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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

So Why Is Everyone in Love with Just Let Go?

by Chautona Havig · 12 Comments

As my finger slid along the trackpad, inching the cursor away from the link on the Facebook page, a message popped up.

“Why do we judge books by their covers when most authors don’t design their own cover art, anyway?”

Guilt slammed into me and knocked me flat on my rump. You’d think with all the padding I have that it wouldn’t hurt. You’d think wrong.

I shot back a comment about my .02 on authors being given veto power and teaching them how to use that. “I get why they don’t want authors creating their own covers. Most have no design sense and get too ‘on the nose’ with their cover art.”

“But when the designer doesn’t even get the hair color close… this gal was blonde! Why do they have a raven-haired beauty on the front?”

“If the story’s good, don’t blame the author for what she often can’t—or doesn’t know she can—control. Pretend that is an old picture before she got past her Goth phase.”

A giggle followed. I thought I’d diffused the angst until she pulled out the big guns. “It’s like that book you ranted about a few years ago—the one that took place in Denver in February and had green, leafy trees with a girl in a sundress on the front.”

That was it. I slid my finger along that trackpad and clicked the link to sign up for the Celebrate Lit blog tour and requested a review copy. I’d allowed a gorgeous cover to taint my opinion of Courtney Walsh’s work for too long.

Shame on me.

And as the reviews started rolling in, I began to wait impatiently for that little box on my editorial calendar that said, “Read Just Let Go.”

I’ll say it up front. This cover isn’t as gorgeous as the one that “betrayed” the interior (and it’s pretty gorgeous). That one sold the book for me. But this one… the cover beautifully reflects the interior without any inconsistencies. Just in case you were curious.

So Why Is Everyone in Love with Just Let Go?

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra cost for you.

So, Why Is Everyone in Love with Just Let Go?

Well, maybe it’s the delightfully flawed characters that feel so real you want to pick up the phone and call and say, “Hey… yeah. You blew it. But c’mon. The Lord forgives and you’ve got a lot of opportunities to do amazing things. Don’t give up now!

Quinn is still dealing with the pain of hurt and rejection, trying to live life in a self-created, work-driven bubble to protect herself from it. My only real objection to her is her name. Because I kept trying to see her as a guy. No, she’s not perfect.

And isn’t that a relief?

Grady started out a little one-dimensional and overly stereotypical. Yeah, he definitely improves on closer acquaintance. And one thing Walsh did brilliantly was to make him stay the same even as he took a huge journey to self-improvement. Not every author does that well. She did.

And every supporting character stood on his or her own two feet with interesting development and consistent portrayal.

Or, maybe they just like the small-town feel of Harbor Pointe, Michigan.

After all, it does feel as though you could walk down the sidewalk and step into Hazel’s Diner or the Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop. You’d wave at people you’ve known your whole life—or talk to them until they felt as though you’d known them forever.

Walsh captured her setting perfectly with careful attention to detail—but not so much that you choked trying to get it all down. She even made me believe Michigan has skiing. Somehow, downhill skiing in Michigan never entered my imagination.

But I suspect it’s more than either of those.

I suspect, even if they don’t realize it, the real appeal of the book is the subtle, gentle, ever-impressing reminder that we all have things in our past that try to hold us in a death grip. And we all can turn those things over to One who can release us from those memories and grant us a new beginning.

Grady and Quinn’s story is an old one—a beautiful redemptive tale of two people, both with baggage weighing them down, and how turning it all over to Jesus made all the difference.

Insert many swoony moments and even more kisses (or dreams of them) here.

Readers who love romances with a story that offers more than a dozen roses on a Saturday night will probably love this one.

Just Let Go Courtney WalshAbout the Book

Title: Just Let Go

Author: Courtney Walsh

Release Date: June 5, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romance

KU: no

Kindle Price: 14.99

Paperback: 14.99

Audiobook: 19.59

Synopsis: 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.

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Comments

  1. Chanel M. says

    July 4, 2018 at 7:31 am

    I don’t think it’s a crime to be attracted to book covers. People are attracted to others on sight, but it’s what’s on the inside that makes us like/love them. I think the same can be said for books (And I have to disagree that Just Look Up is prettier than Just Let Go. For me, it’s the other way around. But both book covers are gorgeous.) Anyways, I also like how all the components of a book make it irresistible. And I can’t wait to read Just Let Go to see Courtney achieve that.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      July 4, 2018 at 2:43 pm

      I actually meant that Paper Hearts is prettier than Just Let Go. I didn’t know “Just Look Up” existed. *blush*

      Reply
  2. Phyllis says

    July 2, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    i have the same problems with names in books. 🙂

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      July 2, 2018 at 1:26 pm

      This time it was just really hard!

      Reply
    • Joy @ Real World Bible Study says

      July 15, 2018 at 8:50 pm

      I feel like so many book titles are useless!

      Reply
  3. NZ Filbruns says

    June 30, 2018 at 12:36 pm

    Yes, Michigan has downhill skiiing! I’ve seen the ski runs. Never went on them myself, but they are there.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      June 30, 2018 at 1:34 pm

      It’s just not something I’d ever thought of. I picture Michigan too “flat” (as compared to mountainous) for downhill.

      Reply
  4. margaretkazmierczak.com says

    June 30, 2018 at 6:52 am

    Great review as usual Chautona. Love flawed characters.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      June 30, 2018 at 1:34 pm

      Me, too!

      Reply
  5. James Robert says

    June 30, 2018 at 6:04 am

    I appreciate learning about some terrific books we had not known about previously, through your blog. It sure helps find books my family would enjoy reading since they all love to read. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      June 30, 2018 at 1:35 pm

      I love reading! Have quite a few reviews coming up!

      Reply
  6. Michelle says

    June 30, 2018 at 5:55 am

    Thank you for this awesome review.
    I often judge a book by its cover and couldn’t decide on this one.
    Your review makes all the difference in the world.

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 482: A Chat with Lara d'Entremont
byChautona Havig

When Lara d’Entremont began describing her YA portal fantasy, The Painted Fairytale, I knew this would be right up my alley. Listen in and see how art becomes the portal to other worlds!

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Portal fantasy is my favorite, so I was crazy excited to learn about this one–especially the art tie-in. I can’t wait to dive in myself.

We chatted about her characters, the world, and the faith that connects them.

The Painted Fairytale by Lara d’Entremont

Seventeen-year-old Wren Devine refuses to share her art with anyone-other than her parents and her sister (who died three years prior). But when her mother submits her artwork to a mentorship program, and she gets accepted, Wren is forced to display her artwork for the eccentric Professor Hayes. Despite her fears, Wren hopes this mentorship will finally make her as worthy as her sister.

But this mentorship is about more than painting.

Wren soon learns that she has a magical ability to turn her paintings into portals to travel not only to other places but also to another world entirely. An eerie children’s book in the professor’s classroom reveals a wicked pirate with a vengeance who has her eye on Stefan Branson, a former student of Professor Hayes.

As all four of these lives intersect, it becomes apparent that everyone has a secret–some more deadly than others. The longer these secrets brew, the more deadly and heavy they become, and possibly lead to never seeing her former, earthly realm again. Wren must not only learn to release the shadow of her beloved sister but step boldly into her own world.

Learn more about Lara on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads.or on Subtack.

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Episode 482: A Chat with Lara d'Entremont
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