This was such a cute read with an opposites attract trope! What drew me in initially was the colorful cover, but when I found out it was set in Martha's Vineyard and featured a chef and librarians, I was all in. The author's note explains how the book was printed specifically for those with dyslexia (e.g., bolded words instead of italics for emphasis) and features a neurodivergent protagonist to make rom-coms more inclusive. When the protagonist falls in love with the interim library director (who is obviously a big reader), McKinlay expertly proves that libraries can support those who struggle with reading in unexpected ways. I loved it and I wish that more books were as inclusive as this one.

"For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less than the library. But when an irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben, acting library director, inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about, they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after."

Sweet and Inclusive, this was full of Loveable characters!

Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC of this book.

Hot librarian meets sexy chef who doesn't read. That's the high level plot summary but it leaves out the best parts of the story. Samantha Gale is summering in Martha's Vineyard to chaperone her 14 year old stepbrother while her father and stepmother go on a trip of a lifetime. It's a good chance to figure things out after quitting her job after being passed over for promotion. Interestingly we learn about dyslexia, how it manifests, the prejudice against those who have it and the coping skills used to overcome it. Another plus are the Interesting two-dimensional characters. I especially loved the family dynamics where Samantha loves her stepmother and her mother. No villains here. The relationship between Samantha and jot librarian, Ben, heats up quickly without relying on too familiar tropes. The only reason I rounded down to 4.5 stars is the plot contrivance keeping our lovers apart towards the end of the book. It rang a little false to me. Overall this is an engaging and sexy read with surprising depth.

This book was so cute!! I’ve been wanting to read some of Jenn’s work for a while and this was the perfect book to start with. I fell in love with Sam and Ben and I loved seeing their relationship develop. Sam had me cracking up at every turn and Ben had me swooning over his thoughtfulness when it came to Sam. I loved seeing the sibling relationship between Tyler and Sam, too! I can’t wait to read Em’s book.

Not your average book lover-book hater romance.

Jenn McKinlay has taken the traditional trope, inverted it, and sprinkled in neurodivergences. Representation across literature has been on the rise, and here is dyslexia getting its spotlight.

Samantha Gale would rather do anything else than read. She masked her dyslexia for years, fearing discrimination and ridicule. After leaving her chef job in the city, Samantha revisits her family home in Martha's Vineyard. her task is to babysit her fifteen year old brother while their parents are traveling across Europe.

Struggling with being an older sister and trying to figure out what to do with her career, Samantha has caught the eye of the library's director, Ben. Samantha is doubtful that this relationship can work with the book obsessed librarian and her dyslexic brain.

McKinlay has written a beautiful book that highlights the positives of being dyslexic. It's not a disability, it's a gift that allows those to view and navigate the world in a different way. And the book is published to be friendly to those with dyslexia and other reading disorders.

Just couldn't get into this one, about halfway through I put it down and haven't been able to pick it back up. Maybe it's because I'm a librarian myself but the love interest just felt incredibly shallow, it was like he had a token career that would be easy to write about. Loved the inclusion of dyslexia but otherwise just couldn't get into the characters.

This is the perfect beach read for this summer. It is an utter delight! It's fun, witty and flirty and takes place on Martha's Vineyard. I had a smile on my face the whole time I read it.

Sam is a chef that is on a ferry on her way home to the Vineyard to look after her teenage half brother, while her dad and step mom go to Europe for a month. This is when after the cutest of meet cutes she meets hot librarian Ben. Sam and Ben are oposites. Sam is an extrovert, Ben is and extrovert. Sam has dyslexia and Ben is a voracious reader. It's wonderful to see opposites attract. Sam's relationship with her 14 year half brother is really great too. the rapport was wonderful, and hilarious.

I appreciated the respresentation of a neurodiverse character, and I learned a lot about dsylexia.

Fans of Jenn McKinlay will enjoy a couple of fun easter eggs in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkely Publishing group for the ARC.

Sam is back at Martha's Vineyard after being passed over for a promotion at the restaurant she worked at. She's nervous about spending the Summer taking care of her younger stepbrother. On the ferry to the island, she has a run in with an attractive guy reading a book and somehow his book ends up in the ocean. Sam might hate reading because of her dyslexia, but she doesn't want to litter! When she goes to visit her friend, Em, at the library where Em works, Sam is shocked to discover that "hot book guy" is actually the director of the library, Ben, and they definitely have a spark.

