A #momspringa! What a great concept! I can tell you a lot of my mom friends could use one.

Amy Byler can do it all by herself. She is a single mom, overworked and underpaid. Her husband shows up, offering to take the kids for the summer, after leaving them to fend for themselves for three years. Amy reluctantly agrees. She goes to New York to stay with a friend and what follows is a city adventure and a lot of learning about herself as a person and as a mother. Great summer read.

Thank you for NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A light read that I honestly found to be a bit boring... I had to force myself to return to this one. I felt like as a mom of two I could relate to some of Amy's struggles and experiences but that was all I really took from this. The letters from Amy's daughter, Cori, throughout the book didn't ring true. This was only okay.

When Amy Byler's husband decides to take off for three years, she manages to save the house, find a job, and continue raising her children. When he suddenly reappears in their lives, showering the kids with expensive gifts, she has to re-evaluate everything. Does she want him back? Do the kids want him back?

Amy uses the time to attend a professional library conference in New York where her teaching ideas get widespread attention. Her friend, a magazine editor, suggests a makeover--to be featured in the magazine. Amy goes along with it and ends up rediscovering the person she was before parenthood and financial worries.

Readers will enjoy her journey, as well as learning what decisions she makes about her future.

Overdue Life of Amy Byler is a great, light summer read. I took it with me on vacation and it was exactly what I needed. I'd recommend this to library patrons who are looking for a fun beach read.

This book is great! Very funny and charming. My daughter even read it and loved it. Thanks netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I began The Overdue Life Of Amy Byler a little over two weeks ago. After reading Recursion I was desperately in need of something light and fun, I was also very very busy with work so I thought this would be the perfect escape. On the one hand I was correct, TOLOAB was light and fun and on the surface didn’t make me think too hard. On the other hand, an escape? Ehhhh...maybe not so much. TOLAB hit very close to home. Amy and I are similar in age, her kids are the same ages as mine and with the exception of the fact that I am happily married, whereas Amy’s husband of 15 years decided to take a three year “break” from marriage and parenting on a whole other continent,I was able to see much of myself in this book.

Amy Byler is burnt out. She is a single mom holding her life together by a thread. Managing two kids, a job that she loves, a mortgage, a shoestring budget, private school tuition, dive practice, STEM projects, and navigating adolescence all on her own after her husband John flew to Tokyo for work three years ago and never came back. But much to Amy’s surprise who does she run into at her local pharmacy? None other than her estranged husband John, and he wants to make amends...with the kids.

Upon much debate and consideration Amy decides to let John keep the children for a week, which turns into a summer, which for Amy turns into a #momspringa! What’s a #momspringa you ask? A much needed guilt free break from all things mom related. A chance to rediscover who you were before the children arrived. So Amy sets off to a conference in NYC, just hoping to get a few continuing education hours but she ends up with so so so much more!

TODLOAB explores the overwhelming guilt mothers sometimes feel when they are away from their children and God forbid having a good time, the crushing realization that they just may be alright without you and the question of whether it’s possible to rediscover yourself and be the person everyone expects you to be at the same time.

Karen Harms debut novel is fun, funny, unexpectedly thought provoking and a love letter to the city that never sleeps. Definitely a great book club selection, I think this book is meant to be discussed with fellow moms if for no other reason than to fantasize about your own #mymomspringa.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler tells the story of a librarian in charge of raising her two kids, ages 12 and 15, after her husband John suddenly up and left their family 3 years prior to move to Hong Kong. In that period, Amy dedicated her existence to being the best mother she could be, in addition to working hard to support her family on a single income, while her husband created a new life for himself. Out of the blue, John shows up and wants to be a father to his kids again. Amy is presented with an opportunity to stay with her friend Talia, who runs a women's magazine, in NYC and ends up being the inspiration for a big summer feature. Amy spends the summer getting a makeover, hitting the gym, dating and finding herself (and also taking care of herself, putting her needs first for once!). At the end of the trip, she finds herself grappling with the feeling that she was a bad mother, that she was selfish to take the time for herself, and that her kids are going to like their father more than her because of all the fun they're having.

I loved this book because it was so realistic. A single mother putting her needs first and feeling guilty for that is a feeling that resonates with many other mothers. The novel tackles issues of the modern woman/mother with witty humor and candor with clear feminist ideals. It's not about being the perfect mother or trying to be the perfect wife at the sacrifice of your interests, personal needs and independence. It's about giving it your all as a mother but making sure you're dedicating just as much of an effort to yourself. Amy Byler learns that motherhood is not the only way she can define herself. She's a librarian taking the literary world by storm with her innovative ideas. It's a woman who can feel attractive and go on dates. It's a woman who takes care of her health and wellness. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is one of the best women's fiction novels I have read.

I truly enjoyed this novel. I think it is relatable to every mom who has found that she has sacrificed her entire self and is not sure what she has left once her kids are gone. The characters were fun and quirky and the story was enjoyable. I will be recommending it to many of my mom friends.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms for review. Available now.

I loved this one. A single mom librarian who’s run away husband comes back to try and make up for time he has missed by taking the kids for the summer. Amy heads to NYC for a library conference and is roped into a magazine article by her friend. It’s about #momspringa and Amy gets a break from all things mom life (well as much as a mom can let go anyway).

It’s a fun book with lots of connection to what happens to your life when you are a mom and what will happen after the kids are gone and you have to have a real person life again. Really hit home with me and was funny and heartwarming all at once. Definitely the perfect book for the beginning of summer vacation! Plenty of library and book nerd jokes and references too which made me very happy.

