Fun-tastic (to quote Cliffy)! This is a summer beach read that hits all the right notes. Ali (Alice) is struggling to get her life together while her soon to be ex-husband is living his best life. She is juggling her business, taking care of three kids, one dog, and a house that is in serious need of being organized. One fateful day at the dog park has Ali connecting with someone from her past; someone who admired her from afar and will help her be that spontaneous and hopeful girl she once was. This story takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions with much laughter, some tears and heartbreak and the promise for a champagne summer!

This book is a fantastic summer read. Ali is a great FMC. She has so many layers and is discovering all of them throughout the book. The side characters are just as interesting and fun. I don't want to give too much detail, so I will just say this one is worth the read. Highly recommend getting this one and putting it in your beach bag.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

I really enjoyed this summer book while on a summer vacation! It was a fun romance but also included depth that I wasn’t expecting.

This was so cute and had a deeper meaning all wrapped into one book!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Ali. She is a mother of three who lost her mother a couple years ago and has been separated from her husband for a bit and now he is ready to get the divorce going. So much was put on her place and even though she had some close friends, some more like family, she still wished her mother was around and would talk to her when she was alone. I definitely felt her pain. I have been privileged to have my mother still by my side and I can’t imagine what it would feel like to not. Her mother helped her with the kids and kept pushing her to be a better wife and have a perfect marriage, but when her mother is gone and no longer there to keep everything afloat it all shifts.

I loved seeing Ali learn who she is once again. There are times we get glimpses of what her marriage was like and I don’t know how she lasted so long. Although, it is easier to let things go than have to deal with change. Someone also comes into her life and he changes everything for her. I can’t give any clues because it would be a spoiler, but I enjoyed being surprise by Ethan. He was exactly what Ali needed and appreciated her in every way.

Both Ali and Ethan go through their own changes and jump over hurdles to be with one another and to also let each other grow even if it means this budding romance is only one that lasts the summer. I loved their moments together!

Overall, this was another great book by this author and I know I will come back to it again. This is the perfect book for summer.

Annabel Monaghan writes great romances! This book was very sweet and a great, fast-paced read. I think it’s the perfect book to read while on summer vacation and to dream of transforming your life with your own summer romance.

4.5 stars! I absolutely ADORED this book. Definitely my favorite AM book! Once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down and finished it in just over a day! All the mom and parent stuff was sooooo relatable and real. I was giggling and had butterflies throughout the whole book. The perfect summer read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC!

This is exactly what I needed. The definition of a one day summer read! This definitely brought me back to my skateboarding years, and how it made me feel. I remember loving it so much just like Ethan did...not this making me want to skate again😜 Also, I need a movie adaptation now!!!

Summer Romance is a contemporary adult romance about a thirty-something mom of three who navigates love again after the back-to-back losses of her mother and her marriage.

When Summer Romance opens, Ali is living in old sweatpants and barely keeping her house together a year after her husband announced he was leaving. She has never quite recovered from losing her mother and keeps busy doing the bookkeeping for her friend Frannie’s diner and working as a professional organizer. But a chance encounter at the dog park brings an exciting opportunity for love and romance into her life when she least expects it. She’ll have to decide if pursuing a relationship that could end when summer does is worth risking her heart.

This is a sweet and swoony romance between a mom who is finding herself and her voice for the first time, and a fun and thoughtful man. I loved the banter between the characters and their chemistry. It was nice to enjoy a well-written grown-up romance without a bunch of the same old tropes. This couple faces real-life obstacles and must find a way to be together without giving up who they are. I also appreciated the lesson about living in the moment and not regretting loving someone (or a dog) even when you know that you’ll most likely lose them.

I highly recommend Summer Romance!

This book was everything I love about a romance!
I finished this story in one day because I was so invested in these characters. Ali the single mom, who is carrying the weight of the world. She is carrying grief and worry while caring for three precocious children and dealing with a soon-to-be ex-husband.
Then she experiences a meet-cute with Ethan, the charming lawyer at the dog park and her life begins changing little by little as their summer romance unfolds. A perfect beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Anabel Monaghan has become a must-read author for me. This book is the perfect summer read. The small town and full cast of characters game me Gilmore girls vibes and I loved that both our male and female MC’s were on a journey to take ownership of their lives. Also loved the concept of a champagne summer. ✨

I was rooting for Ali the whole time! It feels easy to love the main character when you can laugh and feel emotion on the same page. Thankful for another fun summer read from AM. Great comfort read!

Summer romance = your next summer read! You won’t want to put this one down as Ali embarks on a “summer romance” and learns that it’s possible to get lucky in love the second time around even while grieving the loss of her mom and navigating life as a single parent.

Ali is 38; she has been separated from her husband Pete for a year. Finally he has filed for divorce, and they will share custody of the kids. Having their oldest as a bit of a surprise and rushing down the aisle, Ali is finding out who she is and what she wants apart from her dissolving marriage. She is a former accountant and current mom and professional organizer.

