This fell a bit flat for me unfortunately. I liked the idea of the story but it wasn’t executed properly. Thank you for the gifted arc nevertheless.

I'm going to be a downer here, but I came for the romance and I was underwhelmed. The romance was rushed (in my humble opinion), but the other plot elements were well rounded. I loved the summer setting as well.

Malibu Summer 👩🏼‍🌾🪴👨🏻‍💼💚

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Author: Libby Gill

“Those were the last words she’d said to her husband, the lover of words. They were the words she’d have to live with for the rest of her life.”

Soil scientist Ivy’s life is turned upside down when her husband is killed while riding his bike. For a change of scenery, she moves to LA where she takes a job as the personal gardener for widower Conrad. Conrad is struggling to raise his stepson after his wife died in a car crash.

Tropes: single guardian, forced proximity, widow/widower

This was such a heartwarming story about love, loss, hope, resilience, and found family. It is a great depiction of how different people handle grief and the healing process.

I did feel the romance in this story was rushed. I would have enjoyed more of a slow burn. I also thought the plot was choppy and didn’t flow well. At some points, I found myself going back to see if I had skipped pages because I was confused.

Overall, this was a very easy read. I really enjoyed these characters and their relationships with each other.

Malibu Summer, by Libby Gill, is a new summertime tale of opposites attracting that packs in a lot of emotion and heart. At the center of the story are a young grieving widow and a young widower who hope the upcoming summer will help each navigate their new normal. What they don’t expect are for their paths to cross and sparks to fly (angry sparks at first, but quite possibly sparks of a different kind by the end of the summer) What ensues is a fun story with Ms. Gill’s beautiful writing that you’ll want to definitely add to your own summer reading list.

The premise and promise of this story was what really captivated me to read it however the execution did not live up to those expectations. The story was densely HEAVY that the characters lacked any real growth or even chemistry. It felt forced and at some points awkward. A learned a lot about the deceased characters and how they related to the widowers but those facts never really grew into development for the relationship. Unfortunately, this just fell really flat for me.

My issue with this book is that there are so many holes in the narrative. I understand that it all happens over a long time span. It was hard to keep my attention. I wish it was longer to offer more detail regarding timing between the chapters.

Two grieving people that ultimately find love with each other - a quick sweet read that transports you to Malibu's picturesque landscape. I appreciated that even though there was an age gap it wasn't an obstacle/challenge that affected the love story. Hudson and Rory provided comedic relief in addition to being wonderful side characters that moved the main plot forward.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Books the ARC!

This book was just ok. It was a light and easy read. I chose to give it 3 stars as I didn’t feel the characters had a lot of depth or personality. I also didn’t find the romance believable and the couple didn’t seem to have any chemistry between them

The summer of a recently widowed soil researcher brings her to a Malibu estate to revamp the garden while she grieves. It is a lifetime away from her lab in the San Francisco area. Living on the estate, she meets the widowed owner and his four year old step-son. The relationships that the three form become one of healing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ivy has just lost her husband and is having trouble accepting and moving on. Conrad is an producer/director who lost his wife and is also stuck. Ivy is offered a temporary job on his estate to finish his wife's garden.

This is a book about grief and second chances. How to move on from grief and when is too soon. Ivy is a soil scientist who knows a lot about gardens and this pair is definitely mismatched. But sparks may fly in the oddest places. I enjoyed this story. It is not a rom-com but is a romance about second chances to be happy in life.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #LibbyGill, #PenguinBooks for a copy of this book.
#MalibuSummer

Man I have some sort of selection lately of books with grief & loss. I don’t know how it keeps happening. This one though opens right up with the gut punch. The death of a spouse. Just heartbreaking but thank goodness for the best friend Mak who truly looked out for Ivy from the start. Taking her through the healing process. Not to mention Mak is hilarious!

The evolving relationship between Ivy & Conrad I loved but felt like it maybe needed more depth. I was actually surprised of the kiss & him being so sure he was willing to jump in the pool to her. It just felt like pieces were missing to their combined story like it was a little rushed. Sure loads in their separate stories but lacking in their story together.

That said I loved the characters backgrounds, I liked that they found each other while both healing through loss of their spouses unexpectedly. The part of Stan was weird and felt almost a little unnecessary like it just didn’t quite fit naturally in the over arching story of the characters. It just felt like it had to be added for drama when really Hudson chasing after the dog in the storm was plenty of drama. Terrifying actually as a mom.

Overall I would love to see more depth in the stories, I enjoyed it though & would try another from this author!

Big shoutout to NetGalley & Penguin Group for the ARC!

This was a beautiful book. It was full of grief and sadness without being too heavy, in my opinion. I loved the setting of Hollywood without all of the sex and drugs because I feel like that’s what you usually get when that setting is written out, so it was a refreshing take.

