This book was slow to start, it felt like nothing really happened in the first 45% of it. And even when it did get interesting it became very repetitive. I was hoping for an adventure of two women with lots of regrets and what I got was two women who have unrealistic romances. It was too sickly sweet and cheesy for my tastes and I wish the romantic relationships were built up to a little more... They felt very rushed.

I think this solidifies that I am done with this author. Too much navel gazing. Too cheesy. Just not at all my cup of tea when it comes to romance or women’s fiction

What would you do with a second chance at life?

✨ Book Review: THE SUMMER OF YES by Courtney Walsh ✨

🚙 Book Synopsis: After a freak accident puts Kelsey in the hospital and in the same room as a grand dame New York City businesswoman, Georgina Tate, Kelsey feels the need to reevaluate her isolated, career-driven life. And she’s decided that Ms. Tate is the perfect person to go along with a summer full of saying yes to the things that bring joy. When Georgina actually says yes to this scheme (with her own conditions), they’re off on the summer adventure of a lifetime.

🏁 My Take: Kelsey may be the heroine who starts the summer of yes and self discovery, but Georgina Tate is the character that makes this story sing. Her acerbic wit is a wonderful counterbalance to Kelsey’s overly sunny and optimistic viewpoint. Plus, Georgina’s lessons learned and relationships repaired were the real tearjerkers because she’s older and more stubbornly set in her ways. Ultimately, she has more to overcome. Even the audio narration of Ms. Georgina Tate, with her biting New York accent, was stellar.

Overall the story was solid. I loved the premise and it definitely made me smell the roses a bit more. Go into this for the life outlook makeover and/or the female relationships. I found the romance to be quite secondary.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

😘 Thanks to @ThomasNelson, @TNZFiction, and @NetGalley for an eARC and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to Courtney Walsh and Thomas Nelson for gifting me a review copy of The Summer of Yes.

I just love that Courtney Walsh writes books that make us happy, and this book is no exception. Wonderful characters, positive friendships, love, forgiveness, an uplifting plot that will pull at your heartstrings, and an inspirational message about not having regrets.

A near-death experience and then a hospital stay leads Kelsey Worthington to meet Georgina Tate. Georgina’s kidneys are failing and she finds she has some regrets about the things she pushed aside in life. She’s a lesson in not putting things off until ‘someday’, and after some convincing Kelsey and Georgina head off on her Summer of Yes adventure.

The audio is fantastically narrated by Tanya Eby and Cathi Colas, and comes in at just under 11.5 hours.

A great read with such emotion and power behind the storyline. The main character was hard to enjoy and some of the story just seemed so unrealistic, how her son just up and forgave her without consequence. Maybe i wasn't the target audience but what i did take from it, is that life is short and that resonated with me a lot.

If you woke up in a hospital bed and discovered you should be dead, how would that change how you lived?

Kelsey Worthington’s writing dreams were collecting dust under the strictly ordered tasks that filled her days, along with all the fun and spontaneity that no longer fit within her self-imposed structure. Until a car jumped the curb and almost killed her.

Georgina Tate is THE legendary New York businesswoman who is the gold standard for every woman who dreams of running their own successful business. She is confident and demanding. And she is dying.

When Kelsey and Georgina end up in the same hospital room, the unlikely pairing sets off a summer of change neither of them saw coming. Deciding they both need to change their habits and find their joy, Kelsey convinces a very reluctant Georgina to join her on a road trip. And so begins their Summer of Yes – saying yes to the things that scare them, that haunt them, and that they’ve simply never tried.

Neither knew where they were heading or what they’d find there, but it was a summer that re-wrote both their stories.

Though this book was a little repetitive in the beginning (I found myself wanting to tell Kelsey to get on with it a few times 😉), it did draw me in about halfway, and I thoroughly enjoyed the last half of the book. Now I want a road trip and my own Summer of Yes!

