I always enjoy Courtney Walsh books. She has a way of writing such lovable characters, The Summer of Yes was no different.

“Saying yes to simple pleasure might be even more important to me than saying yes to big things. After all, it’s the little moments that make a life.”

It is so easy to get sucked into a schedule, or routine and let time pass you by. Usually it takes some sort of unplanned shake up to open your eyes. Which is exactly what happened to Kelsey. After an accident she finds herself in a hospital room, alone and questioning all the decisions she made up until this point. That is until she meets Georgina, and decides to make some big changes … starting with saying yes … to everything’

Younger characters befriending older ones is always my jam. I loved that Georgina was a little crabby, but got sweeter the more she was around Kelsey, and the more we got to know about her. I enjoyed their friendship and how they ended up bringing out the best in each other. Although their relationship was the center, I loved the sneaky little bit of romance we got in this book.

“You’ll never be happy if you listen to what everyone else says about you, Kelsey. It’s what you say about you that matters.”

The Summer of Yes is a wholesome story about finding saying yes and finding yourself along the way. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, however it was a little too predictable and cheesy for me. It read like a Lifetime movie with a lot of clichés - so wholesome, NYC gal falls for the country boy, quits her job but finds something even better, befriends boys grumpy mom and they all become a family.

Every once in a while you stumble across a book that you were meant to read, that connects with what’s going on in your own life more deeply than you anticipated. The Summer of Yes was that book for me. I was pulled to it from the title and the description about two workaholic women, having recently made my own significant career change for some similar reasons. What I didn’t anticipate was how beautiful the character development would be and how much I couldn’t put the book down. I highlighted so many passages and expect this book will be in my thoughts for quite some time.

Courtney Walsh is an automatic buy and read for me, and this novel is no exception to that. This is such a fun, feel-good, beach read book that follows Kelsey and Georgina through their Summer of Yes! Kelsey has an accident that requires her to stay in a hospital with a famous roommate. Upon meeting her, the two take on a challenge together to say yes to things, changing the course of their lives forever.

I loved this so much. The perfect light rom-com to read in the summer and to make you smile.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio as well!

This was a fun adventure and thoughtful story. Kelsey and Georgina are unexpectedly brought together and find out they are both overworked, stubborn, and missing out on life. They decide it is time to make a change and both challenge each other when they need it most. This story has a great message about focusing on the present and taking time for your loved ones. I can't wait to read more from Courtney Walsh.

Read if you like:
-Road trips
-Adventure
-Female Friendship
-Second Chances

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing and NetGally for this Advanced Release copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this tender yet fun story. Perfect for summer reading - light but still tugs at the heart.

Kelsey Worthington is a workaholic and doesn't like to take risks or step outside of her comfort zone. After being hit by a car and surviving, she meets Georgina Tate - a well-known successful business woman - in the hospital. Georgina has everything she's dreamed of, but has said no to some pretty important things along the way. Kelsey starts to question if the life she is pursuing is really worth it. Kelsey convinces Georgina to join her on a Summer of Yes adventure!

I really enjoyed this book! It was so unique and had all of the great qualities that I love about Courtney Walsh’s writing. It did start out a little slower paced for me - but that may have just been my mood. I was unsure about Georgina at first, because she was pretty unlikable. But by the end, Walsh really had me caring about her and being able to empathize. I love it when authors do that!! There was such a good message in this book about taking risks, forgiveness and grace!

The male characters in this book were wonderful and so full of love and grace!! This was a great summer read! I highly recommend!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the e-book and audiobook to read and review.

Looking for a summery book to stick in your beach bag? Found it! ✔️
Crave a lighthearted, fun story that’s also thought provoking? Got it! ✔️
Love a book that reads like a heartwarming, inspirational movie? Look no further! ✔️

☀️ This is the story of two women in different stages of life who strike an unlikely friendship and have a meet cute of sorts in a hospital room.

☀️ Realizing the two very different women share a common bond of regrets in life, Kelsey wants to start saying yes to more things in life— and wants Georgina to come along with her on a Summer of Yes trip so that she too, can start living life more freely, especially in the face of a dire medical diagnosis.

💭 My thoughts:

I love books about the power of friendship. Although Georgina is prickly and hard to get close to, Kelsey keeps trying. Why? Because she sees something worth uncovering beneath all of Georgina’s armor. And that’s the gift of friendship. Someone who cares deeply, invests in you, and sees you for who you really are. We all need a friend like Kelsey and may we all strive to be a little more like Kelsey in our own friendships.

