This was my first NetGalley review and it was a perfect one to kick-off my feedback. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is a delightfully witty book perfect for any summer reading aficionado. I requested this book due not only to its premise, but also because of its author, who is local to me here in Wisconsin. With its pitch perfect characterization of an overwhelmed and overtired mom, I fell headlong into Amy's story and rooted for her the entire time. As a mom, I can tell you we've all fantasized about being able to escape at times, so it was fun to read a "what if" story that captured the glitz and glamour of essentially "running away" for awhile. Amy is neurotic, yes, but aren't we all? An excellent choice for a poolside read.

I adored this book. Amy Byler is a single mom whose husband walked out on her and her kids three years ago. She's left to raise her two teenage kids. She dedicated her life to them and lost her identity as she was known only as their mom and nothing else.
Her husband returns and wants to make amends and he takes the kids to get to know them . During that week she is able to find herself and find her idenity.
Its a a book filled with humor and I absolutly adored Amy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to love this book. I enjoyed the talk about the program that Amy was creating for her students and I loved that she was finally taking time for herself in New York after 3 years of being estranged from her husband (ex-husband?). She has been a single mom for these years and managed to figure things out as a librarian at a local school.

I don't feel that I am connecting with the characters. I don't like the added journal entries from Cori, they didn't seem to be adding any extra information for me.

I have seen plenty of better reviews for this one, but I think that since I am not a mother or a wife I didn't see the connection with these characters. It seems like a very average novel to me, but I did like that it was a quick read.



Much thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Kelly Harms for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.

Where to start?
Amy is a mum of two: genius, precocious 12-year-old Joe and brutally honest, witty 15-year-old Cori. Three years ago she had to become a single mum to her kids while working as a librarian and doing her best to make ends meet when her husband up and leaves for Hong Kong and decides he needs distance. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is what happens when said husband comes back and leaves her 'kidless' for the summer because he wants to connect with them. Amy meanwhile goes to New York where she goes on a 'momspringa' for her friend Talia's magazine, meets hot librarian, Daniel, and overall gets to finally enjoy herself.
Yes, the premise is predictable, but Amy is still so relatable and funny. Her kids are a dream and especially Cori's little reading journal entries at the beginning were so funny. Daniel is a dream and I wouldn't mind knowing him in real life either. Amy's friends, Talia and Lena, are just the kind of best friends anyone needs. So why didn't I enjoy this as much as I should have?
I guess it just gave off a feeling of those 'chick flicks' you sometimes see. And while I sometimes enjoy them, this felt just well like a character in a book, instead of a real person. Like how Amy gets one makeover and suddenly her life is great and she can't save herself from dates anymore. Which, don't get me wrong, she and any mum deserve dates and a makeover, but it bothered me that that was literally all she needed to suddenly be okay with being okay in New York and leaving her kids with John, who has been a stranger for the past three years. I don't know if it's just that my love for real and genuine characters was just reinforced with the last couple of books I've read but something was just missing. I WILL say that this is a wonderful beach read though. It has romance, it has funny snorting in public moments and a lovely family. I just expected some more depth.
That being said, thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this for my honest review.

WOW! What a fun story of Amy Byler, the exhausted single mom of two incredible kids. Amy gets the opportunity to refresh her life when her ex-husband shows up after exiting the marriage three years earlier, and wants to reconnect with the kids. He offers to keep them for the summer, while Amy goes to New York, and experiences the life she has been missing.

Amy gets to do all the things we moms feel like we're don't ever get to do - sleep, get our wardrobes and hair redone, meet and date beautiful guys, while all the time staying connected to our kids via text messages. The story is so well written, I felt like I was Amy B., enjoying a new life for a summer!

I highly recommend this book to all moms. Read this book on your vacation - the chapters are short and manageable and you can read some on the flight and some on the beach. You can put the book down for a couple of days and pick it up without having to go back and reread. You'll have a smile on your face when you "turn" that last page!

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms is the warm, witty, and hugely relatable story of the titular character's need to reconnect with herself, following years of shouldering the responsibilities of single motherhood. Many readers, I believe, will recognize at least a part of themselves in Amy.

