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.

Persuasion is my favorite book by Jane Austen and I can easily say that this is the best retelling of it that I've ever read. I absolutely loved this book and I know it will be a perfect summer read!! I loved the pacing, the longing, the setting, the characters and there was so MUCH swooning! Definitely add this one to your TBR!

Summer After Summer comes out next week on May 7, 2024, and you can purchase HERE!

"Why me, though? The girl you haven't been able to make it work with?"

"I've asked myself that."

"And?"

"There's something about you. Us. I don't know how to explain it: I've tried with other people, but nobody fits like we do, you know?"

such a great summer book!! i loved every little bit of this book!! i will 100% recommend this book and all of her books to the customers that come in! i loved this book and the romance aspect but i also just loved the characters so much!

This was enjoyable, but the pace definitely felt a bit slow for me. The romance between the main characters was cute (although incredibly slow-burn), and the storyline itself was good. I loved the flashbacks and the fact that the tennis aspect to the story gave Carrie Soto vibes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of this one

Summer After Summer is a contemporary retelling of Persuasion that takes place at Taylor Place, a gorgeous historical home in the Hamptons of the heroine, Olivia Taylor. Olivia is 35, her marriage is imploding, and her family must sell their home due to financial ruin. When she arrives back home to help clear out and prepare the home for sale, she in confronted with childhood memories, especially her firs summer romance with local teen Fred. She is shocked to find out that Fred is actually the buyer of their home, and she spend the summer reminiscing about summers in the past. I enjoyed the dual timelines and Olivia and Fred's continual 'near-misses' at a happily ever after. Their reconnections about every five years from their teens to present day were filled with longing, angst, and yes, immaturity, that derailed their lives. A fun plot line that I really enjoyed was Olivia's career as a professional tennis player and her path to Wimbledon. I also appreciated the family conflict with her sisters, and the mysterious 'villains' who were trying to take advantage of Olivia's father, and overall the incredible seaside setting.

Fans of second chance romance, childhood friends/lovers, right person-wrong time, love triangles, and family drama will appreciate and enjoy this summer romance debut.

3.5 stars

Main Characters:
-- Olivia Taylor – 35 years old, a teacher in New York City, was a tennis player in high school and college with her sights set on Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, felt like she was the one who had to take charge after their mother died when she was 14, left her husband after he cheated and is spending the summer helping clean out the family estate in Southampton because it has just been sold so their father can move into a smaller assisted living residence
-- Charlotte Taylor – 37 years old, Olivia’s older sister, stayed at home with her father after their mother died and Olivia went off to college, called Olivia a couple weeks before in a panic because they only had two weeks to get the house packed up and cleared out
-- Sophie Martin – 33 years old, Olivia’s younger sister, married to Colin and living in New York where he works in financial services but isn’t as far ahead as he could be because his father is a vice president at the same firm, Sophie is the only one of the sisters with kids, Olivia describes her as the biological link between her and Charlotte, good friends with Colin’s sister Lucy who recently started dating Fred
-- Aunt Tracy – Olivia’s late mother’s best friend, was a mother figure to the sisters when they were growing up, moved to Florida for the winters several years ago
-- Ashley Dale – Olivia’s childhood best friend, they had a falling out several years prior and haven’t spoken since
-- Fred Webb – 37 years old, runs a successful shipping business with offices in London and the U.S., Olivia’s first love who she was on-again/off-again with over many summers, bought the estate where Olivia grew up
-- Wes Taylor – Olivia’s husband, dated Charlotte briefly when they were teenagers
-- Ann Clay – Charlotte’s girlfriend, a real estate attorney who brokered the deal for Fred’s purchase of Olivia’s childhood home

Can general adult fiction and romance also be a coming-of-age story? I wouldn’t have thought so until I read Lauren Bailey’s Summer After Summer.

Told in the first person from Olivia’s point of view, the story begins with Olivia driving to Southampton from New York having left her husband Wes after he cheated on her. Her family’s estate is under contract to be sold, and her father is moving into an assisted living facility, so Olivia and her sisters plan to pack up the house for the sale. When Olivia arrives in Southampton, Charlotte informs her that the property sold for $25 million, each of them would get $5 million, and the buyer is Olivia’s former love Fred. 😲

From there, the story shifts to 20 years prior, just before Olivia’s 16th birthday when she meets Fred. Thus begins their on-again/off-again love story, with life events putting them in the same place every five years or so. Each time they meet, their love story is passionate…and ends with devastating heartbreak (not a spoiler).

