I’m a huge fan of this author’s and was so excited to receive this arc. I loved that the main character was in her late 30s with three children, without a “highly successful“ career, and that her love interest was her friend’s younger brother. It was a really touching story about loss and love, between her experiences with her mother and her neighbor. My only feedback is that it did feel like a slower, lengthier read… I do wonder if that’s a result of the arc and some thing that will change when it approaches publishing. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful, relatable, funny and quiet in its magic. I had felt such an understanding and kinship with Ali and it was so refreshing to have such a relatable FMC who was relatable -- not because she was quirky (which typically leads to cringey) but because Monaghan found a way to make her an everyday mom who was also smart, tender, responsible and still gave her the tendencies, thoughts, and guilty pleasures we all have. I loved that the MMC was so well thought out and was such a brilliant type of man (strong but sweet and likable) to bring in on the heels of such an emotional life change. I loved the details of the summer dinners on the back deck and from start to finish, it was such a delicious read. Easy, easy 5* recommendation.

I have yet to read anything by Annabel Monaghan that I didn't absolutely love. Summer Romance was no different. I knew exactly who would be the MMC when her friend mentioned the family event and I loved it. Scooter was an absolutely delight of a man. I loved Ali's transformations. It's way to easy for mothers and wives to get sodden down by the day to day life and lose themselves in the process. I could absolutely relate to this. This book was absolutely perfection. So grateful to get an ARC.

If you’re a fan of Emily Henry and Katherine Center, Annabel Monaghan might be your next favorite author. I adored Nora Goes Off Script two years ago. Same Time Next Summer was fine but lacked something in the plot department. Summer Romance was back to the Nora level.

Lately, I have been very much appreciating these authors who are creating relatable characters in their 30s and 40s. Ali is a soon-to-be single grief stricken mother of three who has lost herself in both motherhood and a marriage where she let herself disappear. After running into a man from high school (who she didn’t think too highly of at the time), she both falls in love and remembers who she is.

The banter was genuinely witty and funny not just between the two love interests, but also among the delightful cast of family and friend side characters. I loved seeing her learn to try to find that tricky balance between staying true to who you are, pursue what you love and also unselfishly sacrifice when necessary. Too often characters searching for identity end up swinging too far to one side of that pendulum. In terms of the guy who she didn’t think too highly of in the beginning, in many books this kind of character is the “reformed bad boy” who chooses to change just because he falls in love. That’s always a risky choice when it’s not clear if the maturity will stick. In this case, he’s just a guy who didn’t know who he was in high school, floated with the wrong crowd for a bit and then matured; unfortunately, he ended up stuck in that place where people in your hometown or family members seem to never view you differently. The changes the characters made were realistic and relatable to me.

Summer Romance doesn’t come out until June but I highly recommend adding this to your TBR now!

I truly believe I have been waiting my entire life to read this wonderful book. Ms. Monaghan has once again created endearing characters who will live in our hearts forever. Each word she writes is seared into our souls, every sentence becomes a paragraph that we will read over and over again so we can relive the all encompassing emotions between Ali and Ethan. The title of her latest masterpiece reminds me of a long beach weekend on Cape Cod with my college roommates where the sunsets were romantic and the college guys were dreamy and a lot of fun. Usually there is an ending in sight to these brief encounters but for Ali and Ethan, their time together that summer was never going to be enough. Stolen moments at the beach and skateboard park, or just holding hands, was magical and a surprise to both of them.

Ali’s life is in transition and she wishes she could seek advice from her beloved mother just one more time. She feels that her mother is always with her, leading her in the right direction and leaving a little “sparkle” along the way. Ali organizes peoples houses for a living but she cannot begin to straighten up the pile of mail on her kitchen counter. With her kids away at day camp, Ali sought refuge with her dog, Ferris, at the dog park where she met the man of her dreams. Was it fate that brought Ethan into her life or was her mother telling her that she deserved her happily ever after?

Ali feels “lighter” when she is with Ethan, as if a new version of herself was about to bloom. She never stood up to her soon to be ex-husband and had lost sight of who she really was. She was more than just a mom, which of course, was her most important job! She had also been a successful accountant where each day everything added up at the bottom of the spreadsheet, which was the exact opposite of how her life was now. Ethan turned her head, made her smile and gave her ideas she shouldn’t be having, but why wouldn’t she want to be loved by a good man? Ethan was thoughtful, really listened to what she had to say, and had a way of making every day special. Was it too much to ask that they could somehow always be together so their days and nights would begin and end with a love and a little sparkle?

