This one had so much potential but just didn’t hit. I’ve enjoyed the previous Annabel Monaghan books I’ve read so I had really high hopes for this one but it fell short.

Ali’s character wasn’t fleshed out enough for me. I needed her to have more backbone. And Ethan/Scooter was cute but also seemed much younger than the FMC which wasn’t the case. The relationship just never took off for me and it felt very instalove/instalust.

However, the last 30% of the book started to engage me more and I enjoyed the scenes when the side characters were involved the most. The best friend, the children, the meddling old neighbor. I actually even shed a tiny tear towards the end. So in the end, I ended up liking the book just not loving it for a summer read.

"Summer Romance" by Annabel Monaghan is a total gem of a summer read! Imagine this: Ali, fresh from a divorce and navigating life as a single mom, accidentally meets this hot guy Ethan—because her dog literally pees on him at the dog park. Talk about an unusual icebreaker, right? Turns out, he's her bestie's little brother, all grown up and totally swoon-worthy.

Their story's got everything—a slow burn romance that just feels so right, some deep personal growth, and of course, loads of beachy vibes that make you want to soak up the sun. It's like Monaghan knows exactly how to mix the perfect cocktail of feels and fun. Plus, the family dynamics and the kids add such a realistic touch. Absolutely adored it! Perfect for our next beach day read or when you just wanna chill and feel the summer breeze. So, when are we hitting the beach to gossip more about Ethan and Ali's cute summer fling turned oh-so-much-more? 🌊💕

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

SUMMER ROMANCE was a delight to read. It was not only relatable and sweet but also funny. I thought Allie was a great mother and also a great daughter. Her love for her mother is shown throughout the entire story and I really enjoyed that. Overall, this a sweet romance that will put a smile on your face and leave you feeling happy. I can confidently recommend getting yourself a copy.

Many thanks to G.P. Putnam and Sons and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to @coffee.break.book.reviews closer to pub date.

I am so honored to have received Summer Romance to review a few months ago. . I was very excited since I loved Annabel’s other two books. I downloaded it not long after my mother died. I want to give an honest review but I cannot read this book right now. I know I will love it once I am ready but reading a book mentioning the death of a mother is just simply too hard for me.

Read if you like:
🤰🏼 Single Mom’s
👯‍♀️ Best Friend’s Brother
🔥 Slow Burn
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Family
💍 Divorce

This book was so much better than I expected and I truly loved it so much!

I loved the depth of emotion and the way that the slow burn intensified this feeling of building the emotional & undeniable connection between our main characters as they each faced their hard things, and had the support of each other to grow.

Also, Omg, the he falls first and Scooter’s story about his falling first made my heart soar!

All in all, this is the perfect summer beachy romance with all the emotions and I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much to Putnam for my ARC & to PRHA for my gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Annabel Monaghan does it again! Summer Romance is the perfect summer read!
Ali is freshly divorced with 3 kids. She has had a difficult 2 years with her mother dying and her divorce. She meets a handsome stranger at the dog park. He happens to be her best friend's little brother. Scooter is the town screw up and no one can see it he ways he has changed in the decades since he has left the town. They are a great pair that see the best in each other and help each other grow.
#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #netgalleyarc #netgalleyarcs #netgalleyarcreviewer #arcreview #annabelmonaghan

It isn't summer without a new Annabel Monaghan romance!

I adored Nora Goes Off Script in 2022, but I wasn't sure what to expect with her upcoming release, Summer Romance.

I loved it.

It was a quick read for me, and I thought it was so endearing and sweet. The story featured themes of grief and self-identity, but it still felt more lighthearted than heavy.

I really wanted to love this book, but it honestly fell flat for me. I guessed the ending (with how everything works out / wraps up). It was a nice story, but it was a little hard for me to get into. I did enjoy Ethan and how he showed up for Ali in so many ways. I feel like the book had a lot of plot lines flowing but not enough time to fully dive into them all. I think this book overall was not for me, but clearly has been enjoyed by many. I will be trying some of this author's other books. I did like how the author brought in Ali's children and their personalities into the story. I also wish Pete grew up a little.

