I was very fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy from NetGalley but all thoughts are unbiased and my own!

I really enjoyed Nora Goes off the Script by this same author, but I liked this book even better!! WOW. There were so many beautiful and well written truths about grief, motherhood, and being a “grown up” but still struggling with finding your identity. The author was able to capture all those feelings WHILE still having a fun romance intertwined in the pages. I mean what more could you want?!?

I’ve found that all Annabel Monaghan books for me too are quick reads, so take from that what you will. Totally picking up the rest of her books now!! This was great!

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

I loved this story!! I have a lot of commonalities with the heroine- 38 year old, tired mom of three, and I had many relatable moments (my kid also loves Captain Underpants and we also read it and giggle before bed).

Summer Romance is full of warmth and jokes. Ali and Ethan’s relationship is beautiful and the character development makes for a read full of warm fuzzies. Definitely recommending to mom friends looking for closed door romance and a lot of laughs.

I loved it! I think what I love most about her books are how relatable and realistic her characters are. In the midst of their messy lives, Ethan and Ali are able to find a beautiful love story. I admire how believable and well-written Monaghan’s closed-door romance books are. You don’t need a bunch of spice to have a good romance and she does this so well. All the passion and chemistry is there. Cheers to another great summer read!

I loved this book. Everyone should have and Ethan in their lives!!!!! There were so many aspects of this book that were meaningful. Some made me laugh, some cry and some swoon! Ali, a mother of 3 who is dealing with a variety of changes in her life - some good and some not so good - is so real and so honest. This story felt like a warm hug and I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to sit on a warm beach and read this emotional story that lands of the feel so perfectly. I have read all of Annabel Monaghan's books and like them all, but this one was different in a good way. There was an emotional connection I had to Ali and her struggles. She is familiar to me in a lot of ways and I could identify with her. I think many women will be able to identify with some aspect of what she is dealing with, and that thread will carry them through the book. I loved it. I was sad it ended,

I adored this book! I love reading Annabel Monaghan's stories. This one was so heartwarming. The story is about Ali, a mother of three, who has lost her mother and is currently going through a divorce. She is also a professional organizer, but her life is a little disorganized. In addition to juggling 3 kids, she takes care of her elderly neighbor, Phyllis. The two have the most beautiful friendship.
During a trip to the dog park, she has an unexpected meet-cute with Ethan that leads to a "summer romance".

I absolutely loved all of the characters in this book and I really enjoyed the story. I am so excited to recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Summer Romance!

While I have loved all of Annabel’s books, this is my favorite.

Ali is a former accountant, turned mom of three, with a husband who has left her after helping to slowly dismantle her joy and self respect. Dealing with the grief left after her mother’s passing two years earlier, and the lack of grief from her husband leaving, Ali trudges through day after day doing her best to find the joys she’s lost.

Then comes summer. There is nothing like summer. Sometimes I think I became a teacher because the idea of working summers was just so incomprehensible. Annabel captures the magic of summer, and in that magic Ali’s dog, Ferris, pees on a hot guy with great forearms while playing at the dog park.

This was the moment I knew this book had more wisdom than I was ready to receive. Ethan, dog pee guy, brushes it off (well not literally). And Annabel writes, “It’s possible that he’s a guy who knows when a problem can be solved with a run through the washing machine.” I could have used this advice as a new mom.

Ali grows over the summer. She realizes how her mother’s choices failed her but understanding why she made them. Then tries her best to go forward a different way with her own daughters. She finds her voice, her joy, and most notably as this is a romance, love.

Who we give ourselves to and how we are received are on full display in this book. Ali’s relationship with her neighbor, her still living father, her children, and Ethan, send a message that we cannot be our best selves on our own. Life is about connection and joy, but also loss. And it’s all worth it.

One of my favorite quotes from this book is “I kissed her, and now she’s no longer a frog.” Because truly love at its core is transformative.

And this part also rang true to me, “Bringing another person a cup of coffee says I’m thinking about how your day is going to go. Or at a minimum, I want you to also have this thing that I’m going to enjoy.”

