Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and Alex Aster for the ARC of Summer in the City!

I was invested from beginning to end and I laughed out loud throughout! Parker Warren is one of my new favorite book boyfriends. Protect him at all costs. He is too good for this world.

I also loved all of the iconic NYC locations and references. I just took a trip there and it was so fun to read about all the places I’ve been and have them set in a romcom!

This book would be perfect for you if you love 2000s romcoms, billionaire romances, fake dating, or all of the above❤️😊

Summer in the City, by Alex Aster, is a fun, easy-breezy rom com set in NYC during the summer time. It’s a billionaire, enemies to lovers, steamy romance with witty banter and a slow-burn build-up after an initial strong attraction. This story is atmospheric, humorous, easily engaging and utterly entertaining. You’ll definitely want to add this to your summer TBR!

** I received a free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I think my 2.5 stars is based on:
- the fact like I found the FMC AND the MMC super unlikeable
- I despise large time jumps and this book starts with a 2 year jump and then there’s another 2 year jump at the end.

The MMC seems to have more money than God and thinks that he can just buy his way into people’s lives and can fix problems by throwing money at them. Big turnoff and not attractive at all, at least to me.

The FMC had some personal growth which I could appreciate, but overall I just found her unlikeable.

10/10 yessssss ☀️🏙️
This was my FIRST Alex Aster read so I didn’t know what to expect and OMG I loved it so much!! It was so fun and cute and just an overall great romance!

She wasn’t kidding when she said it had all the tropes but she did it in such a great way! The tension and slow burn was so worth it! And let me just say I LOVE a billionaire love interest!
Thank you so much Net Galley & William Morrow for sending me this digital arc!! 💕🫶🏼☀️

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
This was everything I needed. It was cute, spicy, there was great banter and I loved every second of it! I will say is the cliche of Billionaire CEO/ fake boyfriend extremely overdone? Yes but this book did these two cliches in a way that had me giggling and kicking my feet the whole time🤭

She does it again!! Alex Aster is the queen of banter and tension. This romcom debut is a true testament to her skill, as I found myself yet again head over heels for another of her MMC’s. (Are we even surprised anymore??) Like all of her books, this one hooked me from the start and I flew through it in no time. I found myself giggling the entire time and I loved all the NYC adventures in this book and the girlhood/friendships that developed. The end definitely felt rushed and info dumpy but overall I had a great time!

ARC Review ✨️

💞Romance for the win💞

The first book I read by Alex was a YA story called Curse of the Night Witch, and I loved it! Then I, of course, read the Lightlark saga and was obsessed, so naturally, I had to grab a copy of this and safe to say Alex is definitely talented at all genres she writes. This rom-com was amazing, and I highly loved every single aspect!

With me being obsessed and loving NYC, I was so stoked that the book takes place there! I'm only about 2 hours away from the city, so it was so nice reading a book that has a setting I'm familiar with! The characters were refreshing, and the story of them was so fun! I kind of really enjoyed the back and forth between enemies to lovers. It was cute! 💞😍

Tropes:
💞Billionaire romance
✨️Single pov
💞Fake dating
✨️neighbors for the summer

Thanks so much to the author, publisher William Morrow, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Summer in the City is a perfect summer rom-com! It is easily predictable, but all the details Alex Aster puts into it makes it’s incredibly enjoyable. This is the first book I finished in one sitting in a very long time!

This was the perfect summer romance read!! I absolutely cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands!

This one was truly such a fun ride. It made me feel like I was experiencing New York City alongside Elle and Parker.

Their backstories, their arcs, their relationship growth, it was all so wonderful. I cannot recommend this book enough for a fun summer read.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alex Aster for allowing me the opportunity to read this book an as ARC.

I gave this book 3.5-5 stars overall. The story was easy to follow, had enemies to lovers aspect, slow burn, and an overall fun rom-com adventure. Parker was a fun character to follow and see him soften for Elle as the story progressed. I had a hard time relating to Elle, although once understanding her back story understood her rationals, and thought that she held onto things and embellished a little much. I think the two year gap that Parker waited for Elle to return was a little unrealistic after how she had exited previously. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it would have followed them both together after he proposed in NYC. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would love to participate in future ARCs.

It was a little hard to get into for me. It was a lot of back and forth with the characters and didn't feel connected with most of the characters, especially E. I wish she developed a little more with her personality- more like an annoying best friend vibe. I liked the writing style. Would read another by her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. At the beginning I was very annoyed with the FMC because it seemed very unrealistic for someone to hate someone so much for 2 years after one bad encounter with them. Once I was about 25% through, I started to really enjoy this book. Although, the ending did feel a bit rushed to me.

**Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for this arc!**
🗽🌃🥯🚕☕️✨
Summer in the City is a solid 4/5 star read for me! Thank God for Alex Aster’s debut into contemporary romance. From the beginning, I was hooked: set in NYC, enemies to lovers, fake dating, fast-paced plot, and many more little tropes within. I LOVED Aster’s writing when describing NYC (and other locations I won’t spoil). It was extremely easy for me to picture these places and the “magic” of these moments in my mind–It felt like I was there. I loved this rom-com. It was perfect for the city summer romance vibe that many readers crave.

