This was such a refreshing book- a cute summer read in the middle of the winter!

Ali is a newly divorced woman and recently have lost her mother- has just been muddling through everything for her lesser than caring husband and kids, and she’s not too sure what to do. Enter Ethan, her best friends brother who she runs into at the dog park! He throws her for a loop when he tells her he liked her when they were younger, and asks her out.

I really liked that the MCs were late 30s, I don’t see enough representation for this! I liked that Annabel wrote characters that were relatable - not glorified. Ali hasn’t worn real pants for years - who else can relate to that LOL!!!!

I would mention that there isn’t too much problem and resolution - it’s more of Ali working through her grief, finding herself and finally taking what she wants and making the life she wants for herself. Closed door scenes as well, and the side characters were hilarious.

Summer Romance releases June 4, 2024!
Special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed every moment of this swoony upcoming book by Annabel Monaghan. This book lived up to everything I loved about Nora Goes Off Script and then some. The characters were realistic and relatable and I wanted only good things for them. I was stalling on finishing the book because I didn’t want it to end! Definitely recommend adding this to your summer reading list- it would make a perfect beach read!

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC of this book.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I started this. It was slower than I was expecting, but in a prose-y kind of way, and I found myself falling in love with it. Both Ali and Ethan were so completely relatable to me that it actually made me hurt inside. All their fears, the pain they’ve lived through and deal with, the happy times… it was all so real. Gah, the way they fell in love was so perfect and I just want to sit here in these feelings and bask.

I couldn’t put this book down. Didn’t want to at all. Thankfully, there was bad weather that gave me the day to partake in the selfcare of getting lost in this book and doing nothing else. I want to read this again, and I want to live in this world for a long, long time. I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m not sure I’ll ever really move on.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my thoughts on this book! Ali is caught up in quite a few big life changes when she takes off her wedding ring and her dog claims a man at a dog park for her. I absolutely loved the layers to this story- Ali’s relationship with her mother, her relationship with Pete, her relationship with Phyllis. Gosh, each one of those brought up so many emotions in her and me as I was reading the book. I will definitely be recommending this book to my book-ish friends and reading more by Annabel Monaghan!

This book really hit home for me, I lost my mom at 22 in 2016. I never related to a book so much. It was well written and such a beautiful story about finding yourself and finding someone help bring you out of your darkness at such a time when everything was crumbling. I love this author and have all her books and already pre ordered this book before I even had this chance of reading it before release date. I can’t express enough how I will recommend this to other and write a review on Instagram. I love a strong lead women. This book was fun-tastic!

I enjoyed this book. The main character, Ali is relatable to anyone who has ever had to manage grief while also trying to wade through everyday life.

At times, I found the book to be predictable but I enjoyed the character development and backstory of Ethan.

Normally the trope of dating the best friend’s brother results in the friend being upset but I liked that the friend was supportive or not outwardly against it. I honestly thought the parents were going to come back from Florida and tell them that winning the lottery was a lie and really they decided to move to Florida to help move Frannie and Ethan along in their lives.

I felt the relationship between Phyllis and Ali could have been flushed out more at the beginning to emphasize the importance of Phyllis in Ali’s life.

Overall, a very enjoyable and feel good book. I think it is relatable to anyone managing their own grief, whether that’s the loss of a loved one or loss of a relationship.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to review this ARC!

I absolutely loved Annabel Monaghans newest romance. I felt like this was a combination of her last two books and it turned out even better. With great chemistry between the main characters and a realistic divorcee storyline, I felt this was a very real book. Could totally see it becoming a movie!

June 2024 Me is mad at January 2024 me for reading this now and knowing she won’t be able to read it and fall in love with it for the first time later on.

January 2024 Me is saying whoops oh well because it was the best and I’m soooo glad I didn’t wait any longer to read it.

Everything about it was perfect.

If you’re the type of person to scoff at perfection, fine, chew on this: golden boy is quite golden, it’s mentioned over and over, how “gold and golden” he is in every way except literally being called golden boy. Do we care? No. Because, like I said, everything about Summer Romance was perfection.

Banter, conflict, resolution. Check check and check.

I leave you with one piece of advice: don’t start this at 10pm you will stay up all night reading.

4.5 ⭐️ read. This is the 2nd book I have read by the author and I really enjoyed it as much as Nora Goes Off Script. There is a nice balance of humor and “the feels”. And, who wouldn’t love to have a summer romance! At first I felt Ali and Scooter took off a bit fast, though I appreciated how they had a prior history of knowing each other and that carried the Summer Romance through. Overall, a nice light book, perfect for a beach read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
The character growth (of every single character), the summer vibes, the relatable motherhood references - perfection. Not to mention the fact that this book was such an emotional roller coaster and explored divorce, grief, loss, change, growing up, relationships, motherhood, and dating.
I really enjoyed this book and it felt like a big warm hug.💕

Another wonderful book by Annabel Monaghan! She has the ability to write a fun rom-com while also leaving me with deeper questions to ponder about myself, which I appreciate as a psychologist. For Same Time Next Summer, I was left thinking about the role of fear and defenses in my life. With Summer Romance, I am thinking about the ways in which I have allowed life to silence my voice and what aspects of past versions of me I would like to reincorporate into who I am now. All of this wrapped in a sweet, easy-to-read story!