This touching yet humorous book takes a good look at what’s truly important in life and reminds us life is short: so love the people in your circle fiercely, embrace new opportunities and remember to say “yes” to more things that make you happy.

Other Highlights I Loved:

🩷Coastal setting
🩵Themes of forgiveness, grace and reconciliation
💛Dual POV
🤍Witty and sarcastic banter (so many laugh-out-loud lines!)
🩷Second chance romance
🩵Two romantic love stories featured
💛Women supporting other women
🤍Kelsey and Georgina’s evolving relationship
🩷Kelsey’s creative writing gears being switched on
🩵JP, Georgina’s assistant
💛Road trip adventures
🤍Taking risks and trying new things

Content: kisses only, no language. Car accident, terminal illness, parent abandonment/estrangement, marriage separation.

A chance encounter between young editor Kelsey and a legendary businesswoman Georgina leads to an unlikely companionship and a summer of "yes"!

I just loved how wholesome this book was! Be warned, it is going to make you feel all kind of feelings! It did make me cry, and not too many books do Kelsey is an interesting character. She is quite persistent and I won't lie, she got a tiny bit on my nerves trying to coax Georgina, an elderly woman on dialysis, to go on adventures. But, just like Georgina, I did warm up to Kelsey eventually and even began liking her "writer's brain" and her running narratives. The banter in the book is hilarious. The novel really inspires you to take leaps of faith, make amends, chose kindness and family, and maybe even say 'yes' to a second chance at love. And... there is an amazingly wonderful new book boyfriend on the block!

This is a beautiful heartwarming story about family, grace, forgiveness and preserving love. I would reread this book in a heartbeat

4.5 ⭐️
This was the CUTEST and most heartfelt summer read! When our fmc, Kelsey, has an eye opening wake up call, she decides to start saying yes for the first time in her life. Yes to adventure. Yes to happiness. Yes to fun. This is a clean read, no cursing, no spice. The love story is so sweet and the mmc is super swoony. There were so many emotional moments that had me reflecting on my life, too. I enjoyed every minute of this. 🩷

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction & NetGalley for sending this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I will definitely be reading more by this author!

3.5 ⭐️

This was a perfect summer roadtrip down the East coat audiobook for me! This book was kind of the same vibe as Letters to Juliet for me.

Kelsey is in sort of a slump and not super content with her life. While in the hospital she meets an old lady, and sorts of forces a friendship on her 🤣 Not gonna lie, the first 40% or so of the story was very slow. I appreciated having an audiobook to listen to.

Kelsey and Georgina embark on a journey to reconcile her with her family, knowing Georgina doesn’t have much longer to live. Reflecting back, I have some issues with Kelsey inserting herself in others business and forcing Georgina to do things she didn’t want to do. However, the roadtrip is where things picked up and I was vibing with the summer coastal feels. Kelsey meets Georgina’s son 👀 and they have their own little summer romance moment. I do love that Courtney Walsh is a Christian and clean writer, so the romance felt very lighthearted. And while I don’t usually read just women’s literature, I’m glad that a significant part of the book was focused on Courtney and Georgina’s journeys of saying yes rather than having this be another romance read.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this!

Some books come to you when you need them, and this book was one for me. Just like Walsh’s THE HAPPY LIFE OF ISADORA BENTLEY, this too has a wonderful message of living your best life. Say yes when you can, but make sure it’s something you want to do, but be brave to try something new.

Kelsey and Georgina were awesome. They were so well done. As always, Walsh does an incredible job with her characters. (All characters were so well done). I loved Kelsey’s decision to say yes and how she dragged Georgina on her Yes journey. But it was something Georgina needed in her life, just as much as Kelsey.

There are so many funny moments, Georgina especially had me laughing so hard. The development of Kelsey and Georgina’s characters was perfect. I loved their adventures with the Yeses that brought so much humor and joy to their lives. And of course the dual POV with Kelsey and Georgina added so much to the story.

HUGE thank you to the publisher for the NetGalley approval for the ebook and the audio. The audio narrators did a fantastic job!

Kelsey has always lived her life with work as her main priority. So when a freak accident happens, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on what she really wants. Then she meets Georgina, an older woman with a thriving career but a broken personal life. Cranky, set in her ways Georgina wants nothing to do with Kelsey’s summer of yes but it may be just what she needs.

