Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson

 

Ginny Master has spent a lot of years working in the hospitality industry and currently manages a popular hotel in Seattle. Lately, her boss has been more demanding, and the work has been getting to her. She has started to dream about new positions in other places that would be less stressful.

Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather's fishing lodge in Idaho because she couldn't get another job after college with a hospitality degree. She doesn't like fishing, and she dreams of being somewhere where her more sophisticated tastes can be appreciated. She is young and not very mature.

Both ladies discover that they can swap jobs through an online website, which they do for sixty days. But will just changing their scenery make each of the women happy?

I enjoyed Melody Carlson's latest novel, Just for the Summer. The idea of switching jobs is one that I have not read before, so I found the book intriguing.

I especially enjoyed Ginny's story-line. I love the outdoors and am closer in age to Ginny, so I could most relate to her. I liked all of the characters at the fishing lodge as well. I did not find Jacqueline as likeable. Her story-line was harder to relate to since she is more of a difficult person. I did find it interesting to see how Ginny's former boss would come to a realization about how good she already had it with Ginny. Ginny also had faith in God and did spend some time in prayer, which I liked, although that was not a big part of the book.

I enjoyed Just for the Summer and read it quickly. Carlson has written many books and has a well-honed writing style, so her stories flow well. However, I did find the ending somewhat rushed. I would have liked to have had a little more time with Ginny and Ben at the end. I also wasn't sure it was quite believable that Jacqueline could make all of those changes so quickly. Still, all in all, I did enjoy the book.

I received a copy of this book from Revell through Interviews & Reviews. All opinions are my own.