This was such a fun romcom set in NYC. Although I could have done with a little less breakups between the main characters I did root for them throughout and felt the chemistry between them was palpable from the page.

Thank you to William Morrow for an early review copy.

"Summer in the City" is Alex Aster's adult debut, and first foray into romcoms. Pitched as an enemies-to-lovers and fake dating story, this book follows Elle, an anonymous blockbuster screenwriter, as she reluctantly works on her next film set in NYC, the city she ran from two years prior. On the last night she spent in NYC, she ran into Parker, a billionaire tech owner, where sparks fly but the night ends in disaster. In true romcom fashion, Parker is Elle's next door neighbor and the two are intertwined by forced proximity. This reads more as a hate-to-lovers story and relied more on cliché romcom tropes, but Alex Aster excelled at the yearning between Parker and Elle.

This was my first Alex Aster book, and I unfortunately felt like the writing was a little too green as a result of the first person present tense. I'm open to seeing more of what Alex Aster can do in the contemporary romance sphere.

3.5 stars. This was a cute romantic read that went by pretty fast. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been to New York, but I was somewhat underwhelmed by the storyline. The MMC was too perfect and the FMC still had issues with him. I gave it an extra half star just for the Paris scenes

I thoroughly enjoyed Alex Aster’s rom-com debut! From start to finish, it captured all the elements of contemporary romance that I absolutely adore. The chemistry between the characters was undeniable, and the banter between them kept me smiling throughout. The setting felt fresh, making the story both engaging and heartwarming. It truly serves as a love letter to New York. I enjoyed reading about all the touristy places they visited.

What truly stood out to me was how well the author balanced the lighthearted moments with some emotional depth. While the overall tone was fun and charming, there were just enough moments of vulnerability that made the characters feel real and relatable. I also loved how the book explored themes of personal growth and the complexities of relationships, which added a nice layer to the typical rom-com formula.

Now, the unexpected curveball—wow, that threw me for a loop! At first, I wasn’t sure how it would fit into the story, but looking back, it actually enhanced the plot and made the resolution feel even more satisfying. It was one of those plot twists that could have easily derailed the flow, but instead, it added a surprising depth to the narrative without feeling out of place. It definitely took the story to a place I didn’t expect, but in the best possible way.

All in all, the book was cute, sweet, and packed with enough charm to make me fall in love with the characters. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m already looking forward to seeing what Alex Aster writes next!

A big thank you to William Morrow and HarperCollins Publishers for approving my ARC request for review consideration via NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own.

“𝙞 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚,”
“𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

summer in the city is alex asters debut romance novel. it follows elle, a screenwriter who has an run in with billionaire parker warren. what started as an intense, romantic encounter quickly crashed and burned the moment he opened his mouth. two years later elle moves back to the city to house sit for the summer - determined to focus on her new project that she has been struggling with. as she begins to settle in she discovers that her neighbor is no other than parker warren. her cautious optimism gone as a lovers-to-enemies situation begins.

alex asters writing style really drives this story. the pacing is fantastic, it wasn’t insta-love but also wasn’t unnecessarily drawn out to the point where i wanted to pull my hair out. the tension between elle and parker makes it so incredibly hard to put this book down. it’s very safe to say that alex aster can write the hell out of a romance book and i hope she releases more.

the way that the characters were written was so incredibly refreshing. the baggage that the fmc carried and her being able to face that baggage in conjunction with elle and parkers relationship was handled and paced so well. one of my pet peeves with romance books is when the characters are miraculously healed from their partners love because it just seems so incredibly unrealistic?? safe to say that not happening in this book was fantastic. the only thing that brought this rating down from a 5 star that elle just wasn’t super relatable to me which is okay because you can’t expect to relate to every single character you encounter.
↠ parkers character being a departure from the typical grumpy or controlling billionaire is one of the best things about this book. the absolute devotion and growth that he goes through in order to spoil and meet elles needs is honestly so dreamy???

as soon as i finished reading this book i went and pre-ordered a physical copy because this absolutely deserves a spot on my shelves. 🤭

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 🫶🏻

The first half of this story grabbed me right away and had me hooked. I loved the characters and the set up and found myself laughing and smiling at Elle’s internal thoughts.

It felt like I was experiencing New York City myself and I absolutely loved exploring with Elle and Parker. It was such a fun and sweet set up to their relationship and played out like a movie in my head.

But at around the halfway point I started to struggle with liking Elle’s character and with the multiple break ups. She was very hypocritical and unfairly took a lot of her personal issues out on Parker without really having the necessary character arc to make up for it. That mixed with too much conflict on Elle’s part made her difficult to like by the end - I’d have loved to see a little more affection and overall care for Parker from her instead.

First of thanks for the opportunity to be given an eARC.

I’m not normally a romance reader. I typically choose thrillers and lately fantasy fiction.

