I enjoyed this one, the chemistry between these two was strong, and I was rooting for them to get together. The time they spent together, getting to know one another and the talks they had were so important to building something stronger. Elle definitely had some big walls to break down, and they proved to be a stumbling block time and again. I felt like Parker dealt with these with patience, and while he didn't always understand them, he tried his best.

One I'd highly recommend reading, it was fun, funny, frustrating at time, but overall very enjoyable!

I wanted to love this so bad. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Summer in the City had me wanting to spend a summer in NYC, checking out the sites and immersing in that big city life. This story was a quick and easy read - a perfect summer romance for a trip to the beach.

This was such a fun romcom!

I loved both of these characters and found them and their romance to be so beautiful. I loved Alex Aster’s writing style throughout this book—especially as she usually writes fantasy, but I thought she did a beautiful job of getting into these characters’ minds. Plus—the chemistry was absolutely beautiful.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC Copy of this book!!

This was a good summer read! Elle’s characteristics made me laugh, and she was very relatable. I appreciate the different take on the common enemies to lovers, billionaire romance tropes. Having never been to NYC myself, this is how I imagined it would be.

i know a lot of people loved this one, but this was another miss for me. it was cute at times, but unfortunately, the end of the book lost me. the miscommunication and third act break up was a bit too much for me. i also wasn’t connected to the characters at all.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC. All thoughts are honest and my own.

This was my first book from this author and I loved it. The pacing in this book is great, along with the tension between Elle and Parker made it so hard to put this book down. I was really imagining being there in NYC and all the places they went to, felt like a movie was playing in my head. This book made me cry and get a little mad during certain scenes. It also made me giggle, blush and kick my feet.

The characters were written beautifully. The FMC definitely had flaws, but that’s what made this book so much more relatable. The MMC had his own problems as well. He was trying so hard to make her happy, in the only way he knew how by buying things for her. I am glad though that he learned that money can’t fix everything or make someone happy.

Read this if you like ⤵︎
✨ Enemies to Lovers
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Billionaire Romance
✨ Fake Dating

☀️ Book Review: Summer in the City by Alex Aster 🌆

If you’re craving a summer read that feels like a rom-com meets a social media spiral, Summer in the City is the perfect pick! Alex Aster serves up drama, laughs, and just the right touch of chaos as we follow influencer socialite anaheim through the most unpredictable summer of her life. Think parties, scandalous secrets, and a whole lot of plot twists you won’t see coming.

It’s fast-paced, juicy, and totally bingeable….like reality TV in book form. Perfect for a day at the pool or a weekend escape to the beach.

📚✨ Verdict: 5/5 for drama, fashion, and fun. A must-read for your hot girl summer TBR!

Oh my god I loved this. I stayed up way too late reading because I couldn’t put it down, which is not an experience I frequently have with rom-coms. I LOVED Parker. Elle had her moments, but overall (especially after the third act fiasco) I found her annoying and *wildly* undeserving of Parker. But I still somehow was obsessed with this!

I wish we got more of Elle’s screenwriting/scripts, as that would’ve been interesting to play off of her experiences in real time, and might’ve made me like her a bit more, ha. The way she holds grudges over things that are mostly her problem is truly something to behold (she needs therapy big time, and that was missing from her growth arc at the end, though she did seem to have done some personal work). She was kind of mean (ok, really mean) and troll-ish to Parker and I’m not sure why he liked her so much besides the fact that she was hot despite never exercising or eating well or wearing anything but old ass sweats. But I digress!

Parker was what dreams are made of. I had so much fun reading this, I just wish Elle had been a more palatable heroine.

A perfect summer romance!

4,5 rounded up because I just could not put this down!!!!

This book was just okay, nothing special. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never really did. The writing felt sloppy in places, like the author rushed through certain parts without polishing them up. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters - they all seemed pretty one-dimensional and predictable. The plot was fine I guess, but I saw most of the twists coming from a mile away. Some chapters dragged on forever while others felt way too short. It’s frustrating because you can tell there was a decent story buried in there somewhere. With better editing and more time spent developing the characters, this could’ve been really good instead of just meh.

