Teacher Olivia and her sisters Ann and Charlotte have come together to put their father’s 26 (or 27?) room house in the Hamptons on the market. Being home for the summer brings up fond memories of their mother, and more poignant ones of first love and teenage friendship. Olivia is contemplating divorce, as she’s recently learned of her husband’s infidelity. There is a lot about tennis, as she was a highly-ranked teenage player.

This literary romance, loosely modeled after Jane Austen’s classic Persuasion, tells the story of Fred and Olivia, who have a relationship that recurs in five year intervals; the narrative moves back and forth in time to lay out all of their encounters, and with each new chapter, it’s like the reader is spiraling in, closer to the center, with more revealed. The careful crafting, rich people problems, and WASPy tone made me difficult to connect–I felt a little removed from the characters–and I would not call it an easy or fun read, but it will give a patience reader with a taste for this style of writing a lot to chew on, and the what will happen next of it all was compelling enough to power through.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #SummerAfterSummer via NetGalley, courtesy of Alcove Press.

I have never read Jane Austen, so had no clue about the storyline.
I did like this, I liked the 5 year jumps.
I liked Olivia's sisters Charlette and Sophia. I thought they were both a bit self centered, but I have sisters and can understand this.
I did not like Wes at all! Yuck!
I liked Olivia and Fred. I liked his friend James as well.
this was a fun easy read.
Thanks for the copy

I had high hopes for this book, but it was not my favorite. The tennis element was very fun, and I do wish there was a little bit more of it. I do love Fred and how he is a great guy overall. It was a nice second chance romance, but I was not the biggest fan of the actions of some of the characters. I felt the story dragged on a little bit in the middle. The book was written in a dual timeline, which was a little but confusing for me at times (a lot to keep track of). Maybe this book was not for me because it was a nice story with a happy ending.

I almost aways read a Jane Austin Retelling, so i was eager to dive into this one of Persuasion.

I love a good second chance romance, so between that, the Persuasion angle and the beach setting, i was ready to go all in.
But it just didn't pull me in like it should have.

But all in all this was a light read and a good one to stick in your bag on your next beach vacation

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc. All opinions are my own

Thank you Netgalley, Alcove Press and Lauren Bailey.
I really enjoyed this romance. I loved Olivia and Fred together, what a beautiful heartwarming love story which spans decades.
No matter their time apart, every 5 years somehow their path crossed.
I could not put this novel down.
Recommend
4 stars

I'm not much into classics, but I am a little interested in the retellings. So, I haven't read Persuasion but I've read a modern retelling, which I liked.

That was the reason I requested this book, but I couldn't finish this one, as I didn't connect with the characters and writing style. Maybe, this book wasn't for me.

Thank you for the ARC.

This was a five star read for me! Honestly, it had everything I needed in a summer romance. I love the dual timeline, the childhood star crossed lovers, the tennis career plot. It gave me major “talking at night” & “every summer after” vibes. Which have been top romance reads for me in the past two years!

I did feel at times that Bailey’s writing felt more withdrawn for first person narrative. Like we barely dived into the some of the emotions of Olivia. I would have LOVED Fred’s POV. But it was fun to get his confessions & feelings through out the book of how Olivia was always it for him. I loved that he never gave up on her.

The ending was not at all expected and I kind of loved it! Although I felt it wrapped up quite quickly compared to the pacing of the rest of the story.

Thank you, thank you for the advanced copy Alcove Press!!

The setting of this book is really beautiful, and the descriptions of the locations and the home are really lovely. It was easy to place myself into the story. I did however find the overall plot to be a bit overdone. This is a rich family with "rich people problems" - the author clearly wants you feeling bad for the family, but in reality, no one is struggling here. The twists seemed obvious to me, and it didn't make the characters any more likable to all seemingly have their heads in the sand. Despite these issues, I did enjoy the book and if you're looking for some light beach reading you may enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Awesome summer read. A heartfelt story of family bonds and romance with wonderful characters in a beautiful summer beach house setting. The element of rekindled love, second chances, well a fifth chance at love captures your imagination so you just have to keep reading to find out how that all works out. I thought Fred was adorable and charming. Olivia wasn't my favorite main character but there is character development with her throughout the book.. It was enjoyable, entertaining and well written read. A journey that holds your attention to the end. NetGalley provided an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Summer After Summer by Lauren Bailey was such an enjoyable story.
I loved the characters of the town, there was a great sense of community.
This is a delightful and heartwarming read. With its charming characters, rich setting, and perfect blend of humor and heart, this novel was amazing.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

⛱️Summer After Summer by Lauren Bailey OUT May 7th 2024 ⛱️

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced copy!

It’s around this time that I start diving into the beach reads! Summer after Summer is exactly what it sounds like, summer romance.

Olivia’s family home in the Hamptons is about to be sold soon. She goes home for the summer to clean out the house as well as get away from her soon the be ex husband. The thing she is most nervous about being back home for the summer is seeing Fred, her on again off again summer fling. Will they pick up where the left off? Or is the pain they caused in the past too hard.