While Sam is an interesting character, and the dyslexia representation is good, some areas of this novel fall short. The writing is at times repetitive and seems more suited to a teen audience than an adult audience. Sam and Ben's relationship is ok, but lacks some development. The best part of this novel for me was Sam's relationship with her younger brother and the way in which they were able to heal their relationship to become friends.

Summer Reading is a brilliant contemporary novel with relatable characters, great writing, and a really memorable romance. I ended up loving Sam and Ben so much more than I thought I would, and I was pretty sad when I got to the last chapter. Lucky for me it seems there’s going to be another book in the series following a different character, and that’s already firmly on my wish list!

Sam is a complicated character, late twenties and at a kind of crossroads in her life, and she’s also dyslexic. I admit I didn’t know a huge amount about dyslexia before reading this, but I now know an awful lot more, which I’m grateful for. The author does a good job of explaining and educating, and the book will even be published with dyslexic readers in mind — there’ll be the right fonts and bold letters used instead of italics, which I think is a fantastic thing to do, and I hope more publishers jump on board.

Alongside Sam, chef extraordinaire, and Ben, who works at the local library, Summer Reading’s supporting characters are all well-written too. I particularly liked Sam’s half brother Tyler, and her best friend Em. Both were well realised, and provided humour and drama in equal measure. Sam and Ben, though… sigh. They’re the stars of the show, as they should be, and their story had me so invested in their lives. I wish Sam hadn’t been quite so self-deprecating all the time; it got a little repetitive, and I just wanted her to stop putting herself down. It was realistic though, as I know how hard it can be to escape from your own negative thoughts and feelings.

Summer Reading is a thoroughly enjoyable book, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an addictive summer read. It’s set on Martha’s Vineyard, has many Jaws references, and a romance that’ll stay with you for days after you finish the final page. I’m now going to seek out Jenn McKinlay’s other contemporary fiction in the hope that it’s as good as this… fingers crossed it is!

Summer Reading is the story of Samantha and Ben. She’s a talented chef who finds herself out of work and heading to Martha’s Vineyard to stay with her fourteen year old brother while their parents are on vacation. She meets Ben on the ferry in a meet-cute. Ben is great and I enjoyed the chemistry that developed between the two despite the fact that he’s a librarian and she is not a book lover. I also loved the bond that grew for Sam and her brother Tyler. I LOL’d several times as they really got to know each other.

The subject of dyslexia figured prominently in the plot and I learned more than I’d expected. I appreciated the information shared by the author about various publication choices (font, using bold type at appropriate times, etc.) that were made. All very interesting.

The love story played out with a bit of drama but I was satisfied with how Jenn McKinlay wrapped things up.

What happens when a non-reader meets a bookworm that she can't resist? Samantha returns to Martha's Vineyard to help her family and figure out the next steps of her career. What she doesn't expect is to meet Bennett, the interim library director, that is on the island for his own reasons or to build a relationship with her teenage half-brother. How does the island and those that live there fit into Samantha's future. A story of family and figuring out a life that is right for you.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was my first book by Jenn McKinlay so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The story started out really strong for me, it had me laughing out loud and grabbed my attention. I wanted to know more about the guy in the ferry and really enjoyed their meet cute.

This book ultimately wasn’t for me, it was extraordinarily long and pretty repetitive. I appreciated the dyslexia rep but would’ve liked to see our FMC embrace her dyslexia and see the positives in how it shaped her instead of only focusing on the negative aspects of it.

The biggest bright spot of this story was the little brother and the reconciliation in that relationship. He was funny, cute and made our FMC more likable because of their progressing relationship.

Overall it wasn’t for me but I hope others love it!

Summer Reading by J. McKinlay, published by Penguin Randomhouse LLC, is a beautiful stand-alone romance novel.
Sam, a chef spend the summer at Martha's Vineyard, caring for her brother, Tyler. He's bookworm and spend all his time at the local libraray. A place Sam has no connection to.
And then he comes, Bennett, the director inspires Sam to make her own dreams come true.
A story of quiet tones, beautifully written, beautifully told, a pleasure reading this story, 4,5 stars.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The characters were special to me (my boyfriend is a dyslexic cook and I am a librarian). However, I felt that Sam spent too much time worrying what others felt about her dyslexia. It took away from the story. And Ben reaction to learning about his father was a miss for me. I really wanted to like this book, but it fell short.