As Ali is an accountant, there is a lot about the joy of spreadsheets. My husband is a CPA and I often send him book quotes, which are usually joking the profession and it’s professionals. This book is a love letter to accountants. And he appreciated every highlight I shared. His favorite would probably be, “There’s really nothing sexier than an accountant.” Maybe I’ll get him a signed copy of this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (Romance)
Releases: June 4, 2024

Synopsis: Ali Morris’ mom passed away and her husband left her a year later (literally, to the day). Early in the summer, Ali meets Ethan, at the dog park. Ethan is in town for the summer visiting his family, but as Ali helps Ethan clean out his parents’ house, will their connection grow??

My Thoughts: I love love loved this book so much. Ali was in such a dark place after her mom’s death and her divorce, and Ethan really opened her back up to love. There is a very tender scene with Ali and her daughter Greer towards the end of the book that Greer explains that she doesn’t want her mom to disappear again, and that was such a tender and real moment for me. I haven’t experienced the death of a parent or a divorce, but this felt like a very real portrayal of both of those. Anyway, I love Annabel Monaghan, and I think you should read all of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an early copy of the book to review. All opinions are my own.

If you loved Nora Goes off Script, you’ll love this.

Spending a wet, dreary day reading SUMMER ROMANCE by Annabel Monaghan was the perfect way to pretend it was 85 degrees outside!

Ali deserves a bit of fun after losing her mother to cancer, her husband to divorce, and herself to possibly too many boxes of cornstarch! Her daily routine includes taking care of her 3 kids, and her dog, Ferris, and checking in on her 92-year-old neighbor all while not putting on hard pants and re-entering the dating world. While on a walk, Ferris pees on a stranger's shoe. Is this Ali's cute-meet? Did Ferris pick out the one? Well, you will have to pick up the book to see how this summer ends!

This book is filled with all the right feelings! Annabel uses wit and humor to walk us through what most SAHM or mom's in general feel/say ohhhhh about 100 times a day! She is hilarious! A favorite passage: His ability to meet people where they are and just hold the space for them to step into their best selves without any expectation of what that might be.... {all the feels!}

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! The book is released June 4 - add it to your pre-order list today!

Absolutely LOVED this book. The entire thing resonated with me in a way that has not happened in a while. It made me laugh, smile, and tear up. Definitely a feel good romance for the summer!

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan - Book Review

What it’s about:

“Summer Romance” is a story about love, loss and being the “architect of your own experience.” Ali is a soon to be divorced mother of three, a hot mess of a professional organizer and is wading through the grief of losing her mother two years ago. After connecting with Ethan, her best friend’s brother, via dog park meet-cute, she starts a journey of self-discovery through their summer romance.

What I liked:

I loved watching Ali and Ethan’s friendship unfold, reconnecting over old memories and discovering how one another has become who they are today. Annabel Monaghan did such a wonderful job of sharing the honesty of motherhood, life in your late-30’s, what it feels like to lose yourself and try to find yourself again, as well as how to break away from misconceptions and live a life that’s true to yourself.

Stars: 3.75/5

Read if you like:
Small town vibes
Best friend’s brother
Second chance romance
Closed-door


Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a beautiful story of starting over after life doesn’t go the way you expected it to. I loved Ethan from the moment we met him at the dog park. What a sweet, sunshiney man, my favorite! The way he LOOKS AT HER. Melting! The kids were sweet and perfect. And Ali! My sweet girl. So relatable. I love her so much. She feels like a piece of me. I loved their love story so much.

Here’s to a champagne summer!

Ali is an organizer who is far from having her life together. Her husband left. Her mother passed. Her best friend is encouraging her to get back out there. On the day that she puts on actual clothes (overalls - lol) and takes her dog to the dog park, she meets someone....Or rather her dog pees on him.

I loved this book. Annabel Monaghan's books always feel like a huge hug. She gets the romantic tension just right without being explicit. She is an auto-buy reader for me and I don't see that changing anytime soon! Highly recommend!

Summer Romance is my new favorite Annabel Monaghan novel! It made me feel all the feels. The characters were well developed, extremely relatable, and it was nice to see an older FMC with 3 kids finding love again. I loved this book and stayed up late to finish it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for the ARC!

