As summer keeps on flying by, having the time to read this new book from Courtney Walsh was the breath of fresh air I needed. Thanks to NetGalley for the early access audiobook and to Courtney for sending me an ARC hard copy as well! I loved the dual narrators—they absolutely brought the lead women to life. This is a beautiful story of life—and all the hopes, dreams, fears, regrets that come along with it. This book was inspiring and fun and the lessons it taught will stick with me for a long time.

Ohhh this book was sweet and I enjoyed it!

Kelsey is a shelter girl who works and that’s pretty much all she does. When getting coffee for her boss she ends up hit by a car and in the hospital, her hospital roommate is a well known beauty business women, Georgian. when she starts talking to her she starts pondering her own life and decided she is gonna say yes to everything and includes Georgina reluctant at first they make a wonderful friendship over the course of their yes tip! Loved it making my own yes summer as we speak!

This is my first book by Walsh and I am ready to dive into her backlist. This was a story about not taking life for granted, mending relationships and building new ones. Kelsey and Georgina meets at the hospital when they shared a room. They agreed a plan of yes to doing things they normally say no to.

They end up on a road trip and Georgina is reunited with her estranged son, Hayden. We then see how Georgina and Hayden mends their relationship while Kelsey and Hayden also forms a relationship,

Tanya Eby and Cathi Colas both did great on the narration.

This is a cute book! It wasn’t my typical kind, but it was sweet and had good themes throughout. The beginning was a tad slow but it ended well.

It's a feel-good story that will have you cheering for all the characters!

Kelsey was involved in an accident that jumped started her life, giving her opportunities to say YES to herself and what she wanted. She meets Georgina Tate and strikes up a friendship that takes them on a journey to mend relationships, find joy, seek forgiveness, and trust in yourself. The Summer of Yes is full of heart and hope.

I highly recommend this book!

*Unlikely friendships
*Road Trips
*Small Town
*Family Healing
*Sweet love story

Thank you, NetGalley and Courtney Walsh, for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I immediately fell in love with Kelsey, as she hits a point in her life where she’s got some choices to make, and she chooses YES. Yes to everything out of her comfort zone and that she typically dismisses. After a minor accident lands her in the hospital and meeting grumpy Georgina, her life is changed and she doesn’t even realize it yet.

Georgina gives Miranda Priestly and Evelyn Hugo all mixed into one and I’m so here for it. She’s a boss ass bitch but only got to that point by sacrificing her family. Because of Kelsey, she’s forced/tricked into reconnecting with her husband and son, and dealing with emotions she has shut down so long ago.

Hayden is truly my favorite. He has endured such heartache in his long but still chooses the positive perspective on things, and has made such a life of happiness for himself. I love his outlook, his demeanor, and the way he can easily let grudges go and look only ahead.

This book was such a refreshing, feel good, easy read. It was so relatable, as someone who second guesses so much, afraid to take risks. Kelsey is so inspiring and makes such an impact but changing her mindset. This is a must read, not just for the summer but for anyone who needs to stop and try-evaluate where they’re at with their life. Easy 5⭐️

Courtney Walsh is a master of sweet, but not overly-sappy romances...with substance. Her characters and plot lines have depth, and The Summer of Yes was no exception. Editor Kelsey Worthington meets Georgina in an unexpected hospital stay. Young and energetic, Kelsey has a lot to learn from the well-known successful, older businesswoman. But Georgina is taught many lessons along the way as well, and second chances are gracefully offered.
This was not my first Walsh novel and definitely will not be my last.
I also was able to listen to the audiobook version with two narrators who successfully portrayed their characters in a way that enhanced the story, with a particular nod to Cathi Colas.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

The Summer of Yes is a story of two women at different stages in their lives meeting in the same hospital room after both experiencing major health incidents. Feeling they have missed out on the things they want to do before they die, they decide to take a summer trip, saying yes to all the things they normally wouldn't. This is a story of unlikely friendship, regret, and how it's never too late to change things around! It was also so cute at times it had me smiling at my desk.

The two voices were distinct and good fits for the characters. Honestly wish all audiobooks would do different characters for varying POVs. That's unfortunately about the extent of how it stands out as an audiobook. I would probably prefer to have actually read this as an ebook, but it was nice and chill to listen to while working or driving.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in exchange for a review.

