Brighter than Before is the latest standalone by Courtney Walsh and may be my favorite of all her stories so far.

The book opens with a nightmare of humiliation, followed by the memory of terrible betrayal. But as Claire processes all that’s happened to upend her life, a list emerges. On the list, are her dreams, items that will require true bravery, and even a few surprising things. Claire then packs up and mves to another city to start over.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Claire is vulnerable and tenacious all at once. Despite being devastated, she still cares about other people. She has a dream and watching her slowly emergy from the ashes is beautiful and left me a little teary at times.

Wlash is one of those gift writers able to inject humor into weighty emotion without demeaning it, and this book has pockets of light just where you need them. I especially loved all the bad first dates – there was some astonishing imagiation at play there. This is a great story, and if you like second chances, or underdog stories, or second romances, you’ll love this one.

I received a copy of Brighter than Before from the publisher via NetGalley, the views are mine.