Always love a good book by Annabel Monaghan ! This one wasn’t my favorite by her. I felt at times it was a little boring and not my cup of tea. It’s a good book to put you in the summer mood and it was easy to read

I love all of Annabel Monaghan’s books. She writes such relatable love stories about women who are mid life with pasts, with complexity and history. And I just love the representation 🤣 Summer Romance touches on life after divorce, single parenthood, grief of losing a parent all while weaving together a love story you root for and believe in.
This is a compelling story that makes you reflect on your own life and also made me want to clean out all my closets 🤣 Definitely going on the summer read recs list forever.

Alice is grieving the loss of her mom and now her husband wants a divorce. What follows is a young mom’s transformation from being a wallflower to a “Super Me”. I enjoyed reading Ali’s process of realizing what she wants in life and going after it. And of course a happy ending always brings as a smile to my face! Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Ahh, summer romance. Summer love. This book centers around Ali, a mom of 3, going through a divorce and still grieving from her mother’s death 2 years earlier. Even though her job is a professional organizer, Ali is a “mess”. She’s stuck and can’t move forward with herself and her life. Enter Ethan, aka Scooter, the brother of her best friend. A friendship begins, the romance starts. How will this summer romance end?

Parts of this book was a 3.5 star rating for me and other parts a 4 star rating. At times, I thought the romance piece was a little immature for 2 people in their late 30’s. But I could relate to Ali’s grief over her mother as I lost my mother 3 years ago. The author’s note at the end of the book over her own mother’s passing had me in tears.

Overall, this was a good read and one I enjoyed. I will definitely read more of Annabel Monaghan’s books in the future. Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review. #SummerRomance #NetGalley

I am so stingy with the stars. A really good book gets 4 stars. So it truly speaks volumes when I am so in love with a book I will give it 5 stars! This book absolutely deserves them.
The life experiences of Ali are so honest and relatable. The way she deals with life's pitfalls is spot-on! Not only that, her character and feelings come through so poignantly it's palpable.
When Ethan joins the story, the chemistry is off-the-charts immediately! He and Ali have banter, fun, hilarious exchanges- all you want is for them to hook up!
This was such an amazingly written, heart-grabbing book. It 100% deserves all the stars!!! Enjoy!

Annabel Monaghan does it again. Loved. A little slow to get into but it picked up and I couldn’t put it down.

I have really enjoyed all of Annabel Monaghan’s book and this one might be one of my favorites of hers. The main character was relatable to me as she navigates post divorce / loss of parent life with her children in her small hometown.

This was a great end of summer read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy for review.

This book makes you want to put on a blue suit jacket and be a boss of your own life.

Professional organizer and former accountant Alice has lost her mother, was left by her husband and has lost control of her organized life in the short span of 2 years. On the day she takes off the ring and puts on pants for the first time since her mother passed, she meets Ethan at the dog park in a perfect little meet-cute.

She bumps into him again at the skatepark and he asks her out on a date. She learns that he's there for a short visit with his family. What she doesn’t know is that Ethan is Scooter aka her BFF Frannie’s (what a perfect BFF name by the way!) brother. He sure has grown up and looks and acts nothing like the 16 year old she knew when she left for college.

Ali decides she needs a lawyer for help with her divorce and low and behold Ethan just happens to be one. 😉 When Ethan decides to stay in town for the summer to help clean out his parents house after their abrupt and sudden move to Florida, he trades services with Ali to help clear out the house and he will help assist her in the divorce.

Next is a perfect summer slow burn romance. Ethan is witty, goofy and charming, Ali is growing to become the strong and assertive woman she used to be and together they are wonderful. They fall into an easy pattern and soon are in love but when summer is over and Ethan has to return home, will she be able to enjoy her summer romance or will she break her heart all over again?

I adored this book! It was sweet, it was gentle, it was easy, it was emotional, it was heart swelling and it just made you feel good. It was just what I needed to read this summer.

I loved the growth that Ali made throughout the book and how she “talked” to her mother through her internal dialogue. I also liked how she realized that she was the one who let herself become a shell of herself and didn’t place the blame solely on anyone else. The relationship she had with her children was very endearing as well. She still made them a priority but was also able to find new love and have a romantic relationship with Ethan.

This book was like a glass of Champagne. Simple, refreshing and perfect for the summer!
Let's all have a Champaign Summer!

Notes:
This book was read through the Libby app from my local library
Author: Anabel Monaghan- easily my favorite book from her so far!
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Best Friend's Brother, Meet-Cute

I love all variations of romance. I enjoy spice quite a bit and when I read a closed door romance other parts of the story need to stand out. This book was just perfect. I related SO MUCH to the FMC. I admired her ability to put herself out there, take chances and rediscover herself after loss and divorce. Ethan was an amazing MMC, he was a great friend and support. I love the maturity in this book and the fact there was no big miscommunication which is SUCH a breath of fresh air.

