After meeting in the hospital, Kelsey and Georgina embark on a Summer of Yes which changes both of their lives dramatically! Kelsey realizes that she has been missing out on life by always saying no to everything - except work. And Georgina has built an empire by always focusing by on her work. Together they learn what really matters in life.

This book was so much fun. Between the relationships and the banter and the New York City setting, I just had a great time reading this. It was touching and funny, and I loved it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC.

This delightful, heartwarming story got my attention from the very beginning. Having read many books by this author, I have learned her characters always draw me right in from the very beginning. They are relatable, lovable and often have a delightful sense of humor.
The day Kelsey walked out of Starbucks and was hit by a car on the sidewalk was life-changing. Kelsey ended up in the hospital for several days and was thankful to be alive. She ends up with an unexpected roommate, Georgina Tate, well-known for her very successful Tate Cosmetics. Georgina is not happy to have a roommate, however there were no single rooms available.
Georgina is a wealthy, powerful woman, who gave up everything, including her family, to focus on building her cosmetic company. She is accustomed to having things go her way, she also has very few friends and work is her main focus in life. In order to even talk and visit with her roommate, Kelsey is asked by Georgina’s assistant to sign a standard nondisclosure ensuring she won’t tell anyone Georgina is in the hospital.
Although Kelsey aspires to be a writer, she is an editor at a New York publishing company. She pretty much keeps to herself except for work. She has few friends and she likes it that way. She mainly says yes to work, and no to everything else.
When she gets out of the hospital, Kelsey makes an important decision to quit saying no and to spend the summer saying yes. That includes attending a family dinner of her best friend, who she usually says no to; trying new food; and she is determined to take the famous, wealthy Georgina Tate along with her on a summer of saying yes. Georgina hasn’t seen her husband or son for twenty years because she was so absorbed in building her business, they eventually moved away.
Although Georgina has a serious health condition that could cut her life short at any time, Kelsey manages to coerce her to join her on a road trip. Although Georgina starts out unenthusiastically, Georgina’s life is about to take a new turn, right along with Kelsey’s. Both of them learn that it can be a lonely place when you always say no and it is risky to say yes to the unknown, however, the rewards are far greater.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

The Summer of Yes is the story of Kelsey and Georgina. They met in a hospital when they are forced to share a room. Georgina is a make mogul who feels she has come to the end of her life with lots of regrets and Kelsey is a young writer who is looking to change the direction of hers and avoid regrets. Kelsey convinces Georgina to take on a summer where they say yes to life! What ensues is a fun story of friendship, love and new beginnings. What happens when you are given a second chance?

What I love about this book
1. The loved the side character JP, the assistant. I love when a story can build up the life of the main character.
2. I loved the ending.
3. I loved the main two love interests.
4. The book was engaging where I kept wanting to pick it up during any downtime.
5. I loved how light hearted yet serious the subject matter was. I thought the writing was the perfect balance of both.

What I didn’t like about the book.
1. I thought the Kelsey was sometimes a bit too self conscious. But I think the way the book ended made this less of an issue for me.

If you are looking for your next summer read! Pick this up! I will definitely be looking into Courtney Walsh’s backlist. 3.5 stars

What a fun read this was! I know I am not the only one who says ‘no’ more than ‘yes’, and prefer to stay in my little bubble. This book is about exactly that, pushing your limits and doing all the ‘yes’ things. This book was funny and so cute. Hayden and Kelsey were such a cute match and I enjoyed their chemistry. I absolutely loved the banter between Georgina and Kelsey. This was my first Courtney Walsh book, but won’t be my last!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's never too late to change your life! This was a sweet story with an important message. I liked that it contained all sorts of love; friendship, family and romantic, and how equally important they are.

The characters were great although a bit too stubborn, but I liked that they grew throughout the story and learnt what was really important to them. The romance bit was cute and well written and definitely elevated the whole read.