I have read lightlark and nightbane and they were okay. I really think that the author did a great job with this romance enemies to lovers book. I think romance could be her thing and should be continued.

I thought the storyline was cute and I was shipping Elle and Parker the whole time. I feel like romance books and movies are normally predictable but I don’t think that’s the point of the book to figure it out. It was the story itself that kept me entertained and I read it in a day and a half because I didn’t want to put it down.

There is spice in it towards the end. I felt it wasn’t bad for those who don’t care for it.


I enjoyed this book and might try other romance books thanks to this.

If you’re looking for a light, binge-able summer romance, Summer in the City will likely fit the bill. Screenwriter Elle and tech CEO Parker have an explosive first meeting that quickly goes wrong when he offends Elle, prompting a two-year grudge, but also some serious unresolved tension. When Elle moves back to the city to work on her latest screenplay, turns out Parker is her neighbor for the summer. How long can they avoid their obvious chemistry? Especially with forced proximity & fake dating in the mix.

This story was easy to read, and would be a good book to pack for a vacation because it doesn’t require a large mental investment. It is a billionaire romance, so readers will need to suspend their disbelief to fully lean into the story. I had difficulty connecting with Elle. Her personality is generally unlikable, and the author does her no favors by describing her in ways such as having a “Pilates body,” but also as someone who never exercises, and never wears makeup but is “gifted with ability to do near-perfect cat eye.” Elle is pretty insufferable and spends most of the book contradicting herself. The lack of depth and character development didn’t work for me, but it will certainly work for others looking for an easy summer romance to escape into.

Thank you @netgalley for the chance to read this cute romcom early. Summer in the city is a different book than the lightlark series but so fun to read. I loved how she made NYC a character and you can feel the love for the city. I enjoyed the book it was very sweet and touching. Loved the hate to love trope. Perfect for summer

4.5 stars but I am rounding up. This author normally writes fantasy so for a romance debut I really enjoyed this book. I was cracking up at some of the banter with the FMC and MMC. This was a really good bingeable book to me. The FMC at times drove me a little crazy and yet I still could not put this book down. I did enjoy the writing style but it is slightly different than other contemporary romance novels that I am used to. This author’s writing style is more straight to the point at times but still very sweet and enjoyable. All-in-all I loved this book. If you need a fun bingeable summer read, this is the book for you.

**Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the free eARC**

No spoilers. Read via Kindle -ARC from Netgalley.

I am so thankful and blessed, I was able to get this early. Although some things kind of annoyed me, I think it was meant to for the feels honestly. But since I rate off vibes only, it deserved the five stars as I truly enjoyed this from start to finish, I love the characters in this (even if at times some annoyed me —which I think was intentional), the storyline and adventures were so much fun. I felt like I was apart of the book going on all these adventures. It kept my attention and making me want to keep reading. I was kind of shocked how almost the ending was because like get it together and understand character, but I also can see how it needed to happen for character growth for the characters. I can’t wait for everyone else to read this!

Would I recommend? Yes, it’s a great debut contemporary romance and I hope to read more of them by Alex Aster!

Thank you to Netgalley, William Marrow, and of course Alex Aster for this Arc.

This is the definition of if he wanted to he would. I had no expectations going into this book as it is Alex Aster's first romance book. I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed reading it and have already recommended if you are into a rom-com troupe. I loved seeing the relationship between our two main characters. It was so fun and a fast read. I am looking forward to seeing what Alex will write next.

This was such a cute billionaire romance story! I fell in love with Parker and his ways of showing love. I however found myself irritated with Elle the FMC because of her relationship with money. She literally turned a marriage proposal down and ran away…. I understand why she was upset but I found it so immature that she didn’t even talk with him. Parker even immediately understood what he did wrong. I am happy Elle grew to understand herself better and how her relationship with money had significantly impacted her life negatively. I honestly didn’t know how this book was going to go since the author has only done YA and fantasy but the spice was perfect!! The romance/spice was NOT at ALL overwhelming or took away from the story itself. Since I couldn’t get over the way Elle handled a couple of things I’m giving this a 3.85. I didn’t hate this book at all! I thought it was very cute and definitely showed the purpose of growing and finding yourself but also coming back together better as people.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC💚this of my own opinion and no one else’s :)

Many thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for provided an advanced reader copy of Summer In The City by Alex Aster via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In *Summer in the City*, we follow Elle as she travels across the country to visit New York City, hoping to gain inspiration for her new screenplay. The kicker? She *loathes* New York. Full of awful memories and bad experiences (a stairwell incident with an obnoxious stranger), Elle quickly holes up in her apartment content on never leaving again, except to get coffee, of course.

But one night when a fire alarm forces Elle out of her comfort zone and into yet another New York City stairwell with, as luck would have it, the same obnoxious stranger, she enters into a fake dating scenario in exchange for help exploring the city for inspiration.

