If for any reason is a beautiful, insightful and sometimes sad journey into the hearts of Hollis and Emily’s passage into freedom and confidence to be their true selves. I loved the children’s theater and letters from Emily’s mom. This book includes a lot of soul searching and love. And it made me want to go back to Nantucket!
I received a complimentary copy through NetGalley but the opinions are entirely my own.

This story whisked me into a wonderful summer getaway. Nantucket is a spot I can imagine going with these characters I enjoyed getting to know. It’s been 18 years, but Emily was back to a place she had called home. A place where she fell in love with theater and suffered a great loss. The house she used to love is now run down and needs a lot of work if she intends to sell it. She wasn’t prepared for the memories of her mother and that fateful day to smack her in the face like it did.

She runs into Hollis her next-door neighbor who grew up to become a professional baseball player. He’s home recovering from an injury. She meets his daughter, who’s a preteen struggling to get along with her dad. Hollis and Emily resume their childhood friendship as he and his family want to help in any way, they can with the house renovation.

Emily refers to a book her mother left her filled with letters her mother wrote Emily just in case she couldn’t be there to watch her grow up. Emily has most of the letters memorized. They are words she lives by. I enjoyed how the author sprinkled these letters throughout the novel. Here’s a peek at one, ..”As I write this, you are approximately six days, three hours, and thirty-two minutes old. We’ve been home from the hospital for four days, and I’ve haven’t been able to stop looking at you the entire time….I don’t want to mess you up…People always talk about how wonderful it is to have a baby, but no one ever talks about how terrifying it is too. You see, I’m a little bit terrified, and I’m not sure who else to tell. I’m pretty sure my mother would use that fear against me somehow, so I’ll only share it with you, my little girl.”

When Emily gets to the island, she checks on the theater her grandparents donate money to. It’s there she hears things and discovers newspaper articles about her mother’s death that just don’t add up with what her grandparents told her. It’s then she is determined to dig deeper, solve the mystery of her mother’s death and confront her grandmother and demand the truth..

I enjoyed the characters and the plot twists and turns. I disappear into the pages of this story. I didn’t want to climb out. I wanted to stay in Nantucket and be part of the theater group there.

This makes for a fun read and one that would work well for your next book club pick.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com

Walsh is one of my favorite authors and this book is no exception. I adored this book and have read my ARC twice already!

Emily's mantra throughout this book is "I can do hard things." I know that might seem cliche to some but it really is truth and it resonated with me through the whole book.

Often as I read a book I fall more in love with one character than any other - but in this book I really connected with a lot of the characters. I loved the setting of Nantucket and really loved all the theatre parts in the story. Walsh's own personal experience and love for theatre was evident in this book and only made it better. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves theatre because while it isn't the main event it is vital to the story.

I love how realistically flawed the characters are. Each of the main characters is dealing with one or more difficulties in life. The moments of spiritual insight in the book are beautiful and the unconditional love examples that imitate God's love for us between the characters was amazing.

Books are an escape but sometime they also teach us and this one is perfect for learning to forgive and move on with life and love.

The romance in this book was fantastic. So many great kisses and numerous deep and heartfelt conversations. I felt tingles more than once!

I received an advanced copy of this book through the publisher. This is my honest review.

What a beautiful, thoughtful read this was! If For Any Reason transports us to the island of Nantucket where we meet Emily, returning for the first time since her mother tragically passed away 18 years earlier. Upon her death, Emily finds a book full of letter from her mother, written 'if for any reason' she was unable to offer her advice in person. It is through these letters and lessons that Emily has lived her life, keeping love at a distance. What a beautiful idea this was... the idea of letter from a mother to a daughter. As a mom with a young girl, it certainly tugged at my heartstrings and made me think.

Upon her return to the island though, many questions about her past- her father and her mother's death- leave her wanting answers. Throughout the course of the story, we uncover those truths in such a beautiful way. While I must admit I figured out a pretty key 'mystery' very early on in the story, I couldn't put it down trying to put it all together. I loved Emily's character and it was such a delight to watch her discover herself and what it means to belong as the story progressed. And the romance? Oh yes, it was a great one and I did not want it to end!

