Courtney Walsh

Lauren Richmond agrees to accept a ride from her brother’s best friend from California to just north of
Chicago at Christmas. Lauren isn’t a fan of Christmas but her brother is expecting his first child. Lauren isn’t a fan of her bother’s best friend either. She once had a massive crush on him but he carelessly moved on without her and broke her heart. But Will Sinclair has changed and he wants Lauren’s approval most of all. He also decides to use this trip to waken Lauren’s Christmas spirit.

Following the route of a previous road trip, Will stops at all the tourist places and slowly wins Lauren’s friendship. From a Christmas torchlight parade to sitting on Santa’s knee, Lauren comes out of her shell and finally admits to Will that she once had a crush on him and is developing feelings for him once again. They arrive home just in time for the baby to arrive and for Will to declare his feelings for Lauren and to start making wedding plans.

I found A Cross-Country Christmas to be a light hearted, enjoyable story. Both main characters narrate in alternate chapters so we, the readers, know exactly how feelings and emotions are developing. I found them both to be realistic and relatable characters. The romance develops slowly which added to my enjoyment of the story. All in all, A Cross-Country Chistmas was a delightful holiday romance.… (more)

Absolutely adored Christmas with a Crank by Courtney Walsh! It’s the perfect cozy, Hallmarkish Christmas romance! Grumpy/sunshine is one of my favorite tropes & combined with childhood friends to more & second chance romance is the whipped cream in my hot chocolate. I loved celebrating the last, best Christmas at Pine Creek Christmas Tree Farm with Olive & Liam & all the magical moments including sleigh rides with real life, escaping reindeer, scavenger hunts, & all the lovely traditions as Olive tries to help Liam remember everything he used to love about the farm.

Olive’s seeking a second chance after completely failing at her business venture & winding up in debt. Her artistic abilities & love of all things Pine Creek make her the ideal person to make the last Christmas at the farm memorable before they have to sell it off. Olive’s sweet memories of her childhood & the time she spent with Liam all come rushing back when the man himself unexpectedly decides to stay & help. But, the sweet friend she remembers doesn’t match the grumpy, brooding, although handsome version she sees now.

The last thing Liam wants to do is return home to the farm he wants to forget. The expectations of him taking over were dashed when he decided to go a different direction & become a video game designer. Though successful, he’s never forgotten those sweet memories of the farm or that first kiss with Olive when they were twelve, or the years since as he’s regretted missed opportunities with her. Now that he’s back, he has to decide if he’ll give his family & Olive another chance.

I devoured this book! I loved the idyllic setting of Pine Creek & could almost smell that delicious pine scent as I was reading. Olive’s & Liam’s romance was so good as they reconnect as friends & become more. I loved how they both changed & grew. It was so good seeing Olive regain confidence in herself & her abilities, & Liam become less of a crank as the story unfolded. Those stolen kisses, witty banter, & their hurkle durkle day had me ginning from ear to ear. I loved everything about this story & reading it was like curling up with a cozy blanket.

Highest of recommendations! I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are my own & voluntarily provided.… (more)

I almost DNF'd this after the first few chapters due to some swoony thoughts the main character has: "My what nice broad shoulders you have." "I want to run my hand through that hair." "What lovely teeth he has!" Multiple mentions of getting goose bumps from being around him.
BUT I am so, so glad I didn't. This was a really good book, I loved so many things about it!
Isadora is socially awkward and has been bullied for most of her life and treated poorly by her parents and her ex-boyfriend. On her 30th birthday she sees a magazine article "Thirty-One Ways to be Happy" and decides to conduct her own experiment to try and prove the author of the article wrong. That doing these things won't make you happy.
The story follows her as she tries all these 31 different things and along the way she ends up meeting some people. I love books where multiple strangers end up getting to know one another and get involved in each other's lives. One of these strangers is a sweet older man named Marty who was such a great character. Isadora also ends up meeting her neighbour Darby who has 4 children and a chaotic life. One of her kids is Delilah who I fell in love with. I wish there had been even more of her in the story. She's a 10 year old girl who acts much older. She also feels very alone and her and Isadore develop this incredibly sweet relationship.
After the initial swoony language Isadore does settle down a bit and the relationship develops at a nice pace.
At times the author also has someone narrating what's happening as if Isadora is a subject being studied. I really liked those parts as well.
I really liked this quote "I watch my kite soar; I see Cal smile; I feel the sun. And, for a moment, it's enough." I think this is such a great image of embracing those little moments in life.
And another quote "Happiness is a choice." Such a short sentence but so profound. So many people are searching for the secret to happiness in our world and they are running after so many things that they think will bring them happiness but in the end it really is a choice that we make.
This was a clean book, there was no language and just a few mentions of kissing. There is multiple mentions of being bullied which could be painful for someone who has been through that but the book is very hopeful.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

This book was reviewed on the Literary Club Podcast episode 80
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1984185… (more)

I loved this book so much I am buying a physical copy of it. If you are looking for an uplifting read, one that has a little humor, clean romance, and great advice for improving happiness in your life--this is the book. I enjoyed the main character (Isadora) and her self-talk. She has a delightful sense of humor and yet battles an awkwardness about social relationships that stems from a fear of being hurt as she has been so many times in her past. This book is her journey of enlightenment, growth, and healing. It was a perfect book for me to read and finish just before my birthday. Loved it!!!… (more)