Kelsey finds herself sharing a hospital room with Georgina after she is in a car accident. This near death experience has made Kelsey reconsider her whole life and reflect on how work has taken up her time as she’s missed out on relationships with friends, family, and her dream of being a writer.

Georgina is a frequent flyer at the hospital with dialysis treatment due to kidney failure. She is a famous businesswoman who also prioritized work over family to get to where she is.

Kelsey feels an attraction to Georgina and even sees herself in her. She feels that if she can help her change and turn her life around to say “yes” more than maybe it’s not too late for Kelsey.

Enter the “yes” list! Kelsey suggests that they go on an adventure together and say YES to it all on their list, starting with eating a salty street pretzel. Georgina takes a lot of convincing but eventually agrees to go on this trip.

Kelsey’s obsession about “fixing” Georgina is not always received well with some of her messy plans to reunite her with her family members.

This was not my typical genre, but it is such a feel good book and palette cleanser ! A hint of romance in there, but for the most part this is a girls trip book!

10/10 authors note !

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We took our Winnebago back out on the road yesterday. I could not have chosen a better read for our trip. This inspiring new release is full of heart, humor, with a side of introspection. Early in the book, Kelsey's mom talks to her about "disruptors." An unforeseen occurrence in your life can disrupt for good. In this book we see how both characters become catalysts for change in each other's lives. Is there a disruptor in your life that you have been resisting?

Have you been saying "No" and playing it safe? Kelsey is 32 and working as an editor. She has been focusing on her career and missing out on life. She ends up in the hospital after getting hit by a car. Her roommate turns out to be THE Georgina Tate, a famous cosmetic magnate. The two of them will become the cleanest version of Thelma and Louise that you have ever seen with a blue convertible (minus the tragic ending.) They are saying "Yes" to a road trip and it is about more than the destination. Courtney Walsh gives us their story from both perspectives. The audio book is narrated by Tanya Eby and Cathi Colas is just right. Got a road trip planned this summer? Take this book along.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and NetGalley for both an audio and digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Courtney! Every book you write gets better and better and better. And The Summer of Yes hit me in a place I didn’t know I needed a book to hit. I felt seen and understood, while also challenged and encouraged.

I didn’t expect a women’s fiction at first—I usually go into my books as blind as possible—but I loved it so much! I love a good women’s fiction, and I felt like I got a two-for-one-package-deal with this book. Kelsey and Georgina make the perfect unlikely duo, but when they click, they are dynamic.
I really admired Kelsey’s tenacity once she grasped onto an idea she really cared about. I loved how her experience led her to genuinely question her life and where she was versus where she actually wanted to be. It’s very possible (*ahem* factual) that I am finding myself inspired by Kelsey’s reflections and desires to change her life.
Georgina really is a spitfire! I liked how Kelsey didn’t let herself get intimidated by her, and how she was gradually worn down by Kelsey’s down to earth nature and her constant pushing. While I loved Kelsey’s character arc, I nearly cheered for Georgina. Knowing how long she had been pushing away from what she really needed made her arc so satisfying.
And that ending! Can we just say how amazing that ending was? I love Georgina. I love Kelsey. I love Hayden.
I guess I haven’t said anything about Hayden yet. But I love him! I also love that this is a women’s fiction with a good side of healthy romance. Kelsey and Hayden were mature and adult about their feelings and needs, and I love them so much! Georgina and her guy were smashing as well. I really liked him.
Seriously loved this book so much. Thank you for writing the book you needed, because I definitely needed it, too.
Here’s to saying YES more!
Jessica


AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I like that this is dual narrated, so we get a really distinct voice for both Georgina and Kelsey. Georgina’s narration is spot on perfection. I don’t like Kelsey’s as much, but genuinely didn’t deter from my enjoyment of the book.


**Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and HarperCollins and ThomasNelson for the ALC. All thoughts are my own.

