“Wherever the Wind Takes Us” by Kelly Harms; Expected Release Date: Oct. 18, 2022

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

First Impression 😍: This is a beautiful cover! I love the freedom it illustrates with both the swimmer and the font. This is the cover of a book I would definitely pick up at the bookstore or library.

📣 Review: Becca Ann Larkin has just left her entire life behind -- the unhappy 22-year-long marriage, the money, the comfort... All of it, except the 40-something foot sailboat she's been awarded in her divorce. She has to sell it to start her new life. The only problem is, she doesn't know how to sail. She enlists her daughter, Olivia, to help her, thinking it will be a great bonding experience as they sail from Maine to Miami.

I really enjoyed this book! Personally, I related to the story in ways I'm not sure most people would. For me, it sounds like learning to sail in the midst of sailing the entire Eastern seaboard is a lot like diving into backpacking. It takes a while to get those sea/trail legs. I found myself in hysterics reading some of antics shared, especially between mother and daughter. I think anyone who has ever tried anything new (i.e. everyone) can find the humor and enjoyment in this.

Nit-pick(s): There were a couple of paragraphs where my eyes glazed over a bit because of all the sailing terminology. Sometimes I felt it was getting in the way of the story.

Overall: I haven't mention Grant Murphy - the sailing instructor slash love interest in this book. I loved the romance part of this book (!) but not as much as I loved seeing Becca choose to love herself. Great book, definitely recommend!

#lovejoleen_reads
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I could not put this book down! Becca’s emotional journey and character growth was just so heartwarming to follow.

Becca Larkin is 42, newly divorced, and is left with only a sailboat to her name. She has spent the last 22 years of her life raising her daughter, Liv, and being a dutiful housewife. With no prior experience sailing, she somehow needs to get her sailboat from Maine to a buyer in Miami. She decides this is the perfect opportunity to go on a girls’ trip with her daughter and get some quality bonding time with her.

As you can imagine, the start to their trip is a constant struggle. Enter Grant Murphy, a sexy, twenty-something, Irish sailing coach. Grant is thoughtful, kind, and patient with Becca as he teaches her how to sail and live her life freely.

I really enjoyed seeing Becca’s growth throughout this book. Her journey of learning to love herself and put herself first is one I think many people can relate to. It was truly inspiring to watch Becca go from doubting herself and acting like the exciting part of her life is already over to standing up for herself and living her best life.

The reason I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt like we could have learned more about the downfall to her and Alistair’s relationship. While I understand why she left him, I feel like I could have felt a lot more emotion if I got a better glimpse into what their relationship was like and how exactly it fell apart.

3,5 ⭐️ for this one.
Thank you NetGalley and Kelly Harms for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Rebecca has been married for 22 years until they finally divorce. Due to signing a prenup, she gets pretty much nothing. The judge assigns her additionally the Becky Anne, a yacht that has been named after her.

What we get is a mother daughter road trip of the different kind. At least in the beginning. Rebecca sells the yacht - with zero to none sailing experience- and sails it with her daughter from Maine to Miami. Easy trip! Nope.

I guess you could say Rebecca had an easy life with a husband who paid for all (ok the husband was not the best). I found her very naive at times but I am not surprised why. So she leaves for the trip with her daughter which is brave and silly at times.


What I did not expect is the love story woven on there. Rar…. Can I have myself a Grant, please?
I liked how we get to know the characters. They are not perfect and neither are they supposed to be. I kind of felt a certain love from the author toward her characters, they were written so well.

This is not my usual read. Unknown waters, also for me. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, the middle part was great and the end was predictable. But I did enjoy this book, read it within a couple of hours.

I got a tiny bit annoyed by the amount of sailing terms - which are natural when reading a book about sailing, duh - but have no clue about sailing. Never had to look up so much in a long time. 🤷‍♀️😅 it’s summer now, this was a light summer read.

I finished this in one evening - and I think when it gets released, it'll have a good following and reviews. It may have been predictable, but it was still a pleasant read. If you like to root for the protagonist and hope for the best outcome possible, this is the book to read. Navigating the tricky waters in a divorce, the attempts at loosening the knots with an entitled and stupid daughter (sorry, but absolutely no part of me liked that character) and finding your own compass. Really relaxing themes and relatable too.

I think a few twists would have been needed for a 5 star book, or at least some depth into what went horrendously wrong with their divorce - I didn't dislike Alistair as much as I thought I could. Something stronger needed to exist. But, when you can finish a book within an evening because you need to know what happens in the end, it's got to be a highly enjoyable book!

Cover art is also gorgeous. Hoping to buy the published edition in October :)

Thank you Kelly!

