I liked everything about this one. The setting. The characters. The hot librarian. The brother/sister relationship. The friendship between the main character and her friend. The cooking.

I also loved the representation, and the fact that the book was published in a Dyslexic friendly font. Well done.

I thought this book dragged a lot and I got bored and wanted to move on. I thought the romance was too slow and it overall felt negative.

I love the pro-reading/anti-reading matchup and I will definitely be reading more from Jenn McKinlay because this book was perf.

Thank you so much @BerkleyRomance for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 16 May 2023)

SYNOPSIS | Sam has recently been fired from her job so decides to take a pause and return home, to the island she grew up on, to look after her 14-year-old step-brother. On the ferry over she accidentally throws another passenger's book into the sea who just so happens to be the towns librarian.

WHAT I LIKED:
- that dyslexia features so heavily in the story (the physical book is formatted with dyslexia-friendly fonts & margins!)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I prefer my stories with well-rounded characters & not just one singular defining trait
- while having dyslexia representation is important, it didn't feel as if it was naturally woven into the story and felt very textbook
- didn't like that dyslexia was used as part of the initial conflict (as the love interest likes to read but the MC doesn't)
- the story could have benefitted from Ben's POV
- honestly I just didn't feel the chemistry between Sam & Ben and that made it difficult to root for them

I was really excited to read this one, because I was really intrigued by the premise of our FMC having dyslexia. However, I mostly just found this to be kind of boring and the dialogue just didn't work for me.

I really enjoyed this story! I loved that the FMC was neurodivergent. I am seeing this more and more with books, and it makes me happy. While we read to escape, we also read to find how we relate to the characters, to feel seen and heard. While this character dealt with dyslexia, other stories recently, I have seen more of an ADHD rep as well and how they cope with everyday tasks. I also loved the insta-connection Samantha has with Ben. What started as a possible bad first impression turned out to be their meet cute 😍.

I enjoyed the side stories as well, Samantha's relationship with Em and Samantha bonding with Tyler. The closer those two got, the funnier their banter got.

While I do not enjoy a third act break up, I could see where this one would be a natural pause between Samwise and Ben. He just received devastating news and didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with it.

This story has definitely put Martha's Vineyard on my radar, and now I want to take a visit!

Just look at this cover! I absolutely love it! But honestly... it's my favorite thing about this book. I desperately wanted to love it, and I did think it was cute, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. The storyline, the character development, the chemistry/romance, it all felt a bit lackluster and didn't pull me like I had hoped.

A great title about neurodivergent people! I didn't realize something as easy as adjusting print could help dyslexic readers. What an eye-opening and heart touching read. I enjoyed every aspect of the story and didn't want it to end.

Jenn McKinley's "Summer Reading" proved to be a challenging read for me, ultimately falling short of my expectations. The novel follows Samantha and Bennett, but their character development and plot left me underwhelmed.

One of the major issues I encountered was with Samantha's character. Her dialogue came across as long-winded and tedious, making it difficult to connect with her. The constant mention of her dyslexicbecame distracting and sometimes felt like a forced element rather than a seamlessly integrated aspect of her character. Samantha's claim of being close to her friend didn't align with the narrative, as she seemed surprisingly unaware of crucial details about her friend's life.

Bennett's storyline, unfortunately, also needed more depth. It felt lacklustre and failed to capture my interest, leaving me wanting more substance and development for his character. Samantha and Bennett's relationship's slow pace added to the dissatisfaction. It felt anticlimactic when they finally got together and failed to deliver the emotional impact I hoped for.

While I acknowledge that personal preferences play a role in book enjoyment, "Summer Reading" did not resonate. There may be readers who appreciate its nuances and style, but unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea.

I read a decent portion of this book very slowly over a few months before DNFing. The writing is fine, but the characters fell flat enough that I just couldn’t get invested! Two stars since the writing was fine, just not the character development.

I really enjoyed this story. The way the author blended the main character's daily troubles with dyslexia, watching a young teen, the young teen's struggles with being "normal" and a love story was absolutely perfect. I probably would have loved this more in the summer months but it was still a great listen at any time of year!

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this story. This review has been posted on goodreads, storygraph and barnes & noble. The review can be found on my instagram @manymerrybooks

Personally, for me, this book was really well intentioned. However, I think where I went wrong, was expecting this to be romance oriented, where it was clearly women’s fiction.

Parts of this felt like a plat on Emily Henrys Beach Reads (which is ok, I loved that book). Although when it came down to it, I clearly preferred Emily Henry’s version.

That isn’t to say this was bad, I just really wanted this book to be more romance focused than it was, which is a personal preference.

I really enjoyed this rom com which was a sweet summery look at the hospitality business, neurodivergence, and family dynamics in two complex families.

RATING: 3/5 STARS

This was a cute summer book featuring a librarian romance. It started off strong but then I lost interest around the 60% mark.

Sam and Ben didn't resonate with me. Summer Reading was a flop...unfortunately. This book tackles a lot of heavy topics but it didn't do a good job of building up the chemistry between Sam and Ben.

Who needs an alpha love interest when you can have a hot librarian? Ben was very swoon-worthy in the book and he was definitely one of my favorite romantic leads. I mean there's an intimate scene when he's reading to Sam that will have you curling your toes. I didn't love Sam. I appreciated her struggles with her disability and I liked that the author didn't have a cookie-cutter lead. Yet, she was a little OTT at times. Overall, a great romance to read poolside or by the beach.

The cover drew me in. I went into this one blindly and enjoyed it! This is the first book I've read with dyslexia representation and I felt like I was learning right along with the male main character. Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley.

I think I love a foodie romance! Another standout part I must mention is our hero reading books aloud to our dyslexic heroine...swoon. The Martha's Vineyard location really rounds out the book for me.

This was such a sweet, heartwarming story of love, family and BOOKS. I really loved the imagery in this one as well as how sucked me in and tugged at my heart. I loved how it ended as well. I can't wait for more of the future releases by the author.

This was the perfect read to wrap up my summer books and thought it was cute. I’m a sucker for a New England setting, so immediately was drawn in there. While there was some important topics, felt that this was overall a lighthearted read. Some things were definitely a little cringe (like Ben reading one of McKinlay’s other books out loud to Sam 🥴) and the dancing with the younger brother? There were also a lot of cliches, but I feel like if you don’t take this one too seriously, it can be overall an enjoyable read.