SO good! I was hooked from the very beginning and was obsessed with Parker and Elle until the very end. It was flirty and fun and tons of butterflies, while also adding a lot of depth. And I love a billionaire ok? Sue me! Favorite romance I’ve read in a long time. 💘

thank you netgalley for an early copy of this one!!

surprisingly, i haven’t read a romance book like this in awhile that i’ve liked. but alex aster actually something with this one. it had me HOOKED. even the end i was like okay🎢. i usually have a cheesy radar coming up for these, but this was surprisingly so good.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow and Alex Aster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this. And was somewhat annoyed by Elle. And rolled my eyes at Parker often.

Elle was flawed and living a diminished life due to things from her childhood and advice from her mom. She also was relatable in feeling the need to prove herself and her self doubt.

Parker was extremely over the top and guarded but then also vulnerable and sweet.

The story has a twist on the famous billionaire and commoner. Predictable but I still liked

I honestly was interested in this because I thought the cover was really pretty and wanted to see how a YA fantasy author goes romance.. well it was not great. First, the main character, Elle, is the most insufferable person ever. She’s so obsessed with one thing her mother said that it controls her entire life. Like she cannot have anyone buy her anything ever.. I bet she’s a horrible friend going to do anything haha. There’s so many like things she’s okay with then BAM something else just really drew the line. Also the eighteen months apart.. are you kidding me? Parker my man, find someone better. There is no epilogue for a reason because if she wrote it it would be them breaking up AGAIN over something dumb because Elle would freak out about nothing.

Summer in the City is a story that brings together a billionaire bachelor and a struggling screenwriter in a tale that’s so charming! Set in NYC, the story feels cinematic 🎥 like you’re watching an early 2000s rom-com movie unfold with every page. The chemistry between the main characters is undeniable, with just the right amount of spice.

Elle, a screenwriter who’s hit a creative block, meets the infuriatingly handsome Parker, who seems to stir up nothing but disdain in her. However, it’s this very hatred that sparks her creativity, making their unlikely dynamic both amusing and deeply romantic. The fake dating trope is expertly executed and plenty of banter that will leave you swooning. I just love Parker! Elle drove me a little nuts, but her grief plays a part in her decisions. And by the end she has finally worked through the issues that were holding her back. I really hope this is made into a movie! I will definitely read anything this author writes. Already ordered a signed copy from B&N

🍎forced proximity
🏙️hate to love
☕️fake dating
🌶️🌶️ spice
💗 he falls first
🗽grumpy FMC/sunshine MMC
🎥 miscommunication

thank you to william morrow, bloomsbury, & netgalley for allowing me to read this arc! 💞🎞️🏙️🍕🗽🥰

5 / 5 STARS! 🌟

summer in the city by alex aster—oh how i love you! ♥️i had zero expectations going into this book, other than the fact that i hoped i enjoyed it because i love a good summer romance and a new york city backdrop to go with it. and it DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT!! i quite literally ate this book up. it was one of those stories that i didn’t want to end. 🫢

parker and elle were such a fun couple, and their chemistry was unmatched. it’s always genuinely exciting when you can feel the feelings of characters that are just words on paper, and that’s what happened here. i felt everything elle did, and i resonated with her. i feel like parker was the perfect partner, and he kept showing up for her!!! 😭❤️‍🩹 it was about the little things he did that made me swoon, like the lattes and scones (the cafe????). i just feel like he understood her before she realized that she’d been truly being herself, and that made their relationship so much more real.

i loved the setting!! 🚕🍎 i will eat up anything set in nyc every single time. i loved the specific locations they went to in the book for elle’s screenplay and the locations that played a big part in their love story in end.

i really have nothing bad to say about this book because i am quite literally obsessed. and that’s why it’s 5 STARS! 🌟💕🗽

and again, thank you to william morrow, bloomsbury, & netgalley for allowing me to read this arc! 💞🎞️🏙️🍕🗽🥰

4.5⭐️ Wow wow wow I just could not put this book down.

This was my first Alex Aster book and I loved it soooooooo much. From the moment I picked this book up I could not put it down. Literally all my fav tropes wrapped into one!

