Book Review: Positively, Penelope (Skymar #2) by Pepper Basham

September 10, 2025August 21, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 410 pages
Author: Pepper Basham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Told mostly through letters, texts, and email, this contemporary romance will charm its way into hearts as Penelope rescues a theater and discovers her true self in the process.

Penelope Edgewood is practically positive in every way, so when, fresh out of college, she is awarded a paid internship to help save a century-old theater on the island of Skymar, she jumps at the chance. After all, a crumbling theater needs the special touch of someone who reveres all things vintage and adores the stage.

Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems at Darling House Theatre. Finances are in shambles, the local theater group is disenchanted, and the two brothers, Matt and Alec Gray, can’t seem to see eye-to-eye about how to run their theatrical business. So, of course, it’s the perfect place for Penelope to shine her own personal brand of sunshine.

With a little help from GK, the person emailing her encouragement along the way, she puts all her heart into helping the Grays save Darling House. But between Matt’s ever-present skepticism, Alec’s tendency to treat Penelope a little too much like the “princess” she thinks she wants to be (until someone actually started treating her that way), a grandfather who is stuck in his grief, and a mysterious person stealing Penelope’s marketing ideas, she’s not sure her optimism is enough to make a happily-ever-after of her own story, let alone The Darling House’s.

Between an adorable little girl, a matchmaker, a sea monster or two, and a copious amount of musical references, can Penelope draw enough confidence from her faith, her family, and her adoration of all things Julie Andrews, to find the thief and save the theater . . . without getting her heart broken in the process?

Thank you to Bibliolifestyle and Thomas Nelson for the gifted copy and LibroFM for the audiobook.

TOO MANY E-MAILS.

Honestly if the 200 pages of inane emails and text messages would have been taken out, I think I would have liked this story a lot more. Good HEAVNES it was TOO MUCH. And I stand by my statement that it didn’t genuinely further the plot or sub-story lines.

Ignoring that aspect, the rest of the book was sweet. I am not the type of personality to connect with Penelope but I honor and love her ability to look on the bright side and be a bit of sunshine to others in her life. She is hopeful and genuine and I loved how hard she worked at her commitments. The romance between her and Matt had some good tender moments. Different scenes felt a bit cliche, but I think that was the vibe of this book in general.

I do not recommend the audiobook. The intense litany of voices and narrators was more jarring than I expected. I loved some of the accents and others were hard to understand making reading at one speed more complicated.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Content Warnings: infidelity (briefly mentioned), loss of loved ones to cancer

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ARC Book Review: If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair

August 5, 2025July 25, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: August 5th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, school nurse Josie and her brother’s best friend–hockey player Wyatt Jacobs–are tricked into spending a summer together that’s anything but smooth sailing.

When Josie’s brother sends her to a random address for their (sometimes) annual Super Summer Sibling Extravaganza, she finds neither siblings nor extravaganzas. Instead, ends up at a run-down cottage on the Northern Neck of Virginia occupied by a hockey player she knows and loathes.

A hockey player who isn’t just one of her sports agent brother’s clients. He’s also his best friend. And Josie’s sworn enemy.

Oh–and her brother wants Josie to help Wyatt recover from his injury.

Dragging grumpy hockey players to physical therapy is a far cry from bandaging skinned knees, but for the price her brother offers to pay, Josie is willing to try.

Even if it means sharing what she dubs the quaint little murder cottage with Wyatt.

Begrudgingly, Josie starts to see a little more of the man behind the grumpy exterior. And when she finds out he was supposed to sail the Intracoastal Waterway south to Savannah scattering his uncle’s ashes, Josie surprises even herself by offering to be Wyatt’s first mate.

Smooth sailing is nowhere to be found, and Josie begins to wonder if they’ll be able to make it home without killing–or kissing?–each other.

And yet, the longer they share cramped quarters and canned food, the more of Wyatt’s layers she peels back until Josie realizes she misunderstood him, their shared history, and perhaps herself as well.

Thank you to Emma St. Clair for the gifted ARC.

OH HOW SOFT.

You know what we all need sometimes? A soft and sweet summer romance that just gives you the warm fuzzies. I adored this story. It was an easy read and I loved watching these two souls who were so oblivious to their love work it out sailing together. And did I mention that Wyatt is down bad? BECAUSE HE IS AND I LOVE IT. There were so many small moments that truly added to their love story. I love the quiet actions. Those always speak the loudest and make my heart burst.

I loved the few cameos from some of my favorite Appies and the growth that Wyatt showed throughout. I love watching grumpy characters soften and have some core realizations about their life. Josie was steadfast in taking care of Wyatt and I can’t tell y’all how many scenes I was giddy over. Your friendly reminder that closed door romances can bring the heat.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content warnings: grief depiction, loss of a loved one (recounted)

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Book Review: Wes and Addie Had Their Chance by Bethany Turner

July 19, 2025July 4, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Bethany Turner
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Wes left Addie at the altar two decades ago . . . and that was supposed to be the end of the story.

