Just for the Summer

December 11, 2023
Two career-focused women swap hospitality jobs and chaos ensues in the jovial latest from Carlson (A Royal Christmas). Ginny Masters, the ambitious manager of a boutique luxury hotel in Seattle, is tired of meeting the last-minute demands of her high-strung boss, Diana. After a mix-up over wedding reception flowers sparks a spat between the two, Ginny informs Diana that she’s signed up on a job-swap website to switch places with the manager of a fishing lodge in Idaho. Jacqueline Potter has worked at her grandfather’s lodge for six years and is sick of its run-down facilities and frustrated by standoffish, “drop-dead gorgeous” fishing guide Ben Tanninger, whom she keeps trying (and failing) to attract. After the switch, things seem idyllic at first—Ginny revels in the town’s quiet, implements improvements to the lodge, and strikes up a flirty friendship-and-then-more with Ben, while Jacqueline sets her sights on Diana’s son, Adrian. But Jacqueline soon realizes she’s in over her head at the hotel, and she and Adrian work to lure Ginny back to big city. Ginny’s budding relationship is put at risk; Jacqueline must decide how hard she’s willing to work for her career; and both women draw on faith to decide where they belong. Go-getter Ginny and dreamy Jacqueline are effective foils, and the mistakes and misunderstandings that ensue when each tries to inhabit the other’s life churn up more than enough momentum to keep the pages turning. Carlson’s lighthearted take on an old trope charms.

Starred review from December 22, 2023

Ginny Masters has had enough of the pressures and frustrations of working as a hotel manager for her unreasonable boss Diana Jackson. Every time Ginny thinks she has it all under control, Diana throws a wrench in the works and expects Ginny to clean up the mess. When the opportunity comes along to do a temporary job swap, Ginny jumps at the chance and heads for Frederickson's Fishing Lodge. Switching places with Jacqueline Potter should be a wonderful change; Jacqueline can't wait to work at a hotel in Seattle and is convinced this switch will lead to big things. But Ginny's apartment is grungier than her little cabin at the lodge, and the work is not nearly as cushy as she imagined. Soon, Jacqueline is heading back to Frederickson's Fishing Lodge, on the orders of Diana, who has had enough of her blunders. Diana is convinced that Ginny will come back, given the right incentives. What she doesn't know is that Ginny has fallen in love with Frederickson's, its people, and one tall, handsome fishing guide. VERDICT Readers will root for both Ginny and Jacqueline in this heartwarming tale from Carlson (Second Time Around).--Jane Blue

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