"In New York City, every weekend is a chance to live in a movie." That’s the first line of Summer in the City, and let me tell you—it delivers on that promise. This book is a dreamy, whirlwind romance wrapped in a love letter to NYC, sprinkled with swoon-worthy moments, and starring a billionaire who sets the gold standard for grand gestures. Fans of Hallmark romances buckle up!

Elle is a screenwriter struggling with writer’s block, and Parker Warren—tech billionaire, super hot, and now her neighbor—might just be the most unexpected (and perfect) source of inspiration. Their fake-dating agreement starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement, but the chemistry? Off the charts. I lived for their banter, the teasing, the tension. And then Parker, this ridiculously wealthy, ridiculously attentive man, goes and says things like:

"The universe looks dull now that I’ve seen you."
Buys her a necklace for 50 million.
“Did you buy the coffee shop?” “No. I bought the chain.”
A flower-shaped diamond ring… because it never dies.

I mean??? If this is the billionaire romance standard, then consider my expectations forever raised. Where can I get me a Parker?

Beyond the luxury and extravagant gifts (which were chef’s kiss), this book had heart. Parker takes her on all these dates to help her write her story, and every single date was adorable! My personal favorite was the pizza date (which if you know you know). I felt Elle’s struggles with creativity and self-worth. I swooned over Parker’s devotion. But the moment that broke me? “He was my summer.”

This book is witty, heartfelt, ridiculously romantic, and brimming with that dreamy feeling of falling in love under city lights. Parker and Elle’s love story wasn’t just about the grand moments—it was about the little ones too. The pizza date. The carousel ride. The way Parker truly saw Elle beyond the script she thought she had to follow.

If you love billionaire romances with banter, chemistry, and the kind of love that feels cinematic, Summer in the City is for you. And if Parker Warren wants to buy me a coffee shop next, I won’t say no. However, I would prefer a smoothie shop haha!

Spoilers:
I saw the author, Alex Aster, speak on a panel and was eager to read this. LightLark is on my TBR. Anyway, the story was cute, but it was long. The conflict didn't make total sense to me-- a girl who is so obsessed with money herself but won't date anyone with money because her father was controlling with her mother? It was a stretch. At one point, I thought I was almost at the end, and when I looked, my Kindle only said I was 40% of the way through. There was a perfect ending, and then the book kept going on, but for no real reason; the FMC doesn't actually fix anything she was set on fixing about herself; she gets worse, actually, then it has the same ending it would have had many chapters before. ???
This book was fine. Not the best, not the worst, some cute moments.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC.

I absolutely loved Alex Aster’s Lightlark series, and when I saw she had a new adult romance coming out, I was eager to try it out. This book was absolutely everything I want when I read a rom-com. Parts of it had me out right giggling, I was kicking my feet, I cried several times…oh I just loved the whole thing. It was a love letter to NYC in the summer, and seeing our main character, Elle’s relationship develop with Parker against the back drop of New York City – I absolutely loved it. About halfway through, I started purposefully reading slower because I didn’t want it to end. This book was a huge 5 stars for me. It releases March 25th, and I can’t recommend adding it to your summer reading lists enough!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, William Morrow Publishing, and Alex Aster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one was decent. I didn't find myself really thinking about it during times that I wasn't reading. I had to kind of push myself to finish it but overall I enjoyed it.

Summer In The City by Alex Aster was an enjoyable read. The story was cute and fun. The main characters were likeable. The love story aspect was somewhat predictable, but enjoyable non the less. I also liked that plot was not solely focused on romance, but included a fair amount of character growth as well. The story also had a really interesting NYC vibe that included real places and activities. As someone who visits NYC from time to time, I felt like the book really captured the city and the feel of being in NYC in the summer. I would recommend this book. It would make a great summer read.

This book was an enjoyable, lighthearted rom com. When I realized it was a billionaire romance, I expected to not enjoy this book but was pleasantly surprised. While there is a miscommunication trope, both MC’s communicate through challenges well and the MMC is receptive and supportive.
Now the third act breakup in this was quite frustrating and felt unnecessary. The time apart felt silly as the book started with time apart, so it felt repetitive.
Overall I would recommend this book and am grateful to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this book.

A good solid 4.5 but rounding up.

I was hooked from the first page! I hope Alex writes more contemporary romances!

First off this is a very very slow burn. Just know that going in to it.

I loved both characters but definitely lean more towards Parker. I mean he’s truly perfect and goes above and beyond. Yes he can go overboard but he does it all with a kind and genuine heart, which is why he’s perfect.

I enjoyed and loved Elle’s character for the most part but started to get annoyed with how she was with Parker and especially towards the end. She almost ruined the book for me and in a way kinda lowered my feelings for it. Overall I’m okay with the ending and enjoyed the book.

The tension in this was so well done and I loved all the dates and moments Parker and Elle spent together. I couldn’t get enough of them.

The side characters were just as lovable and I would totally be down to read a book about Elle’s best friend.

Now I have to decide which edition of the book to buy!

This just wasn't for me. I was looking forward to a billionaire romcom but from their first meeting I didn't feel any sort of connection between the two main characters and it just felt so bland and formulaic and like trying to hit a list of tropes.

Okay Miss Aster I see you! This was a nice step away from her usual fantasy/romantasy style and I LOVED it. Elle & Parker are such cutie pies separately and together, and their chemistry was believable from the start. While they both have their own little irritations, they are both easy to root for, and I was happy to see them come together at the end.