4.5 out of 5 stars

I adored this book. What makes this book stand out are the characters. Every single character in this novel sings- Ali, Ali's kids, Ali's parents, Ethan, Ethan's parents, Ethan's sister - every single one of them feels real and full formed. None of them seem perfect. Their vulnerabilities are well drawn and it makes them incredibly lovable and relatable (except for Pete - he sucks). Sometimes that "realness" and relatability made it hard for me to read the book, and I'd have to put it down for a few minutes. It just felt like my heart was fully in the game- some angst would bubble up for me, and I'd need to take a breather.

I was so thrilled to watch Ethan and Ali fall in love. I wish there were more open door sex scenes, but that's just my preference.

There isn't much a "plot" here. The plot is largely the emotional journey of these two characters as they learn to open up to each other and overcome their fears. The absence of greater action might bore some readers. For me, the love story was so romantic that I never found myself bored.

(And, if the author were to make this into a series, I'd happily read subsequent books about the novel's secondary characters!)

Summer Romance is a truly beautiful story about Ali, a mother of three, trying to find herself after the death of her mother and her divorce. I was absolutely hooked after the first chapter. The writing is very well done. I truly felt like I was going through all the emotions with the characters. It was a nice easy and enjoyable closed door romance. This was my first Annabel Monaghan novel and I can't wait to dive into her other books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Annabel Monaghan for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Summer Romance is the story of Ali, an almost single mom learning to rebuild her own strength and confidence after death and a soon to be divorce take their toll. This is a non spicy, slow burn, best friends brother romance that starts out as a romance but is more of an exploration of overcoming stagnancy after loss.
I am a fan of this authors first books, Nora Goes Off Script, and appreciate the opportunity provided by Netgalley and Penguin to read and review another book by this author.
Ali, her love interest Ethan, all three of her kids and almost all of the secondary characters are likable. I will say that her soon to be ex, Pete, is understandably not very likable and her best friend Frannie is a bit unyielding at times with her own minor subplot about an inn. This book does well to show how sometimes things can just slowly wear down not only a person but a marriage. I appreciate that there is no cheating plot in this book. These are just two people who are no longer connected by anything but legalities and their children. Of course Pete is shown to be a rather absent father both physically and emotionally and I think that it might be better served for his character to have actually been a better father. This would have illustrated the point of that sometimes its not a specific person that causes a death in a marriage so much as it just happens and its no ones fault..
While I did enjoy the romance storyline of this book, I do feel that the love interest Ethan did get to help Ali learn to stand on her own, I wish that his own storyline of showing his family and the people in the town that he was no longer the troublemaker they assumed him to be anymore. If there could have been a scene of him even saying to his family stop calling me by that childhood nickname kind of scene I would have really liked that.
I am giving this book 3.5 out of 5 stars and will absolutely post a review on my social media closer to the release date in support of this author.

Annabel Monaghan has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her stories are relatable to my season of life.
I think Summer Romance is going to be the beach read of 2024.
The story followers the MC that is a mother of three and divorcing and finding herself again after years of being stifled.
I can't say I'm a fan of reading about divorce as it can be a downer however, Annabel has an awesome way of bringing me along the journey and feeling the emotions without sending me into depression (or rage at the ex partner).
It's the perfect mix of emotions that it's not fluffy but it's not written with too much angst. Highly recommend.

A summer romance that was heartwarming, sad, reassuring and all about finding yourself again when one chapter ends and you realize you aren’t aware of who you’ve become anymore. I loved it. It made me laugh, cry and melt with how sincere Ethan was in all aspects of his life.

3.5 stars, rounded down just because I don't think it's going to stick with me.

Another solid book by Annabel Monaghan. I still think <i>Nora</i> is her best, but her books have all been approachable and relatable. I love that her main characters are women in their mid- to late thirties. I love that they have normal, believable lives. And I love that the romances all feel realistic.

Summer Romance definitely hits all of those checkboxes, and it was enjoyable to read. But, also, nothing about it really wow-ed me. I think it could be a great beach read, but it's also not something that you'll go to bed thinking about.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read. I finished Nora Goes Off Script two weeks ago and loved that so I was happy to get the chance to read another book by the same author. I really loved her books, her descriptions of her character’s yards have me ordering more flower bulbs than I know what to do with.

the cover? cute. the story? wow. it wasn’t just a summer romance novel. it explored topics of grief, divorce, family, and friendships. definitely would recommend. i like when a romance can explore such topics and be relatable as someone who dealt with family/friendship issues. i did enjoy the banter dialogue as well. overall, great read.

