Is It Any Wonder starts with a bang.

What should have been a short paddleboard ride turns nasty when Louisa loses her paddle and is swept out to sea in a sudden storm. Louisa thinks about the mistakes she’s made … not wearing a lifejacket today, and never sending that apology letter to Mrs. Boggs after her husband died twelve years ago.

Rescue comes in the form of ex-boyfriend Cody Boggs, her “twin”, now an Executive Petty Officer with the US Coastguard. (He’s no relation, but they grew up together and share a birthday). Cody has been posted to Nantucket, against his protests. He has no desire to return to the place where his father drowned, nor to the ex-girlfriend he blames for his father’s death.

Is It Any Wonder is a very human novel.

It uses the tragic death of Daniel Boggs to address issues of guilt and forgiveness. Cody has the all-too-human tendency to count his failures rather than his successes. Louisa and Cody both remind us how easy it is to blame the wrong person when trouble strikes, and how easy it can be to accept that blame and the associated guilt. It reminds us how hard it can be to accept forgiveness, and even harder to forgive ourselves, or accept God’s forgiveness.

Is It Any Wonder is another great contemporary #ChristianRomance from @Courtney_Walsh—great writing, great plot, great characters. Recommended. Share on X

As with all Courtney Walsh’s stories, everything is excellent—the writing, the characters, the plot. Sure, Cody’s attitude bugged me a few times, as did Louisa’s overwhelming sense of guilt. But they were necessary parts of the story, because they were needed to show the depth of love and forgiveness.

All in all, Is It Any Wonder is another great contemporary Christian romance from Courtney Walsh. Recommended.

Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About the Author

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director, and playwright. Change of Heart is her fifth novel and is set in the same town as Paper Hearts. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts studio. They have three children.

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About Is It Any Wonder

Twelve years ago, Cody Boggs and Louisa Chambers made a pact that no matter where their lives took them, they’d return to Nantucket Island’s Brant Point Lighthouse on July 30, their shared golden birthday, and continue their tradition of exchanging birthday wishes. But that was before a tragic accident upended both of their lives, irrevocably pulling them apart.

Their worlds collide just months before that particular day when Louisa’s fledgling event planning company is hired by the local Coast Guard station, where she discovers Cody has recently returned to the island as the second in command. As they plan a regatta fundraiser, hoping to promote positive PR in the community, neither can deny the fireworks each encounter ignites. But working together also brings up memories of the day Cody’s father died, revealing secrets that have Cody and Louisa questioning everything they thought they knew and felt about their families and each other.

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