I was a bit apprehensive starting this because Nora Goes Off Script got too overhyped for me and by the time I read it, I enjoyed it but it wasn't the five star, life changing story I'd been hearing about. This book, however, IS THAT BOOK.

"As I get out of bed, I think about how memories are just fine the way nature made them. We are forward-moving people, so as we go through our life our unnecessary memories fade until we finally shed them. The ones we need - the time you touched the hot oven, the time you slipped on black ice - those memories burrow into our psyches to keep us safe. But there's no reason to walk into the museum of your childhood just for old times' sake. It's confusing to be faced with all the things you used to think were important once you've grown up."

Sam is planning her wedding, happy (mostly) in her life, and then she goes home and finds her first love is one again next door, after their relationship abruptly ending thirteen summers ago. Wyatt, her first love, encapsulates everything Sam is at her core, while her fiancé represents what she needed after Wyatt - predictability, security, and clarity on exactly what was coming next. Alternating between present day from Sam's POV and a past POV from both Sam and Wyatt, we get the story of their love and eventual breakup, plus Sam's life now while she tries to decide what to do with the long buried feelings about that whole life she thought she was over.

Sam is so relatable it hurts. Who hasn't been hurt and responded by shutting some part of themselves off to the world and trying to control as much as possible, even if not consciously? Wyatt and Sam's story felt super authentic to how life actually is, especially as a teenager where you don't necessarily have control over your own life. I really loved their story, and Sam's journey back to herself.

Big, big recommend for me. I read this so, so fast and have already been recommending it to friends!

A light, fun, and hopeful summer read. Likable characters and a delightful setting make for an easy read.

After the devastating breakup of a teenage romance, Sam’s life is finally back on track. She’s working for an New York City HR firm, engaged to Jack, a slightly boring dermatologist, and is planning their wedding. She and Jack have travelled to her family’s Long Island beach house to see if the local Old Sloop Inn is a possible wedding venue. It won’t be an easy visit for Sam. Her parents’ odd creativity is overwhelming for Jack, she never seems to wear enough sunscreen (dermatologist, remember?), and Jack’s desire for an all white, classic wedding is at odds with her love of color. Worst of all, her former boyfriend, musician Wyatt, is back living next door. He wants to be friends…

What could be a simple story about summer love becomes pure magic. Annabel Monaghan is a gifted writer who lets you feel the emotions of her characters. Same Time Next Summer is a treasure. It will leave you with a smile. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Annabel Monaghan for this ARC.

It just didn’t grab me. I didn’t really relate to any of the characters and didn’t feel incredibly committed to the plot in general. I did feel like Sam went through some good character development, but it felt rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Finished ✔️ Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan and it was overall really an enjoyable read.

4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: June 6th, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No

The ultimate summer nostalgia read about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn’t seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from the age of five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their live story, and herself.

An unforgettable love story that was delightful.
It bursts with the magic that comes with your first love.
Everyone I want in a summer romance

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I love a good second chance novel, and the past/present setup really worked so well with this one. I loved Monaghan’s debut novel, and this one felt similar but also very different. The characters were well developed, easily likeable, and it was an overall fun, heartwarming read. I’m so thankful I was given the chance to preview it, and I’ve already recommended it to several friends and my local library!

I loved looking at the past & present to see how the same event influenced two lives in such different ways. Sam’s families quickly became one of my favorites and the lake have such a tactile and grounding setting for the story. This will definitely be a perfect read next summer, so get it on your TBR for 2023!

I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I did not think that I could like some thing. As much as I liked the authors first novel, Nora goes off script, but I think I actually like this one even better I loved the setting, the role that summer played in sam’s life in Wyatt’s life and overall their crazy chemistry that lasted for decades . I highly recommend this second chance at first love novel.

When Sam comes face-to-face with Wyatt, her childhood love whom she hasn't seen in 14 years, in the place they fell in love, old feelings can't help but rise to the surface. Sam tries to balance these new, old feelings, planning a wedding and re-discovering the carefree woman she used to be while at the beach.

