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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

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 475: A Chat with D. T. Powell
byChautona Havig

There aren’t enough authors willing to tackle the difficult stories. There just aren’t.  Many (guilty here!) feel inadequate to the task, want to escape the tough stuff rather than confront it–so many reasons. Listen in as I chat with D. T. Powell about what made her write, With Mercy’s Eyes.

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

 Loved chatting with Powell about her heart for those who often find it hard to interact with Christians–whose choices make others uncomfortable.  Powell shows love and compassion without ignoring Biblical truth, and the result is a powerful story we could all learn from.

With Mercy’s Eyes by D. T. Powell

He turned his back on God a long time ago. But God never forgot him.

Six months after struggling actor Lane Harris lost his husband in a tragic accident, he lands a movie role guaranteed to put him on the Hollywood map. But one producer holds the power to shut down his shot at stardom—and she’s a Christian. If she finds out he’s gay, it’s over. Lane is careful not to say too much around her.

When an alcohol-fueled tryst with his co-star ends in humiliation, and his landlord hands him an eviction notice, Lane looks for someone to talk to. He finds a confidant in the Christian producer. After a night of too little sleep and not enough coffee, he lets slip his sexual orientation. Instead of a verbal flogging, the woman recounts recently losing her own husband.

The only Christians Lane knows condemn him upon learning he’s gay. But this one is different. She doesn’t embrace his sexuality, but instead of treating him with disdain, she offers compassion. Christians are supposed to hate people like him. So, why doesn’t she? – – – – – – – With Mercy’s Eyes by D. T. Powell is an issue-facing, contemporary novel for adult churched Christians. It addresses homosexuality and same-sex attraction from a Biblical perspective without falling into the trap of the extreme responses we too often see from modern churches. It holds similar views to Jackie Hill Perry, Becket Cook, Rosaria Butterfield, and Christopher Yuan.

Learn more about on WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

 

withmercyseyes.com

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Episode 475: A Chat with D. T. Powell
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