Drop this in your beach bag! I loved reading this multi-layered story well crafted by Annabel Monaghan. Notwithstanding its title, Summer Romance is no ordinary light romcom. While the book has laugh out loud moments, snappy dialogue and a love story to be sure, Monaghan explores in depth themes of grief (death, divorce), family, friendship and self-development. Both primary and secondary characters were well developed (so much so that I wanted more about Frannie and Phyllis), and protagonist Ali in particular is both relatable and likable. The sense of place was so strong throughout I felt small town vibes, the fairytale like appearance of Phyllis’ house, the allure of the inn owned by Frannie’s parents. Ultimately, I craved more about these families and this town.

Highly recommended to fans of Monaghan’s Nora Goes Off Script and of other authors of intelligent, contemporary fiction, such as Emily Giffin, Elin Hildebrand and Katherine Center. 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for a complementary ARC. Opinions are my own.

My favorite romance novels are those that have a compelling story but also get under your skin and make you think about some aspects of your life. Summer Romance was a fantastic romance that made me think about what I want from life outside of my identity as a wife and mother. It also really made me want to clean out my junk drawer.

Ali's mother died, and then her husband moved out. She's been lost in a fog of sweatpants and sorrow while focusing on keeping her girls on time for school, her elderly neighbor fed, and her fledgling organizing business up and running, all while navigating divorce. While at the dog park, her dog decides to pee on Ethan, the handsomest man there. Thus begins a whirlwind, complicated, deeply meaningful summer romance that will change Ali and Ethan forever.

There is so much to love about this book. Ali is incredibly relatable as a person adept at helping others figure out their lives (and junk drawers) while in paralysis to care for her own life in the same way. There's also a very thoughtful storyline about how our choices as adults are viewed through the eyes of our children and that sometimes, knowing what we are subconsciously teaching them can be a catalyst for change. It is also a hilarious book about the chaos of life and making decisions based on whether or not you'll have to wear hard pants.

A huge thank you to @netgalley @putnambooks and @annabelmonaghan for the opportunity to read Summer Romance, which will be available on June 4, 2024 in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
I loved Nora Goes Off Script and thought Same Time Next Summer was just okay. Luckily this is much more Nora and way less Same Time. Another recently divorced mom finding her way, similar themes as Nora, but also somewhat original. I really enjoyed this one.

The thing that I love about Annabel Monaghan’s novels is that they ring so true that you can feel the emotions and believe the happily ever after. This book has Happiness for Beginner vibes in that the FMC is drawn to the younger brother of her best friend, who has been pining for her for years - but this story shows the messiness of life and how love brings out the best in everyone. I also love that Monaghan’s books feature women who have lived a bit of life and carry that forward in their thoughts and choices. Her well-written books feature compelling complex characters that you will miss when the story ends. She remains an auto-read for me. Thank you to @Netgalley and @Putnambooks for the ARC - the opinions are all mine.

This book was really cute and fun! This book really hit on the mom-life vibe.

Real issues and funny problems made this novel unique. This was a really good romance book and Annabel is definitely a good writer. I’ll be watching for more from her!

I loved this book. On paper, the FMC Ali and I couldn’t be more different- I’ve never been married, I’m child-free by choice, and I most definitely am NOT a professional organizer - but still I found her - and all the characters really- so very relatable. Monaghan excels at this- her characters, her stories, they’re all so specific and well-drawn and yes, relatable. I flew right through this book and will undoubtedly re-read this and her other two books while I do my best to wait for her to produce a fourth and likely just as lovely, moving, humorous, and engaging book.

Thank you Annabel Monaghan, Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this!! It was a quick and easy read. It took a couple chapters for me to get into it, but once she met Ethan I couldn’t put it down. You could really feel the chemistry between Ali and Ethan, especially in contrast to her relationship with Pete.

The character development of Ali and her growth throughout the book was written very well. I really felt for her and understood her struggles despite not being able to relate to her experiences personally. While all of the side characters were great, I do wish there was a little more development to side of them, like Frannie and Iris. Although they were mentioned frequently, I didn’t feel like I really got to know them even though they were close to the main character.

Overall, I definitely would recommend this book! It was such a sweet and enjoyable read. This is definitely one I would pick up again.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC!