Sam is about to get married to Jack. So she goes back to where she used to spend her summers in Long Island where she had her first love. She thought she wouldn't see him again until she realizes he's also there.

What a bummer. I loved Nora Goes Off Script, so I was really excited for this one. But I hated Wyatt so much and Sam was just a punching bag who accepted everything that he threw at her. How come is this 30-year-old woman still hung up on Wyatt after 13 years and after everything he put her through?? She was going through the exact same thing that he was and he saw her just as a punching bag. And differently from Nora Goes Off Script this book relies solely on the romance.

So, if I hated him, didn't care about her, and hated their story, there is nothing for me to like.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I was a huge fan of Nora Goes Off Script, so I was very excited to be approved for Same Time Next Summer. This book gave me major Every Summer After and Love & Other Words vibes, which unfortunately are 2 popular romances that I did not enjoy. I love Annabel's writing style and will continue to read whatever she writes, but overall I just did not love the story and didn't find it memorable. It has been a few weeks and I can't remember the character names. What I do remember is being very frustrated by the father of the FMC and also the therapist she treats with. I understood his hurt and resentment and I was happy to get a chapter from his POV. Although I do think they belong together, I do think there was the beginning of emotional cheating to me even though her fiance was unlikable, I still did not enjoy that. I did like that before she pursued a future with the MMC, she did kind of get her life together a little bit. I have heard the audio is good and I love Brittany Pressley as a narrator, so I may give it a second chance because I do like Annabel Monaghan and did have some quality issues in my ARC copy.

Overall, this is a good pick for fans of love triangles and second chance romances/ it has always been you. I will continue to read whatever Annabel writes because her stories are always hard to put down.

I enjoyed my time reading Same Time Next Summer by Anabel Monaghan. I thought it was perfect to read at the beach because the book’s setting. I thought the main character, Sam, was very relatable. Her struggles with her job and stepping into her authentic self are very realistic to experiences many people, including myself, have. I also loved the love interest, Wyatt. I particularly enjoyed the parts of the book where we saw Wyatt and Sam’s relationship unfold for the first time. While, overall, I did enjoy this book, I found that I got frustrated with Sam which made me like the book a little less. I would still recommend this book especially to someone who wants a quick easy read for the summer.

Second chance romance/first love. Sam and Wyatt were teenage lovers, sure they were forever, until tragedy pushes them apart. Now 30 years old, they reconnect at the family beach homes, and both of them must reconcile what they thought they wanted out of their lives with the still-alive attraction and relationship between them. Nostalgic and sweet.

(3.5⭐️) Many thanks to my friends at @putnambooks and @prhaudio for the #gifted copies of this book..

Long walks in the sand. ✅
Cocktails and acoustic music ✅
Second chance at romance ✅

There’s a deep sense of nostalgia in returning to the places of youth, especially when they involve first love.

Sam returns to her family’s Long Island beach cottage in search of the perfect wedding venue. But before she can embrace the future, she must grapple with the past… and the intoxicating sound coming from the guitar next door.

Monaghan perfectly captures the essence of young love and that first heartbreak. But what drew me in most was the seaside setting and memories of summers at the beach.

Oh Wyatt! Quite possibly the perfect cinnamon roll hero. (I have a thing for guys with guitars.). And yet, there was something that held me back from being fully sold on this romance.

Monaghan’s last book, Nora Goes Off Script, is one of my all-time favorite romances. It’s about a middle-aged heroine finding love amongst the mundane parts of life (around dinner tables and on grocery store runs).

And so I think: Maybe this book didn’t resonate to the same degree because it felt more YA, and I’m in my “mature” adult era. (It’s me. I’m the problem. It’s me.)

Still, I finished this in no time. It really is perfect for the pool bag.

But I’d love to see Monaghan circle back to a middle-aged woman navigating life and kids…

🎧 As I listened to this one, I found myself seeking out extra tasks that allowed me more listening time. Brittany Pressley is a favorite narrator, and she was partnered up with Dan Bitter. Together they created a perfectly angsty narration that I didn’t want to pause.

The stirrings of Sams first love is causing a dilema. This was an entertaining beach read and kept me turning the pages to see how she worked it out.
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A fun light beach read! This was a quick read. It was cute and romantic - a second chance with a first love. Two people meeting again and for the first time. It's a great escape.

This was a fun summer read!

Following childhood friends/turned lovers who went their separate ways, only to be brought back to one another. However Sam is engaged to another man and they are planning their wedding. But when she sees her best friend/ex Wyatt old memories start to come back and maybe even feelings.

Overall this was a easy going read that was perfect t for the summer. Based on a small beach town where everyone knows everyone.

Definitely would recommend!

** spoiler alert ** Let me start this by saying that Nora Goes Off Script was one of my favorite books I have read in recent years, so I had (likely inflated) wildly high hopes going into Same Time Next Summer.

What I liked: I liked the characters. I found Sam's family to be quirky and loveable. Reminded me of the family in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days but artists. They were charming and felt very real. The writing was very transporting. You can tell the author loves the coast the way she described the ocean - made me want to visit the places she described!

What I didn't: I just wanted to slap Sam sometimes! I mean I get it, a heartbreak can change the course of your life, but come on, gal! Also, I thought it was a little long for what the plot accomplished. You could see the end coming from early in the book (though the journey there was still sweet), I almost wanted more tension with her and her fiance. He seemed more like a casualty than a catalyst.