I love the clean romances that Courtney Walsh writes. I also like a multi-generational road trip! Make it a grumpy old person and I will totally buy in! I had the e book and audio version and I have to say that I preferred reading about Kelsey (Chelsea, Katie, Kimberly, whatever - haha!)
Kelsey feels like she is supposed to spend her summer with Georgina. A summer of doing things she wouldn't normally do. A Summer of Yes!
I have decided that I will let my summer be a summer of yes, too. Well, maybe not all yes but more yes than no!

A slightly new twist on the movie The Bucket List. I wish there was more differences but over all a cute story.

I am so so sad that this book came to an end! I have enjoyed every single second of this audiobook. It’s made my drives and my times sat at my work desk so much better and was such a happy, inspiring and uplifting book. I absolutely loved the plot and the concept of this book, it’s different to what I would typically read and was so much better than i expected it to be. I loved the characters and I loved the dynamic between Kelsey and Georgina they made me giggle so much and I love the development in their relationship and their character growth. The romance in this book was sort of unexpected for me I didn’t think it would have much romance and I was pleasantly surprised, I loved Hayden so so much. This book made me want to says YES! Go and do things I’ve been wanting to do, go and try things and stop worrying what people around think. I’ve been giggling, smiling and one pot I even started welling up at my desk listening to this. Truly such a lovely book, I will definitely be recommending and I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy on release day! Thankful I was accepted to experience this book before it came out.

I like the remarks made about how this story is going to be different from Jennifer garner and eat pray love.

Kelsi gets hit by a car. Stepping off a sidewalk. She wakes up in the hospital and shortly thereafter, she gets a roommate. Enter Georgina. She’s one of the top female executives in the US and has build Tate Cosmetics from the ground up. With a full hospital, Georgina’s anger over the roommate situation falls on deaf ears as there just isn’t any more room. Weirdly, Kelsi has been off the grid for 2 days and hasn’t had a single visitor. Neither has she contacted anyone to tell them she is in the hospital. Except work. Her big meeting for a book proposal gets taken by her teammate when she doesn’t show (because she almost died). Georgina also only has one visitor. Her paid employee. Who presents Kelsi with a non-disclosure agreement. Kelsi only agrees to sign this document if Georgina answers one question.

Does she have any regrets?

This begins Kelsis adventure to say yes to things she normally wouldn’t. Like, taking time off work and going on a road trip.

What women’s story doesn’t include a love interest or two? Kelsi accidentally on purpose meets a man who checks all her boxes. She falls very quickly for him.

But why is this man single? I really wish that had been touched on. It seems super unrealistic that a man would go around calling a girl cute and doesn’t have some past other than family drama. It was a light read. Not my favorite. I definitely prefer Courtney Walsh’s - “The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley”

As far as the narrator’s go, the woman representing Georgina bugged me a bit. I get that she was playing an older character. But many times it seemed as though she had something in her mouth. It could be the accent.

It was a really good story line. I just wanted to love the
characters more. To this book, I say sure, why not?

Thank you NetGalley, Courtney Walsh and Thomas Nelson for providing the ARC of this novel. I would give it 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up to 4.

I'll start off by saying I wish I read this one instead of the audiobook - one of the narrators' character voices didn't sit well with me (didn't match what I was picturing!). This is an uplifting story about finding one's self, forgiveness, and second chances. It follows the parallel & intersecting stories of Georgina, an older cosmetic woman in charge, and Kelsey, a budding editor/writer in NYC. I found both characters easy for readers to relate to, though their journeys felt stuck in a cycle for me at times.

My favorite part was Georgina and Kelsey driving through the city for their summer of yes - it gave total Princess Diaries Mia & the Queen in SF vibes!

Thank you to Harper Collins & NetGalley for this ARC and audiobook.

Such a cute rom com!

Young editor Kelsey and successful business woman Georgina are unlikely friends, but get to know each other when they share a hospital room. The accident that put Kelsey in the hospital is a wake up call to focus on what's important thus launching the summer of yes. Kelsey strives to not be so married to her job and accept offers for leisurely afternoons at the zoo, movies, etc. Convincing Georgina to come along for the journey takes a bit more work.

A great message about carving out time for fun and accepting requests from friends and family to join in for various events. At life's end, what will mean the most?