The Summer of Yes is a sweet and wholesome romance that reminds us at every turn what really matters in life. While this one wasn’t my favorite (it’s a little too cheesy and a bit unrealistic for my personal preference), I liked the writing style and message and plan to read more by this author in the future.

What I loved:
* the intergenerational friendship between Georgina and Kelsey. I am a sucker for the “elderly curmudgeon meets sunshiney youth” plotline so this was right up my alley.
* the themes of forgiveness and unconditional love and the focus on finding/chasing what sets your soul on fire. It serves as a firm reminder that we only get one life and it’s precious — we shouldn’t waste it chasing things that don’t matter in the end and we shouldn’t spend it holding onto anger.

Why I lowered my rating:
* Neither Georgina nor Kelsey is particularly mature or self aware and it became frustrating to watch them, Georgina especially, make poor and/or unjustifiable decisions in the name of helping someone else.
* It got repetitive listening to the inner monologues of Georgina and Kelsey… they seem to have the same things in their head day after day and man it just got boring and annoying.
* There are some plot holes and a number of extraordinarily convenient coincidences, so I had to suspend disbelief a few times. This is okay… but it did pull my attention from the story.

🎧: there are two narrators, one for chapters from Georgina’s POV and one for those from Kelsey. I always appreciate when audiobooks represent dual PoVs with dual narrators and both sounded the way I imagined the characters would. If you pick this one up, audio is a good bet.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins, and Courtney Walsh for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dual Perspectives of an unlikely friendship, with two sweet romance connections as well. This is a wonderful story that I would recommend to all ages.

I loved how Georgina and Kelsey both, in their own ways, made their own pivots and met their own full potentials- both personally and professionally.

This story is heart wrenching, heartwarming, thought provoking and incredibly peaceful. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

One near death experience lands Kelsey in the hospital at the most inconvenient of times. She is hours away from signing important talent to her publishing company.
Kelsey is an editor, but has longed to be a writer herself. Creativity was her passion until life got real and the need for money and scaling the career ladder took over.

Now in the hospital, she is faced with a stunning reality. Her career has prevented her from having a real life or real friends, a realization she came to terms with when she had no one to call or visit her while she heals. (Also, she realizes she has NEVER HAD A MARGARITA, gasp!)

Unexpectedly, she does have a roommate. One Georgina Tate. Georgina is the success behind Tate cosmetics (and I picture Jane Fonda here, can't change my mind)
She's a spunky, man eating, OG Girl Boss. She's also terminally ill. Georgina is a cautionary tale: live your life while you can, careers may come and go- life does not.

Now, brought together by a hospital visit, the bond these two will have over the book is one of the best written girl gangs since Thelma and Louise.

Kelsey decides to start taking control of her life by "saying yes" where she formerly said no. Georgina becomes her partner in crime, and while I thought their time together was going to be written rather prescriptively, their character growth and friendship is truly worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Courtney Walsh and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the opportunity to listen to audio book.

☀️⛵️☀️
📖Review
5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📖Book 30/100
📚The Summer of Yes
💫Genre: Women’s Fiction/Romance
✍️Author:
Courtney Walsh

📝Synopsis 📝
Kelsey is a workaholic that ends up at the hospital after a near death experience. She ends up sharing a hospital room with non other than Georgina a well known and successful business woman. Kelsey proposes a deal to Georgina and they head off to a road trip that leads them to adventures and our story.

My thoughts 💭
This was such a great book about second chances. I laughed, cried, and laughed some more! This is definitely a book you can recommend for a beach read, road trip, and to just about anyone since it is a clean read (no spice). Two workaholics loose so much in life and get to turn wrongs into rights. I love how they both got to break their ways and say yes to more things that brings them happiness. This was such a heartwarming read, and it made me even reflect on my life too. Last but not least, I absolutely loved all the main characters.

🩷Second Chances
💛Road Trip
🩵Friendships
💚Dual POV
🩷HEA
💛Kidney Transplant
🩵Girl Power
💚Living Life
🩷Forgiveness

☀️QOTD:
Do you consider yourself a workaholic?