The piece with her mother reminded me a little bit of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, which I did enjoy. The meet cute in the beginning also reminded me of The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez.

Super cute! I liked this A LOT more than her second novel. This was almost as good as Nora - I got similar vibes, but the similarities in the FMC were almost TOO much, and it kind of felt like a copy + paste of Nora. Overall, I was happy and thought it was a sweet romance.

THE ROMANCE OF THE SUMMER!

Reeling from the death of her mother and her impending divorce from her assh*le husband, Ali is finding it difficult to find the motivation to change out of her sweats and into “hard pants.”

Until one day she meets cute guy Ethan at the dog park (when her dog pees on him), and feels a spark of attraction. When that attraction is reciprocated and they have a perfect first date, she’s confounded that she doesn’t hear from him again. When she runs into him at her best friend’s house and realizes he’s Scooter, the ne’er do well younger brother, that complicates things. Except that he’s not that guy anymore. He’s sweet, bright, caring Ethan who looks at Ali like she just hung the moon. Which frankly, after losing track of herself for so many years, is something she desperately needs.

As a newly single mom, Ali wants this summer to be filled with joy and excitement, which Ethan delivers in spades. What could be the harm in a casual summer romance, right?

I love that Annabel Monaghan writes romances for adult women and understands the drama that we deal with – family relationships, parenting, career issues, and the desire to /guilt from prioritizing oneself after years of neglect.

Annabel Monaghan is an auto-buy author for me. I loved Nora Goes Off Script and Just for the Summer. And, no pressure, or anything, but Annabel, if you’re reading this, I really hope you’re working on something new, because I don’t think I can wait too long for the next one!

I could not love this book more. If you have not already done so, pick it up. It might just be your favorite read of the summer.

Thank you to @annabelmonaghan @netgalley and @putnambooks for the advanced reader copy.

Annabel Monaghan is an auto-buy author for me, so when I landed the arc of Summer Romance I was absolutely thrilled. Her characters skew a little order than many popular contemporary romances (think adults in their 30s) which is always a nice change of pace.

She almost always handles romance + something more which I love. In Summer Romance, Ali is facing grief in multiple ways. Her mother passed and her marriage ended in divorce. She has three kids and is drowning in feelings of sadness. She’s just floating through the routine of day to day life doing her best.

When she runs into her best friends brother, Ethan, at the dog park she’s stunned to find that he’s gorgeous??? And then her dog pees on him. Only the best of meet cutes for Ali, right? Ethan and Ali strike up a deal to help each other out and the rest truly is history.

I loved the supporting characters in this, even if they weren’t around much. The whole story ended feeling like a warm hug and that’s exactly what you want in your beach read!

Highly recommend adding this to your summer list. 💗

Thank you to @putnambooks and @netgalley for the eARC!

This was a delightful read from Annabel Monaghan. Perfect summer vibes while still tackling some serious topics. Despite being an adult, I could still absolutely relate to the girl drama of middle school. I thought it tackled topics of grief, love, and change so well while not being too "heavy" throughout. Also - Ethan is 10/10 in my book. We love a MMC who is clearly obsessed and not afraid to show it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great summer read! After losing her mother and then her lame husband leaving her, Ali was struggling to get back to herself until one day, she puts on a pair of real pants and runs into someone in the dog park. When her dog pees on a cute guy, she's immediately stricken with him. He's totally perfect and they really hit it off so what's the harm in a little summer romance?

Thank you to NetGalley and Annabel Monaghan for this digital ARC. I read her Same Time Next Summer romance read last summer and I wanted to give her another try. I liked the main idea of this story, but it’s definitely a slow burn. I wish I read it quicker and it might have raised my rating, but ultimately I feel like it was too slow with not a lot happening. I was waiting for more of climactic events than what really happened.

4 1/2 ⭐️
I loved this story! Ali’s life is a bit of a mess. She’s grieving the loss of her mother and trying to finalize her divorce, all while being the primary caregiver to her three young children. When she meets Ethan and feels a spark of attraction, she decides to embark on a summer romance – telling herself it will just be a fling and she won’t catch any real feelings.
Ethan is actually “Scooter”, the younger brother of Ali‘s close friend. He’s back home for the summer to clean out his parents’ home in order to sell it. He’s had a crush on Ali for years and is happy to see where this new relationship goes. However, he’s made a good life for himself in a town two hours away, and being home is proving difficult because everyone still thinks of him as a kid.

I liked watching Ali transform into a confident woman despite the insecurities she feels. I thought the pace of the relationship was great, and that Ali and Ethan took time to get to know each other and see the real person. I liked the secondary characters and felt their stories contributed to the rest of the book.
If you’re looking for a fun summer read - with some depth - this is the book for you!

4.5 stars
Huge thank you to net galley for providing me with an early copy!

YALL this book was EVERYTHING AND MORE. It took me about 50 pages to really get into it, but once I was past that point I was hooked! This book genuinely gave me butterflies and captured the feeling of a new love PERFECTLY. I also loved the way that the author portrayed grief and how there really isn't a time cap on it. This is the perfect beach read and everyone needs to add this book to their summer tbr!

Ali is going thru a divorce from a marriage where she lost her identity. She's surviving but not thriving and learning how to be a single mother. Enter Ethan, her best friend's brother who she never gave a second thought to growing up. He has moved away and made a life for himself, outside of the shadow of his disapproving family and the town. While in town for the summer, Ethan agrees to help her with her divorce in exchange for her helping him clean out his parents' house. What's the harm in a summer fling?

I read and loved Monaghan's previous book Nora Goes Off Script and if you loved it too, then this book is for you. I especially loved that the characters' problems and the things that kept them apart were real problems, not just issues that could be resolved with a simple conversation (I'm looking at you, Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez books- which I also enjoy)- but Monaghan writes about more plausible situations.

I loved the main and side characters and how they were also looking to find their own identities outside of a romantic relationship. I didn't love the title (generic), but I this book was wonderful, and I hope everyone has a summer romance with it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Summer Romance
🗓️ June 03, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I totally binged this book in less than 24 hours! @annabelmonaghan tackles some non conventional topics that are not typically written into a summer romance. Ali finds herself entering a new chapter of her life. Newly single, finalizing her divorce while grieving her mother’s passing. Add in reentering the dating world with three children and falling for someone you once knew in high school, who turns out to be your best friend’s little brother. Just when I think I couldn’t possibly have another favorite MMC, Annabel created Ethan 🥰

“Benefits of a summer romance: It’s always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken.

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. No one is more surprised than Ali when the first time she takes off her wedding ring and puts on pants with hardware—overalls count, right?—she meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her...by peeing on him. Ethan smiles at Ali like her pants are just right—like he likes what he sees. He looks at her like she’s a younger, braver version of herself. The last thing newly single mom Ali needs is to make her life messier, but there’s no harm in a little summer romance. Is there?”

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I picked up this book intending to read just a chapter before bed and ended up bingeing half of it that night and the rest the next day. The meet cute to start the story was a little hard to believe…Ali was only 2 years older than Scooter, right? I had trouble believing she wouldn’t have recognized her BFFs little brother in the slightest at the dog park. There were no current family photos on Frannie’s Instagram? But once I got over that I truly loved the book. The writing was delightful and I enjoyed how Ali and Ethan fell in love in the moments between summer camp drop off & pick up, soccer practices and cleaning the house. 5 stars, would highly recommend to anyone looking for an uplifting summer beach read.

This new Annabel Monaghan book did not disappoint! I think it's my favorite so far! This one hits on family, motherhood, love, grief, and summer. This felt especially poignant for mothers and daughters. Even with heavy topics, it's still such an enjoyable summer read. The scene setting and descriptions made me want to vacation on the boat, a kayak, or an inn on the water!