I surprisingly loved Parker and Elle's love story. It was very sweet and boy was it a slow burn. This fake dating romance will have you giggling and blushing.

My main complaint is that she doesn't eat veggies because why?

thank you netgalley for my ebook arc!

I could not put this book down! I gobbled it up in 2 sittings. In a time where real life billionaires are losing popularity left and right, Parker is a billionaire you can certainly root for! This is pure escapism in the best way possible, a love story not just between Parker and Elle, but a love letter to summer in NYC.

Right up front I found the prologue a bit unpolished or overblown compared to the rest of the book. Because of that, I had a hard time understanding why Elle got so mad at Parker and held this grudge for so long. It was a common theme throughout the book. He would do something flashy to show how he felt about her and she would freak out, take it negatively and flee. I wished she would have had some more personal growth because it felt like he adjusted so much to be with her.

Read if you like an enemies to lovers, fake dating, billionaire romance. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 3/25

3.75 stars

This is a very character-reliant book, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it did cause me to read this super slow as I wasn't motivated to get through it with nothing happening. I did enjoy this book, and I enjoyed the characters most of the time, but it felt like the same problems kept being re-used throughout the story. Although, the relationship pacing in the beginning of the book was great and I loved their interactions. The ending kind of took my rating down a TON, but it did make sense in the context. This was a solid novel that had a bit more character development and relationship growth than others in the genre.

I stayed up way too late finishing this book. The nightclub meet cute HOOKED me and I could not put this book down. Elle and Parker have incredible chemistry from the jump, and Alex is really good at crafting it in both dialogue and interactions. This is a true enemies to fake-dating to lovers vibe that will keep you on your toes, with lots of fun twists and surprises. The pacing is perfection, and you can see their growth as friends and eventually lovers in a believable way.

I took away one star, because I didn’t love the multiple third act breakups. However, still an amazing read that I will recommend to everyone!

Summer Fling Romance that gives you all the best 2000s RomCom feels! I loved the homage to New York City even though I've never been but it feels like I have now! This was a fun read and the writing style is fast paced. Elle isn't my favorite FMC because like how could you find anything wrong with Parker?? He is what all billionaire boyfriends should be like! All in all, cutesy summer romcom book that has mee dreaming of flowers and summer nights!

A sweet read! I only wished we could have had Parker's POV. It was a fun friend to enemies story based in New York! These two, Parker and Elle had wonderful chemistry with each other! Add in some fun side characters and you have a great story! I wish it wouldn't have taken them so long to find each other again but I loved how both stayed faithful to each other and were miserable without each other! This was my first book by this author and it definitely won't be the last!

I devoured this book in two days…I loved it! This book was very well written and kept me wanting more. It is the perfect summer romance. It was so much fun getting to explore New York City along Elle and Parker!

I really liked Elle she was very relatable. Her mom raised her to be very independent and to not rely on anyone else for her success. When she starts catching feelings she doesn’t believe she can be loved back. Parker just wants to make her happy despite her “hating” him. He remembers all of her favorite things and knows how she is feeling by just looking at her. He is also very smart and a fancy CEO. This man is perfection!

I also absolutely loved her friend Penelope. I always love a good romance but seeing their relationship as best friends was really nice and some of their conversations had me giggling 🤭

Thank you so much NetGalley, William Morrow Books, and Alex for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Summer in the city is a fun, sexy enemies to lovers romance set in New York City. Elle is house sitting for her sister and working on her next big screenplay after a long bout of writers' block. When she runs into her new neighbor, Parker Warren, the tech CEO she remembers their first meeting which did not go well at all. Despite their animosity the two decide to team up, Parker gets a fake girlfriend and Elle gets someone to show her all the iconic New York places that will be featured in her script.
This was a lot of fun and I loved that Elle and Parker had similar background with their parents which made it easier for them to connect.

Summer in the City is a fantastic read. Ellie and Parker had great chemistry. It was fun reading. Their fake dating arrangement was also entertaining, It was an easy-to-follow storyline. The pacing of the story worked well. There is nothing I didn't like about this book. It was the perfect rom-com.

I don’t know when I’m going to emotionally recover from this, which is not something I expected to say about a book titled “Summer in the City” that I decided to read solely based on the cute special edition vibes.

Alex Aster turns the concept of the billionaire romance on its head in this fun, joyful, meaningful rom-com. I love that one of the central themes of the book is how much Elle is immune to Parker’s grand gestures based in obscene wealth. But also it’s a little adorable that Parker is the very definition of down bad and cannot help but throw money around to try and to make her happy because he doesn’t know any other way.

In between, there are quiet moments, and reflections on loss, friendship, wealth, and a woman’s independence. And wrapped up in it all is a truly charming love story.

10/10 will recommend again and again. A triumph for Alex Aster’s debut into the world of adult romance.