Summer Romance is a very relatable read for today’s busy wife and mother. It is about loss, love and the pursuit of a balanced life.

After losing her beloved mother and going through an inevitable divorce, Ali finds love in an unsuspected way during her “champagne summer.” Follow Ali as she navigates through the ebbs and flows of finding her person after enduring difficult hurdles that so many women face today.

I absolutely adored this book! I cannot wait to read more novels by Annabel Monaghan!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC. This book was so good. I loved it so much. It was so much more than a simple romance (although there was lots of that). It was a book about healing, grief, parentally love and finding yourself again. I loved Ali and her story was so well done. I haven’t read Nora Goes of Script or Same Time Next Summer but they are definitely going to the top of my TBR list. Perfect summer read. The release date for June is perfect.

I laughed. I swooned. I cried. This book made me FEEL the many facets of love our main character, Ali, has in her life. Summer Romance was a perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and GP Putnam for the ARC!

First of all, thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not going to lie, when I first started reading this, I was not feeling it. I just couldn’t connect with Ali at all. Usually I breeze right through Annabel’s books, but this took me some time. On the other hand, I ended up liking this book. Ali and Ethan are perfect for each other. I think romance lovers will love this. It’s a wonderful book for summer! Annabel always pulls her readers in! I usually don’t read about older divorced women, but Annabel keeps me interested. Although this wasn’t exactly for me, I will definitely recommend this book to others to try.

Sign of a great book? When you have to actively tell yourself to 'slow down', read less fast, and savor the story.

Summer Romance is the third book I've read by Annabel Monaghan (she's become an auto-read for me!) and it is by far the best yet (definitely check out Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer). While it is a 'romance,' (and Ethan is a dream!!) it is also what I would call a 'coming-of-middle-age' story. I think it will appeal to a lot of people - particularly women- in their 30's and 40's or 50's who might identify with the feeling of sort of losing a little bit of themselves - whether that is due to marriage or kids or work (or maybe all three). I know that I was really rooting for Ali as she figured out how to work herself out of her rut.

The premise of this book: Ali is a mom of three delightful kids (who, as sub-characters, are written with depth, which is something I also appreciated in Nora Goes Off Script). Her husband (self-obsessed) has asked her for a divorce. She realizes that she's not even sad bout it, which she acknowledges probably says a lot about what their marriage wasn't. As if that isn't enough, he asks her on the anniversary of her mother's death. She's also been dealing with a lack of motivation - to get dressed in anything but sweats, to clean her kitchen, etc. and is feeling stuck and lost. She misses her mother deeply.

At the encouragement of a friend, she finally puts on real pants and takes off her wedding ring. One trip to the dog park and a meet-cute later, she's met Ethan, a handsome, presumably single man who doesn't seem too fazed when Ali's dog pees on his shoe. Not your dream meet-cute, but definitely memorable!

I am confident that readers who enjoy contemporary romances will love the build-up of Ali and Ethan's relationship. But this book offers a lot more - it tackles grief, raising tweenagers, a crappy soon-to-be ex-husband, and finding oneself/self-care. I especially enjoyed how Ali developed a different perspective on her mother's advice as the book progressed.

What I loved most, though, is the voice that Summer Romance is written in. Ali is both our narrator and main character and she is very realistic, contemporary and hilarious! My cats gave me weird looks several times as I quite literally laughed out loud while reading it. The dialogue is brilliantly done - not too cheesy ( a turn off for me ) and just the right amount of humor.

This book earned 5 stars from me - which I have to say, is not easy to do!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the delightful opportunity to read an ARC of this book and provide my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Let me just start off with Nora goes off script was my favorite book by this author. I also read Same Time Next Year but it was not my favorite.

I decided to give the author another chance. Summer Romance was a quick, fun read. I liked the characters names Ali and Ethan. I enjoyed the dynamics and the storyline.

Annabel Monaghan is the queen of punchy summer romances! I've read and loved this author's previous releases, so I was very excited to pick this one up (and very appropriately titled, might I add). This was fun, flirty, and heartfelt. Literally the perfect poolside read for summer 2024!

The Details:
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Rom Com | Swoony | Mom Life

Quick Summary:
Ali is going through it - grieving her late mother, a divorce while juggling three kids, and an unorganized life as a career organizer. Then she meets Ethan at the dog park and thinks a summer fling is just what she needs.

My Take:
This is my third book by this author and might be my favorite (Nora Goes Off Script is a CLOSE second though). The characters are REAL. Ali is just so genuine and relatable. Ethan is SO sweet and funny. Even the side characters are developed and likable. The dialogue, the storyline, the kids, the DOGS. Would definitely recommend!

My rating: 4 stars!

This book was such a happy and loving story about life, love, death, marriage and identity! I finished reading with the biggest smile on my face.

It was a quick read that I couldn’t put down because I genuinely enjoyed every part of it!

Ethan is up there at the top of the 'best book boyfriends' list for sure!