Sam has a seemingly perfect life: doctor fiancée, great job and happy family. When she visits her family’s beach house to plan her wedding, she runs into her first love (who, of course, happens to live next door!) which eventually leads Sam to realize her life may not be as perfect as it seems.

This premise of this story is not new and it was very predictable. Additionally, some parts were a bit beyond belief (are we really supposed to believe that Wyatt was a hotshot producer/songwriter dating a huge celebrity and no one knew???). Nevertheless, this didn’t stop me from staying up until 3am to finish this all in one sitting! I really fell in love with Sam and was invested in her story. This is a great book for anyone looking for a light-hearted beach read ala Beach Read, The Summer I Turned Pretty and The Notebook.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for providing me this ARC.

Not me sitting here misty-eyed after finishing this book???

“On some level, I hoped that if I came back to myself, Wyatt would come back to me too.”

Same Time Next Summer follows Sam from her time growing up on the shores of Long Island during the summer and falling in love with Wyatt to when she’s back on Long Island planning her wedding to Jack.

Sam is such a real character. An awkward, self-conscious teen, she falls in love with Wyatt quietly over the summers at the beach. Sometimes flashback scenes can bore me, but I really loved the flashbacks in the one. As we read about Sam in adulthood following the earth-shattering breakup on her young adulthood, the author does such an amazing job of writing what it feels like to be so utterly lost and confused about what you want your life to look like vs what it should look like. Watching Sam and Wyatt come back together after nearly a decade apart was literally perfect.

I loved each and every one of these imperfect characters. I didn’t even hate Jack. The author does such an amazing job writing flawed, believable characters that I couldn’t help but love.

My only complaint was the ending. I wish we got a little more of a grand finish. Buuuut as I said in the beginning, I closed this book with tears nearly in my eyes. I also wished we had more of Wyatt. This reads more like chick-lit as opposed to romance and at times I felt like I didn’t know Wyatt all that well.

Read if you like second chance romance, small towns, and an emotional beach read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin for this arc! It comes out June 6th, 2023.

3.5 enthusiastic stars!

First of all, many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my objective review. I had just finished re-reading (and enjoying) "Nora Goes Off Script" for the second time when I received an email letting me know I'd been approved for Monaghan's newest book.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. I loved watching the story unfold through the eyes of both main characters. The way that the story developed moving back and forth between the present and the past was intriguing. I especially loved watching Sam's journey to self-awareness of who she was truly meant to be. The ending was also very satisfying.

A smattering of profanity and PG love scenes.

Annabel Monaghan is now one of my go-to authors and I look forward to listening to this wonderful story on audiobook and re-reading it in the future.

Loved this author's first book, Nora Goes Off Script, and this one is just as fantastic. I could feel the ocean, identified with Sam, loved Wyatt. I have nothing but good things to say about this book.

Sam and Wyatt see each other every summer since they were young and fall deeply in love. Even at their young age they know this love is forever.

Having loved Nora Goes Off Script I was excited to read Same Time Next Summer but it started off reading too much like every other romance novel out there so I was tempted to skip to the end and be done. I’m grateful I didn’t because when something terrible happens to our two lovers the writing changes becoming compelling, more nuanced ,and the book shows it’s depth of feelings.

In this day and age of social media I also had to suspend belief to swallow that Sam or her family did not know what happened to Wyatt. That did not ring true.

All in all an enjoyable book.