All said I will 100% read her next book and any that come after. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this eBook.

Such an easy, great read! A happy ending is guaranteed and it kept me on my toes! 10/10 The characters are well written and the plot was easy to hang on to!

This charming story follows Sam, a woman with her life perfectly on track until her first love, Wyatt, reappears at her family's Long Island beach house. With memories flooding back and undeniable chemistry, the question looms: will Sam stick to the plan or dive headfirst into a love story that never truly ended?

However, "Nora Goes Off Script" still remains my #1 pick by Annabel Monaghan.

What a cute a sweet feel good story I loved it. I'm always so jealous of book characters who grow up on the ocean and this was no exception I would love to live on the ocean and books like this give me a little taste of it. I related a lot to this book and saw a lot of myself in Sam even though I never had a heartbreak and tried to change my whole life.

What a sweet summer second chance. The growth of the characters was the best. Happy ending, yes, please. This story includes family, beach, summer, romance, healing, and betrayal. It is a fast easy fun read. It is a beach read for sure.

Will every second chance romance I read make me cry, probably, because I love them so much. The second chance aspect of this book was on point. The dual POV and dual timelines allowed you to really see and understand all the angles. I kind of liked that there was almost three parts, the before, the now, and then there is the after. I really liked the after. I think that Sam and Wyatt are sweet together. They understand each other like no one else and that Carrie’s forward to their grown up selves. The conflict that caused the ‘break’ was really well done and made for a realistic and genuine heartbreak all around that they had to deal with. All around I really enjoyed this book, it was funny and heartfelt. The audio is really good too.

Same Time Next Summer is a light and heartwarming beach read. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is a lovely second chance at love with a great beach setting. I love the last/present vibe. I am now looking forward to reading Nora Goes Off Script Hulu this author as well.

This was my first time reading something by this author. I must say this story was okay. It sounded like something I've read before, so I wasn't that impressed. I like that there was dyslexia representation. That's a disability you don't always see in books, so that was great to see in a character. I also liked the setting. It's set on Long Island NY at a family beach house, which makes for a great summer read. This was quick and fast paced, which is always a plus. I found the characters unlikeable. I didn't really connect or care for them, but yet I still wanted to read about them. Not sure how that happened. I still was annoyed by Sam's immaturity. She is in her 30's, yet she reads like a teen. Wyatt was just okay. Not book boyfriend worthy.

The romance in this just didn't do it for me. This is a childhood friends to lovers second chance romance that wasn't executed right. I found certain aspects of the past teenage summers cute, but as adults I wasn't rooting for them. I think it was hard for me to see a romance between them because for about 75% of the book Sam was engaged. Then their time together felt rushed and not well fleshed out. The main thing I look for in this trope is the cute moments that make you swoon and want them together, but I didn't get that. Matter of fact, I didn't care if Sam and Wyatt got together, so that says a lot.

Overall, I wasn't wowed by this, but enjoyed my time here. I would recommend to anyone looking for something that's light on romance, quick, and as a summer read.

Sam has a seemingly perfect life. She has the perfect fiance, a great job in Manhattan, and she’s about to embark on planning her dream wedding. But something feels off. So when she sees Wyatt, the guy who broke her heart when she was 17, she’s afraid old feelings may start coming back. Now she’s faced with an impossible choice.

If you read Annabel Monoghan’s debut novel Nora Goes Off Script last year, she probably got added as an auto-buy author. It was a fantastic debut and I couldn’t wait to read what she wrote next. Her sophomore book was cute and reminded me a bit of The Summer I Turned Pretty, but a little more grown up! I really enjoyed the dual POV with flashbacks to the past, it helped to know Sam and Wyatt’s time together! Their chemistry was undeniable and it perfectly captured the feeling of your first love. I related to Sam quite a bit in this novel as I ended up reconnecting with my highschool love (whom I later married) so I enjoyed reading this one!

There is something about first love, the way it pulls you in, that's so enchanting. In Same Time Next Summer, Annabel Monaghan spins a tale about Sam, a woman who seemingly has it all together (including a fabulous fiancee), and her summer encounter with the man she was in love with years ago.

This story pulled me in and really took off - I was immediately rooting for Sam and Wyatt and the tension was out of this world. Annabel Monaghan has easily put herself in class with some of the best American summer writers. If you love Elin Hildebrand or Emily Henry, I highly recommend you check her out.

A perfect summer read brimming with nostalgia! A really enjoyable, pleasant beach read with characters you root for to get together. The setting was lovely and vivid, and the writing was clever and easy to read.

I absolutely loved this second-chance romance. Sam and her fiancé are visiting her family in Long Island and preparing for their wedding. She has no doubts about marrying Jack until she finds out that her ex-boyfriend from when she was seventeen is also back in town. Wyatt broke her heart 14 years ago, and for someone who is happily engaged, Sam is starting to wonder if she really wants to be with Jack. She's faced with a choice: "perfect" life with Jack or risking everything for a second chance with Wyatt, her first love. This book was adorable and I loved the dynamic between Sam and Wyatt. My only complaint is that I wish we would have gotten a glimpse into their future, instead of just seeing them talk about it.

*Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Annabel Monaghan, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.*