This was a lovely beach read between a librarian and a woman with dyslexia who was insecure because of her dislike of reading. A great relationship was depicted here between Sam, our protagonist, and her younger brother Tyler, whom she cared for over the summer. At times it felt like the romance in the book suffered to get across the familial element, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless, and I loved the love interest being a male librarian!

Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
This was the first book I’ve read where the main character has dyslexia. I learned about how people with dyslexia cope and forge forward with reading. It was enlightening, to say the least.
Samantha & Bennett were fun to follow around the Vineyard. I love it when I can relate to the characters, even in the smallest ways. I love watching cooking shows, and I am a librarian. This book was meant to live on my bookshelf (after reading it, of course).
The self-esteem issues that Samantha faced were all too familiar. I tend to talk down to myself just as she had. For some reason, it is easier to believe the bad of ourselves than to accept the good. Samantha faces it head-on, and I admire her for it.
Bennett, an interim director on the search for his biological father, has the best cute-meet with Samantha.
You’ll fall in love with all the characters and long to live on Martha’s Vineyard. I give this book a 5-star rating!

okay, i super enjoyed this book!! it was such a fun time and i really hope that you pick it up when it comes out! and as always, thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this book early! what a delight!!!!

ben & sam 🌊

i loved the pacing of this book and thought they were so strong in how they handled each other needs. ben is so sweet and loving while sam is reassuring and an amazing friend. the only part that threw me off was the ending… he said he wanted space then came running back all of the sudden? i didn’t like the rush of it and just threw me off

but i love the setting of the book - new england summer what more could you want for a summer book!!

however i’m so excited for em’s book :))

This book has the correct title - Summer Reading is just what you would want for a day at the pool/beach. I was invested in the character's relationships throughout this book. As much as it is a love story between Sam and Ben, it is also a family connection between Sam and her brother Tyler. I think I was equally invested in those relationships. I enjoyed the growth of Sam throughout the book. I am recommending to readers who enjoy a romance and/or family story with enjoyable characters. This is my first book by Jenn MicKinlay and it will not be my last. I look forward to the next book from Jenn McKinlay.

A cute love story with a Martha’s Vineyard backdrop, a family dynamics highlight, an opposites attract trope, and a little bit of spice. I thought the author did a nice job of highlighting dyslexia in a way that is not always done in fiction. I thought the middle dragged a little bit, and the single point of view made it harder to understand the multiple breakups. I did love the food descriptions!

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay

This is the first romance I’ve read where our male lead is the “bookish nerd,” while our female lead has dyslexia. I love that the author took time to make reading this book inclusive with neurodivergent friendly font and formatting. The romance between Sam and Ben was cute but a little too insta-love for me. What I really enjoyed were their side stories; Sam trying to connect with her younger half-brother Tyler and Ben trying to find his biological father. Seeing the bond between Sam and Tyler grow was so heart-warming. Overall, I think it was a cute read with a fun, sweet romance. I’d recommend this is your favorite trope is insta-love with a fun meet-cute.
Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy to review.

This was a sweet romance between Sam (a chef) and Ben (a librarian) in the perfect summer setting (Martha's Vineyard), featuring food scenes that will make your stomach growl and lots of book talk. What more can you ask for in a beach read?

Sam has dyslexia which I don't see repped enough in novels. I found the explanations of Sam's experiences and the author's note about things like the font choices for this book really interesting. My one complaint is that Sam's struggle started to feel a little repetitive as a major plot point and the focus seemed to be on what she couldn't do as opposed to what she could. But I did appreciate that for once, the guy is the reader in the relationship and that I got to learn more about the disorder, Sam and Ben's love of a shared book is beautifully sexy.

3.5 stars

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

This was not one of my favorite McKinlay reads. I'm typically a big fan of her romance novels, but this one missed the mark for me. I love that Samantha was a neurodivergent character, however, it felt like she was constantly reminding the reader of her dyslexia. It wasn't part of her story - it WAS her WHOLE story... and it got to be repetitive. There were some redeeming parts and she was overall likable, but the tone of the book was too formal and left out some of the emotional nuances and characteristics of the MCs. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing, Jenn McKinlay, and Netgalley for an advance copy of Summer Reading in exchange for an honest review.