5 stars for Summer Romance

Annabel writes some of my favorite romances - Nora Goes Off Script is still a beloved favorite of mine! I was so excited to start her newest and wanted to love this one but could never get into it! Decided to DNF around the half way mark.

I absolutely loved this book! It was the most perfect summer read! Summer Romance I would recommend it to anyone!
I loved that the main characters were in their late 30s.
I felt like I could absolutely relate to Ali in this book! The finding yourself…learning to wear “hard pants” again…whether you were “gone” because of grief or motherhood or depression….maybe all of the above….learning to find joy again and confidence and LIVE! It was so poignant and I loved it!

I loved the way it explored the relationship she had with her mom. The good and the bad of it. How she processed and dealt with all of that was really well done.

I love that he was the one who gave stuff up for her! She had spent her whole life fitting into something else. So it was incredibly sweet that HE made the sacrifices to fit into her life.

Oh my gosh! This book was so fun! I was laughing so much! Also, since I moved to Vegas, in 2016, I have not worn “hard pants” and I don’t plan on wearing them maybe, ever again! Anyway, this book also has its emotional moments as well. For the most part it was a fun summer read that’s perfect for reading pool side! I would love to go back and read this authors first book as well and I’ll be all caught up! Had so much fun reading this one in the sun!

I absolutely adored this book. The perfect summer book. I loved seeing them fall in love and seeing the FMC get the love she deserves. The ex husband was the absolute worst but I’m glad she got her kiddos out of it. I will be re reading this book for years to come.

My initial review of this book: "This book is actually perfect. I'll be trying to match it all summer long." Now that summer has unofficially come to a close, I can say that I never matched it. This book was my favorite read of the summer. Ali is a professional organizer who cannot deal with her own home after her split from her husband. She manages to run her business and parent their two children pretty much on her own, until she realizes that she needs a change. She meets Ethan the first time she removes her wedding ring and she has to decide whether or not a summer romance is worth the risk.

Nothing I can write will really do justice to this book. It is funny, joyful, spicy, and full of so much heart.

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Love Annabel Monaghan's books!! This was a fun, perfect summer beach read! Champagne summer! I love her writing, attention to detail and character development

New to me author, but won’t be the last time I read her! Such a great summer read. I loved the characters and how they interacted with each other. The dialogue was top notch for me.

I truly enjoyed watching these characters find themselves and discover what they’re most passionate about. I really appreciated that this “finding yourself” novel wasn’t about an 18 year old but it spread the message that it’s never too late to discover your passions. These two falling in love and not being able to get enough of each other was absolutely so fun to read. I loved the side characters in this one and watching their quirky personalities come through. I always enjoy this author and I highly recommend this one!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this story. This review has been added to storygraph, goodreads, Barnes and Noble and my instagram @manymerrybooks!

This was the perfect book to read on the beach. Summer reading perfection.

This is my new favourite by this author. Ali’s life drastically changed when she lost her mom and her husband left her - she hasn’t worn “hard pants” since and her life feels like chaos despite being a professional organizer.

I loved the themes of : “time to get back out there”, trying to date with kids and messy shared custody, dating later in life and being with someone that makes you feel all the happy.

The meet cute is perfection and the swoons with Ethan just don’t ever stop. Pure sweetness. Ali is so relatable and you can’t help but want only the best for her. These two made me giddy and laugh so much.

Thank you @putnambooks for the gifted copy!

🛹 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🛹
This story features Ali - single mom, whose mother passed a couple of years ago, her husband left her last year, and this summer she is just trying to keep it all together. The first time she goes out looking presentable again, she meets a guy whom her dog claims by peeing on!

Ali realizes this guy may be perfect for a light summer romance to spruce up her life!

I enjoyed reading about a mom who is probably closer to my age in life, who is dealing with grief, the troubles of going through a divorce with her kids and her ex, and other things that life throws at you, that can just wear you down over time and change your outlook on life if you let it.

I enjoyed how our sweet love interest Ethan was able to brighten Ali’s day and teach her new things, along with letting loose and just having fun.

I loved the internal dialogue that Ali went through dealing with grief and different family dynamics because it was relatable. Any loss and major family change is difficult, and it’s nice to see someone able to grow through those things.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
💛 Single Mom of 3
❤️ Best Friend’s Brother
💛 Loss of Parent/Grief
❤️ Divorce
💛 Self-Discovery

A fun book with a somewhat atypical plot!!

I enjoyed that the FMC was mid-30’s going through a divorce. The author’s depiction of grief feels genuine and thoughtful. Def glad I read it during my last days of summer.