Life is what you make it seems to be attitude of Ginny Masters. Ginny is the manager of a fancy hotel in Seattle. Although it is a good job, it comes with plenty of challenges, namely dealing with the owner. Ginny has not had an easy life, but she has worked hard to get where she is today. Her life story will bring a tear to your eye. She is a glass half full kind of gal and tries to see the good in everyone. She also not afraid to work hard and tries to please everyone around her.

Jacqueline Potter is the polar opposite of Ginny Masters. She is the manager of her grandfather's fishing lodge in Idaho. This is not the job she had in mind when she finished her college degree in hospitality. She hates everything about her job. She hates fishing and is not an outdoorsy girl. She is actually a brat who needs an attitude adjustment.

Both Ginny and Jacqueline need a change of pace. They decide to swap places for 60 days. Ginny knows she needs a change of scenery before she does something she regrets. Jacqueline is just delighted to get out of "the sticks" as she calls her home in Idaho. She is so sure that city life is the life for her. Both owners agree to allow the ladies to change places, and sign a contract agreeing to allow them to do this for 60 days.

As both ladies change places, you will see two entirely different stories play out. Ginny was definitely my favorite character. Jacqueline was very unlikeable, but I also felt a little sorry for her. She was lost in her own little world.

This was a cute story with a wonderful message that will leave you with something to ponder upon. All in all the characters were all fun to get to know as each person had their own story which made them the people they have become. I closed this book with a smile on my face.

Thank you to Revell and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Books that are about changing places are so fun to read. I enjoy the way an author can make things difficult yet easy- fun yet scary- and all at the same time.
Ginny and Jaqueline have jobs that are different and that makes it so fun. Each wanted a change and that sure happened when they both applied for a job swap. Ginny lives in Seattle and works had an upscale hotel while Jaqueline lives close to Idaho Falls and manages her grandfather’s fishing lodge. The swap is for 60 days and going on this adventure with them both was a pleasant reading experience for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Melody Carlson and Revell for the copy of Just for the Summer. This is my personal review.

I enjoyed reading Just for the Summer, set in Seattle and rural Idaho. Ginny has been a hard working employee at a Seattle boutique hotel for years, and she’s now managing the hotel. Ginny’s boss, Diana, is a horrible bully boss who blames Ginny for everything that goes wrong at the hotel, including Diana’s own mistakes. As a result, Ginny is a workaholic who’s always stressed and utterly miserable. When she comes across a job swap opportunity at an Idaho fishing lodge for the summer, she’s keen to try something new and different.

Jacqueline is bored and frustrated in her job where she’s managing her grandfather’s fishing lodge. She’s like a round peg in a square hole, and dreams of a more glamourous life in the city that’s more in keeping with her L.A. upbringing. The opportunity to swap jobs with Ginny for the summer seems like an amazing opportunity for Jacqueline to live in the city and use her hospitality degree.

I loved seeing how the job swap plays out in the story, and the different journeys and lessons learned by the characters. The romances that bubbled along in the background were sweet, and the side characters were delightful and often hilarious. I recommend Just for the Summer to contemporary fiction readers who like fish out of water stories with strong romantic elements and a relevant faith thread in the story.

3.5/

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it was a quick, easy read. The job/life swap premise was reminiscent of The Holiday. However, the stories and characters felt very lopsided. I found myself loving and rooting for Ginny and Jack, but Jacqueline was pretty insufferable and her character arc wasn't developed enough to make that change by the end. Adrian's introduction as a friend who refuses to take "no" for an answer also made it hard to believe he was actually a "good friend." So, it was half a nice story of a woman who has sacrificed for everyone else finding joy and love at a fishing lodge and then the other half just felt frustrating.

🚪Closed Door
🔃 Life Swap
✝️Christian author/references

Releasing on 3/19. Thanks to Netgalley and Revell Publishing for the eARC!

Two women striving to find a new path for their lives. Each knowing that the one they are on is not the path they want. Will a summer job swap be the answer? Ginny longs to get away from the posh boutique she has managed for years. The daily hassles and overbearing boss have brought her to her limit. Jacqueline likes the work but her Grandfather's fishing lodge is not the upscale environment she pictured. However, will swapping jobs be the only thing changing? Add a twist and let's see where we go. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

This delightful tale is a take on the old adage, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." A wonderful summer read with lessons to be learned along the way. Ginny and Jacqueline are the opposite when it comes to work ethics and dedication. Hard-nosed boss, Diana and broken-hearted Jack are nothing alike either. The old fishing cabin and a glamorous San Francisco hotel come to life in this entertaining story. Recommended!

An easy read with an interesting way to swap lives--swap jobs.
Ginny was able to grow and enjoy life at the lodge. Jackie was more interested in the wrong things and it was interesting to see her grow at the end too.
I wish at the end, there was an epilogue to find out what happened to everyone, even Diana.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Revell through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What would it be like to swap jobs with someone in your field of work? Ginny Masters is not feeling the love from her boss at a boutique hotel in Seattle. Jacqueline Potter has a similar problem with her family fishing lodge in Idaho. They sign a contract to switch jobs for sixty days. It's a bit of a city mouse/country mouse situation. As you might guess, the contrasts between the two locations may be too much for one or both of them. Melody Carlson gives us a heartwarming summer tale with themes of family, loyalty, and work ethics. If you are looking for a clean romance with a super slow burn, this is the book for you. With its summer setting, it felt like spring in our RV even though there were snowflakes coming down outside our window. A really good day for reading. 🌨🌞

A big thank you to Revell and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was just ok for me. It was an easy read and I really enjoyed the side characters at the lodge,but the characters in Seattle not so much. Diana and Adrian were just terrible but not as bad as Jackie. Ginny was too much of a wet doormat type for my taste. The ending felt forced and not well thought out.

I was interested in the premise of this book, but I abandoned it around the 20% mark after failing to connect with the characters. At first, I struggled because Ginny and Gillie had such similar names. Then I had trouble investing in either of the main characters or in their plan to trade places.. I also wasn't fond of any of the male characters and I got the feeling they were going to be love interests further on in the book, which also didn't make me want to keep reading. Ultimately, this just wasn't the book for me.

Just for the Summer is a lovely character study by Melody Carlson. Ginny Masters has worked her way to general manager of the chic boutique Hotel Jackson Seattle, but the journey was long and difficult and her boss, Diana Jackson, isn’t making things any easier as Ginny continually proves herself. Ginny began working alongside her late mother in the laundry when she was 16, went off to college after high school but returned after just two years when her mother passed away so she could raise her younger sister Gillian. But the negative everything that Ginny endured had about pushed her to the breaking point.

Jacqueline Potter came to her grandfather’s fishing lodge in Idaho upon her college graduation with a hospitality degree. Although fun at first, Jacqueline is no longer enamored of the beautiful scenery, the ordinary lodgings, or the hard work to care for it all. She may have a college degree but no practical experience and was not a good manager at all.

Both ladies are at the ends of their ropes when they discover a job switch site and sign up to switch for something different for the summer, then are matched with each other for the summer swap. While Jacqueline has visions of grandeur upon her arrival, she soon learns she is out of her league. Meanwhile, Ginny is in love with the lodge and all the people there. She willingly helps Margie, who runs the kitchen and garden, and Cassie, the overburdened housekeeper. Ginny finds a quick friendship with fishing guide Ben and owner Jack. Using elbow grease and attic finds, Ginny fixes up the rooms one cabin at a time. And Ginny is happier than she had been in a very long time.

This is such a very good story examining the personalities of hard worker versus entitled. These characters are so well drawn and the story well plotted. I very much enjoyed this story and I do recommend it!

What a fun, easy reading sweet romance!

Ginny, hotel manager for a boutique hotel switches jobs for 60 days with Jackie, managing her family's rustic fishing lodge. In those couple months, both their lives change! Ginny finds she's more comfortable and then falls for her fishing guide. Jackie manages to make a mess of her job, but then redeems herself with a second chance. The characters are great, the story keeps rolling along and it's a quick, fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

A fun set up of the lets-switch-lives! type storyline, but I was disappointed that Ginny appears to be the only grownup here. Its not just Jacqueline, who she switches jobs with, who is immature - everyone else at both hotels are so immature it was cringey to read at times. I would have liked if it had been a little more even in both women discovering new things and appreciating old ones, but its really just Ginny running around cleaning up everyone's messes and doing what's she told. Signing up for the job-switch website is really the only real agency she has here and i was disappointed she doesn't gain more by the end. Also, i did not buy the romance with her and Ben AT ALL. He starts out as a jerk and never gets better - I kept waiting for the "real" romantic interest to show up, but sadly, it was not to be. So, a good idea but poor execution.