Courtney Walsh books are always such a warm hug. They’re cheerful and optimistic and full of positivity. The Summer of Yes is no exception. It’s all about saying yes to the things that scare you and make you uncomfortable. It’s about living your life to the fullest and taking risks.

I love that this book has romance (with two couples!) but the story doesn’t focus on that entirely. There’s so much growth with Kelsey and Georgina, individually and in their relationships. It was so heartwarming to see them soften toward each other and also learn to appreciate everything they have.

More things to love:
-the small coastal town
-closed door romance
-an older couple
-second chance romance
-adventure

This was a very sweet, wholesome read. It was a welcomed change of pace from some of the other books I've been reading.

Kelsey suffers an accident that has her rethinking her life and all the choices she has made up until this point in her life. She meets Georgina, an older woman, in the hospital who is very similar to Kelsey in that she has put career before anything else. Kelsey fears if she doesn't make a change, she will look back on her life with regret and Georgina is sharing with Kelsey, she is living proof that is exactly what is going to happen. Kelsey decides after her time in the hospital, she wont end up like that, and is going to have a Summer of YES! After a lot of coaxing, Kelsey convinces Georgina to join.

While very predictable, I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kelsey and Georgina. I liked their banter, how tenacious Kelsey was, and how stubborn Georgina was. I also appreciated the author not only gave you the dialog but a glimpse into what they were thinking. Even though Georgina portrayed herself as a cranky no nonsense business woman, she was not at all that.

More then anything this book gave me a lot of food for thought. No often feels like the safe answer but what am I missing? What would be so bad if I said YES?! Really appreciated this perspective at this time.

This was a slower paced offering than what I’m used to with Courtney Walsh. It just wasn’t as snappy and quick as her books usually are, and the plot was very slow in the beginning. The characters weren’t very deep and I feel like we didn’t really get to know them well— Georgina was just kind of mean and never really came around and Kelsey didn’t really seem like the workaholic she claimed to be. We didn’t see enough about her life to understand her.

Overall I loved the premise and idea of the book, but it took awhile to get into and had less character development than what we usually see from Walsh. So I thought it was okay, but not her very best.

This book!! I was a bit hesitant going into this book because I love Courtney's romances, but this book, at least based on the description didn't promise that. My hesitations were unfounded as the characters quickly captured my heart. The friendship between two similar people in different stages of life showed me that sometimes the romance of life is all you need in a story. This book made me excited to live life. I also think we become too comfortable in our situations sometimes, so saying yes to something that might scare us can open doors to opportunities we never thought possible. The characters were so wholesome and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. (Plus, there were romantic scenes that had me giggling and kicking my feet from how blazing sweet they were).

Sweet light story about a woman, Kelsey, who has an accident that makes her question her life up until now. Is it worth it to be a workaholic? Is she shutting people out of her life too much? Is she too afraid to take chances?

A chance encounter with an older, very successful businesswoman (who is all Kelsey thinks SHE wants to be) makes Kelsey decide she has to mix it up and say "yes" to a lot of new things. Along the way she may find some romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC #sponsored

The Summer of Yes is a lovely story by Courtney Walsh with many object lessons embedded within. Kelsey Worthington feels as though her editing prospects are growing as she has a million follower TikTok influencer coming for an appointment to discuss a possible book deal. But it is on that morning her boss sends her out to get coffee since his assistant is out sick. On her walk back to the office Kelsey is hit by a car that jumped the curb and lands in a hospital bed. No good deed goes unpunished!

The next unexpected event is to end up with one of the most important business women in the nation in the bed next to her. Georgina Tate is the founder and owner of Tate Cosmetics, a very successful company making Georgina one of the wealthiest women in the country. But no matter how wealthy Georgina is, her money cannot buy her health.

These two unlikely women, one at the beginning of her career, the other at the end of her life, form an unusual but perfect relationship. Kelsey comes to the conclusion that both say no far too much, often followed by regrets. So this summer Kelsey uses her sick time and stored vacation time to say yes to what scares her, but mostly to help Georgina move past her major regrets.

This is such a good book! With a tightly plotted story, wonderful three-dimensional characters, and lessons in self confidence and caring for others I found it difficult to put this story down. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

This book is kind of everything you want it to be. It's a good summer read, predictable yet fun. I really like getting into these characters and I feel like we got to know them so so well, which I loved. The ending wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be, but it was better that way.

Iona Iverson 🤝🏼 Georgina Tate

I thought at the beginning of this one it was nothing special but I ended up being pleasantly surprised!