It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance that left me with a really solid life lesson that had me pondering in silence upon finishing it. So much character depth! The love present in this book isn’t ground breaking, which I love! Don’t get me wrong, I love some good ol’ once in a lifetime love — but there’s something so real about the gentle, simple love between the characters. It’s so nice seeing people get what they deserve after being with awful partners.

It’s always fun to see how authors incorporate kids into the storyline with the divorcee has kids. I think this book was so well-done and the author note really clarified some questions I had about conversations with a deceased parent.

The third act breakup is so good and justified! I love when that happens. Not a spicy book at all, but that’s okay! Just a heads up. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam books for this book in exchange for an honest review!

REVIEW 🏖️

Summer Romance ~ Annabel Monaghan
Pages: 378
Genre: Romance

Gist: Ali’s life is a mess - she is thick in the grief of losing her mother and her husband wants a divorce. But a happenstance encounter with her best friend’s brother, Ethan, has her contemplating a summer romance. If only the summer never ended…

Thoughts: I LOVED this. Like love love LOVED this. I have been telling everyone I know to read Nora Goes Off Script since I read it last year and now I will be telling those same people to pick this up immediately!

The best part - the characters. Each and every one of them brought life to the small town of Beechwood from Ethan’s eccentric parents to Ali’s three charming children. Even Ali’s mother makes an appearance as the voice in Allie’s head guiding her through a failing marriage and a new chance at love. A romance with depth, heart, and self reflection - Ali truly makes you feel like second (or third or even fourth) chances are truly possible.

Monaghan has my heart and is an author I will also run to read. This made my heart so happy and kicked off my summer reading in the most perfect way. Thank you @putnambooks for sending an eARC my way - physical copies are out now!

what a beautiful summer read!!! i adored this so much. i loved following the main character, ali. there were so many intricacies to this book and it was so interesting to see how she navigated it all. this book explores soo many themes such as divorce, grief, motherhood, complicated family dynamics, friendship, love, and losing yourself and then finding yourself again. i loved the whole cast of characters in this book - ethan, greer, iris, cliffy, phyllis, frannie, marco, theo & more. i genuinely didn’t want this book to end - i could have read about these characters doing the most boring, mundane things and still love it! i think that is a testament to annabel monaghan’s writing and how she is able to fully immerse you in the story. sometimes i question how much i will enjoy motherhood incorporated into a story since i cannot relate to it at this point in my life, but i thought annabel monaghan did a great job of exploring the complexities and challenges of being a mom and also having your own identity outside of that. this book definitely leans more toward women’s fiction, but i loveddd the romance in this. i thought ethan was so sweet and i loved how he made space for ali and allowed her to feel her feelings and also how he was able to remind her what she was capable of. this was an amazing and dynamic story that definitely pulled at my heartstrings. i loved it and would highly recommend adding it to your summer tbr 🫶🏻

Such a fun summer beach read ! I finished it quickly ! I love this author and this book did not disappoint ! We picked it for our book club to discuss !

I loved Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan. I really liked Summer Romance but I didn’t fly through it like the other two.

Ali Morris’ mom died two years ago and in the anniversary of her death, her husband asks for a divorce. Ali’s life is a mess. But she has two great kids, and a best friend, Frannie. Ali also has an adorable dog, Ferris. When Ali takes Ferris to the dog park, he hikes his leg in a handsome stranger, Ethan.

Turns out, Ethan is Frannie’s grown brother, who Ali knew as Scooter. He’s two years younger than she is which made a difference years ago, but not anymore.

Ethan has had a crush on Ali for a while and now that she’s single, he makes his move. But Ethan is only in town for the summer wrapping up selling his family home now that his parents have moved to Florida.

What’s Ali to do? Have a Summer Romance!

This book was very good. The characters are great. I loved my time with them.

The pacing of this book was a little slow in parts and I had a hard time keeping the characters straight for awhile.

Overall, great summer beach read. Thank you to #netgalley and #cpputnamsons the publisher for an e-copy of #summerromance .

This was an enjoyable read and hit on several “hard” topics such as loss, divorce, mental health, etc. However, Annabel did a great job of balancing all of these out so as to not overwhelm readers. I found Ethan’s character refreshing yet a bit “every man” like as he truly seemed to exist to make the lives of those around him easier in whatever ways they’d accept. Overall, this was a solid summer read and Ali’s personal growth really kept me hooked to see what would happen next.

I anticipate this will be one of my favorite books of the year. I have read all of Annabel Monaghan's books and I think they just keep getting better and better. I'm not sure if I'm her target audience or if everyone feels the same level of connection to her main characters. I felt both seen and lighter as I was reading this one in so many ways. I also felt inspired and empowered. I was definitely rooting for Ali and Ethan. And, well, I loved the romance, it's so much more. Also, there are dogs! Read it!