I enjoyed this story of finding out if the grass is actually greener on the other side. Ginny and Jacqueline switch places through a job swap app and the fun begins. Ginny heads to a fishing lodge to fill in as the manager, while Jacqueline heads to the city to manage a lovely upscale hotel. Things are not always as good as they seem, but sometimes they're better. Just for the Summer is an entertaining read, light-hearted and enjoyable, with a dose of reality, just the right amount of tension, and likeable characters. If you enjoy contemporary fiction-you'll want to read Melody Carlson's latest. I've liked all of her books.

Genevieve, "Ginny" manages a boutique hotel and Jacqueline manages a fishing lodge. Both women are unhappy at their places of employment. One is a sweet, hard-working and purposeful person and the other is a spoiled, conniving brat. Each one signs up for a temporary job swap and are matched with one another's positions. What an adventure it becomes.
I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from one of my favorite authors, Melody Carlson and the publisher through NetGalley. It is a very enjoyable read. The two women are so different with completely different locations and ambience. This is a journey for each one with twists and turns.
I easily found a favorite character and set of characters at one of the locations. There's even potential for romance too. I love the idea of the story. This would be a fun read while on vacation.

I have enjoyed Melody Carlson's books for MANY years (they were one of my first introductions to Christian fiction as a teenager, in fact) and I always look forward to reading her new ones. This was no exception. I loved this idea of two women who are unhappy with their work situations agreeing to swap jobs for 60 days. Fun concept, right? And it really did make for a fun story that I found myself enjoying. Ginny was a great character and I found myself really enjoying her parts of the story a lot. That said, Jacqueline was not my favorite. She was spoiled and at times a bit manipulative even. While I definitely think that was the point and we needed to see where she was coming from to see her growth in the end... I do wish there would have been more of that. It came, eventually, but it was definitely towards the very end of the story. While this is listed as romance and does have a little bit in there, I thought the romance didn't take as much of a front stage as I might have expected... not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind if that's not your preference. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read and one that I would definitely recommend checking out!

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.

While initially entertaining, unfortunately, the characters didn't click with me as a reader. Also, I didn't realize it was a Christian Romance, which isn't my usual category. Ginny was the only character I cared about, and Jackie was horrible with no growth. There was a bit, but in the last twenty pages. Ben and Adrian were not good love interests, and that definition of them is a stretch. There are no actual "romance" scenes (not even a bit of kissing). Some of the book was wasted with Ginny's sister, which could have had a more significant part, but that opportunity was missed. The only characters with any growth were Ginny (she learned to chill out) and Diana, who realized she was being a bit too much.

The idea of switching jobs with someone for a bit is a great idea! You are either going to love it or hate it! This book was so fun! Sometimes you just have to shake things up a bit! I loved this book! The concept just really appealed to me and was really an enjoyable read.

Ginny: an upscale hotel manager in Seattle. Worked her way up from housekeeping to manager within 10 years. Has a boss, Diane who is a pain to work with.

Jackie: granddaughter to Jack, who owns a fishing lodge. She works as the manager & absolutely hates it.

Ginny & Jackie are not fans of their jobs and decide to switch for the summer. Jackie loves the finer things in life & is having a hard time managing a fishing lodge in the middle of the woods. When she notices Ginny is interested in swapping jobs for the summer at an upscale hotel, she jumps on the opportunity. Ginny wants something more low-key & quiet. She is a workaholic who has no idea how to have fun. When she sees Jackie works at a fishing lodge, she decides it is the perfect fit.


Quick, easy read. I liked the idea & concept of the book, but really couldn’t stand Jackie as a character. It really made it hard to get into the book.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book and its premise. Ginny works for a Seattle boutique hotel. Jacqueline takes care of her family’s fishing lodge in Idaho. The two decide to switch jobs. The story follows the two women and how they handle each other jobs. A quick fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and Revell. His is my own opinion.