Amy Byler has been raising her two children alone for the past three years, ever since her husband took a business trip and never returned. But after the extended absence, he has reappeared and offers to take the kids for a week, while Amy takes some time for herself in New York. Reluctant at first, Amy takes him up on the offer, and ultimately rediscovers parts of herself that had long been forgotten, on what becomes known as a 'momspringa', a complete departure from everyday life. But as the end of 'momspringa' approaches, Amy must make a choice. Will she be seduced by the path not taken?

This is a charming read that I'm certain will have many longing for a 'momspringa', or similar, of their very own. Amy resonates as an everywoman, and such is her tremendous appeal as the heroine of her own story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Amy Byler is a school librarian who is raising her two kids on her own after her husband announces he is not coming home from a business trip. Three years later, he comes back and offers to take their kids for a week, as a way to reconcile with them. Suddenly without responsibilities, Amy heads to New York City for a library conference and ends up staying the summer with an old friend and making over her entire life.

The general tone of the narrator is as if she’s talking to an old friend she knows very well. It’s quick but personal, raw but witty. Each chapter starts with a journal entry from her 16 year old daughter begrudging the books she has been assigned to read by her mother while she is gone. It’s whimsical and sweet and illustrates their close relationship in a nice way. This was a fun, light, summer read. It would be perfect as a vacation book.

This tuned out a little fluffier than I was expecting...but was a fun quick read. The main character is abandoned by her husband, leaving her with 2 small children and an uncertain path forward. Three years later he shows back up, wants to rekindle the relationship with his children, but she is not sure what that means for her. He takes the kids for the summer, and she heads to NYC and one of her best friends to figure herself out. Ends up getting a make-over, dating, etc. Fun, cute, just not much meat. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital copy for review.

This book was very mixed for me. It was zippy and smart and funny and a quick, enjoyable read, and I appreciated the point the author was trying to make about the ways in which motherhood can consume and overwhelm women. But I could not get past a lot of the premises and characters, which just felt inexplicable and under developed. The super rich, sole breadwinner husband left because he thought his family would be better off without him, and didn’t even pay child support and nobody asked him to? When he comes back, we keep being TOLD how sorry he is but we don’t actually ever see him really being sorry, just a lot of commentary about what’s wrong with HER and how she’s such a martyr. He never even really explains himself? Then she goes to New York where she conveniently has a BFF she can basically move in with for months on end, and relationships fall into her lap and nothing is hard? I just felt like... I saw where the author was trying to go with this one and I appreciated the idea, but the concepts and relationships necessary to execute it successfully just weren’t built out the way they needed to be.

Great summer beach reading! I thoroughly enjoyed this book about an overworked, under-appreciated single mom who goes off to NYC on a "momspringa." With a little help from friends, she re-discovers herself as an adult and finds new love. The book moves along at a good clip, with interesting characters and no boring parts. Highly recommended to moms who need a fantasy break this summer!

This may be an unpopular but I didn’t love this one! I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I even found the daughter’s journal entries quite boring. The characters were not relatable and the story was not realistic.

This book was super cute!! I love a modern day mom taking a break and living an independent life for a few days. However, I think she should have given her husband a little more grief; tell him off for god's sake!! I thought the relationship between the mother and the daughter was very real.

Amy Byler is a school librarian and single mom trying to do it all for her two kids. Her husband up and left them three years ago when he suddenly returns and wants to spend the summer with the kids, which results in Amy spending her alone time in New York City.

The characters in this book are very charming and relatable, but Kelly Harms’ quick wit and humor are what makes this book so great. I enjoyed Amy’s friends who guide her through her “momspringa” and the journal entries from Amy’s teenage daughter, Cori. This book fits the bill if you’re looking for a lighter read and the literary references will make any book nerd smile.

Thanks to NetGalley for the gift of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Amy’s husband went on a business trip three years ago and never came back, leaving her with their two children, the mortgage, and without a job herself. As most woman do, Amy persevered and has turned things around and is handling this single mom thing with ease. Until she runs into her ex one day and he begs for a chance to spend some time with the kids he abandoned three years ago. After much debate, Amy allows it and decides to spend some time with an old friend in New York City. But Talia is not about to allow Amy to just hang around and read all week, it’s time for a makeover and eventually what is dubbed a “momspringa.” When John begs to spend the rest of the summer with the kids, Amy has to decide if she should come home, or continue to find herself in the big apple.