God I wish I grew up in a beach town like Olivia did. This book is an easy, fun romance and is predictable in the best ways. If you like Emily Henry books, you will love this! I was really surprised and enjoyed the ending much more than I thought. Add this to your summer vacation reads. 4 out of 5✨

“Sometimes you have to listen to the universe when it’s telling you something isn’t meant to be, no matter how much it might feel like it is.”

Summer After Summer is a contemporary retelling of Persuasion. Now it could have been the books that I read right before this one, but I was on the struggle bus trying to stay invested in this story. I know not every book is for every person and I can absolutely see how some would love this one! Especially on a warm day with your toes in the sand. But I found my mind frequently wandering while reading.

I just could not connect with these characters or even come to care about what happened in their lives. At all. This cover though! 🤩

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm realizing, after many lackluster reads, that I really don't enjoy retellings that much. :/

I usually love a multiple timeline, summer second chance romance, but I think this fell really flat as both a modern retelling of Persuasion and a swoony beach read. I don't think I liked a single character in this story, and I really wasn't even invested in Olivia and Fred's journey throughout the story or their eventual reconciliation. I felt myself rolling my eyes and speeding up the audio narration (read by a narrator I didn't really connect with) to get it finished.

A unsatisfactory read for me overall.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Dreamscape Media for the e-ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. SUMMER AFTER SUMMER is out May 7th, 2024.

Olivia is returning home to her family's beach home to help clean out all the memories as it is being sold in Lauren Bailey's Summer After Summer.. Part of those memories are her love for Fred and how they keep coming close to one another and missing making a life together. The story flashes between 2023 and earlier days from age 16 to current days. I knew where the story was going but it was still a pleasant beach read and who doesn't love a good family drama and romance while sitting on the beach?

I received Summer After Summer from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion and it will be available on May 7th.

This was a very engaging story Every chapter was in a different timeline, but it made sense. The story started when Olivia left her husband, Wes, and came home to the family home to pack up as it was sold. Her father still lived there but didn't handle much of anything. Her two sisters were pretty much leaving the majority of it up to her. Then she found out that Fred (her Fred from 20 years ago) had bought the place. She was floored. She had loved him forever, but something was always standing in their way. Some of it was misunderstandings, some of it was youth, and others had worked against them. She sees Fred again there and the feelings are all there, but so is anger or resentment.

The story was so good, but the last couple chapters were awesome. It wrapped everything up nicely, plus some surprises I didn't see coming.

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This is a perfect beach read. I had the opportunity to both read and listen. The narrator kept me engaged, the story. Second chance romance trope that is a light read. If you enjoy tennis, give this a try. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! 3.5 stars

Oh this book! It had me tied up in knots and I LOVED IT! Olivia and Fred can't seem to get the stars to align where their relationship is concerned and "summer after summer" they try and fail to make it work. No matter how much they care for one another, the breakups and misunderstandings are painful.

This book was so well written and I really was immersed and quite frankly, very invested in this storyline. I received early copies of both the ebook and audio and basically knocked it out in one day because I couldn't leave this book alone. I simply had to know how Olivia and Fred's story resolved itself.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's addictive!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration was simply perfection and made this audio even more appealing. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

A second chance summer romance between a Tennis star and the English boy she fell in love with as a girl. Perfect for fans of books like Every summer after by Carley Fortune and great on audio. This was a fun, entertaining beach read full of drama and romance. Definitely worth picking up this summer if you're in the mood for a light-hearted read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

When Olivia Taylor agrees to return home to the Hamptons to help her father and sister pack up the family estate, her marriage to Wes, is on the rocks. After years of financial problems, the solution to their problems seems possible with an offer to buy the family home. However, the sale of the home is integral to Olivia, as she also met Fred, the love of her life. It’s been five years since the last time things blew up between Olivia and Fred, but much longer since the first time. Yet when she sees him again, it seems that they might have a second chance.
An interesting story with flashbacks over the years that Olivia and Fred have known each other and broken up. I must admit that this component of the story whilst essential to why Olivia and Fred’s relationship faltered, it did feel disjointed and dragged out the storyline. There was plenty of chemistry between the couple, but I didn’t find myself enjoying them as much as I wanted to.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How? How is this a debut? The fact that Summer after Summer is Lauren Bailey’s first novel is insane as her writing skills are up there with many other seasoned authors. So there’s that.

Secondly, this is a modern re-telling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (my second of the year), and I thought she did a great job with that as well.

Finally, the story itself. I truly enjoyed everything about this book. The characters, the plot, the back and forth timeline, all of it. Fred and Olivia met at age 16 and were each other’s first loves. But time and circumstance has never been on their side. As Olivia returns to her childhood home in the Hamptons to help her father and sister move, she learns Fred has purchased her childhood home, and she has no idea why.

As Olivia navigates her family’s drama and expectations, she’s also dealing with her soon to be ex, Wes, and her emotions towards being near her first love once again.

Again, incredibly impressed by the entire story. If I were to say anything negative, it would be that the dialogue was only a bit choppy, but it wasn’t even enough for me to take away a star. This is really just such a great beach read with great characters.