The story did lack some depth, but if you're looking for a light read about love, regret and forgiveness this one's perfect!

Rating: 3.5/5

4⭐
Spice Rating - NIL

The book starts off with Kelsey, who is in the hospital following a major accident, ending up sharing space with Georgina, a successful entrepreneur, who Kelsey looks up to. She sees a lot of herself in Georgia and feels dejected after seeing how closed off, grumpy and supposedly unhappy Georgina is. Kelsey herself isn't too thrilled with her career in shambles and work stress getting to her. She gets to introspect and see where everything went wrong, in her life and Georgina's as well. With her life falling apart and Georgina suffering from a terminal illness, they decide to go on a summer of yes - where they say yes to everything they have said no to over the years. This leads to both Kelsey and Georgina getting their act together again and realizing the value of family and relationships as well.

This book was such a pleasure to read, watching the characters transform in front of my eyes, grow, learn and unlearn. So wholesome, positive and made me feel good about life. It made me tear up as well, not gonna lie. It is a book about celebration of life's second chances, embracing the unknown with open arms and stepping out of one's comfort zones. There was depth, comedy and life lessons. The characters I loved very much; Kelsey’s is so young, cheery and does not hesitate to make herself vulnerable whereas Georgina is tough and strong but with a wealth of knowledge.
Surprisingly this book came to me at a time in my life when I was feeling the same things as Kelsey, maybe that’s why this book impacted me so much.

All that being said, up until the 68% mark, I kept wondering why <spoiler>Georgina's family, whom she has been living away from for over 20 years, were so quick to accept her and tell them they love her. How was everything forgotten and forgiven when there were no attempts to establish contact from Georgina's side? How forgiving are Dale and Hayden?</spoiler> Other than that point, I love the book in all it's entirety. `

This was such a well thought out and written book. Heart warming tale. It was like a bowl of warm soup on a winter night for me. Highly recommend reading this book if you feel like you are going in loops and life is passing you by. Perfect for the summer!


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
<i>Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

“It’s a wild and precious life, Kelsey. If you have something that sets your soul on fire, you have a responsibility to chase that thing.”

After being hit by a car, Kelsey has an awakening. Her near-death experience has jarred her, and she realizes she has many regrets and has missed out on so much because she always let work or fear come first. Enter Georgina, a famous (and very grouchy) businesswoman Kelsey meets in the hospital, who’s dying of kidney disease.

Kelsey convinces a reluctant Georgina to embark upon a “summer of yes” where they play tourist in their home city of NYC, say yes to adventures, and even make a surprise visit to Georgina’s son (the town of Driftwood has such a cute coastal vibe!).

This book is about saying yes. Not caring what others think. Being flexible and straying from the plan. Making new friends. Forgiving yourself and the people you love. And living life to the fullest.

I kinda want to have a “Summer of Yes” myself now. :)

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 Stars Rounded Down

I absolutely adored this book. Romance books come in all shapes and sizes, but I have never read one like this. Truly, I didn't realize it would be a romance and until the relationships developed in real time, which is amazing.

Additionally, inter-generational friendship is a trope I often love in movies and I am so glad I took a dive into this book for it as well.

The half star was removed for one plot point (which I won't name for spoiler reasons), that I thought was not well thought out. However, it was not a big enough issue that would merit removal of a full star as this was such a great book. Unfortunately I was hyper focused on how it didn't make that much sense, therefore I couldn't give this book 5 stars.

This was such a fun book! Kind of a wholesome Devil Wears Prada. Loved the characters and the message and the author’s discussion of shame, grace, and forgiveness. Read this on the beach in Mexico and would definitely recommend for an easy, uplifting vacation book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wonderful book! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. Excited for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

This is one of my new favorites stories! I loved the relationship/friendship and banter between Kelsey and Georgina so much. This book will make you laugh, cry, and realize what’s important in life.

