Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh

 Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh
5 Stars

Stay tuned for my reading vlog on this one!

COURTNEY DOES IT AGAIN! WOW! I loved this book so much! Her books just bring me so much joy. I laughed so much. It was giving early 2000s rom-com, I kept picturing Katherine Heigel and James Marsden from 27 Dresses LOL. SO GOOD.

If you want all the joy, read this.

Second chances, funny moments, plenty of depth, clean romance - the best.

I love that the characters are middle age in their 40s. Such a breath of fresh air to see this, especially as I just turned 36 this year and I find myself seeking characters in their 30s and 40s out in books these days.

Claire is recently divorced, as her husband cheated on her after 20 years of marriage.  Claire moves from Colorado to Chicago, a place dear to her heart, as she loved being in rural Illinois growing up. She moves to a new apartment in the city and is ready for a fresh start. Her daughter Minnie is trying to set her up on dates though and makes her a dating profile online. Things get a bit complex when the apartment building owner, Miles, and her have quite the meet cute. Miles is also divorced, isn't seeking getting married again himself...and he starts helping with the matchmaking for Claire. Only you already know....the chemistry is more between Claire and Miles than anyone else they may be trying to date along the way...disastrous dates by the way....little do they know where their own relationship will end up.

But this book was more than just a romance.
This book was about self-discovery after your life turns upside down. It's a reminder to be with someone who supports you in what you enjoy. Lift each other up. I had the best time with this book and would recommend this book to everyone. It's truly one of those books that felt like real life. The epilogue was the best and gave me all the emotions - I teared up it was so beautiful.

The audiobook was also top tier. As an audiobook girlie, I loved the narration. She did a great job and I felt like I was right there with the characters while listening.

Will always recommend a Courtney Walsh read!!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and libro.fm for a gifted ebook and audiobook to read and listen to for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Libro.fm Audio (Supports Local Indie Book Stores): 
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781400352906-brighter-than-before 

Sign up for Libro.fm here: https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm206402

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RawKds

Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9781400352883_brighter-than-before

*Amazon link is affiliate link and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Everything's Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh

ARC Review - Releasing June 10, 2025

Everything's Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh
4 Stars

🎭When your Broadway dreams lead you to.....a retirement community? This is a story about losing it all and finding something even better. 💫 

⭐Read This If You Love:⭐

🎭🎶🎬Books about Theatre & Music Production
💕💌🌸Clean Romance
🏡🧓🪴Retirement Community
🤗🏠🍲 Found Family
☀️🍉🕶️A Good Summer Read

Rosie's journey is funny, real and inspiring. We follow a heartwarming and humorous story where she rediscovers her purpose after her dreams have shifted. Rosie has been wanting to be on Broadway and continues to strike out on her big dreams as a working actor. She goes home and is offered a job as the director of a regional theatre production of Cinderella - the catch? The job is in Wisconsin, not New York. She goes to take this job and realizes the job she accepted is actually in a retirement community and the "actors" are actually senior citizens. 

We see Rosie really experience growth here from as what starts as a detour becomes a journey of self-discovery, joy and surprises. She meets Booker, who is a cinnamon roll type guy that helps her work through her feelings. He also was very patient with her, which I appreciated. She struggles with so much that I find relatable and I think others will too. It just took me quite some time to get connected to her personally (a lot of internal dialogue that was hard to digest), so I would say around 40% I was more connected to the story. 

The side Senior characters really made this story too, so iconic! 

Overall, a good book that I think would be a fun, easy recommendation for a contemporary women's fiction with a little romance to read during the summer or on a beach trip! (Romance could have been a bit more developed, but still cute!)

Oh, and READ THE AUTHOR’S NOTE! Loved that.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for a copy of the audiobook and e-book to honestly listen to and read for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content: Clean romance, no language, a mention of "oh dear Lord in heaven" in a moment that would be considered shock, parent abandonment mentioned, mentions of death of a loved one, some inuendo jokes but nothing explicit. overall clean contemporary women's fiction.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7507022594
Amazon: https://amzn.to/42vo70c
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/619864

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

 

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh - 4.5 Stars

"Society lies to women when it says they can have it all, a family, career, success at home and success in the workplace. You can't. At least not all at the same time."

"Yes. It's risky to feel things. And it's risky to hope for good. And it's hard to say yes to the unknown. And it doesn't always result in wonderful memories. But that's what it means to be alive."

A story all about what really matters most in life and saying yes or no to the RIGHT things. I needed this book at such a time in my life when things are crazy as a busy working Mom to a special needs child. I am constantly busy, working, trying to DO IT ALL, when we can't. I find myself spending too much time on the things I don't need to be doing and not prioritizing what I should in life.

This story makes you realizes truly how short life is and how things could end in the blink of an eye. Take the vacation. Go on that road trip. Enjoy life with family, even in the hard. Take the chance and you never know what beauty may come from the ashes. 

This book is a clean, women's fiction contemporary story. We have some romance but I was primarily invested in the friendship that develops between Kelsey and Georgina. Kelsey works all the time and is always busy. She gets hit by a car and ends up in the hospital next to Georgina, one of New York's successful business women. Georgina is dying from kidney failure, unless she can get a transplant. Georgina is a woman who spent most of her life working all the time, prioritizing her career success over her son and husband. She's been apart from them for 20+ years and now that she is dying, she is filled with regrets. Along comes Kelsey, who realizes from Georgina's story she is repeating many of the same mistakes in her 30s. She pushes Georgina and her to have a "SUMMER OF YES" - where they go on a trip and say yes to things that they normally wouldn't. To get out and enjoy life and see what they have been missing. What Georgina doesn't know is Kelsey has some plans up her sleeve to help Georgina reconcile with her son and husband after all these years. The story kicks off here.

I really related to the subject matter in this story as I mentioned. I felt a new perspective reading through this. I need to say no to things I always say yes to in my "people pleasing" self and start saying "yes" to what is most important to me in life and take risks where necessary. You never know where it could lead.

Now, it's important to go in this book knowing it's not meant to be a "Christian Fiction" book. It's meant to be a clean, secular fiction book in my mind. Do I think this book could have benefited from a few moments of gentle, everyday faith content and removing some of the things about the universe, fate and our main girl not knowing really where she stands with God? Absolutely. But do I think the overall message Courtney is sharing here is well needed in today's society, especially for us women who feel like we have to be everything for everybody else and "do all the things" -- ABSOLUTLEY! 

As a special needs Mama, I needed many of these reminders regardless and I appreciate Courtney tackling this topic and writing a clean fiction story to represent it. 

I am so glad I purchased this book for my summer reading vlog, full thoughts and reactions to come in a future reading vlog.

Highly recommend as a good summer read.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6537616258

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4cxVxgY
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/560299

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh - 5 Stars

Ya'll, I just absolutely loved this book. Book 1 was amazing. Book 2 is amazing. Courtney's Rom-Coms are the BEST! I love these feel good stories that have beautiful happy endings - exactly what I need in life right now. 

I LOVE a good Grumpy/Sunshine trope and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT ya'll! I love Eloise and how she sees the good in everyone and has the most heartwarming personality. She truly exudes everything SUNSHINE and I absolutely love that! Meanwhile, Gray's grumpiness and the reasons behind it are sad and understandable, but loved seeing him open up along the way. Eloise really brought out the best in him and I loved that! I also LOVED the reveal / twist in this book. My favorite part that really made the story for me. 

The story: Eloise sees her ex boyfriend/boss on New Year's Eve and doesn't want him to think she is all alone. With the encouragement of others, she kisses a stranger for the first time ever in an effort to make her ex jealous. Fast forward to this man being Grayson Hawke - the newest star of the Chicago Comets Hockey Team, recently traded and not happy to be there. The kicker? Eloise is hired to be Gray's assistant and help him warm up to Chicago and his new team. Can she change how he feels? The story kicks off here.

Overall, a great second book in the series. Loved seeing Poppy and Dallas too. You can technically read this as a standalone, but I recommend reading My Phony Valentine by Courtney first, as you get the best reading experience that way!

5/5 Stars

Amazon: https://amzn.to/49EShz9

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

 

My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh

 

My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh - 5 BIG Stars!

This book is EVERYTHING I needed in a GREAT rom-com! Fake dating, witty banter, hockey player MMC, Small town chef FMC, a funny grandmother, no 3rd act break up, no miscommunication, so many interactions between our couple --we love to see it!

I was having a tough day over the weekend and picking this book up gave me all the happiness and fun I needed that day. It was the perfect light and fluffy read I needed!

Such a CUTE Valentine's sports romance read! Romance was clean!

This is all about famous hockey player Dallas Burke who bumps into restaurant owner and chef Poppy Hart. Dallas jumps right in with the situation of "fake dating" to help Poppy and the rest is history as a full fake romance ensures as his manager and meddling grandmother intervene since it would be a win-win situation to help Poppy's failing restaurant with the publicity and Dallas's bad guy reputation.

To sum it up - I just need to read all of Courtney Walsh's rom-coms now. 5 BIG STARS.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6207779116

Amazon: https://amzn.to/49kivqu

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Can't Help Falling by Courtney Walsh

                          Can't Help Falling - Courtney Walsh - New Favorite 5 Star Rom-Com!

Ya'll - this was SUCH AN AMANDA BOOK! I really enjoyed my time with this book. EMMY & OWEN FOREVER! 

🍂Best Friend's Brother

🍂Opposite's Attract

🍂Childhood Crush

🍂Firefighter Rescue 

🍂Bookish FMC

🍂Clean Romance

🍂Disability Representation (Dyslexia)

🍂Dual POV

🍂Small Town and Fall Vibes

The story starts off with Emmy getting started to work on her "secret" bookish podcast where she gives romance advice to those who call in or leave messages with questions (Reminds me of that awesome old radio talk show - Delilah! LOVE IT). Her house catches fire and she is rescued by Owen - the handsome firefighter who was her best friend's brother and the guy she had a crush on many years ago. Owen and Emmy haven't seen each other in 8 years and start to reconnect through this rescue process. 

I really related to Emmy in SO many ways! She preferred books and pajamas over partying any day and was a hopeless romantic - SO me! I also loved her love for Pride and Prejudice and the movie - ME! She just wanted her hand-flexing Mr. Darcy and we LOVE TO SEE IT. And the funny 2 Outlander references made me laugh so much! (Look here, "Chad" ain't no JAMMF LOL)

All the bookish references were GREAT! Owen was such a protector and I loved his complex character and learning about his life with dyslexia. Emmy truly cared for Owen and saw him as no one else did - and the fun secret letters/e-mails/chats that happened were the BEST. Loved Emmy's secret podcast and how Owen and her grew to really know each other again. The opposite's attract made me so happy - he was so practical and she was a hopeless romantic. It was done so well!

Overall, such a great rom-com that made me laugh and have the romance giggles! Pick this up! You will love it!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5800421720
Amazon: https://amzn.to/46mkmZR
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrJBzCMbGUw&t=2s

Reading vlog already live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da7GKVwfaB8&t=