This is the perfect summer, second-chance romance! Annabel Monaghan captures the feelings of first love and childhood summer romance, along with the complexities of family drama, living through heartbreak and growing up. The book flipped between present-day and the past for the first half and then transitioned into the present-day once the reader had all the necessary back-story. Sam's family was endearing and gave Sam advice and pushes in the right direction in a light-hearted way.

The progression of the character's rekindled relationship felt realistic and the conflict was more believable than similar books. I was engaged through the very last pages and I'm very happy we narrowly avoided a major cliche in the final chapter.

Annabel Monaghan has officially become an auto-buy author for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review (all opinions are my own). Highly recommend picking up Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan when it comes out June 6.

I love a past and present romance story that develops through vivid flashbacks from alternating POVs of the characters, and that’s exactly what Monaghan delivers. It’s the sweet, building anticipation of young summer love and then the bitter heartache that follows. Years later the two main characters see each other again and it’s obvious that they never got over each other. It’s a wonderful love story that kept me rooting for Sam and Wyatt until the very end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I loved Nora Goes Off Script and Monaghan hits it out of the park again!

This book was right up my alley. Long-lost lovers reunited even though one of them is engaged? Yes. And on the same beach they grew up on and fell in love on? Yes. Realizing they've loved each other all along? Yes!

Samantha & Wyatt are next door neighbors. But only for the summers. Then they go back to their "real lives" away from each other. Those endless summer days (and nights) bring them closer together every year until they finally admit their feelings for each other.

Everything is great until something totally unexpected happens. Anger enters their relationship in ways they never could've imagined and the summer ends before they know it. Essentially forever.

Many years later Sam is engaged and heads to the beach for wedding planning. Little does she know Wyatt is living next door and seemingly great friends with her family. You can imagine what happens but the journey to get to the end is wonderful to read.

Sam & Wyatt are the kind of couple that a movie should be made about. This book should be made into a movie.

I got lost in the pages of this book, today……📖

It wasn’t that I hadn’t read something similar before, I had-But, this time, I was transported back in time!

Growing up near Ft. Lauderdale beach, I can remember the warmth of the sand, the sound of the waves as they break on the shore, and the look of the foam as it retreats back into the ocean.

And, how intoxicating FIRST LOVE can feel.

Sam and her fiancé are in Long Island to check out a wedding venue. But, when she arrives she is shocked to discover that her first love Wyatt, HER WYATT, was also back home.

She hasn’t seen him since he broke her heart fourteen years ago.

This should not bother a happily engaged woman, and YET, it does.

Initially told in alternating the timelines of THEN and NOW-until we remain in the present day timeline…

Maybe, SAFE isn’t what adult love should feel like?

MAYBE it should always feel just a bit more dangerous than that and if safe is all you are feeling it’s because you are afraid of being hurt again if you demand something more?!

A soul searching love story with wonderful characters that had me glued to the pages ALL afternoon. This has been my favorite romance so far, this year! ❤️

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I will recommend this one to my readers who want a book for their pool bag. It is a high school romance rekindled with a main character finding herself. Sam's family made a fantastic supporting cast as she deals with her unresolved feelings for Wyatt. Not quite at the same level as Nora Goes Off Script, but still an enjoyable book. Perfect for summer.

Really enjoyed this second-chance romance. Loved the setting of the beach & a family summer vacation.