What a surprising delight this book turned out to be! Amy is like many moms; stretched thin, overworked and under appreciated. Her ex husband enters her life again after an absence with a proposal to watch the children while Amy goes to the big city for a break.
Kelly Harms writes whipsmart dialogue that alternates between funny and bittersweet. This was the first novel that I've read of hers and I'll be planning - no, looking forward to her next book.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. @tallpoppybloggers @tallpoppywriters @kellyharms #booklove #bookstagram #bookcommunity

This was a fun quick read but very predictable which I didn't mind after some of the heavier books I've read lately. I loved the supporting cast of characters, especially Lena, and enjoyed reading Amy's journey to finding herself again.

What overworked mom doesn't dream of letting go and revisiting a child free existence in NYC? That's exactly what title character Amy Byler finds in Kelly Harms' new novel. When her ex-husband returns to town hoping to make amends and rebuild a relationship with his kids, Amy finds herself a world of possibilities open to her. Although slow at times, this book is a lovely beach read that fans of Emily Griffin may enjoy running away with!

I was fortunate to receive a free ARC of this book from Netgalley. The above thoughts, insights, or recommendations are my own meek musings.

4.5 STARS

What a wonderful story to escape in! Amy is a single mother of 2 teenaged children. Her husband up and left the family 3 years ago. He now returns to make amends and wants to spend the summer with the kids and Amy goes off on an adventure...(first unwanted)...to NYC.

I loved Amy! This story is very heartwarming and easy to follow. The writing is wonderful. You are rooting for Amy all throughout the story. She is quite endearing!! For fellow book lovers there are many nods to popular books in the story as Amy is a librarian. I thought the intro to each chapter when Amy's daughter is writing in her journal was very clever.

Thank-you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for granting me access to this Advanced Reader Copy. It was a joy to read!

Okay, I kept seeing this book everywhere and assumed it would be another way too cringe inducing sex scenes of a newly single Mom roaring through NYC. I. Was. So. Wrong. It was a light read but still so so good and I really enjoyed reading it. It was perfect after just finishing up a very heavy dark read but it was still very good! I definitely highlighted some books and quotes. As a single Mom, so much of it was so relatable.

The book was really good, the characters, plot and writing style were outstanding.
highly recommended .

This is the story of single-mother Amy Byler, whose husband returns from the blue after abandoning her and their two children three years later. Amy's husband, John, regrets his action and is ready to be the father his children deserve. He wants to get re-acquainted with the children so he offers Amy a week off while he spends time with the children over summer vacation. Amy, a school media specialist, uses that time off to attend a librarian conference in New York City. After a week, John and the children are having a great time re-connecting and John offers to take over parenting for the rest of the summer. Amy stays with a friend and becomes the focus of a magazine's total life makeover of a single mom, dubbed "mom-springa", a play on the Amish rumspringa. Amy finds herself focusing on herself for the first time in many years and enjoys the time and pampering while also missing her children and questioning her parenting.

This was a fun and enjoyable book that I think many parents could relate to. I liked the characters and enjoyed Amy's journey and reflection. I would recommend to parents and fans of women's fiction.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Amy Byler had me from the very first chapter. I immediately adored the candor with which her story was told. She persevered through a husband who up and left her with her two children while she was financially unable to immediately give them what they needed. However, she fought back and got her life together. Three years later, her husband reappeared wanting to be a part of their children's lives. This story of finding yourself and learning to love yourself unfolds from there. We may not be perfect, but Amy Byler helps us to realize that we are all perfectly imperfect.

3.5/5

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I loved the connection to books, the NYC adventures, and the sense of reality the author portrayed. I feel as if I would've enjoyed it a little more if I was a mother, but the author wrote it so well that I could understand how burned out Amy felt, but also how conflicted she was as she let go of some of her responsibilities for the time being. I think everyone can relate to needing a break! This story was a fun take on how to care of yourself and what can happen when you let others help you. I loved the idea of a momspringa and think this was a great, quick and fun read!

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARC.

It took me about a third of the book to really get into it. However, once I did, I really enjoyed it. It was fun to watch Amy make mistakes and find her way to her happier self. I'm not sure I would recommend it, based largely on the fact that I didn't fall in love with the book immediately.

Amidst a sea of heavy-duty novels and oppressively grim films that remind one of sunshine years gone by, I have found my guilty pleasure: light, springy feel-good novels about ordinary folks turning their lives around.

Maybe it's the pleasant thrum of seeing other people find their own paths. Maybe it's admiration of stories that are not my own. Whatever it is I see in these works -- works like those of Fredrik Backman's, like <i>Trophy Life</i> and <i>Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</i> all their other innumerable counterparts -- I cannot name, but it is something that is reaffirming and uplifting and ultimately entertaining enough, beyond all its countless cliches.

<i>The Overdue Life of Amy Byler</i> is the story of how single librarian mother Amy Byler, after her husband returns after three years and takes her kids off her hands for the first time in forever, travels to New York for a well-needed break -- and, in doing so, rediscovers herself. Classic film and book premise, with all the expected tropes. It's the premise we all know and love: Individual A leaves to unwittingly find herself in a foreign place and meets new obstacles and people (and true loves) in the oddest of places.

Is it tacky and overdone? Maybe. But amidst all the odd epistolary snippets and the cringey jokes and piles of fashion descriptions (and even sort-of-floppy Twitter hashtags #momspringa), I was still glued from start to finish, just so I could see what fun things Amy got up to.

<i>The Overdue Life of Amy Byler</i> in of itself is not the most remarkable; in fact, it's quite ordinary. It has unadorned, personable writing, archetypal characters, and nothing too out of the blue. Some plot points were even a little unfounded, but in all honesty? Reading this was a light, quick way to pass the time.

So yes, if you take it as it is, it's a great novel about what maybe everyone secretly dreams of, deep down inside. I flew through it. Let us hope that in a world of overworked, overlooked individuals, all the more people can find their own escapes.