Thank you to William Morrow and HarperCollins for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you William Morrow Books for providing me an ARC for this book.
I really enjoyed this book, it was such a fun and easy read, and I couldn’t put it down. This is such a perfect book for the summer, and a great way to do a summer fling but set in the city. This book was a love letter to NYC, and it makes me want to visit some of the spots listed in this book. It was great to see Elle’s growth throughout the book and how she pushed herself out of her comfort zone. I do wish Parker was a little more fleshed out, it wasn’t super clear how he became the way he is, or why he does the things he does (outside of wanting to make Elle happy). All in all, this was a feel-good book, and a great option for those who want to read something more lighthearted.

Summer

Thank you to the William Morrow Books team, Alex Aster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of “Summer in the City”.

This was a fun, quick read that I enjoyed reading. While I have never visited New York City, this book was so clearly a love letter to the city and made me yearn to one day visit all of the places and restaurants that Elle and Warren visited during their summer together. I loved the description of their adventures and how it was depicted as a slice of life in the perfect day spent in the city. I am highly considering buying one of the special editions of the book once it is released just to have a copy of the map that is featured in the book, and given that all the best books have maps, the one for their Parker and Elle’s adventures is a must have.

I really enjoyed Parker’s character; he was a wonderful MMC and I loved how much he openly yearned for Elle and would crawl on his hands and knees across the country to get to her if needed. I didn’t totally love Elle, however. I felt as though she frequently made his money a problem, and while sometimes justified given he is a billionaire, I felt as though he did not deserve the lashing out she gave him. I did not like her character at multiple times throughout the book because of the way she acted or treated Parker.

Sometimes, the writing style was a bit jarring for me, as there are a lot of jagged, short sentences that were hard for me to follow along with at times.

All in all, this was a cute summer romance that many people may enjoy. If you love stories set in the summer, adventures in a big city, and an MMC who has book boyfriend potential, you may just enjoy this one.

Thank you again William Morrow Books for the chance to read this one early!

4 Stars

Summer in the City felt reminiscent of a really good 2000’s RomCom and/or the types of books I was reading in 2013-2016 where the MMC was of course a billionaire and obsessed at first sight IYKYK. If you’re part of the, “bring back yearning & pining” side of the internet then I think you will love! It’s also set in NYC and that felt like a character all on its own.

All in all, I really enjoyed it. I probably would have rated it higher but Elle sort of drove me crazy? The girl was super hot or cold &
indecisive! Otherwise though it was a really fun read and as a bonus the cover is also very cute.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Summer in the City in exchange for an honest review.

This was a billionaire romance done right!

First of all, the setting and season were a delight. They traipsed all over some iconic NYC neighborhoods and sites for Elle’s script. The imagery was excellent and even though I’ve been there several times this just made me want to go back!

Parker was so sweet and actually listened to Elle and her concerns. We He was patient, romantic and was actually a good person. Elle was only okay in comparison haha. She got on my nerves with how she was treating Parker. She had so many internal issues and guilt over money due to her history with her parents and she took it all out on him. The way she hated on him for doing grand gestures, but they were always so thoughtful! But she did eventually do some serious reflection and grew up a ton!

The ending worried me, especially with the pretty significant time jump but they made it work and they got the HEA!

This was my first read by Alex Aster and I loved it! I want to go and try her other fantasy novels now since I enjoyed her writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet and simple love story—though it definitely packed in more than a few breakup moments along the way!

I absolutely loved that it was set in the heart of New York City. The backdrop was gorgeous, and every little adventure our couple took felt like a scene straight out of a romantic movie. Speaking of movies, the story itself read more like a screenplay than a novel, which actually made sense given the FMC’s love for screenwriting. But I did miss some of that extra fluff and depth you usually get in books versus films. Also, there were a few spots where time jumped suddenly—one sentence would end, and the next would start with, Three weeks have passed. A well-placed page break would’ve helped the flow a lot!

Now, let’s talk about the FMC. She drove me absolutely insane with her obsessive hatred of the MMC and his money. It felt so unhealthy—girl, therapy exists! And while we’re at it, her mom could use a few sessions too. Meanwhile, the MMC just stood there, unfazed, like he wasn’t constantly getting hit with a wave of resentment. Sir, blink twice if you need help.

Despite my frustrations, there were plenty of moments that had me giggling, kicking my feet, and swooning like any good romance should. Overall, this was a sweet, easy read. I could tell the author was trying out a new style, and while there’s room for growth, it was definitely worth the read!

“𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. “𝑨 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓.”

Alex Aster sooo hiii just passing by to say to please keep writing contemporary romance because you killed it with this book!!! 😭❤️ I not only fell in love with your characters, but also fell HARD in love with New York City all over again. 🏙️✨ The entire time I was reading this, I was laughing, kicking my feet, and basically screaming at the pages with everything that was happening. 😂💖 I enjoyed it so freaking much!!

