I really loved this and I'm giving it 5-stars based on the five tissues I went through. Annabel Monaghan has quickly become one of my new favorite authors. I have loved all three of her books. Her books are centered around characters who have put their lives on hold for family, so they are definitely in the "coming of age" realm.

This book is about a soon-to-be divorced mother of three, Ali. During the divorce process she meets Ethan who is in town for the summer, and she is instantly attracted. Ethan is a few years younger, and is all in with her, which I loved. Ali is also grieving the death of her mother. So, not only is she dealing with her grief, this book is about her being a newly single mom, dealing with an awful ex, and raising kids on her own. She is going through a lot, so the last thing she needs is to get into anything serious with someone who is leaving at the end of the summer.

This book features a summer setting, small town vibes, clean romance, motherhood, grief, and a bit of a cinnamon roll mmc. This was so sweet, and there weren't any crazy conflicts/problems to overcome other than real life issues. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced Ebook copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC!

3.5 ⭐️
After loving Same Time Next Summer, I was really excited to jump into this hoping for the same vibes, but the characters felt a lot weaker to me. The first half of the book was a bit boring, but did pick up into the romance that I wanted more towards the second half. I enjoyed that these characters had real, big issues in life that they were dealing with and grieving over, but it definitely did not make for a light summer read. Some of the writing came off as a bit choppy and YA, but that got better as it went on.
This wasn't a bad read by any means, but if I were to recommend an Annabel Monaghan book to anyone, it would be Same Time Next Summer and not this one.

“I can never unknow the truest thing - the intensity of the love you feel will match the intensity of its loss.”

Summer reading has officially begun! Though it doesn’t really feel like summer here yet….I’m definitely ready for summer reading. ☀️

After reading and loving Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan two summers ago, I couldn’t wait to read her latest, Summer Romance. Nora is still my favorite, but Summer Romance is a close second.

What Monaghan does really well in these two books is write about women who are moms, dealing with loss, and with the ups and downs of motherhood while also making their own lives a priority. The kids are integral parts of the stories and it’s not something you see a lot in romance novels, and I think that’s why these stand out to me.

In Summer Romance, Ali is dealing with the loss of her mother two years ago, and the recent separation from her husband. She is a professional organizer, who loves helping other people get their homes in order, while hers remains a mess. Throughout her marriage her needs always came last, and she’s trying to change that now. There’s a sweet meet-cute at a dog park, where she runs into someone she knows from childhood but doesn’t really remember….but he remembers her….❤️

It takes place in a fictional town on Long Island, and it made me so ready for summer and the beach. I cried happy tears through the last 10% of the novel, which if you know me at all means I loved it.
There were so many good quotes about motherhood that I highlighted. I loved this one:
“I can feel the fury of a million mothers inside of me, and I want to roar my fiery mother breath on anyone who might steal a moment of my daughter’s happiness.“
And this one: “The best thing about my mom was that she saw me for exactly who I was.” I thought, if my kids grow up and say that about me, it would make me the happiest mom on the planet.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher @penguinrandomhouse @putnambooks for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Summer Romance publishes on June 4th, just in time for summer reading.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, it was on my TBR because it was a summer book. I loved it so much, a book about finding yourself in a season of change. It’s never too late to find love and it may be where you least expect it. I laughed and teared up a bit. This book was good and I definitely recommend.

The amount of love and care Annabel put into this book is so evident. The love of a mother and daughter was palpable and made for a heart wrenching story. And the journey of a woman navigating life and rediscovering herself is so relatable. Ethan is the man of my dreams honestly, seeing the best of Ali no matter what. My heart is so full!

This was such a refreshing romance to read.

Ali was a fantastic MC; she was relatable, she was flawed, she was fierce and fun, and she felt like a friend. I loved that she got to shine as a mom, a woman, and in her job - her character wasn’t tied down to just one role, and I felt like all the roles were realistically played. The romance plot was equally as great. The little twist revealed at the beginning was fun and unexpected, and I loved where it took the story. Ali and Ethan’s story was sweet, real, and felt more mature given all the things going on in their lives. The rest of the cast of characters added a lot to the story, and I especially loved how much Ali’s kids were in the book.

I honestly could’ve kept reading this story for another 100 pages, and I think this is my new favorite by Annabel Monaghan!

This was a beautiful book. Ali’s character growth through this book was a wonderful thing to read. I love reading books with characters who just deeply feel things and Ali was this type of character. Ethan was lovely as well and maybe a little too perfect but that is why books are so amazing. This is one I will reread.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

4.5 stars, I loved this book! The author really knows how to write stories about women and for women. She really poignantly discuses the experience of grief, parenthood, the weight of others expectations, and losing yourself to a bad marriage. I love how she doesn’t focus on the ex and instead focuses on how the main character gets her voice back. I also loved the development of Ethan and how you can become more than the roles people place on you. Such a fun and sweet summer romance!!

