After loving Annabel Monaghan's novel from last year, Nora Goes Off Script, I was so excited to read this year's release. And also, I felt a little nervous that it wouldn't meet my expectations. But, it DEFINITELY did meet my expectations. In fact, I loved this one even MORE than the last. This one felt almost like it was written for me which may be part of why it's worked so well for me. This one explores first love, growing up at the beach, and coming to terms with who you are after heartbreak - all things that REALLY worked for me and resonated with me. The beach experiences that Monaghan describes were SPOT on and came alive on the page for me, a person who spent much of her childhood at our family's cottage at the Chesapeake Bay. The quirkiness of the family beach house cracked me up and it also reminded me of the quirks of our own cottage. The author grabbed my heart early and held on to it over and over and over throughout the story. The relationship between Sam and Wyatt was so well done and really felt very real and thoughtful to me. I really liked the back-and-forth between their growing up together and their lives in the current day but I don't know if that's something that will work for everyone. I really resonated with their story so it felt great to me. I heard someone compare this one to the movie Sweet Home Alabama and I can totally see that. If you like that movie, you might like this one as well although this story explores their young love more than that movie does. All in all, I just adored this one and can't wait to see where Monahan takes us next! This is such a perfect vacation/beach read! Highly recommend!

This book, was the perfect summer read. I have read the previous book by this author, and I loved her humor, she creates page turning books, and of course I learned something amazing from this book. We meet Sam, who finally has everything that she thought she had wanted in her life, but all of the changes when she decided to finally go with her family to Long Island to their beach home which is something she did every summer, but all of that changed the year she went to college.

Not only does she go back to her summer home and bumps into her first love and best friend Wyatt, there were a lot of unresolved issues between them, and right when she thought she had is all together…. Well she doesn’t….. we find out the reasons why they broke up in their youth, what led to where everything is now, career wise and also leading to a path of self discovery. This book was everything I needed.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Everything seems to be going perfectly for Sam. She has a really great job in Manhattan and is newly engaged to doctor Jack. But when Sam heads to her family’s beach house in Long Island to start planning her dream wedding, she encounters her old neighbor and love, Wyatt. Will she move forward with marrying Jack or will she reunite with her former love, Wyatt?

Thanks to Putnam Books and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this gem in exchange for an honest review!

Annabel Monaghan’s ‘Nora Goes off Script’ was a favorite of mine last year, so I was super excited to receive an early copy of ‘Same Time Next Summer’.

This novel is told in the past and present, has short chapters, is super easy to read, and has a really relatable main character (maybe more so for me since she happens to work in HR 😜).

If you’re looking for books to pack in your beach bag, make sure to add this one to your list!

3.5 ⭐️

I adored Nora Goes Off Script so I had high hopes for Same Time Next Summer. Perhaps my expectations set me up to be disappointed, but this book fell a little flat for me.

I normally enjoy a second chance romance but for me this one didn’t quite feel believable. Instead of creating a nostalgic feeling I found that the flashbacks gave the book a YA feel. I didn’t like Wyatt’s behavior in the flashbacks or Sam’s during the present.

I enjoyed the quaint beach town setting & the reminder of how a perfect summer break felt as a kid. I really enjoyed the writing as well & look forward to reading whatever Annabel Monaghan publishes next.


Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an e-arc to read and review.

Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

Same Time Next Summer is an emotional second chance romance. The story follows Sam, who is recently engaged and thinks her life is on track. When she returns home to her family’s Long Island beach house, she runs into her first love, Wyatt. Their connection is still there and makes Sam reconsider everything about her life.

I loved the setting of this romance and the nostalgia. I’m never a huge fan of the love triangle trope, but this was well done. I didn’t love this one as much as Nora Hoes Off Script, but I continue to enjoy Monaghan’s writing. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Nora Goes Off Script. Loved it. I think it set my expectations way too high for this one. There's nothing overly wrong with this book, so if you're looking for a summer romance, then you cannot go wrong with this one.

What I liked:
Sam's character arc. She's almost a caricature at first, a straight laced, rule following person who likes everything to work out just as it should. It annoyed me at first, but as the story develops, we do eventually learn why she is the way she is and get to watch her learn and grow and become the person she was always meant to be.

What didn't really work for me:

Way too much back story, it felt so YA to get the full on development of the relationship between Sam and Wyatt as teenagers.

I didn't quite buy into the fact that she was still pining for Wyatt and drawn to him so much after so many years...which leads into another thing I didn't care for, which was "cheating adjacent" behavior. She is so focused on Wyatt, yet she is still planning her wedding and trying to act like her intentions and behavior are normal. Just break it off with the fiancé or at least talk to him about your feelings, but it just left me feeling kind of icky.

Overall, this is a cute story and maybe I can't really relate because the main character is so much younger than I am. I know that tons of people have adored this book so go read their reviews and you might connect to the story more than I did. I'll definitely give this author another chance in the future though!