Summer of Yes is officially one of my favorite books! The story is sweet and enduring and has so many real life applications! I found myself being able to apply so many lessons from this fictional story to my real life. It was almost as if there was a non fiction book buried within but told in a fun way that made it not feel like work. Go out and get this book!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Summer of Yes was a great story about the power of saying yes (and the power of saying no to things that don’t lead to the bigger yes). The author wrote characters with a lot of complexity, and I found that I really enjoyed getting to know Georgina as her story unfolded. The writing was slightly choppy at times, but overall, the story resonated with me and where I am in my life right now.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Fiction Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this title (publish date July 2, 2024). Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Kelsey Worthington wakes up in the hospital after being hit by a car while she was walking to work. After her near-death experience she realizes that in her thirty-two years of life, she's never done anything remarkable. She's trying to work her way up in the publishing world, but because she works so hard, she's neglected her actual life.

Georgina Tate is the founder of Tate Cosmetics and is a legend to businesswomen in New York. Her kidneys are failing, and she is waiting to die, filled with regret about her life's choices. She gave up her family to become the successful businesswoman she aspired to be. She's seventy-five years old and is all alone.

The two women end up in the same hospital room and realize that they have some things in common. They both valued their jobs over living their lives. Kelsey has a revelation after talking with her mom and realizes that her life is lackluster because of all the times she chose to say no to opportunities. So, the two women decide to ask themselves "What if I said yes to everything I usually say no to?" They embark on the summer of yes.

This book was moving and powerful. I laughed out loud at times, and at others, I had tears streaming down my face. I found the writing to be thought provoking and inspiring. "Life... is good. And wonderful. And horrible, and beautiful, and messy, and everything all at once. And that is the beauty of it. It's overwhelming, but it's never boring. And it should be lived to the fullest." This is one of those books that is going to stay with me forever.

This was such a heartwarming, funny book. I absolutely loved the relationship between Kelsey and Georgina. They both needed each other in such a deep way. Hayden was nothing but amazing and it wrapped up exactly as I wanted it to!

YES to everything I look for in a book!! I was over the moon to receive an advanced copy, and I devoured it in one sitting. This is my first book to read by Courtney Walsh, and it won’t be my last. Huge thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the advanced copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Publication date July 2, 2024.

***I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, NetGalley, and author Courtney Walsh for this ARC.***

My Grade: B+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Summer of Yes was a wonderful surprise! I wasn't expecting the story to be so heartwarming, funny, and thought provoking.

Spice Level: 🌶️ out of 5. Just some kissing, would have liked a bit more.

The Good:
-The relationship of Georgina and Kelsey was absolutely terrific and was everything beautiful in this book! I loved their grumpy/sunshine banter, they way they helped each other become better people, and reading the way their friendship evolve was such a joy.. Definitely enemies to friends done perfectly!
-Hayden was a perfect match for Kelsey and I loved their chemistry.
-Kelsey's writing ideas! Marvelous!
-The overall message of The Summer of Yes gave me all the feelings and was so inspiring!

The Meh:
-I felt that Dylan and Hayden were a bit too forgiving, and Dylan especially came off as being a bit of a doormat.
-I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. I thought it was a bit long and schmaltzy.
-I wanted a bit more spice, at least a nice make out session. Especially since I thought that Kelsey and Hayden had a great spark.
-There was quite a lot of repetitive dialog and thoughts.

Just say YES to this book! I love anything by Courtney Walsh because I can always count on a fun, uplifting read and this is no exception. I love the friendship between Kelsey and Georgina is sweet and inspiring. This book has a fun romance, but to me the focus on friendships and loving life to the fullest was a nice change of pace.

This is a great read anytime, but really perfect for summer. I can't wait to read again this summer!


Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for this arc. All opinions are my own.

This is a good read when you're feeling down and need a feel good story. It had a heart and reminded us sometimes we just need to say yes and take chances it will lead to many amazing roads.