When her life crashes and burns in a flurry of secrets and redacted information, Addie Atwater-Elwyn hightails it home to the tiny mountain town of Adelaide Springs, Colorado–back to living with her dad, back to working a low-paying job, back to a life of disappointments. Growing up, nobody expected their local girl to become a high-ranking CIA analyst, married to a gorgeous CIA operative. But that was Addie’s life until she lost . . . well, everything.

Now she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life with a little help from old friends. But there’s one old friend she knows her life is better without–Wesley Hobbes, her childhood sweetheart who left her standing at the altar when they were eighteen years old. Truth be told, Addie would be perfectly content never seeing Wes’s stupid face ever again–which makes it very inconvenient that he’s now a beloved senator and presidential frontrunner, his face everywhere she looks. But that has nothing to do with Addie personally. He might make history, but in her book, he is history.

So, when the unwelcome Wes appears back in their hometown, no one rolls out the red carpet–not Addie and not an entire town that was forced to pick sides (and unanimously chose Addie) decades ago. Senator Hobbes certainly won’t win the popular vote in Adelaide Springs.

Wes, meanwhile, is sitting on a few secrets of his own, including the political scoop of the decade: he’d seriously rather gouge his eyes out than spend another minute in politics, much less ever go anywhere near the White House. Addie knows there has to be more to the story, and her curiosity is clouding her judgment. You can take the girl out of the CIA, but it’s not so easy to shake the CIA out of the girl. Of course, it’s not just curiosity (and the acknowledgement that his face isn’t so stupid after all) that’s been reawakened inside her. But after more than two decades, it’s too late. Wes and Addie already had their chance. Right?

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.

NOT SURE.

This is definitely my least favorite of the series AND on that note, this book really can’t be read as a standalone. I feel like it falls on you knowing the secondary characters well (from their books) so having that knowledge makes the dynamic make more sense.

I steadily watched this turn into a trauma dump. It felt like one thing after another and I kept quirking my head going, why are we adding this?? I think if the focus had been dialed in more the emotional impact would have been better. The themes darted all over the place.

One of the things about reading romance books is always going, do they make it after the epilogue? And honestly I DON’T KNOW THAT THEY DO. There’s so much baggage between them and I think that Wes should have finished going after his dream *spoiler* before settling? Is that just me?

Anyways, bummed by this one but maybe a new series will work for me.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild
Content warnings: loss of a spouse (twice, recounted), loss of a parent (recounted), alcoholism, grief

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Book Review: The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

August 29, 2024July 15, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fiction + Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: July 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A near-death experience catapults workaholic junior editor Kelsey Worthington into changing her life–one yes at a time.

Kelsey Worthington always dreamed of being a writer, but she’s settled into a routine of helping other people tell their stories in her job as a junior editor. She doesn’t go outside of her comfort zone. Her relationships are safe. Her job is secure. Her existence is stable. And she’s great with that.

And then, the accident.

While she’s in the hospital overnight, she meets an older woman named Georgina Tate–a glass-ceiling-shattering, wildly successful businesswoman. Georgina sacrificed everything to become the woman she is today, but now, with a pair of failing kidneys and only a handful of months left to live, Georgina is forced to come face-to-face with her regrets. Kelsey is forced to reckon with her own list of “things I’ll do someday,” and she starts to ask a simple but life-changing What if I said yes to all the things I normally say no to? And The Yes Plan is born.

It takes some convincing, but Georgina finally agrees to go along with Kelsey on her Summer of Yes adventures. The two of them set off to see what might be out there waiting for them if they simply open themselves up to it. Together, they say yes to whatever comes their way–a whole day being tourists in their own New York City, dinner with strangers, a convertible that is far from practical but so much fun. But when Kelsey springs a surprise visit to Georgina’s son Hayden and Georgina’s ex-husband (who is not so much of an ex), the older woman is less than thrilled. But this is where the true journey begins.

Two stories of love, forgiveness, regret, romance, and finding a way to live a fearless life intertwine as these two women make an indelible impression on each other. And it all starts with a simple “yes.”

WHAT A GEM.

I loved this. As someone who struggles with the same fears and issues surrounding saying “yes” more often, this felt like a book written for me. I loved Kelsey’s journey. I loved seeing her find herself and choosing to say more often enough to realize all of the little things she has been missing (and of course, finding love too!!).

And I really loved Georgina. Her story line brought me to some misty eyed moments and I loved that seeing her growth and she learned some hard truths and took the best step forward to finally reconnect with her family.

I liked the audiobook. I thought the romance was absolutely adorable. It was sweet read that had a lot of wonderful themes that are easy to connect to and this is a new favorite!

Overall audience notes: