will see what's been right in front of her all along and just look up.

This is a novel that will beg to be read again and again. It's so good! Lane has carried so much hurt around with her for so many years, and she has decided that she will be just fine without anyone around her to love. The reader can feel the pain that Lane carries inside her heart. She refuses to believe that she can possibly matter to anyone.

Ryan Brooks has always felt that Lane was worth loving, but he just can't get her to believe it. All she wants to do is check on her brother and leave town, getting back to her high powered and never ending job.

Courtney Walsh plumbs the depth of emotions in these two characters, weaving a story that is both heart wrenching and joyful. The themes here include grace, forgiveness and mercy, sometimes when none is expected or even thought should be given. It is a powerful story of family and friendship and what just a simple act of forgiveness can accomplish. I loved every moment and am still thinking about it after closing that last page.

*I was given a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher via Net Galley. My opinions are my own and honest.

"Just breathe. Part of her, she supposed, would always feel like a fraud." ~Excerpt


Lane Kelley is very different from me, but I was still able to relate to her. Perhaps it’s because I know people who are similar to her, or, most likely, it’s because the author is talented. ;)

Just Look Up delivers engaging characters, sweet romance, and a powerful message. We often have our heads dug into our work, burdens, past, etc.—you name it. And in doing so, we miss out on the good stuff.

Lane has a bumpy past with her family. They don’t really understand her and she works hard (literally and figuratively) at proving she’s overcome her wounds of the past. Her relationship with Ryan Brooks is delivered in a wonderfully intricate way that kept me turning the pages.

This is a touching read with a heart-pricking message we can all learn from. Look up, or you’ll miss the blessings in life. (And what gorgeous cover art!)

5 Stars

Cover: Love
Title: Love
Publisher: Tyndale House
Pages: 416
ISBN: 978-1496421487
First Lines: Just Breathe. Lane Kelley rested her hand on her knee, willing it to stop bouncing.

Thank you, Tyndale & NetGalley, for my complimentary copy.

If I could have given this book seven or eight stars, I would have! It's been a while since I read a story that tugged every heartstring - from awwww to outrage to wow! This is my first Courtney Walsh book but I will be actively searching out her others.

Lane Kelley is driven. There's no other word for her. Her drive has her career at the top of her game, ready for the promotion she's been almost guaranteed. News that her brother has been in an accident and lies comatose, could not come at a worse time. Pressure from her family to come home - something she hasn't done in years - collides with the design presentation she's set to give. Will her conscience send her on a guilt trip home and if she goes, how can she possibly keep from going under at work?

Ryan Brooks came home from the war and settled back into Harbor Pointe and into the heart of the Kelley family, the only place he ever felt at home. A contractor, he's bought a community of summer cottages hoping to fix them up and draw tourists to Harbor Pointe. He knows how to open up the spaces in the cottages but decorate them? Not a chance. When the decorator he hires quits to move to California, he is frantic. Where can he find someone good at interior design who can get these done in a short amount of time?

Ryan was Lane 's best, and sometimes only, friend growing up. While nearly every kid in town, including most of her siblings, tormented her about her weight, Ryan remained her friend. Her nickname, Pudge, follows her around making her question at one point, "How much weight do I have to lose before everyone in this town stops calling me Pudge?" Memories of being bullied have crowded out any good memories she ever had of Harbor Pointe. Every person she meets, every place she goes has a memory attached and she has to dig deep to find any good ones. Since she's reinvented herself in Chicago, why would she EVER consider staying, even for Brooks?

For every girl who has ever struggled with her weight, every child who's ever been bullied, every person who's ever felt tied to their electronic devices, every wallflower who ever wished to just once be the belle, Just Look Up could be your story. The hero is one of the best I've read recently. He's steadfast, funny, tender, tough, sweet - in short, pretty much perfect for the heroine. He just needs her to look up from her phone long enough to see that she's had his heart almost forever.

If you couldn't tell yet from my review, I absolutely, 100%, without a doubt in my mind, loved this book. Romance readers will especially want to pick this one up. I kind of hope Ms. Walsh is working on a sequel! What a joy this was to read!

This was my first novel by Courtney Walsh and will not be my last!
This is a real, relatable and refreshing story!
Lane Kelley has made a wonderful career for herself in Chicago. Her clients love her work, she has received many awards to prove her accomplishments and her boss is ready to give her the deal of a lifetime and promote her. Lane's story is engrossing and heart-breaking. It shows how inconsiderate people can be towards one another and what a tole a comment we want to label as "simple" can take on a person.
Long ago, tired of people making her feel like an outcast, Lane embarked to college without ever looking back, thinking she could write a new story for herself. One in which she would finally be enough.
But a wrenching incident makes Lane think that her past will always follow her, and eventually anyone who tries to get close will see the truth that she is not worth something special.
Consequently, she closes herself from everyone and focus her life on the only thing that cannot hurt her and that can give her value, her job.
It's easy to judge Lane and call her selfish and standoffish. And this is exactly the treatment she receives when a tragedy forces her to go back home. Here, the importance of Ryan Brook's friendship shines out.
He has his own regrets and pain but he has never let it define who he wants to be. He's let his past teach him to pour himself on other people's life to do good and help wherever he can.
Lane and Brook's interactions where heartwarming and breath taking. I loved how he took care where she was concerned to not spook her away but at the same time didn't let her distant attitude towards people keep him far.
This book had me cheering and crying and sighing. It ripped my heart into pieces then put it back together.
This book challenged me to "just look up" to what is right in front of me, to find out what is truly important and truly defines a person. To find love, hope and forgiveness. To always believe in possibilities and in grace.

Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh is a predictable and unoriginal contemporary romance. From the first chapter, I was introduced to the main character Lane Kelley and understand her drive to succeed at her interior design career. As the story gently unfolds, I am introduced to the Kelley's family and Ryan Brooks. I learn about what makes Lane tick even though Walsh does a good job at hinting at the dilemma from Lane's past without actually telling us what made her want to run away from home as soon as she started college. As for Ryan, he needed parents and the Kelley's jump right into to provide the home he was looking for. Ryan and Lane are thrown together when they try to work on a renovation project together. Both of the characters transform and allow their walls to fall by the end of the novel. The plot was predictable. They met. They remember the fond feelings. They argue. They laugh. Emotions. Kiss. Together forever. Just Look Up is a good novel for fans of contemporary romances, but for me it was slow, and I knew how the end was going to happen before the end.
I received a complimentary copy of Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh from Tyndale Publishing, and the opinions stated are all my own.

Stock up on tissues, because Courtney Walsh is about to hit all the feels with her newest and most outstanding novel, "Just Look Up"! The story reads like it's from God's ear to Walsh's pen...don't be surprised if it feels like she's somehow read your journal!

"Just Look Up" packs a powerful emotional punch and is filled with characters you'll love,and a few you may want to turn into human pinatas.

But this is more than just entertaining reading. "Just Look Up" is healing and hope-filled, transforming and tender, surprising and satisfying. And did I mention that this is her best book ever?

I cried through 95% of the pages, and I'm so glad I had a digital copy or I would have been left with a soggy mess. I love every book Walsh has written, but she's set the bar mighty high with "Just Look Up", which leaves me very excited to see what she creates next!

Do. Not. Miss. This. Book!

Provocative contemporary romance. Provided food for thought - "just look up" is my new motto!

When I first saw the title of this book, my mind immediately got to thinking this was going to be about the need to 'Look Up' and see ourselves the way God see's us. This isn't the direction that Courtney takes us, however I cannot tell you how strongly this subliminal message resonated with me.

One thing I absolutely must do at the end of a book, is read the Author notes. Here I found this phrase '"Just look up!...Look around at everything you are missing!"' How often do we live our lives, buried deep in our work, our phones, our laptops & computers? Do we miss the beauty that surrounds us, the daily interactions within our homes? Once, I was observing my 5 year old trying to share something with my husband. He answered from his phone but didn't look up. In that moment I knew that we had to stop. Stop focusing on what doesn't ultimately matter, and cherish what does. Life will pass us by while we focus on the unnecessary. This message feeds all the way through this story, even including some of the minor characters. While the general message is one of career & technology holding us down, we also can recognize that Ryan's Dad has missed his entire life due to Alcoholism. Lindsay lost a fragile relationship with her only sister over a bad choice. Lane, wonderful Lane, lost many years due to a focus on a unforgiveable (to her) hurt and pain, mingled in with a slew of unpleasant childhood experiences. Of course, with God, we are able to do the things we don't feel capable of on our own. His grace can help us make changes in our lives to let go and look up. He can help us move past the hurts & sorrows. He can help us overcome addiction. I am so very grateful for every single message I took away from this beautiful story.

Lane Kelley, is a skillful Interior Designer based out of Chicago. She lives her life with one goal in mind. Success. She will do anything to retain it. That includes sacrificing nights, weekends, vacations, sleep & social life. She has one friend, her loyal assistant Chloe. Her loft apartment is her sanctity. She has the control she craved for so long. However, she is entangled into a corporate world that is so competitive even those within her team after using underhanded means in order to oust her. Lane has had her eye on the Creative Director position, and believes this next pitch will be the one that secures it. The call comes to notify Lane that her brother, Nate, the one member of her family who has been loyal to her, has been seriously injured and is in a coma. Will she drop everything and travel the 3 hours home to Harbor Pointe? A place she so desperately never wants to return to, she hasn't been home in years. This could not have happened at a worse time.

Ryan Brooks, raised on the wrong side of the tracks and despite the abuse of an alcoholic father and abandoned by his mother, was rescued by Lane's family as a teenager. Employed by her father to work in the family store in exchange for food and money for Ryan and his sister Hailey, Ryan slowly became a part of the Kelley Family. Escaping to enlist in the Army, he is now home and putting everything he has into a development of 12 vacation cottages. His hope is that by providing more lodging options to tourists he can give back to the town that has given him so much. When the motorcycle accident throws him and his best friend Nate Kelley into hospital, he encounters the one person that he has loved since the moment he first saw her. Never imaging that he would see Lane again, he is taken right back. Back to those years when his sole focus was to ease those little snippets of her personality that made her shine, and that she rarely showed anyone. I loved getting to know these characters. They are so complex, with every raw emotion jumping right out of the pages.

Courtney Walsh writes with such a depth of insight into each and every single one of her main characters. She masters this skill so well. Nothing is hurried. Everything is just right from the scene descriptions to the thoughts going through the characters minds. I love the shore of Lake Michigan, and Harbor Pointe is the perfect sleepy in winter, crazy busy in summer tourist town. The contrast of Chicago, which is a fun energetic city, was perfect. Two sharply differing worlds set against each other, for me there is only one winner - and that would be Harbor Pointe!

Utterly unpredictable, I could not put this book down. This was the best story to complete on Valentine's Day, and has inspired me to make this day great. To put down the devices, and truly treasure every single moment.

Thank you so much to Tyndale & Netgalley for this complimentary advanced reader copy. Here is my honest review.