3.5 stars. This book was a good pick for my very first NetGalley book (am I real reader now?? (St) I absolutely loved Nora Goes Off Script so I was very excited to read this book.
My number one complaint I have about Annabel
Monaghan's books is that they are way too short. This book was very short and I feel like a lot of the action was reserved for the very very end. This book felt like a mash up of Every Summer After (young teenage love at the beach/lake) and Eight Hundred Grapes (bring your fiancée you aren't so sure about home to the parents.)
It tells the story of Sam and Wyatt and their young love and then heartbreaking breakup at the beach in alternating then and now timelines. It is beautifully written, sweet and heartfelt but to me it didn't feel like it brought anything new to the table. I think the story would have been more interesting if Sam did not have a fiancée, who was merely a plot device, not a real character who she had a real relationship with. Overall, it is a sweet quick read but I definitely preferred Nora.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP
Putnam/ G. P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This is my favorite read for the year thus far. I loved everything about this journey. The author was so vivid in her storytelling. I feel like i had my own trip to the beach for the weekend.
I loved the pacing, the characters, the realness of the story. It had me grinning and sobbing. I will be recommending this to all of my book friends who enjoy a beach read with a little “more”.
*second chance romance
*closed door scenes

DNF at 60%

This one was rough...from the beginning I had no connection to the very bland main characters and no interest in their relationship. There wasn't enough development to their friendship as kids and romantic relationship as teens to make me care about them in the present. The second chance/summer romance is a difficult trope because it's been done so many times, and in this case, there's nothing unique to make it stand out. By the halfway point I could see what direction the story was headed and I had no interest in continuing reading, so I skimmed the last half and am glad I didn't waste much time on it.

This book was fantastic. EXACLTY what I needed to read. I have been having a really hard time concentrating on reading and this book got me back in the swing of things. If you are looking for a feel good, summer read, then this book is just for you.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

After being bowled over by Nora Goes Off Script, I admit I had high expectations for Same Time Next Summer. The pull of summer vibes on the east coast drew me into the story from the start. Sam has crafted her own perfect world, at least from the outside looking in. But we slowly see the pull and draw of Wyatt, despite years of separation and a rocky past. The unfolding on the narrative (and Sam’s perfectly crafted plans) was very sweet and provided the exact book I needed for Spring Break reading. This was a sweet one!

This book was such a short and sweet read.

The book mainly follows the female protagonist, Sam throughout her journey as a thirty year old corporate woman living in New York City. Sam's flashbacks of her teenage years are showcased on Long Island at her family's beach home. While Sam is getting married to Jack, her current fiancé, she can't help but drift back to her summer boyfriend, Wyatt. Sam ventures down to her family home where she visits while she makes preparations for her wedding with Jack, but in the other house next door, Wyatt showed up which made Sam question everything in her life, including going through with the wedding.

I loved how the audience met the current Sam as a woman who carried herself as a posh New York City styled woman who slowly starts to relive her teenage years through her family's beach house.
I personally think Monaghan did a great job of having Jack be an unlikeable character from the get-go so the audience could see how absurd it was for Sam was about to marry a guy completely opposite of who she truly was.

I absolutely adored Sam's romance with Wyatt in her teenage years. It brought me back to my first romance as a teenager in the summer, and the remembrance of dreading the summer coming to an end.

What was the most shocking to me was the plot twist regarding Wyatt' mother and Sam's dad. I did not see that coming and i was extremely disappointed at the two of them for creating such distress on both families. The hardest part was seeing how much Wyatt took it to heart and pushed Sam away for so long. My heart ached for Sam.

When Wyatt and Sam started to rekindle their friendship and ultimately started to fall in love with each other again, I thought it was sweet, but a bit forced. On my end, I didn't think that their passion for each other was really there, even if the character's thought it was from a reader's perspective, I could just see how forced it was. I wish their romantic connection in the present stage lasted a bit longer. I think a lot was still left unsaid and i was left unfulfilled.

Sam leaving Jack's house without a huge fight or really truly saying what she wanted and only giving Jack back the ring also left me wishing there was more to that scene. She had built this fake life with a guy who she thought she was in love with, but her reality came crashing down in more ways than just her love life. As a human, especially a woman who has been in Sam's place, I wish there was more explosion and purpose behind her decision to leave her life behind and chase her new life.

Other than that, I thought it was a pleasant read, especially seeing Sam's adoration for her little sister, Gracie, and Sam's ability to find an artistic vision with her life again.