I believe this was the first book I have read by Courtney Walsh but it certainly will not be the last. If For Any Reason is a fantastic read... one sure to bring on the tissues!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

Courtney Walsh takes readers on a breathtaking journey to the beautiful island of Nantucket in her latest contemporary romance novel, If for Any Reason. After inheriting her late grandfather’s house, Emily Ackerman returns to Nantucket for the first time in eighteen years and reconnects with her childhood friend, now former professional baseball player, Hollis McGuire. Emily’s time on the island unexpectedly leads to answers about her mother’s death years before as she embarks on a journey that will change her life forever.

Courtney Walsh’s passion for theatre definitely shines through in this novel as former Broadway performer Emily Ackerman finds herself in charge of the Nantucket children’s theatre production. Readers who share in the author’s love for theatre will delight in those aspects of the storyline.

One of my favorite parts of If for Any Reason is Emily’s late mother Isabelle’s story. Throughout several chapters of the novel, readers are taken back to the years between 1989 to 2001 to Isabelle’s teenage and younger adult years. The letters that Isabelle wrote to her young daughter are touching and filled with the love and wisdom that only a mother can give. If for Any Reason is highly recommended for readers of contemporary romance, especially readers who have a passion for theatre.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

This book was wow!!!
That’s one of the beautiful things about Courtney’s books. She has the uncanny ability to capture the human emotion perfectly. It feels like she knows you and is describing exactly how you feel!

If For Any Reason did not disappoint me!!!

I love letters and the book has a lot and that drew me in more. It was more heart touching that they were from a mother to her daughter. And I told myself I was going to do something similar to that when I start having kids.

This books touches spots that everyone have had to deal with at one time; who we are, family issues and a sense of belonging.

I kinda pitied and was angry with Emily at one point but I could so relate with her. My heart went out for her when she thought no one wanted her in their lives which induced her wanderlust spirit and the fact that she wanted to fulfill her mum’s dreams. This book winds around her coming into grasps with a Love that is more than anything and anyone’s and a Love that would never abandon her.

Hollis!!! The awesome baseball player was trying to pick up the shards of his life and figure out a relationship with his daughter. I admired his patience with Emily. I loved that he always told her the truth no mater how she felt. He was a true friend to Em.

I love the chemistry between them! It was electrifying.

I particularly enjoyed reading about the McGuires. They are a delightful family.

Jack! Jack!! Jack!!! I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt meeting Em. But I liked that he made an effort. Yeah! I admired the fact that he came back for a second and third chances.

This book will tug at your hearts strings with God’s unconditional love and what happens when we forgive and let go, and live God’s plans for our lives.

I received a copy of the book from publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.

IF FOR ANY REASON by COURTNEY WALSH is a "double romance" novel, beautifully written, poignantly sad in parts, but full of hope throughout.
Emily Ackerman comes to Nantucket in order to repair her grandparents' holiday home, which her grandfather has left to her. She was largely brought up by her grandparents, who gave her and her mother, Isabelle, all that money and prestige could provide.
There is something very mysterious about her mother's death in a car accident, and Emily is determined to find out the truth. Life changed for her that day when her grandparents whisked her off the island, never to return.
Emily has never settled down. She has a collection of letters her mother wrote her when she was growing up, which she has clung to, believing all that her mother has written and trying to fulfill her mother's dreams. After a successful career as a child star on television, and appearing on Broadway, she makes some foolish decisions and arrives on the island broke.
Hollis McGuire and Emily come from opposite ends of the social scale, but they were childhood friends. When he arrives on the island with his daughter, Jolie, he is a broken man who is trying to get to know the twelve year old who he has largely neglected, also due to some bad decisions. Emily feels strongly about this, as she has never known who her father was and thinks that he never wanted her, running away when he found out her mother was pregnant.
We see snobbery at its worst with the country club set, of whom the Ackermans are virtually the king and queen, who treat the McGuires and JD as lesser human beings. We see both Isabelle, and then, Emily bucking the system and wanting to live a normal life with normal people as friends.
We see how Jolie's hero worship of Emily and her longing to act restores Emily's love for the theatre.
I do not want to tell you any more except to say that relationships play a huge role in this book, and the author's understanding of human nature shines right through. It is a story of second chances as we see how the Lord takes hurting people, making them whole, often through the ministrations of other broken people.
It is altogether a lovely book, with a strong Christian message and a really good story, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I was given an ARC of the book by Tyndale House Publishers from NetGalley. The opinions in this review are completely my own.