We know that eventually they permanently go their separate ways since Olivia is a teacher and married to Wes (see, not a spoiler). Fred is successful enough in business that he paid $25 million for Olivia’s family home. We also know, since this is a romance, that they should end up together.

Olivia has a lot to sort through before they can be together. Packing up her childhood home, including her mother’s belongings that haven’t been touched since her death more than 20 years before, takes its toll on Olivia mentally and emotionally. Her marriage is in shambles, she hasn’t spoken to her former best friend Ashley in five years, and the man she clearly has never gotten over is in her face and dating one of her friends.

This story resonates in a lot of ways. They say you never get over your first love, and that is definitely a theme here. Olivia has typical disagreements with her sisters. When she’s packing up the house, the last room Olivia wants to go through holds all her mother’s things, which I can appreciate. She gets annoyed at her aging father.

But then there are elements that just bother me. I both like and dislike Olivia and Fred together…if that makes sense. They have a volatile relationship. When they’re teenagers, I can understand how easily they split up. Teenagers don’t know how to communicate about deep relationship issues, but as they get older, go to college, start their careers, I would expect them not to fall into those patterns of not talking about the big stuff. I would hope that they would learn from their mistakes.

From a writing perspective, unrelated to the story really, there were things that started to pull me out of the story the more they happened. For example, Olivia calls her father by his first name, William. I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, my daughter calls me by my first name as well and has since she was small. However, when she talks about me to other people, my daughter says “my mom.”

Olivia refers to him as her father in the first chapter, but then in Chapter 3 when she explains why she calls him William, he’s William for the rest of the book. It’s awkward, especially in conversations, and especially since she still refers to her mom as “Mom.”

“‘I’ve just been thinking about Mom a lot…Do you think she was happy?’
‘With what?’
‘Her life. William.’”

As the author introduces characters, I expect some sort of basic description (show, don’t tell), but the descriptions include a lot of unnecessary detail. I don’t need a fashion show description of what everyone is wearing…unless Olivia is a fashion designer and notices those things, which she’s not.

“The object of this grooming is thirty, Asian, petite, and very pretty. She’s wearing a black linen pantsuit cinched at the waist by a large leather belt with an intricate design on it, and high, high heels that bring her up to Charlotte’s height.”
“His black hair is mussed, and he’s got a very French-looking mustache, too large and droopy. He’s wearing a crisp white shirt and black dress pants.”

And from a plot point perspective, Fred tells Olivia that her father was on the brink of bankruptcy when he offered to buy the property. The story is set in 2023, but in 2008, when the housing market crashed, William and Aunt Tracy tell Olivia she needs to look for more scholarships to finish college because there’s no money left. Olivia describes to the reader all the financial difficulties William has had, but it takes 15 years for him to be on the verge of bankruptcy and to force a sale of a 26- or 27-room estate? (That’s another thing. Olivia mentions that they could never agree on whether it was 26 rooms or 27. What??)

Assuming the property has long been paid off since it is a family estate, the property taxes alone are likely $1 million a year. William doesn’t work, and one year he didn’t pay the taxes. How has he not sold off pieces of the land? How has he not been forced out before now?

I did like the ending…although I wasn’t crazy about the mental gymnastics Olivia did in regard to her marriage to Wes. But there are parts that were surprising, which is why 3.5 stars. It’s definitely better than “ok” and will be a nice summer beach read (maybe in the Hamptons?). And I do really feel like Olivia found herself at the end, which wraps up the story nicely.

Don't worry if you haven't read Persuasion (which is, imho. a better book)- go ahead and read this as the story of Olivia and Fred. It's a second chance romance of sorts because Fred, who Olivia hasn't seen in years, has bought her family home thus saving her father and sister from destitution. This moves back and forth in time to tell their story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC>. This is trope=y- from the characters to the setting to the plot-but it's a light read that will be good on the beach.

This alternating timeline focuses on a young love that remains in Olivia's life. I wish it had more of their first summer together and why they clicked instantly, but focused more on the missed connections later in life.

The ending was a bit predictable as it was very clear that some people were just in relationships for the money and not love. There's constant threads throughout that show that they don't care about the person they are with but rather the money they can bring in and offer.

Overall, I think that this book has the recipe to be great, but misses the mark just short.