This one was just ok. I didn't really care for the characters outside of Jack and Margie (and Alexi). The story was fine. I mainly kept reading because I wanted to see Jacqueline either get what she deserved or have a change of heart. Overall, a quick, breezy read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My thoughts: This was a fun contempory romance -- a clean one, no faith message. I liked Ginnie, she was fun and nice. I didn't care for Jackie so much. It was a fun setting, with two great heroes and a very low key romance. Written in Ms. Carlson's style fans will love it. Grab your copy today. I waa given a copy free and all opiniions are my own.

There are some authors I trust to deliver exactly what I expect when I pick up their books. For example, let’s say I am seeking a novel with a character who is at a crossroads in life, experiences an unexpected event that offers self exploration and understanding, meets a man who challenges and encourages her, and we have a happy ending. That’s when I pick up Melody Carlson. It is the kind of predicability I can rely on when the real world begs an escape, but don’t think that makes her predictable. The craftsmanship that delivers this comfort while creating completely different novels every time is worthy of great respect. On that note, I offer you my take on her latest, Just for the Summer.

Ginny Masters has worked her way up from the bottom to become manager of a posh boutique hotel in Seattle, but her life is not the glitz and glam it seems on the surface. Jaqueline Potter longs for glitz and glam, but instead manages her grandfather’s Idaho fishing lodge. Seeking a change of pace, both sign up to participate in a job swap. Just for the summer. But with the job swap comes a bit of a life swap. Jaqueline finds that the posh hotel daytime only scratches the surface of reality, and Ginny finds that the simple life just might be the life for her. At a crossroads, each has to make a serious decision about what happens in their lives at the end of the swap. With her trademark skill, Carlson delivers relatable characters and a satisfying storyline that will keep you reading.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

I grabbed this thinking it would be a fun, light read. It IS that but the writing is just not good and very cringy so, though it was a light read, I had trouble enjoying it. The premise was promising and I DID like many of the subcharacters at the fishing lodge but all of the MCs were superficial and the dialogue was BAD. I also did not realize this was a Christian publisher, so when there started to be mentions of God and our Lord, I lost even more interest (if this is your genre, go for it). And though this is (supposed to be?) a romance, this is not the main story line (if it is, it is not well done) and the ending seemed unnatural and rushed. I was close to DNFing this one but pushed through so I could give an honest review.

About this book:

“Ginny Masters manages a popular boutique hotel in Seattle and manages it with aplomb. But the daily challenges and irritations of a fast-paced job and a demanding boss are starting to get to her. Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather's fishing lodge in Idaho because it was the only job she could find after graduating with her hospitality degree. She's grateful for the work but longs for a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan life she's just not going to find in this backwoods town.
The solution to both their problems seems obvious. Just for the summer, they'll swap jobs and lifestyles. But they never anticipated swapping love interests . . .”


