After tirelessly climbing the ranks of her Chicago-based interior design firm, Lane Kelley is about to land her dream promotion when devastating news about her brother draws her back home—a quaint tourist town full of memories she’d just as soon forget. With her cell phone and laptop always within reach, Lane aims to check on her brother while staying focused on work—something her eclectic family … family doesn’t understand.
Ryan Brooks never expected to settle down in Harbor Pointe, Michigan, but after his final tour of duty, it was the only place that felt like home. Now knee-deep in a renovation project that could boost tourism for the struggling town, he is thrilled to see Lane, the girl he secretly once loved, even if the circumstances of her homecoming aren’t ideal.
Their reunion gets off to a rocky start, however, when Ryan can’t find a trace of the girl he once knew in the woman she is today. As he slowly chips away at the walls Lane has built, secrets from his past collide with a terrible truth even he is reluctant to believe. Facing a crossroads that could define his future with Lane and jeopardize his relationship with the surrogate family he’s found in the Kelleys, Ryan hopes Lane can see that maybe what really matters has been right in front of her all along—if only she’d just look up.
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What a sweet book with dynamic characters, conflicting motivations, and complicated back stories. I found each character relatable in one way or another and easy to root for!
It was a great book that put a new and understandable twist on a misunderstanding that had large repercussions. I loved the characters and the author’s writing style!
Great contemporary Christian romance that made you think while you enjoyed getting to know the characters.
Young woman visits hometown because her brother is near death. She meets old friends . After trying to return to business life, she decides love and home are better.
I just love this author’s books. I always find the story very engaging. Courtney Walsh is excellent at writing human emotion and all the intricacies and nuances of difficult situations. I really felt for the h & rooted for her. I think the H was a good balance for her and helped her have a new perspective. I listened to this as audio and the narrarator was great. I very much got into the stroy. I did not like the h’s family never much. I thought the treatement of her was horrible and dismissive. As the story wound up the resolution of this was the one part of the story I felt like I needed more. They were never called out on their bad behavior. Forgivness is important but they had no self awarness when it came to her ever. Especially the mom. The mom was the worst. The past hurts the h had she was able to come to terms with and I enjoyed how the author had the character grow. I still recommend the story and overall really enjoyed the book. This author is an auto read for me. I am always excited for one of her books.
It wasn’t as centered on Jesus and following Him, as much as I had hoped. It did, however, include prayers and the truth that we are all accepted by God. We have to acknowledge and live within His acceptance.
An easy no-brainer read, good for its entertainment value.
A new to me author, I loved this book. It was intense at times and full of emotion. But the love that the characters had for each other as friends growing up together, then moving on to new lives, was palpable when they finally met up with each other again. Two lives that took different paths and then converged at a difficult time for both, they each bring to the other a new perspective. I love a book about right timing…and this one was well-written, with lots of boulders strewn in each character’s path that they had to wend their way around, sometimes bringing the two together and then separating them again. Throw in family relationships and issues, and angst abounds. But two who have known each other as children are the perfect ones to see perspective and help the other overcome what seemed insurmountable. An emotional story with a wonderful happily-ever-after ending that changed each character along the path to love of self and each other.
Lane fought through the insecurity of the past to see value in her life. She overcame the name calling, the hurt of betrayal, to find redemptive love.
Very interesting. It handled the common practice of overwork very effectively.
I loved this book!
This author manages to capture the many twists and turns of life and how there are truly good people that help others when in need. It also shows the forgiveness that can be spread.
Loved this easy read story. Great for when you just want to escape life and read an uplifting clean romance! Lane has gotten over-involved in her job to escape her past and her family. Ryan is also escaping his past, but not the part including Lane. Although the author skimmed his PTSD – which is better than tackling it wrongly – I liked how she handled him. There were lots of quirky characters, a great setting, and a fun take on Type A personality hooks up with total opposite.
Just Look Up deals with tough, emotional issues in a very real, yet sensitive way. The characters are well-written and it was easy to get invested in their lives. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series.
Read number one after number two , but didn’t matter. Loved this story about Ryan and Lane. Fun romance, humor and great lessons about God’s love for us. Worth the read – now on to the rest of the series!
This book was so beautiful and inspiring! I honestly enjoyed the story so much and felt like the characters were so well-written and relatable. Just Look Up is the first book I have read by Courtney Walsh and I already am eager to start reading her other novels. Not only was the writing creative and well done, her story felt so real; the characters were real people, with real pain and joy and experiences. I felt what they felt and was uplifted as the messages spoke to me as I read along. The romance was fantastic between Lane and Ryan. I loved Ryan’s humor and the way he drew the real Lane out while also sharing his more vulnerable side. This book is clean with uplifting Christian messages. I definitely will reread this again.
Loved it.
I would recommend this book.
Story of how we can form idea in childhood that lead us in the wrong direction but with the love found in family connections can transform us. Good story!
This was a great book about keeping your priorities straight. Also about forgiving those who hurt you and not allowing bitterness to take over your life. I loved the spiritual content of this book. It was truly heart warming to see the characters turn away from self-reliance and turn to God for his help. Looking forward to reading the next book!
This book was very enjoyable to read. The main character was relatable and my heart hurt for her!