A fun, love- and life-affirming book that may just pull you out of your comfort zone. Go ahead, eat that ice cream, take that trip, maybe write that book, and definitely say that “I love you!”

Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing/Thomas Nelson Fiction, NetGalley, and author Courtney Walsh for the complimentary advance copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

The story follows Kelsey and Georgina who meet while in the hospital. When Kelsey quickly recovers she has a new lease on life and is determined to say yes to things and bring Georgina along for the ride.

When Kelsey discovers Georgina is estranged from her family she makes it her mission to reunite them.

I typically love Courtney Walsh for a light romance with a guaranteed happily ever after. The Summer of Yes delivered on the happily ever after, but it was slow to start and I wish the book focused on one of the couples more, it felt by the time we got into the romance both couples were glossed over.

This was a cute, lighthearted read where the romance trope was only a fraction of the actual storyline. Our story begins when Kelsey is reevaluating her life in the hospital after a medical scare, and gets some hard-hitting advice from Georgina that springs her into a summer of getting outside of her comfort zone. But Kelsey’s summer of yes is only a small part of the story.

Throughout her journey, we get to see the genuine friendship blossom between the two woman, as much as Georgina pretends she doesn’t want it! I loved that the younger and older woman learned so much from each other throughout the summer’s adventures. The multi-generation female friendship felt so refreshing and wholesome. However, things begin to take a turn when Kelsey sets out to reunite Georgina with her son and ex-husband. From there, the storyline grows to explore family dynamics and forgiveness, as well as rekindled and new love.

This is definitely a book to read if you’re looking for a hopeful, feel-good story!

"The Sumer of Yes" stars a junior editor Kelsey who has just gone through a life-threatening accident. Inspired by her near-death experience and her dying hospital roommate - the fabulous, rich and famous Georgina Tate- she decides to chase life and follow her dreams. She is starting with the summer of YES! She will say yes to anything life throws at her way! And she will take Georgina along on the ride, even if she doesn't want to. And so starts the summer of yes, where both women will discover what is important for them in life.

---

What a fun audiobook this one was! It gave me major "The Devil Wears Prada" vibes at times. It might be because of the dynamic of the two FMCs, but well...in "The Summer of Yes" they have a bit of a healthier relationship. I truly liked the storyline of the book. I feel like it has a bit more of a deeper meaning than regular romances and reminds you (at least it made me) to live life to the fullest and get out of your comfort zone.

One of my favourite quotes from the book:
""And there is one important thing I forgot about being a young woman with dreams."
"What is it?" she asks. I draw in a breath.
"We all need someone to believe in us.""

My overall rating of the book is 4 stars. I liked the storyline and the characters and I'd recommend it to all the other romance lovers out there who wish to read a romance book with a bit more of a deeper meaning.

I would like to thank the author, the publishers and NetGalley for giving me a chance to listen to the ALC of this book.

This premise of this book seemed really cute, but the young FMC was super annoying and the older FMC was equally annoying. The younger FMC’s idea of “the summer of yes” seems like a great idea. It could have been, if she didn’t force everyone else to come along for the ride. This was almost a DNF, but I really wanted to see how it ended. It was okay, but overall I really couldn’t get into it.

This book. Right. Here!👏
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK!
It has a beautiful message of learning the power of saying yes (and sometimes no) to things in life and to LIVE.

Sometimes when you read a book you never know the timing to read it was perfect for the place you are in life right now until you reach a spot on the story that complete moved you to tears because you could relate with the character 100% in that moment.
I needed this book and boy did it make me feel things.

I loved the characters so much and at the end I felt like they were my friends.
Kelsey and Georgina were a fun duo.

But seeing the growth the characters had and going through the journey of saying yes and see what they were willing to say yes AND no to was a lovely journey to see, lovely human growth and connection.

I just loved how relatable the characters were, the way they overcame their fears and learning to step out of that comfort zone and saying YES to living life more and not always doing the safe comfy thing in saying No all the while staying true to themselves . But just as much as they learned to say yes they learned it’s still ok to say no.