I really wanted to love this one since I enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script, but it fell a little flat for me. I felt as though the main characters, Sam and Wyatt, acted immature at times. I really enjoyed the then and now plotlines, as well as the dual POV - those are just essential to a second chance romance for me! The romance was just a little hard to feel between Sam and Wyatt because Sam was engaged to another man for the majority of the book. I wish, since there wasn't a clear connection between her and Jack (her fiancé), that there would have been something to happen earlier on in the book that cause them to split & then we could've gotten more of the romance build up between Sam and Wyatt.

When you pick this up - go in with the mindset that the focus isn't totally on the romance and you'll probably enjoy it more. The summer vibes are ABSOLUTELY there though, so I encourage you to pick this up between June and August!

Allow me to introduce you to the perfect book to kick off your summer reading: Same Time Next Summer. This book is toes in warm sand, waves crashing nearby, a cold bevvie at your elbow, peak summer reading perfection!

Sam's life is tidy, organized, on track, and very much lived according to plan. At thirty she returns to her family's beach house on Long Island amidst wedding planning with her perfect doctor fiance only to have her strategically uncomplicated life quickly complicated by the presence of her first love, Wyatt, who she hasn't seen in 13 years, not since he broke her heart in a messy falling out.

Same Time Next Summer is about the nostalgia and intensity of young love, the magic of endless summer days and nights, and the freedom in correcting course to live authentically before life passes you by.

I loved getting lost in this story for a day!

Title: Same Time Next Summer
Author: Annabel Monaghan
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Same Time Next Summer" by Annabel Monaghan

My Sentiment:

The young love these two had while young [Samantha & Wyatt] grew up and spending time on the beach was sweet, but something drastically altered their life as they grew older. All of this happens for these two in this second chance romance, especially after years pass, Sam meets Jack, and they become engaged. Be prepared for many flashbacks that make the story enjoyable. I will stop here and say, pick up 'Same Time Next Summer' to see how the story will all come out.

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the digital ARC!

I LOVED Nora Goes Off Script so I was so excited to get the opportunity to read the latest work by Annabel Monaghan. Same Time Next Summer was sweet and fun and I really enjoyed it.

Sam has returned back to the beach for the summer, which is where as a teen, she fell in love with Wyatt. However, years after she an Wyatt broke up leaving her heart broken, Sam has not returned ready to marry another man. Of course, she can't help by run into Wyatt who is also in town. As Wyatt and Sam continue to reenter each other's lives old feelings and hurts start to resurface.

This book had all the things I love -- childhood friends to lovers, he falls first, then and now story telling, and second chance romance. Sam and Wyatt are such compelling characters and the journey the author takes you on in learning how they have gotten to where they are is so fun. I could not put this book down. I was captivated by the story and the then and now story telling kept me turning page after page.

You know the characters are beautifully written when your heart breaks along with them and I certainly felt the pull on my heart strings during parts of this story.

Despite how much I love these characters I did feel like the bulk of the book was focused on what happened in the past and there wasn't enough attention given to the present relationship and moving forward.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, the story and these great characters.

Thank you to the publisher and PRH Audio for advanced copies of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Same Time Next Summer has such a strong sense of place, family, and summer nostalgia, that I can easily see this becoming one of the breakout novels of the summer. Perfect to throw in your beach or pool bag and get lost in, I will be recommending this one to many. I understand why it has appeared on so many summer reading guides.

Wyatt and Sam are childhood best friends, who's families have summer beach houses on Long Island next door to each other. This friendship evolves into a teenage romance and the reader is drawn through their saga in present day when Sam returns with her perfect doctor fiancee (not Wyatt) to plan her wedding. Wyatt however shows up and throws a wrench in Sam's perfectly constructed life and the reader learns about what happened between the two of them.

The strong sense of place in this novel really pulled me in. You feel like you're right at the beach with Wyatt and Sam and can feel the heat, smell the salty air, and feel the angst. I really enjoyed this and it was just so realistically written and portrayed. I really really enjoyed it. This also portrays how real and messy family can be and just felt relatable in a way a lot of books are unable to portray. As far as the romance component, this reads more like women's fiction and there is no open door steam.

Definitely recommend.

What a great summer read! I love the setting of Long Island and the beach house. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and the back and forth helped understand the background of Sam and Wyatt’s teenage love story. This was a slow burn, but the second half flew by, and I was sad to have it end.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this book after the first 20%. I didn't know if I liked the back and forth between "Then" and "Now" and I wasn't sure if I should be bored or not. But having finished this book I can say that going back and forth was the best way to tell Sam & Wyatt's story. We needed to see the friendship start, grow and turn to love. We needed to feel all the emotions with our characters.

And I'm not sure where Sam got the idea that people don't Google other people because that is 100% a thing. Anytime I watch something new I google the entire cast and find out everything I can about their lives (especially the attractive guys). I love being in the know. So yes, I would've googled Wyatt every chance I got if I had been in Sam's shoes. No shame.