The main characters were really well rounded but I wish their love story had been more of a slow burn. It felt out of the blue and suddenly they were in love, when I wanted more angst and longing. I did appreciate how clean it was though, which was a biggest added bonus.

The author did a wonderful job showing grief and pain and how it might be navigated. I especially loved Hudson’s portrayal. Some of the scenes with him made me laugh and smile, while others illicited tears and sorrow. Really well done!

Thank you again to the publisher & NetGalley for an ARC copy to review. I loved being in this setting and how it felt academic, but still fictional and fun. Also, the cover is incredible. Overall, a truly great read!

Ivy Bauer and Conrad Reed are both dealing with grief. Ivy (31) is finishing her PhD and has created an organic substance that allows the ground to retain more water. But after the death of her husband she needs a break and a friend suggests her for a job creating a garden at a Malibu estate. Conrad (44) is a writer and tv executive. His beautiful actress wife was on the cusp of becoming a major star. He needs to sell his next series to TV as the last one was not successful. He also has a four year old stepson, Hudson.

The storyline takes place over more than a summer so the title is a bit misleading. And the storyline is more serious then the cute cover would indicate. Ivy does attend a grief group that helps her but otherwise these people are dealing with their grief on their own or by plunging into their work. Hudson is of course having some issues over the loss of his mother and he finds a friend in Ivy. I did enjoy the Hudson scenes and best friend Mak brings some needed humor.

This is a good debut novel. The author adds in some side storylines of another possible love interest for Ivy or a sleazy photographer but it felt like filler. I liked Ivy but wasn’t emotionally swept up into their romance. It is delicate to have romance after loss but I didn’t feel them grappling with their new feelings. Everything just barreled towards a HEA.

⭐️: 2
🌶️: 2

✨ grief
✨ widowers
✨ single guardian
✨ trigger warning: infertility

When I started reading this book, I was hopeful about it’s potential. I expected a deep and profound story about two widowers who were freshly overcoming their grief and would come to find support and new love within one another. This book was surface level and fell completely flat, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, the main area this book was severely lacking in, was character development. The main characters Ivy and Conrad were one dimensional, their only traits were that they were widowers and were successful in their careers. The two didn’t have an ounce of chemistry. As for the deceased, I had entirely no idea if Ivy even loved Will because honestly, he sounded pretty terrible. And Dawn, I think we may have learned more about Dawn than any other character. Also, the side characters might as well not have existed. Mak could have been an incredible companion to Ivy, and Charlotte and Randy could have been much more prominent as mentors and role models to Ivy.

I gave this book two chili peppers for spice because, and only because, it was open door. The sex scene was so vanilla and unnecessary(he slipped in, I came, he grunted). I would have enjoyed this climax (no pun intended) in their relationship much better as a beautiful, closed door moment.

I have no intention for this review to be harsh, and this is just my honest opinion. I would not recommend this book.

🌶️🌶️ = open door, minimal detail

📚Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC of Malibu Summer.

This book follows Ivy and Conrad as they navigate through losing their spouses. Both characters grieve in different ways and eventually find each other, which I find to be more realistic than most romance novels I have read recently. The writing style and voice is also different from my typical romance book. It reads in third person, and I’m not sure the story benefits from it. It is also a much sadder book than the cover portrays.

In all, I would recommend, but not rave over it. It was a nice and easy read!

Malibu Summer is a beautifully crafted romance novel that centers around the theme of love and healing after a tragic loss. The author has done an excellent job of weaving a heartwarming tale of hope and second chances that captivates the reader from start to finish. The story is easy to follow and flows seamlessly, making it a quick and enjoyable read. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and their struggles and triumphs throughout the book make for a touching and uplifting story. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Malibu Summer and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good romance novel. I am eagerly looking forward to more books from this talented author.


Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for this eARC!

In Malibu Summer, we follow Ivy and Conrad as they cope with devastating loss following the deaths of their own spouses. The story follows them as they start out and the different approaches they are each making to deal with their loss.
I feel like the development of Ivy and Conrad's relationship was sort of rushed. But I was definitely cheering for them to support each other and begin their healing together. I wish there was more to their story though, I felt like I missing something, like my questions weren't answered.
I felt the book was good overall. Conrad and Ivy were enjoyable as they processed their loss and learned to let love back into their hearts.

This was good but wasn’t great for me. I loved the premise of this book and was super excited to read it but it just fell short. The flow and the pacing felt off for me and I just thought there was no chemistry between the two main characters.

This is a little heavier of a book than I thought it would be. I did enjoy the story but I think you could’ve taken out the romance and just had it be about Ivy dealing with her grief and it would have been way better. The “slow burn” was a little too much in this book and left me feeling bored at times. That being said I still enjoyed the book but I think it’s definitely not one for everyone.

This was cute! This sort of gave me the vibes from the Holiday in helping the older man out...but in a totally different way.
This is a perfect summer read!