The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms was part of the Amazon First Reads program in April. I wasn’t interested in it then, but I started seeing it more and more on IG, and became so intrigued by it that I got it with my KU subscription, which also made it free for Audible.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler – Kelly Harms

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

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.

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AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler – Kelly Harms

my thoughts

I really enjoyed this audiobook.

It made me laugh and smile. Even though Amy was a bit over the top at times, emotionally all over the place, the plot, idea and execution was well done, and the story on its own was entertaining and the humor was right up my alley.

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There were quite a few things I really enjoyed about this book.

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Many of the chapters started with a journal entry from Amy’s teenage daughter. The author did a fabulous job portraying a teenage girl who is not a passionate reader, but whose mother is a librarian. It was quite the conundrum for both of them. And I loved how levelheaded her daughter was. She made me chuckle more than once with her wit and insightful remarks.

I also loved Amy’s love interest. They clicked perfectly, and he was such an awesome guy – really amazing. I wouldn’t have said no to him – lol. Actually that’s one of the subplots I would have liked to have a bit more page time. They were such a cute couple and their common interest – books – was my favorite part of the story. Amy being a librarian played an interesting role in the overall plot line. It would have been great to dig a little bit deeper into that particular topic. Because it was quite a fascinating topic.

Amy’s respite in New York was a wonderful change for her and a great interlude for me as a reader. Because if there is one thing I would change about this book, it was Amy’s seemingly never ending moaning about her estranged husband. They’ve been separated for years, and the time that the author dedicated to this particular subplot felt a bit excessive. .

Nevertheless the book was a wonderfully poignant and touching story about motherhood, finding yourself again, being open to change, and accepting that being a mother doesn’t mean you can’t be still your own person.

The letters at the end really brought the book to a very satisfying ending.

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4 Stars
Goodreads
Amazon

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler – Kelly Harms