The Overdue Life of Amy Byler ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

US Publication: May 1, 2019

Print: 328 pages

Audio: 10 hours 17 minutes

Confetti Rating: 4.5 stars

REVIEW:

I’m not sure who I love more - the character of Amy Byler or Kelly Harms for creating her.

Probably Amy, because I just spent a super fun 328 pages with her, and I don’t know a thing about Kelly other than she can write.

My new BFF Amy is thrust into a solo summer in NYC when her douche canoe husband shows back up three years after abandoning her and their kids. He's had enough me time and is ready to get to know his children again, so she heads to the big city for a librarian convention (swoon), stays with her fashion mag editor friend (Devil Wears Prada, anyone?), and dates her heart out (heck yes). Her friend’s magazine decides to profile her “Momspringa” (like an Amish Rumspringa), complete with a makeover and a spunky editorial assistant sidekick who cheers her on.

Here’s what I loved about Amy and her adventure:
- She’s bookish, therefore clearly relatable to this library-lovin’ nerd.
- The characters are diverse. Amy doesn’t live in a lily white world, and the races of her friends are introduced in very authentic ways.
- She has a healthy relationship with her teenage daughter. They’re honest with each other and communicate openly about important things.
- The romance bits are closed door. She has some good times in NYC (wink, wink), but we don’t hear the steamy details. Fine by me!
- She’s funny. My kind of funny. Somewhat inappropriately funny at times. She may or may not drop the F-bomb once. But we’re still in PG-13 territory.

Sure, the plot is fairly predictable and the ending a little too melodramatic, but sometimes a low-stakes read is just what you need as break between all the stabby books. Thanks, Amy and Kelly, for the overdue levity.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is now available on KindleUnlimited with WhisperSync for those who may prefer the audio format. (As of 2/17/21.)

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.

Usually grounded and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a life filled with culture, sophistication, and—with a little encouragement from her friends—a few blind dates. When one man in particular makes quick work of Amy’s heart, she risks losing herself completely in the unexpected escape, and as the summer comes to an end, Amy realizes too late that she must make an impossible decision: stay in this exciting new chapter of her life, or return to the life she left behind.

But before she can choose, a crisis forces the two worlds together, and Amy must stare down a future where she could lose both sides of herself, and every dream she’s ever nurtured, in the beat of a heart.