✨A special thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️
#romancebooks
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#bibliophile #booktok #booksbooksbooks #bookreview #bookstacommunity
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#bookstagrammer #booksta #netgalley
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#arcreader

I think this book will really land with some people. It wasn’t the one for me, but it’s definitely something that people will enjoy. And there is such a dearth of books that are written with a faith-based worldview that I want to champion this one. Everyone needs space in the reading world & I think this one helps squirrel out a space where there aren’t nearly enough options.

I listened to the audiobook along with the book and enjoyed it.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book.

The Summer of Yes AUDIO by Courtney Walsh was a fun book, lots of romance, but something even more important: don’t block yourself off from living your life. Kelsey Worthington was waiting on the edge of the sidewalk to cross when she got hit by a car. She was taken to the hospital with relatively minor injuries, but had to stay for a couple of days. While there a woman named Georgina Tate was wheeled in to occupy the other bed in the room. Georgina was not a pleasant woman, not kind. There was something about her, though. When Kelsey went back to work (she was a book editor), one of her colleagues had poached the author she had been working with. She tried to take with a grain of salt, but quickly decided she was sick of being the good sport, sick of saying no to anything that might be fun. She decided to use the vacation time she had saved, one of the many things she’d said no to. The next day she arrived at Georgina’s home to inform her of the summer of yes, which Kelsey expected her to participate in. They would start tomorrow by taking a sight-seeing tour of New York, something New Yorkers never do. Did they argue? Yes. Did they have fun? Yes. Then Kelsey turned up with a blue mustang convertible she’s gotten out of storage. It was Georgina’s. She told Georgina they were going on a road trip. Georgina argued, but got in the car. This decision would change both of their lives.

Both these women were trapped in their professional lives, leaving time for little else. Georgina was older and had missed much more, but there was still time. Kelsey wanted to learn from her, but also to learn for her. When they reached their destination, Georgina was furious. It didn’t stop Kelsey, though and she steamrolled forward. She said a lot of yeses and didn’t really regret any of them. Both of them were slowly seeing the reality of the lives they’d trapped themselves in and took steps to change it. It was a sappy story and just about perfect. The plot was decent, if unlikely. The characters were well-written and well-rounded and just about perfect. This was a simple romance and yet the message it carried is so much more important that is typical of summer romances. Try it! Thanks Courtney Walsh!

The narrators for this lovely book were Tanya Eby and Cathy Colas, both of whom gave this silliness into the realm of important. They treated it that way and hence, so did the listener. Thanks!

I was invited to listen to The Summer of Yes by Harper Collins Christian Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #HarperCollinsChristianPublishing #CourtneyWalsh #TanyaEby #CathyColas #TheSummerOfYes

This was a cute and fun summer book that has depth. While on the surface it's an odd pair of women "saying yes" to random activities, the bigger picture of the story really pulled at my heart and made me think about my life.

While I did like the premise of the book, I felt that the first half of the book was spent explaining the books description in greater detail. Additionally I felt I needed to suspend my belief about real life with regard to the characters, Kelley in particular. Her behavior was a little uncharacteristic of what I would consider to be real life. I rated it 3.5 stars because of this.

Overall the book was a good read and I would recommend it if you like reading books that remind you of a Hallmark movie!

I listened to the audiobook of this and liked the narration. It helped to bring the book to life in my mind.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook to review.

The story follows two women who have always put their careers first, but after a couple health scares pair up together for a summer of yes.

This is a light-hearted easy read, but not memorable. I enjoyed Georgina and Kelsey's unlikely friendship, but the story was very surface level and far fetched so I didn't get hooked in to their connection. There's a romance story line, but even that felt like an insta-love connection and everyone's problems were just swept under the rug.

I do like the underlying message to say yes and try things that scare you, so I'd recommend if you want a light summer read about friendship and taking chances. I recommend the audiobook format as the narration was good.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy.