Audio review: The audio was excellent. The narrator captured the story and characters perfectly.

I loved this book so much. The romance was perfect. I appreciated the mom perspective and the supportiveness of the best friend. One of my favs I've read.

Annabel Monaghan is without a doubt, one of my favorite modern author's and her first novel, NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT is a book a read and reread with so much enjoyment; I was therefore overjoyed to receive an advanced copy of SUMMER ROMANCE, Monaghan's latest, in exchange for my honest review. A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publishers, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons.

SUMMER ROMANCE was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and it did not disappoint for one page! I loved this story of Ali and Ethan, loved Ali's kids and her house and her relationship with her neighbor, and so much more. This book absolutely charmed me from start to finish and I've already recommended to friends and family, and will continue to do so. Just a delight that I will reread for years to come!

I adored Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan. This is my third book by the author, and all have been five stars for me. Summer Romance was a delightful story with enjoyable and interesting characters. Another wonderful summer read by Annabel Monaghan!

I’m not typically a romance reader but this book was part of a summer reading program at my local indie so I decided to try it. I’m so glad that I did!!! The characters are realistically written & the romance isn’t cheesy at all. I read this in one sitting & I look forward to reading everything that she’s written

How could I not love this book?!
🩵Ali is a professional organizer (I love a good organized pantry)
🩷They meet at a dog park
💛And it all takes place over summer
And in some romance + friendships + family and we have a fun + love story.

“𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰, 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨.”

#summerromance #annabelmonaghan #bookrecommendations #bookreview #beachread #romancebooks #romcom #booksanddogs #summerreading #summerbooks #bookstagram #readmorebooks

LOVED Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan!

I could easily relate to Ali and her struggles to reassert her previously strong sense of self in the wake of a divorce, along with her fierce love for her children. The 1st person narrative and the way she conveys her innermost thoughts and fears ring true as she navigates the loss of her mother and tries to find balance between her relationships. The setting was magical and I enjoyed how love unfolded when and where she least expected it! This was a delicious story full of hope and heart!

I’m adding Monaghan’s previous novels to my beach bag right now! Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

This was like a palette cleanser after all the tougher-subject books on the last week or so. I loved Nora Goes Off Script and have meant to read this one for a while (thank you for the copy, NetGalley!). It was just the sweet, romcom swoon-fest that I needed! I felt the grief, and the heartache of letting yourself become someone you don’t recognize. And the love story was just wonderful and swoony…it’s no wonder I got through it in less than a day! Great read if you need a pick me up!

there’s just something so special and REAL about a contemporary romance featuring a FMC who is in her 30s!!!

as someone who has gone through a divorce and had to learn/grow/heal and find her voice again, Ali’s story was so intimate and comforting to me.

this book really does a beautiful job of capturing the beauty in the mundane parts of every day life, while also exploring the complex aspects of grief, heartbreak, and moving on.

100% recommended - the perfect beach/pool read!

*content warning: death of a parent, grief*

thank you to NetGalley, Annabel Monaghan, and G.P. Putnams Sons for the ARC!!!

Another great beach read by Annabel Monaghan. Sure, the romance is fun, and the writing is fast paced and accessible, but what I really love about this book and her previous two, is the way she weaves in true family dynamics and emotions. Monaghan delved into the complexity of a mother daughter connection and ultimately, how to overcome the loss of such a powerful relationship. Highly recommend

5/5 i absolutely love this book. If you’re keeping track, that’s her 3rd 5 star rating in a row for me. Idk how she does it!! This book is deep but also fun + swoony + full of love. It reminded me of The Awakening I read in highschool. . But in reality, Ali truly has a coming of age. She learns to stand up for herself, she deals with the grief of losing her mother, she learns what she wants in life; and while some of it is with his help, a lot of it is self discovery. And while that’s a deeper topic, especially talking about divorce with children, I was smiling + kicking my feet the entire time. I loved this book + and it would honestly be a great recommendation for anyone.

i love love love annabel monaghan and will read anything she writes. this one was no exception. ali is going through a divorce with three children. she is a professional organizer and her life is the least bit organized. she starts a summer romance with a guy she meets in town - (her dog pees on him!)- who turns out to be the brother of her very best friend. sounds like a rom com, right? in all the best ways. their story is endearing and the sweet summer read you want to soak up on the beach. i hope this gets optioned into a movie. well done annabel -- i adored this one!

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Annabel is one of my favorite romance authors! She kills it everytime. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but I still loved it. 90% done and I started to bawl my eyes out - I did not expect to cry!!

Ali Morris is a professional organizer whose own life is a mess. Her mom died two years ago, then her husband left, and she hasn’t worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember.

It isn't until Ethan comes to town that Ali realizes how far off track she has gotten. While Ali and Ethan have a summer romance, Ali embarks on a journey of self discovery. A cute summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.