Series: As of now, no. It seems to be a stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is remembered & thought over; We see that Ginny has a faith, but no hints to Jacqueline having one (besides a mention of her sending a prayer for a new job); Ginny knows that she loves God and God loves her, but longs for being able to love and be loved in a human form as well; Mentions of God & His will; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going; A mention of purgatory;
*Note: The words ‘miracle’ and ‘heaven’ are used loosely (wanting a miracle for a job-related thing and thinking a place is heaven); The phrase “when hell freezes over” is said once; A mention of Jacqueline being almost “worshipful” to a new boss to get on her good side; Jacqueline teasingly calls Ginny a “saint”; Mentions of luck, being lucky, & lucky stars; A few mentions of magic & someone being a magician (not seriously); A mention of someone who has passed “looking down” with approval over someone; A mention of a child wondering if a place is haunted.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘doggone’, a ‘give a hill of beans’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘stinking’, a ‘ticked’, a ‘witch’ (calling a woman that), a ‘what the devil’, two ‘dad-burned’s, two ‘good grief’s, two ‘hurts like the dickens’, three ‘crummy’s, three forms of ‘dang’, four forms of ‘darn’, and five forms of ‘stupid’; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Drinking (with others, both Ginny and Jacqueline; Jacqueline plans to win a guy over with acting helpless and alcoholic beverages); Ginny’s boss manipulates her at work; Jacqueline lies, manipulates, looks to blame others for her mistakes, and has a bad attitude about working at her grandfather’s place (complaining, avoiding responsibilities, not being helpful; It’s said she has an “entitled superiority complex going on”); *Spoiler* Jacqueline feels like she is unwanted and unloved after seeing Ginny take over her job when she wants it back; This causes her to lie more to get rid of Ginny and have a certain man’s interest again; She has an outburst about no one liking her *End of Spoiler*; Ginny tells a lie (not being truthful about her feelings); A father makes his teen daughter tell a lie “for a good reason” (to be able to be alone with a woman); A teenager makes comments about not being happy in her family, yells at her mom, talks about being emancipated from her parents, & is hurt and bitter from her parents’ divorce; Mentions of a young son drowning & the possibility of others drowning (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths from cancer (a mother and a wife, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of injuries, pain, & a broken bone; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & bars; Mentions of an out-of-control party; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & manipulation; Mentions of fathers leaving their families, divorces, & the daughter of a divorced couple being upset (due to her mom “dumping her” on her father); A few mentions of jealousy & hatred; A few mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of a war; A couple mentions of a wife loving her husband’s money and family name more than him; A mention of death row; A mention of an abduction; A mention of thieves; A mention of arrests; A mention of a teenager “pranking” her stepfather by keying his car; A mention of a fire; A mention of cigarettes; A mention of a nightmare; A mention of hunting;
*Note: A man makes comments against cancer doctors due to losing his wife to cancer & hating doctors and medicine because of it; Both Jacqueline & Diana mention their therapists & what they’ve been told (such as Jacqueline being told that she overcompensates with guys because her father left her when she was little); Mentions of brand names, items, & stores (Keds, Carhartt, Ralph Lauren, Coco Chanel, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, T-Mobile, Jell-O, iPad, Safeway, & Goodwill); Mentions of authors (Stephen King & John Grisham); Mentions of Disneyland; Mentions of a baseball team; A couple mentions of anxiety; A mention of PTSD (Ginny being concerned over fish who were released after getting caught would have PTSD); A couple mentions of celebrities (Chris Hemsworth & Margot Robbie); A couple mentions of a song (‘The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night’); A couple mentions of car brands; A mention of Google; A mention of the Oscars; A mention of a magazine (Glamour).


Sexual Content- An almost kiss, a not-detailed kiss, and two barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Touches & Embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Jacqueline enjoys receiving attention from male guests & purposely dresses to get guys’ attention (including showing off her legs and waist); a ‘hunky’; Many mentions of dates, dating, secretly dating behind someone’s back, girlfriends/boyfriends, exes, & broken hearts; A few mentions of a kiss (that Jacqueline initiated with a guy); A few mentions of a bachelorette party (with a man there as well); A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of flirting; A bit of love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Genevieve “Ginny” Masters, age 37
-Jacqueline Potter, age 27
P.O.V. switches between them
288 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Two Stars (and a half)
My personal Rating- Two Stars (and a half)

Funny thing, this book felt like a throwback for me. Melody Carlson was one of the first (if not the very first) author I read when I got into Christian Fiction 13+ years ago and I really enjoyed her contemporary, usually drama-filled books. That’s not to say that I liked every book (or would recommend them now, I’d have to reread most of them), but this book definitely reminded me of that style. I probably would have enjoyed it much more when I was in the 13-15 age range (as this is the style of books I enjoyed then), but wasn’t fully my cup of tea now in my mid-twenties.

I liked Ginny, but I found Jacqueline to be insufferable, so I was holding out hope for her character development. I forgot how well this author writes shallow, superficial, self-centered characters who only care about themselves and designer brands. (This author does it very well were you want to smack some sense into her.) Brace yourself. If you like drama, have at it, but brace yourself for that girl. The change does happen but it happens very fast towards the end, which was a little disappointing. I would’ve like to see it more gradually, but it was good to see the change regardless.

Ginny has a faith that we see some of, but Jacqueline doesn’t show anything expect a prayer once for something good to happen to her. Both of the potential love interests have no faiths shown or discussed which made me wonder why Ginny was interested in either of them. To be fair, she was really only interested in one and the other just followed her around, but still, it was strange to see no faith discussions or confirmations before they started falling for the other. It felt more like a clean fiction book in that regard.

While I enjoyed parts of this book and it was a distraction for a few hours, I wouldn’t call it spectacular by any means. Jacqueline was pretty frustrating, the ending was rushed, the faith content was light, and there was casual drinking by main characters. It’s an overall very clean and summer-y read, but not one I’ll be recommending often nor thinking about much.



