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Friday, October 5, 2018

Book Review - Summer Plans and Other Disasters, by Karin Beery

Book Synopsis
Elementary school music teacher Callie Stevens thinks she’s finally figured out God’s plan for her life—she even made a list to keep her on track.

Moving in with her brother and reconnecting with her ex-boyfriend are at the top of the list. What’s not on the list is running into her childhood crush, Ryan. God wanted her to connect with Kyle, right?

Trying to figure out God’s plan is hard enough. But a dating-averse older brother, the young blonde who adores him, a pregnant best friend, and Callie’s continual mishaps make her wonder whether her best laid plans were truly God-inspired. 
 
Now available from Elk Lake Publishing!


My Review
Summer Plans and Other Disasters tells the story of Callie, who moves home for the summer to live with her brother and pursue her ex-boyfriend Kyle.  She has her summer neatly planned out.  But things happen to make her re-think her plans, including meeting her long ago crush, Ryan, again.

This is such a fun, sweet read!   Callie is a very likeable and real character.  She is a music teacher and a bit of a klutz.  Her attempts to help her brother Jack as he works to maintain the lighthouse where they live and the surrounding park almost always end in disaster.

I loved the other characters too -- Callie's brother Jack, his best friend Ryan, Stacey (who has a crush on Jack), and Callie's friend Mae.

The atmosphere of the book was especially nice.  I felt like I spent a few hours enjoying life in a lighthouse in small town Michigan.

I also really liked the Christian message of this novel.  Callie is a planner but she learns to let go and trust God.  The author, Karin Beery, handled the message deftly and with a light touch.  The strength of the characters and the engaging plot were always at the heart of this novel.

This story is told from several characters' perspectives, and that took a few chapters to get used to.   But I soon was interested in what would happen next and I enjoyed getting to know the different characters via alternating perspectives.

I recommend Summer Plans and Other Disasters for fans of Christian fiction, women's fiction, and contemporary romance.  It would make a fun weekend read or vacation book.


Author Bio
Karin wrote her first novel in 2007 to cope with her husband’s cancer diagnosis (no worries – he’s cancer free now!). With the support and encouragement of her family, she submitted that manuscript. That particular manuscript has not been published yet, but Summer Plans and Other Disasters, her first published book, releases in September 2018.
 
Karin writes contemporary and speculative fiction stories with a healthy dose of romance, but she’s also expanded her repertoire: she writes feature stories for the local paper, copy material for businesses, and blog posts for herself and others. She even edits (offering copy editing, fiction editing, and critiques through Write Now Editing Services) and teaches (she’s the Substantive Fiction Editing instructor for the PEN Institute and can be found around the country teaching writing and editing courses at conferences and at her local college).


When Karin’s not reading, writing, or editing, she enjoys cooking and baking. She plays the piano and sings (the key of E, please). She kayaks with her husband in the summer, watches football in the fall (Go Blue!), and enjoys Christmas lights all winter long. Shy but extroverted, Karin adores her nieces and nephew and loves spending time with her family.  Learn more about Karin at: karinbeery.com.


You can also follow her on:




I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

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