Book Review / Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh | If For Any Reason

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The Plot (from Goodreads):

Emily Ackerman has traveled the world, her constant compass and companion a book of letters her mother left for her when she died. With no father in the picture, her mom’s advice has been her only true north. But when professional failure leads Emily back to Nantucket to renovate and sell the family cottage she inherited, she wonders if her mom left advice to cover this . . . especially when her grandmother arrives to “supervise.” And especially when her heart becomes entangled with Hollis McGuire, the boy next door-turned-baseball star who’s back on the island after a career-ending injury.

As sparks fly between her and Hollis, Emily is drawn to island life, even as she uncovers shocking secrets about the tragic accident that led to her mother’s death. With her world turned upside down, Emily must choose between allowing the voices from her past to guide her future or forging her own path forward.

The Review: 

I signed up to read Is It Any Wonder, the second book in this series, with Uplit Reads for an Instagram book tour. If you stop by my blog often, you know I HATE jumping into the middle of a series, so I obviously had to read If For Any Reason first.

There were so many things I loved about this book. The location: I used to vacation to different parts of Cape Cod and the islands every year as a kid, so the Nantucket setting was absolutely perfect for me. The letters: I love the idea of a mom writing letters to her child, “if for any reason” she isn’t there to tell them herself. My mom passed away when I was young, and I would kill for a book full of letters from her. This is something I’ve already decided to do for my child (well, a journal addressed to them), so it was cool to read about it in a book. And finally, the love story: I’m a sucker for the-one-who-got-away love stories, especially when there’s a home reno involved. All in, this was the perfect beachy romance to add to my shelf this summer!

The only downside was that I didn’t realize this was Christian fiction. I’m not religious and don’t usually like books with Christian themes, but I definitely can resonate with someone who can’t believe in a god that would allow such terrible things to happen in their lives. I think the god parts made the prose a little awkward, but it wasn’t overly preachy. I would have preferred a lighter touch, but it was easy enough to skim those parts. The love story made it work it!

I’m definitely looking forward to Is It Any Wonder, and can’t wait to read more about this community.

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