** I was provided an e-arc via Netgalley & HarperCollins Publishing. Thank you thank you!!! 💗

This was my first book ever by Alex Aster, and let me just say, OBSESSED… Lightlark series has been a staple on my shelf for so long literally because the covers are gorgeous, and now I’m mad at myself that I haven’t read it yet. If Alex writes it, I must read it… 🫶🏼

Parker & Elle are beautiful together, but also as individuals. At first, I struggled a bit with their chemistry and honestly thought that it all felt a bit forced and quick. I wasn’t understanding the connections and felt like something was missing almost? However, I quickly changed my tune 🎵 (especially when he FLEW HER TO GO SEE HER SISTER AT THE LAST MINUTE???) & I’m so glad that I did.

Both Elle and Parker had their own internal struggles and neither of them realized how detrimental their ways of thinking were to their own success. The fact that they were able to grow with each other and find mutual respect is huge.

4.25/5 ⭐️
1.75/5 🌶️

Y’all are in for a real treat with this one😉
🍕☕️🥐

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

ALEXXXXXXXXXXXX! Come outside. I just want to talk….seriously. I promise blueberry scones and a latte. It’s not often a book makes me wish I could go to the spaces and places that I’m not the biggest fan of, but Alex did just that. I grew up going to New York and the splendor has worn off, but this made me want to go visit. To go get lost in the city and fall in love with it again. It did the same with Paris. I have been to Paris once and forget it exists. This made me want to see what Parker and Elle saw in it. I wanted to love those cities the way they did.

I absolutely loved this. I have been looking for a steamy rom-com and Alex delivered. I fell in love with Parker and Elle from the very beginning. I related to Elle and her desire to want to achieve things for herself and being independent. I’m also a homebody. But watching her journey throughout this book was everything. I fell in love with this. It was perfect. I loved their push and pull. I loved how they tried to figure each other out. I even understood that third act breakup. But it made the ending that much sweeter.

This book may have been her love letter to New York, but it will become one of my favorite love letters to the romance genre. It was wholesome, fun, steamy, and I couldn’t get enough. I can’t tell you enough to read this one. You’ll want too!

Absolutely loved this book! This is my first book by Alex and she did not disappoint! I love the enemies to lovers trope and watching these characters develop their relationship while visiting places in New York was a great time!

Elle and Parker spend the summer in New York City!

Screenwriter Elle Leon had sworn to never go back to New York City but she’s signed a contract to write a movie where most of the movie is set in New York City and staying at her sister’s under renovation apartment might shake loose her writer’s block because her next script is due at the end of summer.

Elle never expected to find out that her next door neighbor was tech billionaire Parker Warren who she had an encounter with the last time she was in New York City because she had used her anger at Parker to fuel her writing. But she has no social media presence and Parker is on the cover of every magazine and he wants to fake date because he needs good press while he sells his company.

I loved the enemies–to-lovers relationship between Elle and Parker and how they rediscover New York City together checking out all of the places she needs to write about.

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

This book was adorable! I really enjoyed Alex Aster’s Lightlark series, and I jumped at the chance to read her first adult novel.

The story focuses on Elle, a screenwriter, and Parker, a tech mogul. After a disappointing chance meeting several years ago, their paths have crossed again after Elle discovers that Parker is her new neighbor. She has agreed to watch her sister’s apartment for the summer while it is being renovated, while also giving her a place to work on her latest screenplay.

Parker needs a date for an upcoming charity event, and after that night he and Elle reach an agreement to be each other’s date for the summer—but no longer.

The book follows the summer in their lives in New York City as well as the dates they go on. This book was unique as it did reverse the grumpy x sunshine trope a bit. Parker is a fantastic character and any fan of contemporary romance novels will love him.

The character of this book that really shines is New York City itself. It is clear that Aster loves the city very much and took great efforts to have the city presented as a character all its’ own.

Overall, a great romance that I really enjoyed and a great first adult novel from Alex.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Alex Aster is a new-to-me author, but after Summer in the City, I know this won’t be my last read from her!

This is the billionaire romance I’ve been waiting for!! Sorry to all my billionaire romance lovers, but most of the time, they just don’t work for me—it often feels like the hero is buying the heroine’s love, which makes the whole thing feel cheap. But Parker? He’s different. Yes, he’s rich, but Elle literally couldn’t care less—and I adored that about her. In fact, she’s the type to get genuinely annoyed when he tries to impress her with his wealth, given her complicated relationship with money.

Elle was such a standout character for me. She’s flawed, messy, and stubborn in a way that makes her feel so real. Some readers might find her frustrating, but I absolutely loved her. She stands her ground and sticks by her beliefs all the way through, which made me admire her even more. Plus, I was so jealous of her screenwriting job—I find that whole world fascinating, and it made for such a fun backdrop to the story.

And then there’s Parker. Their lovers-to-enemies-to-fake-dating dynamic was everything. I loved that he had his own issues to work through and that his summer with Elle gave him the space to do it. Their NYC adventures were so fun and vivid, making the city feel like its own character. Walking from one end of Manhattan to the other? Iconic. I’ve wanted to do that ever since I saw Abbi and Ilana do it in Broad City.

Add in some fake dating, forced proximity, and a few second chances, and you’ve got the perfect spring/summer read.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC!
I really enjoyed the premise and relationship of this story, but could not vibe with the characters themselves as individuals. They just weren’t my type of people, but I think they were fantastic together.
It was super fast paced, and easy to read, and I really enjoyed the writing style.
The last like third of the book was the worst though, I enjoyed Parker more toward the end for his actions, but Elle made me mad.
Overall, the book was good, I just wish I could vibe with the main characters more.

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.