*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Revell) for this honest review.

"Just for the Summer"
A Novel
by Melody Carlson is a "give me a hug and eat a cupcake with me story" Not much character growth nor a message of faith in Jesus. It was just a bland story that I interpreted as boring while I removed the cupcake icing from my face while reading. Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to write a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

Ginny and Jacqueline have similar occupations, both managers of very different places. Ginny manages a boutique hotel in Seattle and is under the thumb of a demanding boss who treats her more like her personal servant than a valued employee. Jacqueline, feeling displaced by her mother’s new choice of a husband, flees that situation to manage her grandfather’s fishing lodge in a beautiful rustic setting. Jacqueline wants to do bigger and better things with her life, so she is not happy with fish, smelly fishermen and log cabins. Since neither young woman is happy, the perfect solution is for them to swap jobs for the summer. This is an amusing story with some deep undertones about finding happiness within yourself instead of expecting circumstances to always go your way. Once the young women switch jobs, Ginny continues to be a stellar employee, looking for ways to improve the lodge and to make everyone as happy with the setting as she is. Jacqueline, on the other hand, has taken her demanding and self-centered personality along with her and manages to alienate the other employees at the hotel while enraging her new boss. The two young women have several conflicts, some drama and a lot of fun finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are and discovering how to be their best selves, no matter where that may take them. I enjoyed the characters, especially the fishing guide Ben at the fishing lodge and the grandfather Jack. Both are common sense, no nonsense men who have learned to cope, adapt and adjust with changes. All of the characters are fully developed and fun to get to know. Even spoiled and entitled Jacqueline ended up having some redeeming qualities, making her one of the most dynamic characters in the book. The plot was well-paced, perfect for a rom-com with some drama mixed in. With life lessons about moving forward, taking chances and learning from mistakes, this is a book not to be missed by fans of entertaining and engaging reads.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This book was a clean, nice and easy read. The whole job swapping storyline drew me in immediately and it was ok. I never wanted to not finish it so I consider that a win!

I enjoy planning events so found it fascinating getting an insider's look into two very different hospitality venues. I was impressed with how Ginny started at the bottom and worked her way up and how she wasn't afraid to jump in and help as needed. I liked seeing her vision and improvements come to life. I would have liked a little more on that.

I enjoyed the idea of a job swap. I was expecting there to be more of a culture clash for the two of them. Instead it proved something else about the two ladies and their capabilities or lack thereof. Jackie, and I do say that to irritate her, was a piece of work. She seems to grow a little but it didn't feel believable. That was the biggest downside for me. I did feel that the story ended abruptly. I would have liked for it to go on a little longer.

All in all, I found this to be a light, enjoyable read. Thank you to Revell for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes you just need a bit of a sweet nook to lift your spirits. This book is a nice and fluffy read. Like a warm hug! Melody doesn't disappoint!!

Two girls swap jobs on a website. Ginny and Jacqueline's jobs each have their own set of troubles. Will they enjoy their switches? Is the grass really greener?

Pick up this fun read for change! It is perfect if you need a change of pace.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

What an interesting idea….. a job swap. When someone is in the same profession and they want a little break that they are able to swap jobs with someone else in the same profession for a certain length of time and this is what happened in our book today. It was just for the summer, 60 days. Ginny who manages a classy hotel is tired of her complaining boss. A woman who wants everything to perfection and never ceases to complain. So when she is invited for this job swap, after all it's only 60 days, she readily accepts it, looking on it as a vacation away from this bossy woman. Or else she will consider quitting her job. On the other hand Jacqueline is interested in getting away to the big city. She manages her grandfather's fishing lodge and she is thoroughly sick of this backwoods fishing lodge. She is looking for glamor and good times.... It was most interesting to read how this swap came about and what each learned about themselves during this time. There is also integrity and reference to what God would have you do and romance also.... Thanks to the publisher by way of NetGalley for this early copy and I am very happy to leave my review.

Overall an okay book. However I felt it was a little bit slow and I didn't feel like too much happened. Which was. Shame as I thought that it could have great potential

i guess i didn't realize it was a christian romance? there was no character growth except for ginny learning to chill out a bit. it was overall boring and not much happened.

If you lived in a different place and had a different job, couldn't you have a different life? (from the back cover)

That is exactly the question Melody Carlson explores in her latest novel. I've often daydreamed of how my life would be different if I would have made different choices or possibly switched lives with someone else. How would it turn out for me, good or bad?