This story is about Parker, a billionaire who doesn’t have a care in the world 💸 and Elle, a successful screenwriter who has writer's block 😅 and is shipped off to the city she escaped from, a city that also contains the person she loathes the most... Parker 😭 HAHAHA and life being the funny thing that it is, her new place just so happens to have him as a neighbor. AAAAAAH 😆 The worst part of it all? He doesn’t even remember her!!! 😭🤣 Gotta love those rom-com vibes.

The emotional turmoil that the author created for the reader throughout this relationship was honestly delicious 👏🥲 The slow burn, the whole "I hate you but you're helping me so I guess i'll help you too" to turning into something more had me kicking my feet SO MANY TIMES 💕 The little gestures (and the big ones too 😭) had me melting and swooning. This was a billionaire romance and boy did it deliver. 🥵

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮. 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨, “𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚,” 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.

𝙄 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧. “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.” 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. “𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.” “𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩.”

Elle ➸
She was so freaking relatable. There were so many times I was like "yup... been there, done that" 😅 and it made me connect with her instantly. She had her flaws, sure, but honestly, it was those flaws that made the book feel so raw and real. I love when romance books aren't just falalala happily ever after, but actually show the struggles and emotions that come with love. 💔❤️‍🔥

𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠, 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙏𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧.

Parker ➸
Now PARKER??? OMG. This man was like an onion.. he had layers upon layers. He was charming, loving, and honestly hilarious, but you could tell he was also carrying a lot 😭 He knows he has money and isn't afraid to spend it 💸, but the way he slowly learns that money can't fix everything was so beautiful to read. Seeing his growth and his heart throughout the story made me fall for him so hard 🥹❤️

“𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙚,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨. “𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

If you love a happily ever after but with bumps along the way, where those bumps are HUGE miscommunication moments 🙃 and you also love falling in love not only with the characters but the setting, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU 🥰📖 I’m seriously obsessed and will be thinking about it for a long time. 🥹✨

tropes
💖 billionaire romance
💖 fake dating
💖 miscommunication
💖 single POV
💖 hate to love
💖 neighbors for the summer

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 & 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

This book was delightful, charming, playful, and absolutely hilarious. The main character, Elle, had me laughing out loud with her witty inner monologue. She was a strong, independent, and self-aware protagonist, which I adore. The male lead was irresistibly swoon-worthy, and I found him utterly adorable! I just wish we could have explored his character a bit more. Their chemistry was fantastic, and the development of their relationship was spot on! Given the book's shorter length, I was concerned it might feel like instant love, but it didn't come across that way at all. There was a lovely slow burn that was just perfect. The pacing was excellent, and I found it hard to put down. It was such a fun read!

Thank you William Morrow for the advanced copy of Summer in the City by Alex Aster.

In this book, we follow Elle and Parker- the two strike up a dually beneficial deal to fake date, but only for the summer. Parker needs someone to spend his last free summer with and Elle needs a muse for her upcoming screenplay, whether the muse is a guy she met for a heated moment in a crowded club and then proceeded to insult her or not. Through their reluctant bargain, the two get into sweet adventures and comical situations throughout NYC. I really loved that this romance was fun and set in New York!

My favorite thing about this book was Parker's banter to Elle. And the commentary on being an out of touch billionaire. Parker made the book interesting for me since my biggest issue from the book was Elle's character. She seemed to be a jumble of quirks the author randomly thought of, which made her come off as a plain Jane character for me. I didn't feel Elle's character elicited emotion or care from me as a lot of her backstory just read like brain dump.

Overall, this was a easy and cute romance perfect for light reading.

I loved reading Summer in the City! At first, Elle made me frustrated when she and Parker were clearly in love, but she pushed him away time and time again because of her hangups about money/privilege. Some of that is definitely understandable due to her family situation and upbringing, but it was hard to watch Parker try so hard to make her happy, learn from his mistakes and try to do better, only to get shoved away and shut out by Elle. But I will say that the last 10% of the book redeemed itself for me in this regard, Elle was finally able to face her past trauma and build a lasting relationship with Parker. I would love to read another contemporary romance from Alex Aster, hopefully she will continue writing in this genre!

This is an enemies to lovers tale between a billionaire MMC and a black cat FMC who has a secret identity as a screenwriter. He can’t trust women want him for anything other than his money and she hates him, so of course they agree to fake date for the summer. There’s a bit of tension when feelings rise and the way his feelings for her are displayed is beautiful.

I had big expectations for Alex’s first contemporary romance and this did not disappoint! The characters are lovable and the plot was interesting. I could see it all playing out in my head like a movie.

Loved it!