Alright folks, heres the PERFECT summer read for you. I truly found myself swooning through this whole story. The author seems to do a fantastic job portraying a dyslexia & neurodivergent character (I only say seems because I dont have personal experience with these topics so it seems wrong for me to say with gumption that this is an accurate representation). I fell in love with Samantha and Ben as they met in Marthas Vineyard. Following their summer romance (as "complete" opposites) as Sam took care of her younger brother was such a good story. We watch the relationship progress as they learn things about themselves and the other person. It was such a GREAT summer love story.

You can pick this one up now and may I suggest you take it with you to the beach?! I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future.

What a great kick off to summer read! I truly enjoyed reading this book and I know my patrons will enjoy it as well. I will definitely be recommending this to my library to add to circulation!

I loved that this book was written I. A dyslexic friendly font! I also really enjoyed the relationship between brother and sister and the romantic “impossible” relationship between a librarian and a woman who is dyslexic and doesn’t read. Yay for the positive plug for audiobooks in this.

I love that this book highlighted neurodivergent characters, and I also commend the author and publisher for making this particular book dyslexia friendly. Many people are turned away from reading because it is anxiety-inducing, difficult, and brings up bad memories. Thank you for seeing these readers and inviting them to enjoy this book as much as I did!

Now- this was such a swoony beach read. Easy to follow, endearing characters, and the MMC is so swoony. As a reader, nothing is sexier than another reader…. AND he reads to her. Good god!!!!!!

This is a google book. The two main characters are Samantha and Ben. They meet on the ferry going the vineyards. Ben has ya new job as the director of the library. Samantha has quit her job as a chef in Boston and came ho,e to take care of her teenage brother, while her parents go a trip to Europe. There is an instant attraction. They start to date. They each have issues but together they work it out and fall in love.

I love McKinlay's cozy mysteries and her romance is also above par. A great beach read--or anytime you need a comforting, sexy read!

Samantha Gale has come home to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer to house-sit and chaperone her teenage half-brother, Tyler, while her parents take a summer getaway. Sam is a chef, recently passed over for a merited promotion, and currently at loose ends as she tries to figure out what is next in her career and her life. The summer will lead in some interesting directions for her as she gets the opportunity to really get to know her much younger half sibling, reconnect with an old friend, and meet an intriguing love interest in the library’s interim director… an interesting twist for Sam, who has dyslexia, and has long struggled with her relationship with books and the written word.

This book captured me from the first page. The banter, laugh out loud dialogue coupled with siblings drawing closer and a hot librarian male main character made this such a fun read for me. I learned so much about dyslexia and coping mechanisms that I never knew before. And the food, I nearly starved to death while reading this book. As a little plus, Jenn has included some recipes at the end of the book that I can't wait to try!

* I had such high hopes for this one. Mainly because of the plot, which was set in Martha’s Vineyard. I have always wanted to visit that island! However, the location was where my love for this book started and stopped.

* I liked that the FMC (Sam) was neurodivergent (dyslexic). However, Sam constantly talked about being dyslexic. It was her entire personality. She dragged herself down daily because of it. It made it to where she literally couldn’t function in day-to-day activities. Her disability was used as a crutch. By the end, she was no better, she never overcame her adversities or stopped labeling herself as “broken”. We never saw any healing or growth from her.

* It’s perfect fate that she meets Ben, an avid reader. Opposite’s definitely attracted in this situation. However, I felt like we never got to know Ben. We just knew about him in relation to Sam. This book could have benefitted with a dual POV.

* I didn’t like how (before she told him her disability), she kept making comments about how an avid reader could never fall in love with a non-reader. This was repeated several times. It got annoying, honestly, because that honestly how it is in most relationships— one is a book lover and the other isn’t. At least it’s like that with my husband and I. And he admits that he never once thought I wouldn’t like him because he didn’t like books😂

* For the first 50% of the book, the story was more about her adapting to her temporary home, finding a job, reconnecting with her bff, and building a better relationship with her half brother. Romance felt like a subplot.
* The plot felt slicey and dicey. It didn’t flow as nice as I would have liked.

* The narrators voice sounded very formal, given the subject of the plot. Her voice didn’t fit the story or the main character.

Samantha Gale decides to chaperone her younger brother and spend a summer on Martha's Vineyard.. She is looking for work as a chef but finds love instead. The library's interim director keeps showing up and even if she is a non-reader with dyslexia….these two show us that opposites attract! This is a cute, light hearted summer romance!