A quintessential beach read about overcoming grief and adversity and being open to the unexpected that life hands your way. ☀️

This hit me at just the perfect time to scratch that long holiday weekend beach read itch. The parts where our FMC, Ali, struggled with her mom’s death really resonated with me and those scenes felt emotional and realistic. The romance element was sweet, which I don’t usually enjoy, but it worked here since our MMC Ethan was so easy to root for. My biggest gripe is that I wish Ali would have gained her confidence back more through self-discovery than through Ethan’s prodding, but my favorite from this author regardless.

Other elements I liked: the summer vibes, it was a fast-paced read, dog side characters, older MCs and everything that comes with that.

My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 6/4/2024.

A perfect summer read! This was a perfectly sweet and cute summer romance story. A great, quick read for summertime with a main character that’s navigating divorce, children, finding herself, and finding love. Really sweet story! Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy.

Perfect read for MDW and the summer- duh. I couldn’t get enough of Ali and Ethan and I just flew right through it. Ali is 38 and in the process of getting divorced from her completely useless lump of a husband. She’s lost herself in her marriage and as a mom and just doesn’t know who she’s become. Enter Scooter, her friend’s younger brother and someone who has literally had a crush on her since high school. He absolutely changes Ali’s life and her perspective of herself. I loved that she learned how to rediscover herself as Ali- not as a wife or mom.

Lately, I find myself really enjoying stories about characters who are close to my age. I really resonated with Ali because it’s SO easy to lose who you are as an individual when you’ve been married for X amount of years. It was just nice to read about something so relatable. The absolutely adorable romance didn’t hurt either.

I adored this book! It is full of moments that turn the ordinary or the mundane into something that sparkles. For a romance, I found that it struck the perfect balance of a realistic love/life story, while incorporating lots of moments of levity and butterflies. This book made me feel all the feels, I laughed out loud and was crying by the end. Annabel Monaghan is such a talented writer, her voice is funny and quirky and has so much heart. Would highly recommend as a beach read this summer!

I absolutely adored the latest from Annabel Monaghan! Being a formerly divorced mom, her stories always resonate with me. Her characters are well written with great background stories. This time around we have Ali who is smack dab in the middle of her divorce when she meets Ethan. Will she get back on that horse? We know it, but the journey is where it's at. The banter and relationship between these two was on point and felt organic. I loved that they showed how the kids were dealing with the divorce as well. Ali's neighbor was so sweet and almost became like a second mother figure to her when her own mom died. I was happy with the ending and thought the grief and Ethan's feelings of not being good enough were so genuine. I'd highly recommend this summer read!

I look forward to every Annabel read for her whimsy, summerful writing!

Ali has everyone else's life together. Hers? Shambles. She's getting divorced and grieving the loss of her closest friend, her mom. On a whim, she says yes to a date with a handsom stranger named Ethan. Ethan, the man who turns out to be Scooter, her best friend's quirky brother. All's fair in love and summer romance, especially when everything feels right in the world.

I found myself immediately rooting for Ali and Ethan's love, especially as she figured out how shitty her ex-husband was. It was like Ethan brought new life into Ali and allowed her to be her true self. Skate parks, love of kinds and discovering love is truly possible through it all made Summer Romance another five star read.

Another Annabel Monaghan winner for me! Summer Romance is a slow burn, sweet, grief filled book. I laughed, teared up, and ended this book feeling hopeful. Hopeful that life goes on, even when grief tells you differently. Hopeful that life can always find a way, even in the hardest of times. 4⭐️ for me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As you can assume from the title, this book is about a summer romance, but it’s also about a lot more. It’s about mothers and daughters, and taking a chance on love in all its forms — whether that’s getting a dog or befriending an elderly neighbor — when you know it’s not going to last.

I always love the extended friends and family Annabel Monaghan creates in her books, and this was certainly no exception. If you liked her other books, you will like this one, too.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

arc for honest review*


reading this was so different from what i’ve read and i did enjoy it, it was such a easy short read and perfect for summer!

the book is about ali getting out of a relationship while also having to coparent with her ex partner. she later meets ethan who she does not recognize is her best friends brother. she asks him to help her with the custody or coparenting arrangements. they spent time together a lot and they start to fall in love and more happenss!

thank you netgally for this book!!

This is an easy 5 stars. "Summer Romance" had me smiling the entire book. I loved it and had such a hard time putting it down.

I have read all of Annabel Monaghan’s books and this was by far my favorite one! This is a love story- but for me the love story between Ali and her own self was the highlight. I loved the MMC Ethan and the chemistry they had together as well. This is the perfect summer beach read and I will definitely be doing a repeat read this summer!

What a perfect start to summer reading!
Ali and her kids always end the school year by speaking their wishes for the summer out loud, but this time they get more than they could have known to wished for.
Grief, hope, a diner, and an inn all play lead roles in these pages as well as a man who wears suits, skateboards, and is mighty protective of those around him.

Annabel Monaghan even snuck in some advice: "You're the architect of your own experience." If you don't like it, do something about it. Oh, and go ahead and get the dog.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!