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!

Thank you NetGalley for the book of the summer. It's been 2 years since Ali's mom passed away and 1 year since her husband told her he no longer wanted to be married to her. She wakes up that morning with so much anxiety and grief.... but it doesn't last long when a dog wanders in followed by his owner... This was the cutest book and I loved every minute of it.

2.5 stars

This book just wasn’t for me. I’m definitely in the minority on this, but based on reading other 2 star reviews, I know I’m not alone.

Summer Romance is great if you want a lighthearted beach read that has no drama. The premise is a soon-to-be-divorced mom tries to navigate life as a single parent, all while grieving the recent death of her own mother and facing all the “firsts” that come with dating again.

And that’s where my main issue with the book lies. I don’t have qualms with a book that has no drama, but the story isn’t just low stakes; it has no stakes. I just don’t see how that can be when the book touches on heavy topics like grief and divorce.

For example, the MMC initially tries to hide his identity from the FMC, as if it would be the end of the world if she finds out who he is. But the reader can totally figure out who he is before the FMC does, and it’s just a letdown when you realize he’s just a regular guy who’s misunderstood by his family. And not like bad-boy-actually-good-boy type of misunderstood either, but more like my-parents-just-don’t-get-me misunderstood.

This goes the same for the reason that the FMC and MMC think they can’t be together. The FMC makes it seem like it is absolutely impossible for them to stay together, when in reality, it’s very possible for them to stay together, but just requires some effort. Think Michael and Holly from The Office when they *spoiler* break up after Holly moves to Nashua (it’s just a 5 hour car ride, guys; not great, but not impossible).

For that reason, it was difficult for me to feel motivated to pick up the book.

Another thing that made it hard to get into the story is there’s too much telling and not enough showing. Oftentimes the FMC just tells us exactly how she feels about something or someone, and we don’t get a chance to form our own opinion as readers because it’s just part of the narrative. And that tends to contribute to some flat one-dimensional characters. The mom? Good. The MMC? Good. The ex-husband? Bad; very, very bad. I mean I don’t doubt that ex-husbands can suck, but there isn’t one redeeming quality that the guy is given, which explain why the FMC fell in love with and married him in the first place, then proceeded to stay together and have 3 kids with him.

There are parts that I enjoyed from the book, and mostly they are when the author captures the little moments in beautiful prose, when it’s showing and not telling. Like the chapter about the morning the FMC decides to take off her wedding ring; so much is said when she makes that decision, and then sets the ring on the cinnamon in her spice cabinet before shutting it away.

Again, I know I’m in the minority about how I feel about this book. But I think fans of Annabel Monaghan books will also love Summer Romance, because it seems to have similar tropes to Nora Goes Off Script. And anyone who wants a light summer beach read should give this a try too.

Special thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this digital e-ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan will be out June 4, 2024.

This was a nice and sweet beach read romance with closed-door spice. I like that the FMC is a professional organizer and yet her house/life is a mess. It’s a mess because she has lost herself over the years, is grieving the loss of her mother, and is also going through a divorce. She has to reorganize what she thought she wanted to what she actually wants out of life. And always like a MMC that is open about his feelings. Note that there are a few good organizing tips in here lol.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC. This was my third Annabel Monaghan book and it was a hit like all the others. This was the perfect slow burn that hit on so many important topics. The ending was emotional and beautiful. I loved it.