If for Any Reason by Courtney Walsh - Reviewed

About the book:

Title: If for Any Reason
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Tyndale House

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. 

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About Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theatre director, and playwright. She writes small town romance and women’s fiction while juggling the performing arts studio and youth theatre she owns and runs with her husband. If For Any Reason is her eleventh 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, and her contemporary romance Just Let Go won the Carol Award in 2019. 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 and a sometimes naughty Bernedoodle named Luna.

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My Thoughts:

In her new novel, If for Any Reason, Courtney Walsh takes us to Nantucket island. Whether a small town like Harbor Pointe or the island of Nantucket, Ms. Walsh creates an adventure of the heart, soul, and family.

Emily and Hollis are imperfect people with complicated pasts that are littered with mistakes and regrets. They long for just a moment of knowing they're doing something right.

Throughout the story Ms. Walsh's love for the theater comes through the heroine, Emily Ackerman, is a former Broadway performer.

While this is a contemporary romance read, Ms. Walsh has placed a time-slip element through secondary character's Isabella and JD. I am a huge time-slip fan so I love seeing it pop up in a book.

I love the letters Isabella wrote to Emily. They gave the novel Isabella's story. As a mom and daughter, I think handwritten letters is the most precious gift a mother could give her daughter.

My bottom line . . 

This is a book that you'll think about not only as you read but after you've turned the last page. I enjoyed every minute I spent in Nantucket getting to know Hollis, Emily and Jolie. Go take a vacation to Nantucket. You won't regret it!