4.75 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! ♥️

Cute book. Different from Alex Aster's norm and needs a little work. I was lucky to receive an ARC copy thanks to NetGalley. I did enjoy the story and it for sure made me feel all the feels. The main female character did make me a bit frustrated but it was easy to understand how/why she felt that way. There were times I was like just come on! All in all it was a good book and I will definitely buy a copy when it is released.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. the first 50% had me HOOKED. I immediately fell in love with both Parker and Elle and loved their adventures together. The second half fell a little flat for me, especially with basically 2 3rd act break ups. if we had continued on the path we were going, I easily would have given this 5 stars.

I’m pretty much always in for a NYC-based/enemies-to-lovers romance, so Summer in the City had all the elements for me. Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write the screenplay for a big-budget NYC-based movie, if only she could get over her writer’s block. After running into her new neighbor—Billionaire Bachelor Parker Warren—, her quiet summer gets flipped upside down when she recognizes him from a stairwell hookup two years prior, but he seems to fuel her writing, and he needs a fake girlfriend, making them the most unexpected perfect team. Honestly, I had some trouble with this one. The characters feel really surface level and the pieces of them that are more vulnerable feel so glossed over. It’s very heavy handed in her being miserable in the city, which I might be biased on since some of my favorite memories are in NYC. But Parker, who was really sweet and had big golden retriever energy, was also way too grand in his romantic gestures. I get he was a billionaire, but it felt very in your face with how much money he had. Still, he’s so sweet and endearing, I wanted to know him so much better. He is just so kind and loving and will do literally everything to make Elle happy. It made the third act break up so painful. The banter and dates in this were really cute, and I loved their pizza tour and the pieces that made them fall for each other. It has all the feels of summer and all the love of New York City. It’a fun rom com with some elements that didn’t work for me.

Summer in the City is fun and cute. The city becomes its own character. Elle and Parker have such an enjoyable dynamic, even when she hates him and he verges on love-bombing her.
However, many aspects of their personalities feel like caricatures, e.g., Elle's homebody tendencies and Parker's overly grand gestures. I understand it's to make a point, but it feels very "tell" instead of "show" at times.

The plot is fun and similar to most short, lighthearted contemporary romances. I just don’t think the author is good at connecting with the reader. I never felt really invested in the story and the writing felt a little lazy. It felt more like a rough draft.

Summer in the City was the perfect jumpstart to my 2025 reading goals. A fun and fast paced romance, a great enemies to lovers trope, and just overall a great story line. Alex Aster was first introduced to me by her fantasy series and I am happy to say she also knocked it out of the park on this romance! I would give this about 2.5/5 on the spicy level, but was sucked into the story with the slow burn and characters small but crucial details. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC read.

I knew I liked her writing style but it's a different genre so I was curious about what to expect with this one . I was not disappointed. If anything I became more of a fan to where I'd be happy to read anything in anh genre she puts out.

Summer in the City was a lighthearted read with emotion packed in. It was fun to be able to read as someone who lives in NYC, as it made it fun to picture all the places that Elle and Parker visited during their summer together. I would definitely recommend this book, which had more depth than I originally expected and some surprising turns and reveals. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!

As someone currently working through Alex Aster's other books, I couldn't help but notice the writing feels more polished in her Lightlark series compared to Summer in the City. While the premise of this enemies-to-lovers romance is intriguing, it ultimately feels a bit too familiar and predictable.

Elle, a screenwriter battling writer's block, and Parker, a tech billionaire, are both likable characters. However, their dynamic felt like it went around in circles for too long with little relationship growth. The tension was there, but the development was slow, and it didn’t feel like they were making meaningful progress towards any resolution. Their interactions could have been more engaging if there was more depth to their connection beyond the usual banter.

The billionaire romance trope continues to feel tired. Every story seems to follow the same formula—rich, mysterious guy meets headstrong woman who’s determined to be independent. While this formula can work, it’s starting to feel repetitive, and I didn't find much new or refreshing in this version.

Overall, while I did enjoy the chemistry between Elle and Parker, the plot didn’t do enough to keep me invested. The setting in New York City was fun, and I appreciated the humorous moments, but ultimately, this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations based on Aster's other work.

Thank you so much to Alex Aster and William Morrow for the eARC of this book! I was so excited to get to read Alex's first non fantasy book. She hit this one out of the park. It was a great quick romance read for me. The story flowed quite well.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

What a fun book! I wasn’t sure what to fully expect since this is the first non-fantasy book by Alex Aster but she knocked it out of the park! Summer In The City is funny, thoughtful, dramatic, and heartbreaking all at the same time. There was some unexpected parts, which I like since it helps the story be more interesting, as the author doesn’t immediately lay everything out on the table about what’s happened in the past, who certain characters are right away, etc. I like that some aspects of the story and what happened in the past (mainly regarding the FMC’s family and why she is so sensitive about certain things) are revealed slowly throughout the book instead of all at the beginning. There were quite a few twists and reveals that I didn’t see coming, which was pretty fun since they were unexpected and interesting! There is a bit of time-hopping, which I don’t always like, but I feel like it made the last 10% of the book seem a bit rushed, which is why I didn’t rate it higher.

Overall, I enjoyed the characters, although I do think that the FMC, Elle, was a bit whiney/dramatic (but also so real. the banter and sassiness was very helpful, or else I wouldn’t have like her as much) but man, oh man, I loved the MMC! Parker is successful, thoughtful, and hardworking. I can’t say more without possible spoilers but he was my favorite character overall. The side characters were pretty fun, too, and I like that they added another layer to the story… maybe this book will turn into a series where we get a spin-off of her best friend? I hope there is more to this story, though, as the ending was a sweet happily ever after that we’d all love, but I feel like there were a few things that were left unanswered.
🤞🏻 there will be more after this!

Tropes:
🤍 Fake dating
🤍 Billionaire MMC x Screenwriter FMC
🤍 Enemies to lovers
🤍 Second chance
🤍 Spicy