About the Book:
Title: Just Let Go
Author: Courtney Walsh
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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.
~*~
About the Author:
Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theatre director, and playwright.
Her debut novel, 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.
Courtney lives in Illinois with her husband and three children.
Visit her online at www.courtneywalshwrites.com.
Guest Post by Courtney Walsh:
It’s funny where inspiration can come from. An overheard conversation in the line at the bank. A story filtered through generations. A rumor that, if true, would make a juicy story… inspiration is everywhere.
Even in the movies, you watch with your kids.
When I first started “plotting” (I put that in quotes because I don’t really plot, but I do have a loose map of where I’m heading) Just Let Go, I had a few ideas about my opposites attract love story that I really loved. I knew I wanted to explore the idea of accepting an apology you never got, and I wanted to take a deeper look at how we can’t really move forward until we let go of the past—and I knew I wanted my hero to be an adrenaline junkie who’d never really had to work for his success. You know those types of people…everything comes easily for them. They’re practically born on top.
And that made me wonder, what happens to someone like that when their bright light starts to flicker?
As I was brainstorming the story, a writer friend of mine pointed out that there were similarities to the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. My hero, Grady Benson, was in a predicament a lot like the one Lightning McQueen finds himself in. I’m a huge fan of Pixar movies, so I liked this as inspiration for one of my novels. I found that Grady’s character is a bit like Lightning’s, though his journey is different.
It was fun to think through that cartoon, which I’ve seen a million and two times, from a story perspective. I gained a new appreciation for the incredible storytellers at Pixar.
Inspiration really is everywhere, and writers are always watching and listening for it. I guess I never expected those countless viewings of cartoons to influence my writing, but a good story is a good story, animated or not.
~*~
My Review:
This story is wonderfully written and the main characters are not easily forgotten.
Courtney Walsh is a skilled storyteller who holds nothing back when she delves deep into her characters and shows the reader how their backstory affects their role in Just Let Go.
The dialogue in this story is fresh and witty. As a reader, this story kept my attention from Chapter One through The End.
The plot was solid and takes turns may surprise even the most experienced reader cannot guess. As a romantic, I loved that the heroine worked in a floral shop. It's a great backdrop for a story that includes romance. The heroine's romance with the hero did not easily unfold after her unfavorable first impression of him. The fact that he had quite the reputation following him only added an extra layer of conflict to the story as it presented all sorts of roadblocks to his desired romance with the heroine.
This story seemed to be family-oriented and that made me smile.
Just Let Go is well-deserving of a five-star review!
*Celebrate Lit provided me (Alexis A. Goring) with a complimentary copy of "Just Let Go". My opinions in this book review are my own.
~*~
Giveaway Details:
Courtney Walsh is a skilled storyteller who holds nothing back when she delves deep into her characters and shows the reader how their backstory affects their role in Just Let Go.
The dialogue in this story is fresh and witty. As a reader, this story kept my attention from Chapter One through The End.
The plot was solid and takes turns may surprise even the most experienced reader cannot guess. As a romantic, I loved that the heroine worked in a floral shop. It's a great backdrop for a story that includes romance. The heroine's romance with the hero did not easily unfold after her unfavorable first impression of him. The fact that he had quite the reputation following him only added an extra layer of conflict to the story as it presented all sorts of roadblocks to his desired romance with the heroine.
This story seemed to be family-oriented and that made me smile.
Just Let Go is well-deserving of a five-star review!
*Celebrate Lit provided me (Alexis A. Goring) with a complimentary copy of "Just Let Go". My opinions in this book review are my own.
~*~
Giveaway Details:
To celebrate her tour, Courtney Walsh is giving away a grand prize of a library of Courtney Walsh’s books and a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/d0a4/just-let-go-celebration-tour-giveaway
~*~Blog Stops
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