Summer Plans and Other Disasters by Karin Beery

I received this book for free from the author, the publicist, and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

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! Read an excerpt of Chapter 1 here!

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/ Dynamic Uno here: Summer Plans and Other Disasters sounded like the perfect book when I read the excerpt and I wasn't disappointed.   Callie is a music teacher, major klutz, and plans her life in advance.  She decided to spend the summer with her brother Jack, and his best-friend and roommate Ryan, as a part-time helper to make a little extra spending money, while trying to get back together with her ex, Kyle.  At least, that was the plan...she thought.   Needless to say, there's a lot of testosterone which leads to drama--especially in the dating department.  To top things off, her best friend Mae is pregnant again and offering her lots of words of wisdom and dating advice. What's a girl who is a walking disaster and wants God's will for her life to do? The characters were very realistic and down-to-earth.  I enjoyed the fact that Callie is a teacher, klutz, and plans her life too.  (I somehow think that we would get along great in real life because we are so similar--at least in those respects.)  I also appreciate her musical talents because that's something I only dream about. I loved how Callie ran to God when she had no place else to turn.  Isn't that how it usually works?  We all plan our lives according to the way we think they should be orchestrated and when things start tumbling downhill we finally decide to look up?  (Or am I the only one?) This may be Karin Beery's first published novel, but I for one, cannot wait to see what else she has planned for books in the future.  If you enjoy contemporary romance with a sweet message, this is the book for you!   Let me know what you think and Happy Reading!