Ginny Masters and Jacqueline Potter get just that opportunity to switch jobs and experience things they would never have been able to do if they didn't sign up on the job swap website. They find out exactly how their lives change & whether what they wanted was really what they needed. Initially this was a great quick read that drew me in and had me rooting for the characters. Everything went seemingly well at the beginning and then life happened for these two, the rubber meeting the road if you will. It just went downhill from there. I've read many novels by Carlson and was happily looking forward to this one. Unfortunately it fell flat for so many reasons. I did not care for the amount of casual drinking mentioned, the harsh treatment, selfish nature and lies Jacqueline told to advance herself, and the total lack of a spiritual faith thread. For a Christian publisher & author I was surprised in how little time God occupied the pages. Sure, I love being entertained by a good story & great charters but I really love a strong faith thread....and much more than prayers for things to work out for selfish reasons.

This just didn't work for me. The ending was rushed, unrealistic and really didn't feel complete to me. Which is sad really because the story had so much potential to show character growth and have a much more natural faith thread. Unfortunately, I would not personally recommend this book to Christian fiction readers for reasons already stated.

* I received a complimentary copy from Revell and was not obligated to leave a favorable review. All opinions expressed here are my own. *

This was a delightful twist on a job swap scenario. Each character discovers things about themselves that helps them to develop into better human beings. The story moves along nicely and the characters are likable..

This is a fun, light read with an important message. Ginny Masters has worked for Hotel Jackson for years, working her way up to management. After losing her mother at a young age, she worked to support her younger sister and help her through medical school. Yet, at this time, all she seems to have her her job- one that is somewhat unfulfilling with a challenging boss. When she stumbles across a Job Swap website, she impulsively signs up. Meanwhile in the woods near Idaho Falls, Jacqueline Potter is also dissatisfied with her position running her grandfather's fishing lodge.

The two women agree to switch places for 60 days, both searching for meaning, fulfillment. Ginny and Jacqueline are very different women, one much more likeable than the other, but both three-dimensional characters who experience development and growth on their journey. Many of the secondary characters are vital to the lessons they learn and the connections they make.

I enjoyed this book, rooting for Ginny to find love and happiness and praying that Jacqueline would learn the lessons needed to become a more caring and invested person. Some of the plot was a little predictable and a little Hallmarky, but that's not always a negative thing. I love Hallmark movies because happy endings make me happy, and this book made me happy. This would be a great vacation read or a quick one to read after a harder read. This one could also be appropriate for younger readers in your household (teen readers). It is wholesome with a little romance and a lot of life lessons.

What at first appeared to be an undemanding read - & sometimes we do need those – ended up with just enough surprises to keep it interesting. Some (not quite all!) likeable characters, & unexpected changes which turned out better than one would have predicted, made this a good choice when you need a light & quick read between heavier-themed books. And we could all aspire to have Ginny’s attitude, always prepared to make the best of things. A good ‘clean’ read. 3 1/2 stars

This is a fun novel of the trading places style. It is a good combination of romance and a coming of age experience. The characters make the story. Ginny is a kind and gentle person in a high pressure job with a demanding boss. Jacqueline is the epitome of an entitlement personality, believing she deserved a top job without working her way up to it.

Carlson explores the idea of being happier in another place, another job, or another location. Both of the women had coming of age style experiences. I was a bit surprised at the quick personality changes in Jacqueline and Diana in an ending that felt rushed. Such fast character transformation could only happen in fiction.

This is an entertaining light read and a good lesson on contentment. Romance is present but somewhat subtle as is the faith message.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I don't always like life-swap stories but I wanted to give this one a shot. Overall I thought this was a great story and I really enjoyed it, I loved the characters and their progression. There were a few characters that were excessively frustrating but that's what keeps it interesting!

This was such a gratifying read on so many levels. First, I totally related to Ginny and her career challenges, and I'm low-key mad that a temporary career swap isn't an option for me, because it sounds amazing.

Second, I loved Ginny as a character, and her relationship with Ben and his daughter Alexi. It was really sweet to watch their characters all grow together. I personally found Jacqueline to be a bit bratty, but she did have a satisfactory character arc as well.

Finally, the fishing lodge setting sounds so picturesque that I kind of want to quit everything and move somewhere similar. Everything was described so well that it felt like I was taking a vacation at the lodge instead of just reading about someone who worked there.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable closed-door romance!