Another winner from Annabel Monaghan! Her characters and plot are so relatable and realistic that I feel like they're all friends and I'm so invested in them. Dealing with tough times and loss is always hard, but the author really adds such warmth and love to her story that it's never uncomfortable to read and you can only cheer wholeheartedly when Ali starts to heal. And Ethan! His story is great as well; he figured out who he was although it wasn't the easiest journey and can now help Ali with hers. Their relationship felt real and emotional is such a satisfying way, and I smiled so much while reading. Also really loved Phyllis and her real wisdom, I'm so glad Ali had her support and love.

I highly recommend this one and have already done a reread. It's definitely going in my comfort reread pile.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC in exchange of my honest review!

This book has it all! After the death of her mother and an end to her marriage, Ali tries to find herself again amidst her grief. Taking her friend's advice, she decides to pick herself up and move on.
This book is funny, it's got some swoon, it has some drama, and during part of it, I really wanted to slash Pete's bike tires. The part I liked most is that the main character reminded me of some of my single mama friends and other people I know. The author's character development was spot on!

"Summer Romance" is a wonderful and lovely book. I have become a HUGE fan of Annabel Monaghan and will quite literally read anything she writes. Her stories and books are that good.

This book follows Ali, who just recently has lost her mother and is separated from her husband. Ali's mother was basically her life partner and helped her with her three kids plus keeping her marriage alive (well maybe not alive but from ending anyways). Once she was gone, it seems everything in her life became a mess from her newly single life to her home cleanliness, which for Ali is big because she quite literally organizes people's homes and lives for a living. A chance encounter at the local dog park with a man named Ethan, who is a stranger but not really, changes everything. Ali finds herself wanting to tackle her mess. Ethan and Ali's relationship grows and as it grows Ali becomes more like her old self again, the girl that Ethan knew she was.

This story was so heartwarming. It felt natural, like it's something that you know could happen to you in real life. Not like a fairytale store. I loved the playfulness and the genuine love between the characters. The real emotions of raising kids and rediscovering yourself was also beautifully written and portrayed. Every character was lovable, well except for Pete. He was trash but we needed that for the story. The romance gave me butterflies like I was going through it myself. I was hard core rooting for them the entire book. There isn't a ton of action but the emotional ride of the character's was action enough for me. I just loved, loved, loved this book. Annabel's romance novels are my favorite. I can't wait to for this to come to print (June 4th, 2024!!) so I can purchase a hard copy ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC in exchange of my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book.

This is a very sweet book; perfect for lazy summer Saturdays. The main character, Ali, is a newly divorced mom of 3 in her late 30s. This book is definitely geared towards a more mature reader with its themes of death, motherhood, dating with kids but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it. It’s a very safe book for book clubs (or sharing with your mom) because the intimate scenes are alluded to instead of in your face so for anyone who likes romance without spice this is a great choice.

What a wonderful romance!

Annabel Monaghan's Nora Goes off Script is one of my favorite romance novels of all time! This book is also wonderful!

Monaghan does a beautiful job of combining what it is to be a mother, an individual person, and someone in a romantic relationship. Although I'm not a single mom, like the character in this book, I could still find lots of things to relate to.

And the relationship between the main characters is so sweet! I love Ethan. :)

Overall I highly recommend this book!

Annabel Monaghan has done it again!
This book had it all, the perfect amount of comedy and romance. A quirky, imperfect main character who I connected with on so many levels and a love story that's about beginning again.

When Ali Morris is finally able to take off her ring and begin her single life (one year after the fact), she meets a cute guy at the dog park. When his identity is revealed, things begin to get complicated. Ali's story of the complex layers of motherhood, of dating and of obstacles were so refreshing to read. This book gave me all the feels and will stick with me for a long time to come. There are so many bright points, detailed layered characters and the perfect amount of humor makes this book a MUST READ!

"Summer Romance" is the perfect rom-com, quick summer read!

She’s done it again. Annabel’s third book has put her on my favorite authors list, easily.

I love this book so much. As a married woman, with three kids, I relate to Ali in so many ways. It’s refreshing to read about a 30 something woman, who loves her kids but also loves a break, whose house is a mess because she’s always taking care of everyone else.

Ethan is adorable, a total cinnamon roll, who has been pining for Ali his whole life, completely unbeknownst to her.

I really loved this one.