I was really enjoying this book until I wasn’t. Parker deserves the world and Elle she deserves to go to hell. She was so hateful to him and I didn’t like that! I’m just so sad what a turn this book took.

Elle swore she would never return to the city that broke her heart. She finds herself in an apartment in NYC, she could never afford to write her screenplay that is set in NYC, and she's only there to gain some insight. She comes to find out that her neighbor is billionaire bachelor, Patrick Warren, whom she hooked up with in a stairwell two years prior. They are polar opposites, and she can't stand him, but Parker will stop at nothing in trying to impress her in the hopes she will stay in NYC a bit longer after the summer ends. He will help her with her screenplay by taking her to all these landmarks as long as she pretends to be his girlfriend all summer. Summer always comes to an end, and so will this pretend agreement, until it doesn't.

I don't know what I was expecting out of this book, but this wasn't it. Elle isn't the most perfect FMC. She has her flaws, but they made the book feel even more real. She is cynical and will protect herself and her heart from getting hurt. She is a bad ass though since she is very independent and will stop at nothing to get to where she is in life. Parker is absolutely ridiculous, but what billionaire isn't? He also carries a lot on his back. He is charming, loving, but is hiding a lot behind his money. He will eventually realize that money isn't everything and will not get you everything you want in life. I loved seeing their relationship develop on screen. It wasn't insta-love, but it wasn't a slow burn. The book wasn't long, and it made the pacing perfect.

I may be biased since I live in this wonderful city. I rated this book based purely on vibes. Was it perfect? Absolutely not, but there is something about a summer romance in NYC that had me absolutely hooked from the very first page. I actually took pictures of some new places to go to and try while I was reading this book.

Overall, this book is charming and just a lot of fun to read. It's a perfect summer romance, and I highly recommend it!

I liked this one but didn't love it. I felt like there was too much with Parker and Elle getting along and then a wrinkle appears. I think I would've enjoyed it more if it just took a little longer to get together and didn't have as much stuff trying to create tension.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect, fun summer book. I enjoyed it a lot!

Alex killed it with this romcom. To be honest, from watching her tiktoks i totally saw alex in the FMC

Alex Aster delivers a fun, fast-paced enemies-to-lovers story with just the right amount of emotional depth. I adored Elle as the slightly chaotic, ambitious screenwriter trying to navigate heartbreak, family drama, and her looming deadline. Parker, the broody tech billionaire next door, completely exceeded my expectations.

The fake-dating trope was done so well, and I loved the gradual unraveling of both characters as they let their walls down. The NYC setting added such a vibrant backdrop, it reminded me a lot of when I lived there. It was nice to see how accurate the representation was done.

I knocked off one star only because some of the pacing in the middle felt a little stretched, and I would’ve loved even more insight into Parker’s backstory. But overall, this is a fun, flirty, and heartfelt romance that left me smiling. Definitely recommend for fans of steamy rom-coms with a side of real emotion.

Cute read! So glad I got this one. If you love big cities and 90s rom com you’ll love this story. I’m so glad I was sent this and had such a blast with it

I'd like to thank Netgalley and William Morrow for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun, touching book. Perfect for a summer romance read. I loved the characters and especially Parker, who's love for Elle pulled at the heart strings. Loved this one!

This was a really cute book! I loved the characters and the setting, and was really vibing with it until the end. I thought there was too much crammed into the last handful of chapters and the third act breakup was so unnecessary in my opinion. Overall enjoyed and excited to read more from this author!

Have you ever read a book that is so pretty, gives you the biggest heart eyes on the shelf, but then is a bit lackluster on the inside? Well, that's exactly how I felt with Summer in the City. It had all the makings of being *the* book of the summer (as the title states) but it didn't quite reach its potential in a way that helps it stand out. It was all just alright and none of it was outstanding.