I loved the MMC who is a billionaire with a humble mentality. Like Parker Warren is a top tier book boyfriend.

I did love this book but what kept it from being a 5 star read for me is 1) references to pop culture - for me it makes the book feel temporary and not timeless & 2) a grumpy FMC who doesn’t want love - because I like to picture myself as the FMC and I just love love.

This was an advanced read copy I received through Netgalley so it’s not going to be officially published until March 25, 2025! But this is my honest review!

Add this book to your to read list, I promise you won’t regret it! & then let me know what you thought!

#books #bookstagram #booktok #bookrating #library #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecs#bookcommunity #booklovers #booksofinstagram #bookish #fivestarbooks #romancebook #kindlebooks
#kindleunlimited

Summer in the City is a delightful book by Alex Aster where Elle, a successful screenwriter, travels to NYC to housesit while finishing her latest screenplay that is giving her trouble. She runs into her neighbor, Parker, an extremely wealthy CEO of a tech company that tried to buy her company a few years prior. While she hates him, he doesn’t seem to remember who she is and is amused by her attitude towards him. Parker convinces her to act as his girlfriend for the press for the summer, and he will take her to the areas she is writing about in her screenplay. Elle agrees, as even though she hates him, she is able to successfully write after her run ins with him. But as their chemistry sizzles in the summer heat, will it fizzle as their contract ends or will this fake relationship turn real?

I loved this story and I couldn’t put it down! Parker and Elle had such fun chemistry. However, I felt the end of the book was too compressed and moved too quickly after drawing out their relationship in the beginning. Still would definitely recommend. 4.5 stars!

After loving this author’s fantasy “Lightlark” series I expected to love her romance debut book, but I unfortunately just didn’t.

The main character, Elle, was really unlikable to me and that’s a hard thing to get through when reading from their perspective. The love interest Parker was really sweet at times, but it was also difficult to appreciate him going out of his way for Elle when I wasn’t invested in their love connection. They met & immediately made out and that continues as the basis of him “instantly falling for her”. Just did not make me swoon at all.

The billionaire trope is never my favorite, but the way Elle “WOULD NEVER” date him solely because he was a billionaire felt v pick me. ~she’s not like other girls because she doesn’t want him for his money bc she hates money~. I agree with her best friend in the book saying she’s more obsessed with money than he is bc she’s SO against it. I get wanting to provide for yourself but dang.

Overall I just wasn’t bought into to the characters & their story, but I still love Alex Aster as a fantasy author and would give any book she writes a try :)
Thanks NetGalley & William Morrow Publishing for the ARC!

Thank you for an ARC of Summer in the City. I love Alex Aster’s fantasy books so I was excited to reach this romance book by her. Lets start by saying I love the setting of this book. Felt like I was in NYC. Love the characters and witty banter. If you want an nice laid back rom com I highly recommend this book!

Elle is in New York for the summer, a city she never wanted to return to. Extra bad luck who her neighbour is too. I liked how some of her past is revealed slowly throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

When I tell you I DEVOURED this book, I mean I stayed up all night to finish it! It feels like the perfect blend of happiness, struggle, character growth, comedy, etc.

I read this right after reading sky shade, and while I enjoyed her storytelling in sky shade, this book really felt so different, in the best way possible. I hope she will continue writing books in this genre.

This book follows Elle, a screenwriter with a past that impacts her ability to trust or depend on other people in her life. She has a bumpy first encounter with her love interest and it makes for such great banter throughout the book.

If you like romcoms, I can’t recommend this enough! It does have spice, but it’s easy enough to skip if you’re not into that! It doesn’t feel overly done, or that the book is dependent on it.

Summer in the City felt like stepping into a whirlwind of emotions, growth, and city magic. From the very first chapter, I was drawn to the protagonist's journey—it’s one of those stories where you can’t help but see parts of yourself in their struggles and triumphs. What I loved most was how authentic it felt. The highs and lows of chasing dreams, navigating friendships, and figuring out who you are hit close to home. The city setting wasn’t just a backdrop but almost like a character in itself, perfectly capturing the vibrant chaos and beauty of urban living. I really enjoyed this one

Received this as an E-arc. I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. I would give this around a 3.25-3.5. A fun little rom com perfect for the summer season.

