Just Let Go by Courtney Walsh

About the book: (from the publisher)

For Quinn Collins, buying the flower shop in downtown Harbor Pointe fulfills a childhood dream, but also gives her the chance to stick it to her mom, who owned the store before skipping town twenty years ago and never looking back. Completing much-needed renovations, however, while also competing for a prestigious flower competition with her mother as the head judge, soon has Quinn in over her head. Not that she’d ever ask for help.

Luckily, she may not need to. Quinn’s father and his meddling friends find the perfect solution in notorious Olympic skier Grady Benson, who had only planned on passing through the old-fashioned lakeside town. But when a heated confrontation leads to property damage, helping Quinn as a community-service sentence seems like the quickest way out―and the best way to avoid more negative press.

Quinn finds Grady reckless and entitled; he thinks she’s uptight and too regimented. Yet as the two begin to hammer and saw, Quinn sees glimpses of the vulnerability behind the bravado, and Grady learns from her passion and determination, qualities he seems to have lost along the way. But when a well-intentioned omission has devastating consequences, Grady finds himself cast out of town―and Quinn’s life―possibly forever. Forced to face the hurt holding her back, Quinn must finally let go or risk missing out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Genre: Fiction/Romance/Christian

If this were a movie, I’d rate it: PG…maybe even G

About the author:

Courtney Walsh is an author, artist, theatre director, and playwright. Just Let Go will be her eighth inspirational romance novel. Her debut, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. A creative at heart, Courtney has also written two craft books and several full-length musicals. She lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing arts studio and youth theatre. They have three children.

Connect with the author: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

My take:

Billed as clean and wholesome, and so it is — without slipping into sappy (which clean and wholesome can sometimes do). Though you’ll not find many surprises in either character or plot twists, sometimes that kind of predictability is welcome. A comfort read. Within the confines of the genre, this gentle romance is fresh, original, and wholly likeable. Especially if you’re drawn to small-town stories with a cast of homespun characters.

Fans of Becky Wade, Susan May Warren, Beth Wiseman, and Denise Hunter will find another story to love in Just Let Go.

And can we give a shout-out to the cover artist as well? Such a pretty cover, a piece of art in and of itself, and perfectly suited to the story.

Thanks to Tyndale House for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.