Just Let Go (Courtney Walsh) – Review

~ About the Book ~

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:  Contemporary Romance
Release date:  5 June 2018
Pages:  381
Publisher:  Tyndale

Amazon US  //  Amazon AU  //  iTunes  //  Tyndale  //  Goodreads  //  Koorong

~ Excerpt ~

The front door of the restaurant opened, and a collective silence settled on the whole place. It was as if they sensed Grady Benson before he even set foot inside. Quinn’s eyes scanned the other patrons, expecting to see glares and grimaces given the damage he’d caused to this very diner.
But apparently she was the only one who remembered—even Betsy almost looked happy to see him. The owner of Hazel’s moved out from behind the counter and over to where Grady stood, looking like a child on his first day of kindergarten. They talked for a few seconds, and then Betsy pointed back to their corner, probably to Ryan, who would most likely be handling whatever help Grady had been sentenced to offer.
Lucy leaned in. “He might have a temper, but he sure is good-looking.” She nudged Quinn with her elbow.
“I hadn’t noticed,” Quinn said.
“What are you, dead?” Lucy rested her chin on her hand, propped up on the table by her elbow.
“I’m sure Derek would love to hear you think so,” Quinn said.
Hailey sauntered over with wide eyes and three plates of food. “How crazy is it we have an Olympian in Harbor Pointe?”
“And a hot one at that.”
Quinn took her plate and rolled her eyes. “I don’t see what the big deal is about this guy. He’s like a walking disaster.”
Lucy and Hailey exchanged one of their knowing glances across the table—the kind that said, We know something you don’t know.
Quinn stabbed her scrambled eggs with her fork and shook her head. “Di-sas-ter.”
But as Betsy led Grady Benson past Quinn’s table, her eyes met his for a split second, and Quinn quickly glanced away. Lucy was right. He was good-looking. But good-looking meant nothing to her—not when it came to troubled souls and entitled athletes.
And that’s all Grady Benson was, as far as she was concerned.

~ Review ~

Courtney Walsh has hit the ball out of the park with this one. I think it’s my favourite of her novels yet. In Grady and Quinn, she’s created two flawed, but very authentic characters who are the best kind of complement to one another, both for story enjoyment and character growth. Quinn’s lack of interest in Grady as either a person or an Olympic skier was exactly what he needed, and I loved that her disinterestedness didn’t feel contrived for the sake of conflict. It did, however, provide plenty of opportunity for Grady to stir the pot a little and get reactions out of her!

For all his faults, I found it impossible not to love Grady. He’s got a rugged mountain to climb—literally and figuratively—if he wants to be the best his field again, and it was very satisfying to see the gradual change in his character as he began to take some responsibility for his actions and discipline himself in a way he never had before. And Quinn wasn’t without the need for some introspection, either. Both of them needed to learn about grace and forgiveness, and the ebb and flow of their relationship as it developed felt completely true to their characters and the lessons they were learning about themselves.

There was also a great community of secondary characters in the story: Quinn’s father, sister, and nephew along with a few other long-time friends who have become like family, and also Quinn’s friends, Lucy and Hailey. They each had their contribution to make to the story, which was stronger for having them in it.

If you’re looking for a story with fantastic character growth, a highly-satisfying romance, and plenty of opportunities to smile and snicker along the way, you won’t be disappointed with this one.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

~ Giveaway ~

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

~ About the Author ~

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, 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 with her husband and three children.

Connect with Courtney
Website  //  Facebook  //  Twitter  //  Pinterest  //  Instagram

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