I almost DNF this book simply because i could not get into the main character! it took me a while to advance to new chapters after finishing one but i pushed through and i found myself wanting to read more towards the end of the book! there’s a lot happening but at the same time, im not immersed within the story and feeling everything that is happening. i did like the book once i finished it, but i think my issue was relating to the main character! sailing, divorced mom, and a lot of the other themes were new aspects i have never read before so i’m glad i gave this a go!

In the past I have loved Harms' books because they show that you can start over, even when you think you can't. This book was no different, but I also had trouble relating to the main character and what she was going through, so I didn't enjoy it as much. That being said, the story itself was good, and while I don't know anything about sailing, I am sure all of the terminology used was correct.

Wherever the Wind Takes Us is a delightful story about charting new courses both at sea and on land. Divorced after 22 years the only thing Becca gets is The Becky Ann, her ex husband’s prized sailboat. A buyer is found who wants the boat delivered from Maine to Miami. Becca has never taken to actually sailing the boat, but her daughter’s assurances that they can do it together brings a boatload of complications and changes to Becca and her daughter. The author does a good job dissecting her characters flaws, fears, realizations and finally their ultimate acceptance of reality. This reader was happy to share the experience with them. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

A great, quick, relatable read.

We follow a recently divorced mother who in her settlement receives ownership of a boat which she then decides to sail to Miami with her daughter to sell as she is broke.

We get to hear of the ups and downs of a child of divorce (despite the child being an adult at 21) and how coming from rags to riches is not always a good thing.

I read this in one sitting and I did really enjoy it but my one criticism would be that there is a lot of boat/sailing talk which as a non sailer I was lost with. I found myself skim reading parts because I just didn’t understand/find the technical side of describing sailing to be all that interesting.

I enjoyed the story and I could relate to the daughter as an adult of divorced parents.

Becca is 42, mom to a 21:year old and newly divorced from a very rich family. As she's signed a prenup, she gets nothing but a very expensive sailboat. With the help of a man who works at the marina, she sells the boat. Becca and her daughter decide to deliver the boat themselves, they just have to get it to Miami, from Maine! It's a great story of Becca finding herself.

This was a short, quick read that focused on a woman trying to find herself after a bitter divorce. I love women's fiction which is what initially drew me to this book, but I just didn’t love the execution of it. I was a little weirded out about the mother-daughter-Grant situation and it tainted my view of Becca. She seemed immature to me given her age. There was also a lot of unnecessary boat talk that distracted from the story.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Lake Union Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


An enjoyable book perfect for summer reading.

Wherever The Wind Takes Us was a total delight! I always love this author’s books, and this one was no exception. Well developed plot, relatable characters, and a satisfying ending. The characters of Becca and Grant were easy to connect to, and the sailing journey was so fun and entertaining. I enjoyed the characters banter and their charm. I was initially drawn in by the cover, yet I’m happy to say I was totally into this book. The title itself is also original. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC. Will post a review a bit closer to pub time.

I enjoyed this author’s previous title The Seven Day Switch, so I was eager to dive into this new book. I loved it! I thought Becca was a strong character with great development and the plot was interesting and intriguing. The sailing angle was a delight! I would recommend this book! Thank you Lake Union and NG for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a cute read! I liked how Becca really grew into her own, and that her daughter was coming around to her strength. However, it was predictable. You knew where it was going.

The first half of the book was a little slow and sometimes awkward. But the middle really picked up! And the ending was okay but not mind-blowing.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was captivating and it hooked me from the very first chapter! I was glued to my seat!

This is the perfect summer book! Becca is such a strong woman, whom you can't help but simply adore. I just finished this and am already dying for a sequel! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced read & am looking forward to others falling in love with Becca.

What a great story about the bond between mother and daughter. I also loved the romance aspect and the escape from reality premise! This is a fun summer read with a good message about family and learning to love again.

I was excited to read this after seeing her reviews for her last book. The dialogue in this was torture, so unfortunately this book just was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good! I loved the fact that it was set in the sea and also talked about sailing boats ... I love these topics and when everything is also spiced up with a cute and fresh romance with a fantastic main character (Becca) who has a fantastic daughter (Liv ) everything becomes even more magical and exciting!
Perfect reading is exempt from light writing but which also deals with important issues in an extremely adequate way.
Highly recommended!
Thanks Netgalley and Kelly Harms for providing me with this Arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are mine.

I absolutely loved The Bright Side of Going Dark, so I was thrilled to see a new book from Kelly Harms! This one was back and forth for me. I enjoyed the positivity of the main character as she goes through her divorce and tries to figure out where her life will go now. The sailing information was fun to learn. I'm not a sailor, so I really enjoyed learning some things. The mother/daughter/Grant love triangle was kind of strange and that was the thing that really kept me from completely enjoying this story. Overall, though, it was a cute and uplifting story! I really like the cover.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions expressed are completely my own.