This book was absolutely darling. For fans of younger-it’s kind of what I had hoped Marriage Vacation would be, though I thought that one fell very short. This was perfection. I feel like I could really understand how Amy felt about leaving her kids, enjoying her time away, and the guilt she felt for it. I loved her supportive friends and the additions she met while in New York. I was rooting for her from page one when she ran into her ex!

🅡🅔🅛🅐🅣🅐🅑🅛🅔. 🅗🅘🅛🅐🅡🅘🅞🅤🅢. 🅕🅐🅝🅣🅐🅑🅤🅛🅞🅤🅢.

Kelly harms! BRAVO! This was such a relatable story told with so much heart and humor, I absolutely adored it! Amy is the single mother of 15-year-old Cory and 12-year-old Joe. Three years ago Amy’s husband John went out of country for work and never came back. Amy picked her self up, dusted herself off, went back to work, and learned how to be a single parent. Now John is back wanting to repair his relationship with his Children and offering Amy a summer off from parental responsibility. What follows is Amy’s summer of freedom, fun, self discovery, love, and a new wardrobe. #momspringa

Amy was such a real and relatable character. As a single mother I saw so much of myself in Amy. It is so easy to get caught up in your kids lives and not make enough time for yourself. But you also don’t know who you are if you’re not a mom. It was so much fun reading about Amy rediscovering herself in New York. I loved the makeover, all the shopping, and all the crazy dates. I also loved her support system her Besties Lena and Tallia, and Mathew who was kind of a bit of a fairy godfather. Also loved the big part that books played in this story. Amy was a librarian and she had this really interesting program she presented at a librarian convention. I’m sure all bookworms will appreciate the amount of booktalk in this book. And there is a hot librarian love interest. Another part of the book I really loved was Corey’s journal entries, Kelly harms really nailed the 15-year-old voice. There was just so much fun and goodness in this book!

This is one of those books that will make you smile, make you laugh, and leave you feeling good when you have turned that last page. The characters are relatable, likable, and entertaining. The storyline is amusing and authentic. I think all moms will absolutely love this book! BUT I think the book will not only appeal to Mom’s it will appeal to anyone who is ever needed a break from their real life, A little re-charge. Simply put this is an uplifting feel-good story with relatable characters and a lot of humor!

*** Big thanks to Lake Union for my copy of this book ***

Predictable but fun account of how one single mother rediscovers her passion for her work, her life and her true self over one week in New York.

Every parent deserves to have a mom/dadspringa!
This is a light, charming read about Amy Byler, a single mom who got a chance to rediscover her own identity and the importance of self-care. Even though not everyone is lucky enough to have a best friend who is a fashion magazine editor who lives in New York City with a spare bedroom and has the time (or her assistant's) and the budget to arrange head-to-toe makeovers, spinning lessons, hot dates, and a new best friend for you, but I love the idea that a group of parents getting together, supporting each other and allow each one of them to take turns in taking a little chill time away from the hustle and bustle of parenthood once in awhile.

I loved this story!!! I got attached to here characters right away!! I think a lot of women and moms can relate to this story!!!! Highly recommend

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler tells the story of single mom Amy and her adventures in New York, away from her children, when her husband returns after leaving the family for 3 years and wants time with the kids. In New York, her magazine editor friend gives her a "momspringa" and she tries to rediscover herself without children, without her ex, and with love? Her journey takes her through many new experiences but eventually summer end and she has decisions to make.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. This was a story about self reflection and forgiveness and a humorous story to which many can relate.

This probably more of a 3.5, if I'm allowed half points. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms was a cute read and I enjoyed her bookish relationship with Daniel in particular. I felt the pain of needing to get away from children as a mother myself, and how it would be hard to let go of an ex-husband even if he super deserved it.
My main issues were a general lack of conflict I felt throughout most of it. The whole time she was just taking a vacation in New York and getting free things and dating hot guys and refusing to date Daniel for invented reasons and obsessing over how happy her kids were to be spending time with their dad. It all just felt like cooked up drama. The real tension did come at the end when she finally talked things out with her ex-husband and realized what she wanted, but I just felt like I needed more of that tension throughout.
Regardless, I finished it no problem and I would say I overall enjoyed myself because it was cute and sweet and I appreciated the message about moms still letting themselves have their own lives.