Now onto Jack. What is there to say about Jack other than the fact he is a dull stick in the mud? He is so cookie cutter about his life that he is probably one of the most boring characters I have ever read. Like no one wants gray everything in their apartment. We need a little color & chaos. And all the working out? Puh-lease. Working out is not a personality trait.

Loved loved loved the ending just wish we could've had an epilogue of their beach wedding!!

All in all a very fast read. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC of this book. One of my favorites of the year so far!

I loved Nora Goes Off Script, so Same Time Next Summer was a must-read, despite the premise not drawing me in. I'm sorry to say it just wasn't for me.

I can see the attachment to one's first love, and the hotness of a guy with a guitar, but the love story overall was difficult for me to buy into. This is one of those like, "I'm happy for you, but... You sure?" type situations. Admittedly, second chance is not one of my favorite tropes; it's usually hard for me to see past the reasons the couple broke up (and stayed apart!) in the first place.

I also had issues with the themes being heavy-handed. After awhile, each added reference to them just took me out of the story and made me annoyed that the author didn't trust readers to get the point, without it being made so many times. (I was surprised by this, given that I called out the writing as something I enjoyed in the author's last book.)

The beach vibes were good, and I liked the narration by Brittany Pressley and Dan Bittner. Ultimately I'd recommend this one to readers of Every Summer After and those looking for a shorter second-chance romance.

What a pleasant surprise! I adored this book!

Fans of Love and Other Words and Every Summer After are sure to love it! A second chance, childhood friends to lovers story told in duel timelines that will be sure to rip your heart out and put it back together.

The author did a fabulous job allowing the reader to connect to Sam, our FMC, how intoxicating her first love was and how painful that loss was. And the unexpected twist around Wyatt, the MMC was a fun surprise and really brought the whole story together!

Amazing Book. I was hooked START to finish. This was giving me all the summer vibes and I LOVED it. I loved the back and fourth. I loved the characters and the story line was so good. Will definitely be Recommending to everybody this summer!

Another sweet summer read. At first, I thought I had everything figured out and it was just going to be a quick fun read. However, there were secrets and I just love a good secret. Some of what I thought might happen did, some didn't and yes, there were other surprises. I enjoyed the location and all of the different familial and friend dynamics. It was a nice easy read. Sometimes, the road forward is a journey into the past and sometimes that past journey helps you find your future.

What a delicious summer read☀️

Nora Goes Off Script, by @annabelmonaghan was one of my favorite books of last year. I squealed when I got an ARC for her latest - thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks!! And it was a goddamn delight ☀️

I have been on a big nostalgia reading kick and I am loving it! Same Time Next Summer is the story of S has a carefully put together life: career in HR and engaged to doctor Jack. Everything is in order by design, and certainly not messy. She and Jack are headed to her parents summer house on Long Island to wedding plan and she’s not looking forward to it. At the beach she can’t escape the memories of her first love, Wyatt. And on this trip she is thrown for even more of a loop because he’s there… for the first time in over a decade☀️

Second chance romances are HARD, but I really fell for both of our leads here. It was a slow burn but then I could not put this one down and was sad when it ended because I wanted more of these characters. The development was both thoughtful and so well executed☀️

@annabelmonaghan, you did it again!! This one is out on TUESDAY!! ☀️

#scottonreads #goodreads #bookstagram #books #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #putnambooks #annabellmonaghan

I will post this review on Goodreads, my bookstagram @scottonreads and retailer sites

Sam left her summers in Long Island broken hearted. Twelve years later, she's picked up the pieces and moved on, enjoys her job and life with her fiancé in New York. At the urging of Jack and her parents, they go to their summer house for a short stay to iron out wedding details. Sam's carefully curated life is mildly threatened by her artistically messy parents and the sudden reappearance of Wyatt, the boy-next-door.
I really love the way Annabel writes and I will definitely continue to pick up her books. My struggle with this one is how long the love triangle drags out when there's a clear choice. For this trope to work for me, I want - as the reader - to be torn between the two love interests. I unquestionably had a favorite within the first handful of chapters and it never changed.
The Now and Then scenes were so well done. I felt the teenage angst and voice in the Then and the character's increase in maturity and responsibility in the Now. The tone change was distinct while also maintaining the character's personality in a clear way. I also loved the development of other characters through Sam's POV. The entire cast and setting was well thought out and I simply wanted to drive out to Long Island and hang out for the summer.
Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I absolutely LOVE @annabelmonaghan books! Nora Goes off Script was one of my favorites last year and Same Time Next Summer was just as fantastic!

I was lucky enough to have an advanced physical copy AND listening copy and I really enjoyed Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley’s narration. Monaghan really knows how to immediately pull you in and I had to know what happened to Sam and Wyatt. There were definitely some hilarious side characters and I got some Love and Other Words vibes, which is another favorite read. I always love a dual POV story and love following along on Sam’s transformation! If you love small beach town summer vibes and second chance romance, get this one immediately!

4.75 stars!

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for the arc and @prhaudio for the advance listening copy!