I honestly would like to see more of this genre from Alex cause I think this might be her niche with her own bubbly personality.

Parker absolutely made this book. He was just so much fun. Elle on the other hand drove me nuts a little bit but it wasn't a deal breaker.

Alex's writing style in this book is a lot of fun and relatable. It just felt like a person talking to me rather than me reading a book. Her analogies and other descriptions were spot on. For example she described riding in a uber/taxi and it smelling like a sweaty sandwich...I felt that haha.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for this arc!

First time reading this author and I was really impressed. I felt like I was in NYC. Loved the story and hero so much.

3.5 ⭐️

I was really hopeful for this book because I have been wanting to give Alex Aster a try. I think the story had a lot of potential to be captivating but the overall story felt generic and similar to other romances I’ve read. I feel like nothing really happened in this book and there definitely could’ve been better plot points and character development between Parker and Elle.

This one wasn’t for me but I’m sure other will love it!

2.75 rounding up

"Life is complicated. Love isn't."

Ok so. The vibe? Immaculate. Parker is a golden retriever bf who happens to be rich as hell. Our FMC Elle is a woman who works hard, but lives in fear of being belittled so her work is anonymous. Oh and she also refuses to date anyone with money bc she doesn't want to be assumed as a nepo baby (essentially).

Elle annoyed me to near death. It seemed she would come to these big revelations then repeat the same previous behaviors. As a result she came across as a self-important, holier-than-thou type she accused Parker of being. Yes she has trauma, but the person it led to her becoming seemed unrealistic to me. That being said, she's snarky and a writer so I relate to her in that way.

My major problem here is the wonky structure. Especially considering a them of this book is the idea that screenplays follow a clear, three act structure. This book felt like an echocardiogram of someone with an arythmea. There were multiple "conflicts" designed to be climaxes but they weren't impactful enough to mean much or alter the storyline, and the resolutions were always incomplete. IMO this book could have ended cleanly at 85%. Instead we time jump two years (really 18 months according to the chapter heading but the characters keep saying 2 years) and the characters haven't really changed that much. Elle still is mad that Parker doesn't understand her but we find he has made a significant effort to grow and change when the only changing Elle has done is that she is no longer anonymous.

Obviously, I have some major problems with this book. But that being said I did still binge it and order a physical copy because I did enjoy the overall vibe and the setting which I appreciated took us to some less stereotypical NYC places.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Summer in the City by Alex Aster is about Elle, an anonymous screenwriter, who goes to house sit for her sister, and realizes the man she almost spent a night with and now hates, tech CEO and billionaire Parker, is her next door neighbor. But the two begin to fake date because he needs help with his PR and image.

The best part about this book was its descriptions of NYC. This book felt like a love letter to New York, and went into incredible detail about the city. It truly felt like as the reader, you were where the characters were at every moment.

This book fell for me in the characters a bit. I really enjoyed Parker’s character, but struggled to like Elle. I understand WHY Elle made all of the decisions she did, but that didn’t mean that I agreed with them or didn’t find them childish, and I struggled with her behavior throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this e-arc!

Alright this was literally perfection. Alex Aster can you please always write contemporary romance because you have the absolute skill and I will read literally anything you write. I was very happily surprised by this because I haven't read any of her books and this was just exceptionally. What I thought would be a cheesy typical billionaire romance was anything but. You get a snarky grudge holding comfy clothes wearing FMC and a kind, understanding and trying to make all of Elle's dreams come true MMC and it is perfect. Loved the opening and loved the time jump. Loved the pace of the book, their friendship built slowly overtime and not getting any real relationship until the last 50 pages usually would irritate me, but this was built just beautifully. I wish I could lose my memory and read this again and again. Definitely a one sitting read!

I really liked this book! This was such a fun romance and the enemies to lovers trope was very well executed.