Signed up for one night of pure tortured, Elle does her best to push her loathing for said stranger, *Parker*, aside and get the job done. But wait. Does his button down shirt actually *really* do it for her? No! Of course not. She’s literally spent the last two years of her life hating him with a passion, let’s just keep focus here.

When one night of fake dating turns into a summer gig, Elle find herself wondering if Parker really is as bad as she’s thought him to be. Buying her millions of dollars worth of jewels because she smiled at them? Becoming owner of a coffee shop just so she could have her favorite table and pastry? Saving her from sleeping in the hallway while she’s locked out of her apartment after a night out and a little too much to drink? Is this all part of the “fake dating” scenario or is it becoming something more than either of them planned?

Sharing family secrets and bonding over past traumas, Elle’s one night of torture is about to turn into the summer she’ll never forget.

Providing the enemies to lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity, fake relationship, secret identity and found family tropes, Alex packs a lot into this contemporary romance. Plot twists and shockers from Elle’s past will leave you on the edge of your seat, while Parker’s thoughtful nature will have you swooning and pinning over this MMC.

*Summer in the City* is a must add to your summer TBR!

✨ARC REVIEW✨

I had zero expectations going into this but in the end, I thought this was really cute. Were there flaws and things I'd change? Yeah, but was it still a really wholesome, fun, and cute read? Definitely 💕

Elle is spending the summer in a place she hates - New York City. Why? To write the next blockbuster movie. Add her new neighbor to the mix, the rich tech guy she hooked up with 2 years ago who she actually kind of hates, wrap it up in a bow and bam! Summer in the City.

Fair warning. I'm going to say cute a lot because it was just that...cute. The plot was cute. The romance was cute. The characters were cute. The vibes were cute.

Elle had her quirks and she was definitely more the black cat kinda gal. Viewing things more pessimistically, she had a lot of figuring thing out to do. I liked her growth, I just wish it happened sooner. But realistically, what fun would it be if the characters are all perfect, right? With that said, I enjoyed her artsy side of how she wrote and I enjoyed her storyline. She was sarcastic and witty and I was here for it 👏🏼

Parker was a little bit of a "in his own world" billionaire. He means well and tries to do he right thing but he kind of goes about it the wrong way. He thinks money can solve all problems and that it's the answer to everything. But the girl he's starting to fall for feels the complete opposite. I commend him for trying so hard. I did really love his storyline. I do like that he showed growth BUT AGAIN, I wish it was sooner. He definitely had a "I will do anything for you" attitude and I kind of loved it 🤭

Overall, I found myself enjoying this and wanting to keep picking it up. I did feel like there was a lot of fluff that could have been thrown out BUT I'm not gonna harp on it. I felt like scenes felt longer because ever single thing they did was very detailed. When I thought the end of the book was coming, it definitely dragged on. But again, I still very much enjoyed it.

A tad cheesy and predictable but...CUTE 🥰

I'm rating this purely on vibes alone. I was vibing with it. If you're looking for something cute and quick and gives you all the NYC in the summer vibes, then definitely add this to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow & HarperCollins for the arc copy!

thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

the goods:
- I felt this was a quick read with quirky scenes that did make me laugh.
- I liked Elle and her development in the book. I do like how she was consistent in her beliefs overall and stood by them.
- I really felt like this was well done in terms of describing New York as a city, I really felt like I was in a lot of the scenes.
- the family dynamic subplot was extremely interesting and honestly I wish I saw a bit more of that.

The loss of a star:
- I just did not like Parker. I feel like he literally had no growth in the entire book, which doesn't bode well for a romance book.

Overall, if you're looking for a quick rom-com read, this is it, but I don't think this is a book where there is a lot of the depth in the relationship. So if you're looking for a deep relationship book, this isn't it.

With this being Alex Aster’s debut Romance novel, I was genuinely impressed!! I finished this in one sitting. The MMC had me swooning the entire time. It was giving nostalgic romcom vibes. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer!!

I absolutely loved everything about this book! It’s my first 5 star read of the year. This book is the perfect rom com. Summer in the City is my first Alex Aster book but I have fell in love with her writing style. This book needs to be on everyone’s summer TBR!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this amazing book!

I absolutely devoured this book in 24 hours. A rom-com that gives you all of the feels and keeps you hooked. Perfect read for the summer.

At first I wasn’t sucked in and the FMC was giving very much “I’m not like other girls” and then somehow at some point I could not put the book down I was addicted. I was obsessed with Parker the second Elle got back to NY and saw him in the elevator. I stg he’s like the perfect book bf. I’m actually giggling over him!! I loved having a writer main character because it was really cool to see her mind work like when she was looking at a location and immediately started envisioning tropes and meet cutes and the entire plot. Elle pissed me off again towards the end but other than that I loved this book so much it was so fun and entertaining and one more time in case you missed it: I love Parker 😭🤣