I believe that a marriage doesn't have to last forever to not be a "failure." Sometimes relationships just run their course and people grow apart and are better parents apart than together. We can't really know who we are going to become and what life has in store for us. This time around Ali has the opportunity to figure out for herself what healthy love looks like.

Enter Ethan, the somewhat "mysterious" stranger Ali meets at the dog park. Well, maybe not so "mysterious" after all.

I really loved the writing in this, I was in the mood for a lighter beach romance, and this perfectly fit the bill. Not going to change your life or anything, but reading it was definitely enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC. This book will be released June 4, 2024.

What a perfect pool read!! I loved Ethan, I loved the kids, I loved the cleaning/organizing, I loved Phyllis. I felt like the pacing was a little off and Ali’s development happened really fast. But still just loved it!

SUMMER ROMANCE is a triumph. Monaghan's books are always full of heart and hope, and this one in particular elicits the best kind of butterflies. The book is deeply relatable, authentic, and sparks the same mental clarity and drive as Marie Kondo did in 2018. Everyone should do themselves a favor and grab two copies - one for themselves, and one for someone they love dearly who may need a reminder that hard pants don't have to be a burden.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy of this ebook. What a delightful summertime romance! The characters and story were delightful, and I really enjoyed this one. I felt like there was more depth in this book than just your ordinary surface level romcom, and it was a great take on second chances and finding a new version of YOU after it all falls apart. This would be a great addition to anyone's pool or beach reading list!

This was a swoony, butterflies, kicking your feet, cozy type of romance, which also addresses difficult topics like grief, loss, loneliness, and finding yourself after divorce. It definitely spoke to me as a fellow overwhelmed and overstimulated mom.

You can expect:
Newly Single Mom
Best Friend's Brother
He Falls First
It's Always Been You
Reinventing Yourself
Grief and Loneliness
Small Town
Coastal NY State
1st Person, Single POV

Ali, a mother of three, has lost both her mom and her marriage over the past two years and is finally starting to see the light again. She has been finding working as a professional organizer and was formerly an accountant, but her own house is in disarray as she is just trying to keep up with life. School just got out for the summer and she feels like it is time for a fresh start: to put on real pants, maybe some lip gloss, and try to find herself again.

Ethan has just returned to town to help his parents figure out retirement. He hates coming back to the small town he grew up in because everyone still sees him as the lazy, mischief-making skater. He has found a life he loves as a small lawyer after letting go of the expectations his family put on him.

Their meet cute is adorable and I loved the relationship development. It was a five star book for me until the very end. Everything seemed to come together too nicely and it just fell a little flat. All the conflict was resolved with a "never mind, all the big life decisions I made don't matter now," for more than just the MCs. So moving the rating to 4.5 but still rounding up. I still loved it and could reread, and am interested in reading the author's backlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing an eARC for my honest opinion.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan: (out 6/4) 4/5 ⭐️ Annabel Monaghan is one of those authors that I’ll auto-buy every time she releases a new book and it did not disappoint! The book centers around Ali who is a newly divorced mom of three who recently lost her mom and is rediscovering herself when she finds herself pursuing a new summer romance. The male lead, Ethan, took a minute to grow on me, but ultimately that made him more like able for me because he wasn’t the typical romance archetype. While I loved the summer romance between her and Ethan, watching Ali heal herself and all of the relationships in her life she’d let lapse before her divorce was just as satisfying. This book was raw and had so much heart - it will stick with you longer than your average beach read!

Thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for my FIRST e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! Out June 4th!

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan was such a great book! I loved Nora Goes Off Script but wasn't the biggest fan of Same Time Next Summer so was looking forward to Summer Romance.

First, I loved that this book was about someone older and going through more in life. It was different than I was expecting from the cover. Ali's grieving her mother who passed away two years ago, is in the middle of separating from her husband and is trying to raise her 3 kids while running a home organization business. The last thing she needs is romance but when her dog pees on a cute guy at the dog park she figures what's the harm in a summer romance?

I liked how this book felt real. It was real problems, figuring out how to figure out who you are all told with Annabel's beautiful writing. This is a summer beach book with a little more emotions.

Definitely recommend adding this to your summer TBR! It comes out on Tuesday - June 3rd!

thank you for allowing me early access to this book! I’d rate it a 3.75 stars and here’s why.

I kept having to remind myself these characters are closer to 40 than they are to 30 which isn’t a bad thing. I loved the rediscovery of herself after parental loss and feeling free from a marriage she found herself settling for bc it was comfortable but i just had a very hard time conjuring up what these characters looked like, there was not really any description of the FMC and the MMC seemed very basic in his looks as well that he kinda morphed with other book characters.
I loved the brothers best friend trope and in a way second chance at love- Ethan had been crushing on her since they were teenagers and she became best friends with his sister. nothing ever happened of course, they were two grades ahead and he was her best friends weird little brother. But, as they are now much older she loves the way he still sees her as that same girl even though everything about her is different.