The audiobook is well narrated (Tanya Eby and Cathi Colas). I particularly enjoyed the narrator that read Georgina's chapters. The cover is perfect for the story.

Definitely recommended!

3.5 ~ Kelsey is an aspiring junior book editor that has a near death experience and she has a wake up call. She realizes she spends way too much time worrying and saying no, and she is now going to have a Summer of Yes. While recovering in the hospital she meets hospital roommate Georgina Tate, a notorious very successful business woman and their paths continue to merge. The Summer of Yes is a fun, mostly light book that was a good palette cleanser mixed in with a little light romance. Thank you to Harper Collins/Thomas Fisher Publishing and NetGalley for an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Summer of Yes will be available on 7/2/24.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
The cover for this book really caught my eye. It's brilliant. It screamed FUN READ. What I read was.... meh.
After a freak accident, Kelsey is in hospital where she meets the elderly, successful maven Georgina. Right there, you're thinking, young lady starts to review her life and clearly the old lady has regrets because she just worked all the time.
Yep.
That's the plot. And it doesn't get better. There's not much depth to either Kelsey or Georgina. I mean, the worst thing is that Kelsey works a lot? Getting hit by a car makes you re-evaluate your entire life in your mid 20s? Because you've mean to be a writer and never written anything?
Georgina is dying of kidney failure and needs to make amends with her son.
So, Kelsey invites Georgina on the summer of yes, where they hit the road -- yes, total strangers go on a road trip together -- where Kelsey tricks Georgina into going to the town where her son lives. You know what happens next....
I always feel bad when I don't love a book because I know how hard it is to write a book and get it published. But this was too contrived, the characters really weren't that interesting and I knew what would happen after page 10.

I initially requested and read the e-book and loved it! Hands down a 5 star read. I loved it so much I wanted to grab the audio version for a second go round. As much as I liked the story, I didn't enjoy the audio version as much. Not that the narration was bad but I felt like the voice for Kelsy didn't match. I think the narrator sounded a bit too mature for her character I would have liked to have had a younger voice. Other than that, this was again an enjoyable time. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to listen and review this advanced copy.

I don’t know why I haven’t read more by Courtney Walsh because she writes such happy, positive and inspiring books. This is my 2nd CW book & I’d recommend both!

The Summer of Yes is a story about:
•multigenerational & unlikely friendship
•second chances & new beginnings

In dual POV, we meet Kelsey & Georgina as hospital roommates. Kelsey is a young, overworked editor & Georgina is an older, spunky & cynical business mogul. They’ve both let their careers rule their life & are pondering if it was all worth it. Kelsey decides to make some changes and embarks on “the summer of yes” and is determined to get Georgina to join her.

I highly recommend the audiobook. It was enjoyable and easy to listen to.

Title: The Summer of Yes
By: Courtney Walsh

Genre:
Fiction, Contemporary, Women’s, Chic Lit, Audiobook, Clean Romance

Summary/Review:
You Only Live Once is the overarching theme of this beautifully written novel by Courtney Walsh.

Kelsey Worthington (32), a well known editor, wakes up in the hospital and unbeknownst to her, she’s had a near death experience. Kelsey was hit by a car while walking down the street. Kelsey soon meets her new roommate, Georgina Tate. She is a successful older woman Kelsey looked up to while learning about her in a college course. These two workaholic women quickly learn they have similar lifestyles and personalities. Excited Kelsey and Reluctant Georgina determine they could benefit from a summer of saying yes! And so begins the emotional roller coaster Courtney Walsh has masterfully created! I can’t say enough about my love for this novel!

The transitions between the two different points of views were skillfully orchestrated for the reader to follow. The themes of love, forgiveness, and hope are flawlessly written for the reader to quickly connect and empathize with the characters. The Summer of Yes is a funny, yet heartbreaking novel. I highly recommend this summertime novel! Soon to be published on July 2, 2024.

Thank you Courtney Walsh , Harper’s Collins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#Courtneywalsh
#thesummerofyes
#cleanromance
#NetGalley
#advancedreadereditions
#Harperscollinschristianpublishing

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It was so heartwarming. I knew the moment I started reading it that I was going to be grinning from ear to ear and I did, It was sweet. It was wholesome. It was lovely in every way. Just a good ol dose of sunshine. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ALC of The Summer of Yes!