Amusing and Sweet Romance! - 'Summer Plans and Other Disasters' - by Karin Beery

About the book

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: I really enjoyed this cute story about a girl who likes to have a plan for everything and doesn't quite know what to do when the plan changes.  I liked Callie a lot but also felt she was very naive.  Who would think an ex-boyfriend would wait around for three years for you just because he said he'd always be there?  I got a little frustrated with some of her choices but she also made me smile with some of the clumsy situations she got herself into.  I also really liked the rest of the characters and especially liked that none of them were perfect.  The banter was great!  Jack had a great attitude in that he tried to never worry since the Bible told him not to.  It was also pretty amusing how Stacey confused and delighted him.  I also liked Ryan even though he was frustrating me with his procrastination and cowardice.  There were a lot of cute moments and I loved that we got each of the foursome's viewpoints so we knew what they thought of each other.  I liked Stacey's attitude the most out of the bunch, that she was trusting God to tell her what to do regarding dating and relationships.  While their Christian faith was mentioned at times in the story, it wasn't preachy.  I would highly recommend this story especially for teens and young adults but anyone who likes romance would enjoy it! I received a copy of this book through Read with Audra.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  First Chapter

About the author

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: Facebook - www.facebook.com/authorkarinbeery/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/karinbeery  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karinbeery/ Elk Lake Publishing (for tagging) Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ElkLakePublishingInc/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ElkLakePubInc Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elklakepubinc/