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone and I would highly recommend reading the physical book and not the audiobook I didn’t 100% like how the voice actor narrated but I didn’t let that hinder the rating for the book.

"The Summer of Yes" explores themes of regret, end-of-life self-actualization, and friendship. Kelsey is a young woman who has sacrificed everything for her fledging career. She doesn't particularly love her job or her industry. She hates her boss and most of her colleagues. But after a car accident that leaves her in the hospital, Kelsey begins to wonder if it is worth it giving up her friends, family, hobbies, and aspirations for an unfulfilling career. Georgina is a business mogul at the tail end of her career. Through hard work and ambition, she has built a business empire, but it has cost her everything. Now dealing with health complications, she is forced to reckon with everything she sacrificed at the altar of success. Kismet brings Kelsey and Georgina together and they see their ambition reflected in each other, and they decide to change their lives.

This book includes:
- mentor-mentee dynamic
- YOLO attitude
- Dual POV
- Regret and rebirth

This book does such a great job of holding a mirror to the reader and forcing them to reckon with their life and the decisions they have made. With so much reflection on regret, it is easy for readers to adopt Kelsey's new "YOLO" philosophy into their own lives. Unfortunately, I found Georgina and Kelsey to be quite grating on my sensibilities and was unable to finish the book because I was so annoyed at the characters.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Courtney Walsh for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Short description:
When Kelsey finds herself waking up in a hospital bed after a car accident she is astounded to find out, that she is sharing the room with non other than Georgina Tate, who is THE legendary businesswoman of New York City and queen of all the girl bosses there are. Kelsey, who is struggling to build a career, and sees Georgina as an idol only asks her one question: Is it worth it? When she doesn't get an answer right away, she realizes that there were so many things she said no to in the past, because she put her career first. So she decides: from now on, she will say yes. Georgina, who is terminally ill, is strung along, because Kelsey surmises, that she has some things, that need to be sorted out, before she dies. And so begins a roadtrip down memory lane, to reunite Georgina with her estranged son...


THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS AHEAD!


Review:
This story felt like The Devil Wears Prada (aka Georgina) meets Book Lovers (aka Kelsey, a woman working in publishing, going to a small town on behalf of somebody else and falling in love with a hot guy there. Unfortunatley that's not very original, which is an issue this book has overall. This is why the story is very forseeable and quite... meh...
Georgina is an awesome kickass businesswoman, but too stubborn to be authentic (just over the top!), Kelsey is off to a good start, but she does most of the things in her Summer of Yes in relation to Georgina or Hayden, which makes her kind of obsolete at some point. Oh, and Hayden is probably the most boring mmc I've ever encountered. He is simply bland and I didn't feel any sparks at all between him and Kelsey.
But what I liked least, was that everything happened so ✨ easy ✨, which makes the story unauthentic and unrelatable to me:
~ the overall synopsis is quite ridiculous to me: why would a millionaire businesswoman hang out with Kelsey, who is just one step above an internship in her job. Kelseys "arguments" didn't convince me at all, and I would have said no, if I was Georgina. So if you can't ignore this (like me), this is not the book for you.
~ the reunion was so (for lack of a better word) easy...

On a very random note: I don't understand why this book is marketed as Christian Literature? There is nothing specifically Christian about it, except Kelsey (or her mom, I don't remember exactly) mentioning that they are Christian, but that's about it...
This is a shame, because I (as a non-Christian) wouldn't have been interested in this book had I seen that it belongs in that genre before...

On the plus side:
+ I liked the subplot about how authors only get published when they have a certain amount of tiktok followers (which is ironic, seeing how this book reads like a composition of some of the most popular booktok books of the last years).
+ I did love the cover art
+ The narrators were absolutely nailing it.
+++ It definitely is a light summer read/listen, perfect for turning off ones' brain and enjoying light entertainment, which is why I kinda liked it anyway, despite all of my critizism above.