Our main characters, Samantha and Bennett, have a lot going on. Sam is spending her summer chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler, who’s in a robotics competition at the local library, while trying to find inspiration in her career as a chef. Bennett, the local library director, is trying to find his father, who he doesn’t know. They don’t plan on getting involved with each other, but fate pushes them together.

Sam and Ben were relatable characters who had real problems. I would’ve liked a few chapters from Ben’s POV, but the story was still impactful without them. I really enjoyed Sam as a main character. She was smart yet insecure because of her dyslexia, but she still kept pushing on. Her family issues were just as much of a focus as the romance, and I liked that.

I’ve read several books by McKinlay and I love her writing style. The story flows so flawlessly and each character has their own distinctive voice.

Summer Reading is a warm and funny romance, with deep issues alongside the romance. I’ll definitely be recommending this through readers’ advisory.

This was such a lovely book. The description of this book doesn’t really match the insides. While it is a romance I found that plot to feel secondary to the family, career and best friend dynamics. This book explored all these relationships so well!

“Summer Reading” by Jenn McKinlay is a fun, feel-good rom com with heart that will have readers engaged from the meet cute through the final page. Full of memorable characters, the standout characters are the neurodivergent chef, hesitant to reveal her severe dyslexia for fear of being judged, and the hot librarian, who is a book nerd. The chef’s modern family dynamics are poignant and captivating. The friends are quirky and relatable and, of course, there is a touch of romance.

The setting of Martha's Vineyard is the perfect backdrop for this novel. McKinlay's vivid descriptions bring the island to life, and readers will feel as if they are right there with the characters.
Overall, "Summer Reading" is a fun, feel-good rom com that has depth and heart. The storyline, character portrayals, and the beautiful setting of Martha's Vineyard make this novel a must-read for anyone looking for a beach read that will leave them feeling good.

I was extremely excited to read a book with dyslexia rep, as I work with dyslexic students everyday. For readers who do not know much about this disorder, you will definitely learn a lot, and I praise the author for writing in a dyslexia-friendly font and sharing facts on how to make reading more accessible to dyslexics. However, I feel like Samantha’s dyslexia was written in a way that defined her and rather than showing her resilience through compensatory strategies and a shift in her mindset since being diagnosed, the author focused on what she can’t do. This made it hard for me to not only empathize and relate to Sam but also cheer her on. Also, I feel like this was such a huge plot point in the story that it took away from the romance I was itching for, as Ben was such a strong character. I will say, I was a huge fan of the relationship with her half-brother Tyler as well as with her childhood BFF Em, who is getting her own book next. Plus, there is nothing not to like with a Martha’s Vineyard setting :)

Read if you like:
-Martha’s Vineyard Setting
-Neurodivergent Rep/ Dyslexic FMC
-Library researcher MMC
-Sibling relationships
-Delicious food recipes
-Romances with substance

Thank you Berkley for the ARC. Pub date: 5/15

What a fun read! I went into this book thinking it would be a cute, light romance (and it was); it also had quite a bit of substance. And the book’s cover captures the essence of a summer beach read with its bright colors and art.

Our heroine, Samantha, meets Ben on a ferry en route to Martha’s Vineyard, where they will both spend their summer. She will be watching her younger half-brother while the parents are on vacation. At the same time, Ben is the interim library director and also searching for the identity of his father.

While books and reading are a huge part of Ben’s life since he is a library director, in contrast, Sam doesn’t like to read since she has dyslexia. Being neurodivergent has shaped Samantha’s life and how she sees herself. While I know some people who have dyslexia, I don’t know much about the challenges they face. This book helped me to understand how auditory and font preferences can help.

Ben has a different type of challenge. He was born not knowing who his father is; his mother will not share that information with him. His non-traditional upbringing is a challenge for him, and Samantha ends up helping him with this, just as he is helping her with hers.

Lastly, the summer allows Samantha and her younger half-brother to get to know each other and develop a strong sibling bond. In addition, his character provided some humorous moments.

If you’re looking for a great way to kick off your summer, grab this book and a nice drink, park yourself on a beach, and say hello to summer!

**Review posted to Goodreads, will post to Twitter and Instagram on 5/9/2023 @read.rest.recharge

Jenn McKinlay is known for her cozy mysteries and while I love them I have to admit that I ADORE her romances so much more. Don't get me wrong her cozies are absolute winners but she writes romance with passion! Summer Reading is just perfect and it belongs in everyone's beach bag this summer!

Lighthearted romance novel perfect for a summer vacation read. Thank you to a Netgalley and the publisher