→ Elle
Elle is our FMC and the POV that we are in during the book. I loved her career as a screenwriter, her backstory with her family, and all of her little interests like coffee and reading. I had a great time in her POV… until like 85% of the way through the book. Like girl?? That seems like a bit of reach. However, Aster does a great way of making it well-rounded at the end.

→ Parker
Parker, our MMC, was a thrill. He was fun, charming, and hilarious, but still had a great amount of depth. I really enjoyed his consistent vulnerability and transparency with Elle throughout the book. He was so down bad for her. Overall: great MMC, no complaints (... okay maybe one?? When he looks at her, drops his phone, and “shatters into pieces.” I’m not going to elaborate any more on that LMAO).

→ Fav Quotes
“Do all books have maps?” he asks.
“No,” I say. “Only the best ones.”

“Nothing in life is endless.”
“Love is, Elle,” he says.
I laugh. “And what do you know about love?”
“Now?” he says. “Everything.”

“Life might be complicated, but love isn’t. It’s pretty straightforward. It’s a lance through plans, and morals, and pride. It cuts right through everything. It doesn’t care about the mess it makes. It hurts, and we let it.”

This was such a fun read! I finished it in one sitting and I had a great time with these characters & this story! It was what you'd expect for a contemporary rom-com book, complete with billionaire and all, but that's exactly why I loved it. I knew exactly the type of book I was getting into and what kind of storyline to expect! I related to the FMC, Elle, more than I would probably admit out loud, lol. The MMC, Parker, was just perfect and I wouldn't mind one of my own Parkers if we're being honest.

If you like
- Billionaire romance
- Fake dating
- Grumpy/Grudge Holding FMC
- NYC (lol)

Then this is definitely a book you should pick up when it comes out on March 25th!

As always, big big thank you to Net Galley & William Morrow for the opportunity to read this book early!

I wanted to read this because I love New York. This book does not disappoint in its depictions of the city. I loved journeying through pizza, tourist attractions, and events with the characters.

Otherwise this was a cute romance with a puppy dog MMC and a slightly grumpy but most just traumatized FMC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

It was such a cute summer rom-com. I enjoyed the story and how easy it was to connect with the characters.
Elle and Parker ended up being neighbors for the summer and decided to start a fake relationship that only supposed to last until the end of the summer. The story took place in New York and it added a charm of big city, characters visit a lot of different locations. While Elle is trying to overcome her writers block, Parker is enjoying the free time he has during the summer before he takes a new step in his career.
I recommend to read Summer in the City especially if you like rom-com, something light and quick to read.

I feel like this really deserves 3.5 stars instead of a solid 3 for a few reasons. The story revolves around Elle, who has begrudgingly returned to NYC to write a screenplay based in the city. Her last night in the city two years prior left her with an intense hatred for tech billionaire Parker Warren who she has now discovered is her new neighbor. They agree on mutually beneficial fake dating relationship just for the summer but nothing is ever that easy right?

Things I really enjoyed:

I like the premise of the story in general: a summer exploring NYC in order to write a screenplay based on said city while falling in love and finding yourself.

Parker was the stand out character for me! His character had depth, a good backstory, and appropriate character arc. I was happy that he wasn’t written as a jerky billionaire who needed to be humbled. He genuinely has been figuring out how to navigate this new world of wealth and fame.

I also really love a good enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating situation as well.

The things I did not enjoy:

Elle was a major negative to me. She was insufferable the entire book and I could not relate to her at all. The intense hatred she had, and harbored for two years, for a man she spent 5 minutes with was annoying and drawn out. Even worse, she continued to be a total jerk after he apologized and more than made up for it with his actions. I don’t feel like she really had the level of growth she needed in the end.

I enjoy Alex’s writing but the beginning of the story and ending felt super rushed and clumsy while the middle dragged on. This was a surprise as I thoroughly enjoy her other works and the pacing and writing.

Overall I really enjoyed the story and was happy with the ending. I read it in two days so it was an easy read and kept me interested. I look forward to seeing if Alex continues in the modern romance space as well!

Summer in the City reminded me of classic chick-lit books I used to read and love 10-15 years ago. It has a little bit of everything: a personal growth journey, family drama, and, most importantly, a swoony romance, all set in my favorite city! Elle is a relatable heroine, a homebody who would rather stay home in her PJs writing scripts than go out. Parker is a tech billionaire and one of the most eligible bachelors.

Elle and Parker had great chemistry, and their banter was entertaining. The central conflict was about money and the relationship each of them had with it. As a billionaire, Parker was a little obnoxious, trying to impress Elle with expensive, over-the-top gestures. But Elle always put him in place, letting him know she wasn't impressed by money. Parker did learn his lesson by the end of the book. Elle had hang-ups about money rooted in her childhood that she needed to overcome for her relationship with Parker to work. Both Elle and Parker had satisfying character growth throughout the book. Their HEA was well-deserved. I thoroughly enjoyed Summer in the City and recommend it to all romance fans.

Summer in the city feels like a fun-filled weekend in NYC. It's gone too fast and so much fun! I adore how Aster put her love of the city into this book. At times I felt like we got nuggets of herself in here, some of the themes feeling so real and personal. I loved that about it! Elle is an anonymous screen writer working out of her shell over the summer in NYC. Enter Preston, a seemingly grumpy tech-guru who is actually such a golden retreivor and wants to anything and everything for Elle. What a sweet love story that reads like a 2000s rom-com!

4 Stars! Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the eARC!