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh is a story of friendship, second chances, forgiveness, mixed with laugh out loud moments.

The friendship between Kelsey and Geogina is fun and the characters are well developed.

I recommend saying yes to The Summer Of Yes!

Thank you to Netgalley for the Audio Book of this book!

The Summer of Yes was such a fun listen! I really enjoyed the dynamics and the chasing your dreams messaging!

The Summer of Yes was the first book I've read by this author, but I've heard such great things and had to request this one on NetGalley.

I chose to listen to the audiobook, and as someone who doesn't listen to many books, I thought it was done really well. Both narrators did a wonderful job and portrayed their very different characters well. I thought the first probably 25-30% of this book was quite slow, but kept listening despite struggling to get into the book, and was really glad I did. The message about taking chances, saying yes to new opportunities, and Georgina and Kelsey's friendship was beautiful to see unfold. Georgina was the sassiest old lady and I found her dry humor to be quite enjoyable, very opposite from Kelsey's bubbly personality, but they complimented each other.

This is a wonderful summertime read, with a lovely takeaway message that everyone should read. If you're looking for an easy, uplifting read, I recommend you check this one out!

I just love these books. They're such light and quick reads that I've been gobbling them all up! Definitely going to have to buy a copy for my shelves

Kelsey Worthington’s, day wasn’t supposed to go this way. She wasn’t supposed to be getting Starbucks for her boss and she certainly did have get hit by a car and end up in the hospital, on her bingo card. That is what happened though, she wakes up in a hospital bed, with no memories after getting the Starbucks. Her family & friends don’t know she is there, nor does anyone else and she isn’t really worried about that. She is intrigued by her roommate, Georgina Tate, a legendary NY business woman. Since she will be in this bed, in this hospital for some time, she slowly befriends Georgina. The two have nothing in common but it doesn’t seem to matter. Even when Georgina won’t disclose why she is in the hospital to anyone. She eventually caves and tells Kelsey. Their differences aren’t so drastic. Kelsey is a dreamer, who doesn’t know how to stand up for herself. Georgina is so used to making up her mind quickly and decisively. She has confidence enough two people. The two could really use each other outside the hospital and it so happens they do. With Georgina’s failing kidneys and Kelsey’s desire to make changes in her life, the two set out, to conquer the world, make amends and find peace with their lives. Both woman give it their all to have the summer of fun. They let loose, have faith in themselves and the process. Kelsey even finds love and Georgina works on redemption with her son.
This was a very cute story and the prefect summer listen. Tanya Eby & Cathi Colas did a great job narrating. The characters really make this story, so good. It is light and witty, just like I like it. I want to thank Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Courtney Walsh for my copy of The Summer of Yes, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to listen and review this book. I am so happy to listen to all the summer books.

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date: July 1

This was a perfect read for when you want something inspirational and light-hearted. It held a beautiful message about what really matters in life and the journey to figure that out.

I loved the relationship between the MCs. The 75-year-old famous businesswoman living her last days, and the younger, spunky woman looking to change things up after a near death experience were hilarious together.

It’s like The Devil Wears Prada vibes if the mean boss was old and dying and the younger girl has a near death experience and midlife crisis. 😂

I love Courtney Walsh’s writing and am always left with warm fuzzies when I finish one of her stories. I read this via audio and would recommend the format.

Perfect for you if you like:
Women’s fiction + romance
What’s truly important in life
Near death experience
Adjusting perspective on life
Strangers to lovers

Thank you @thomasnelson, @harpercollins, and @courtneywalsh for the advanced review copy!

The perfect summer read! The Summer of Yes is a book that will make you laugh and also help you remember what is really important in life.
In the story two women embark on an adventure after a chance meeting. The one rule they have is that you must say "Yes" to everything. Saying "Yes" takes them on an exciting journey that impacts their past and present.