Wow! This book was so profound and thought provoking and not at all what I was expecting! I loved it! Loved the authors note at the end and this is definitely something that is going to stick with me for a long time. It has definitely inspired me to say yes more and live my life to the fullest! I would definitely recommend this one!

Kelsey wakes up in a hospital after being hit by a car and inspired by her dying hospital roommate Georgina decides to try and live her life with less regret by saying “yes” more and truly living her life. She teams up with Georgina to take a road trip that will truly change both of their lives for the better.

“Sometimes you’re so busy writing other people’s stories that you lose the plot of your own.”

I thought The Summer of Yes was a heartfelt journey from the perspective of two women on different paths that collided by chance. Georgina and Kelsey may lead entirely different lives, but they are precisely what the other needs to push them out of their comfort zone.

This book was filled with unlikely friendships, dual POV, second chances, and light romance. The audiobook narrators embodied their characters perfectly.

3.75/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to Net Galley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the audio ARC to review.

#TheSummerofYes #NetGalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
This was such a fun summer beach read!! As someone who herself has taken part in a 'Summer of Yes' - summer of 2014 - I know how great it can be to just step outside of you comfort zone and just say yes to everything! (with some exceptions of course lol)

I really enjoyed reading this book! The characters were all so fun to read, and the banter between Kelsey and Georgina was perfect! It really made me appreciate how their relationship grew and changed over the course of the book. I think the part that I loved the most, was how both women taught each other valuable life lessons, and they each grew personally throughout the story.

Overall, this was such a great and perfect summertime read. 'The Summer of Yes' is the perfect 2024 summer read.

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆:
- Books with Character growth
- Romance stories which make you smile
- Road trips

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 2020 Rosé - Ravine Vineyards🍷

Thank you Harper Collins Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for both digital and audio ARCs of this book, in return for an honest review.

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

“We’re all dying Georgie. And however many days I have left, I want to spend then with you”

* This hospital scene is hilarious
* Georgina is so good 😂
* Okay I love this whole idea
* I love Hayden!
* Not the mosquito bites 😂

Wow. This book was not what I expected but it was everything I needed it to be. I loved it!

There’s so much pain and heartache and healing in this book. So much emotion and feeling.

Kelsey is so funny. I thought she was a really good character. I loved her ideas and her spunk and especially her growth. And her with Hayden? Yes please!

Georgina was just hilarious. I loved her. And I loved her growth as well! You’re never too old to learn, to grow, to forgive, to make amends, and to have fun.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC. I definitely enjoyed the narrators. All opinions are my own!

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me access to this sweet book.

What a cute story of friendship, love, and the power of second chances!

When editor Kelsey Worthington is in a near death accident, she meets makeup mogul Georgina Tate in the hospital. Kelsey sees Georgina’s circumstance and attempts to convince her to go on a “Summer of Yes,” journey with her. She hopes both women can stop saying no to everything and enjoy life together!

I really enjoyed the heartwarming romances, the way the women reflected on their lives during their summer, and the grace and forgiveness shown to Georgina by her family.

This was my first Courtney Walsh book and I can’t wait to read more!

Loved this sweet summer book! Nothing like a near death experience to make you reevaluate your whole life. I really liked the character of Kelsey and how she inspired so many people through her say yes project. It almost makes me want to do the same! The story was a little cheesy at the end and had a bit of unrealistic resolution but as Calypso explains to Bluey in “the Sign”, fiction has happy endings because life gives us sad endings.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook listen! The narrators did a great job and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"but then it occurs to me that where one lives often determines how one lives."

Five glowing stars for Courtney Walsh's new book, The Summer of Yes. I recommend adding this feel good story to your beach bag this summer.
The Summer of Yes is a story of love, forgiveness and second chances. Told from the point of view of two women who develop an unlikely friendship and embark on a summer road trip, going outside of their comfort zones and saying yes to things they normally are too busy or too afraid to say yes too. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook and the dual narration.

I unfortunately cannot get net galley shelf to play audiobooks even though ive tried all the suggestions. Thank you for the audiobook, I will not request any more in the future.