The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

By: Kelly Harms

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller, and a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.

“A laugh-out-loud funny, pitch-perfect novel that will have readers rooting for this unlikely, relatable, and totally lovable heroine, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the ultimate escape - and will leave moms everywhere questioning whether it isn’t time for a #momspringa of their own.” - New York Journal of Books

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.

©2019 by Kelly Harms. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Overall a good listen/read

It was funny. It was real. It was relatable. There are some parts that were slow moving. Particularly the obsession with sex when she is in NYC. It may be real, but I don't enjoy it in books when it seems to dominate the story. It did for a little while in some parts of the book and gave a juvenile feel to the book. It is worth a mention because in this instance it was relevant . . . I just didn't think it fit by the way it was handled.
However . . . that didn't stop me from really enjoying her depth of characters, her absolute understanding of human nature. I laughed out loud at some parts of the book. I will seek out more of this authors books to read.

Liked this book a lot

Just want to say this book is great and a fast read. Very relatable characters, engaging presentation, but a little too much focus on ‘abandoning children’ when their father is watching them. Thanks for a light hearted summer read.

Much needed laughable listen!

I am currently smack dab in the middle of the most stressful time I have ever had in my 42 years of life. And I have lived a lot of life so to say that means I’m pretty much losing my ever loving mind. I set out to find something to listen to that I could lose myself in, something lighthearted and yet meaningful. This absolutely was the best listen for me at this exact moment. The characters were well described, you couldn’t help but fall in love with each one. The narrator was hands-down one of the best I have listened to as of yet. I laughed and I cried… For me that equals a winner. I just overall really enjoyed this book.

great book

This was a great book. Wonderful humor. Really enjoyed it and highly recommend reading it..

Lovely story

I loved every bit of this story! The author hooked me in from the beginning. Amy McFadden also did a fantastic job reading it. I was completely caught up in this book!

I want a #momspringa

This is such a cute story! I felt like Amy B was so easy to relate to and understand. I love how the characters love books and the nerdy, bookish humor throughout. This was a light, easy read for summer but still very well-written and good fiction. There's just enough romance to keep it interesting I chose this book because I could read/listen for free with Kindle Unlimited but also because I have read two other books by this author that I loved. I know there are some mixed reviews on this one, but I really, truly loved this read. I read it in about two days and found myself desperately wanting to know the "big reveal." I think she did a great job of weaving little teases and small details of the secret that is "the shadow" throughout the early parts of the book. When the secret is finally revealed, it was not exactly what I expected and there was way more to the story than I had anticipated. It is heartwrenching and beautiful. Unlike her other stories, this one is less "romantic" and has less heat but still has a subtle, calm touch of romance in various places that fleshes it out a bit. If you've read the author's other stories, this should be a good read. It was easy and quick to get through and I liked that it was not necessarily a "happily ever after" tale. There's some complexity to this story that leaves you feeling like she doesn't just give you what you want to hear. For some, I understand that may be frustrating but I found it to be an enjoyable change of pace and felt it had "good bones." without sinking into a "romance novel." I really found myself loving the "secondary" characters in this story, such as her daughter, her friends, Kathryn, and the hot librarian. This book was written in a way that made it sound like what my internal narration in my own head sounds like sometimes. Great escape and perfect pick for Kindle Unlimited. I loved the narration from Audible, as well. The format of the letters from Cori to start chapters was also a really great device.

Loved this book!

I’m not usually big into chick lit but this book was awesome! I loved the story! I loved the narrator. It was a breath of fresh air.

Smart and good mom gets a break

At first, I was a bit hesitant because I worried that the mother was bailing on her kids and I didn't want to read about that-it was so not the case. A mom that has sacrificed and done all the right things gets thrown into a dream adventure. This story was fun and also has substance. The narrator is awesome and I enjoyed nearly every character. I also love all the diary entries of the daughter, it's a great little touch. It's nice to read a novel from someone that knows how to write. Great performance and a truly fun story, well worth the credit. I know one day in the future I'll listen to this one again.

W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!

This book was a delight. Amy is silly & crazy & delightful & I love her. I look sooo forward to reading/listening to more books by Kelly Harms. I usually listen to mystery/thrillers so this was a welcome change in between. MOMSPRINGAA!!!

Fine for a summer beach read

Light and mainly entertaining, does a fine job of crafting the story of every parent's desire to take a break and re focus on themselves.