Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice🌶️🌶️

Wow!! Wow wow that was amazing! The way this story hit you from the very start was so impactful. I was in tears within the first few chapters and that is when I knew this was a five star read! And the Audi was fabulous! The narrator was perfect for the character!

This was such a good book! At first I was contemplating due to the first chapter. But the entire book I was looking at my own life in a different lens this book had so much depth and growth that I truly was NOT expecting.

fun, if a bit cliche, romance book about a mid-life crisis and falling in love with someone you didn't really like before hand. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

My Review

There are books that entertain you, and then there are books that make you want to read them again and again. Cruel Summer is absolutely the latter.

Maisey Yates has crafted something truly special here - a story that starts with every married person's nightmare scenario. Picture this: you're celebrating your anniversary, expecting romance and sweet words, and instead you hear "let's see other people." Talk about a plot twist that hits you right in the gut.

What follows is a journey of self-discovery that's as much about finding yourself as it is about finding love. When our heroine agrees to a summer apart, letting her husband "get it out of his system," what unfolds is so much more than either of them bargained for.

The road trip element absolutely made this book for me. There's something about traveling - whether it's delivering refurbished cars across states or just hitting the open road - that strips away all pretense. These characters aren't just traveling geographically; they're traveling emotionally, discovering who they really are beneath the "perfect life" they've been trying to maintain.

And can we talk about the tension? Yates builds this slow burn that starts as "a feeling of tension, a slow fire burning" and gradually becomes an absolute inferno. The chemistry between these characters who have known each other since high school - who have history, children, a whole life together - is electric in a way that only comes from deep, complicated love.

This isn't just a romance; it's a story about authenticity. About asking yourself whether your life is actually perfect or whether you're just trying to look like you have the perfect life. That distinction hit me hard, and I think it will resonate with a lot of readers.

Character Spotlight

Our Protagonists: High school sweethearts who married young when pregnancy changed their plans. She's raised three boys and has only ever dated one person - him. He's dealing with loss (his best friend's wife died of cancer) and the weight of raising his daughter alone while questioning everything about his choices.

What I loved about these characters is how real they felt. They're not twenty-somethings figuring out love for the first time - they're adults with responsibilities, histories, and complicated emotions. Their relationship has layers that only come from years together, and Yates peels them back beautifully.

My Final Thoughts

Cruel Summer is the perfect blend of emotional depth and steamy romance. It's a book about second chances - not just in love, but in life. About having the courage to choose passion over perfection, authenticity over appearance.

If you love contemporary romance with real emotional stakes, complex characters, and a slow burn that builds to an absolutely satisfying crescendo, this book needs to be on your TBR immediately.

Perfect for readers who love: Second chance romance, road trip stories, emotional depth, steamy scenes, and stories about rediscovering yourself.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was an okay book. A fun summer romance about second chances and dealing with the curve balls that life will throw at you.

The book is a second chance once in a lifetime romance but it’s also about finding yourself.

However it got very repetitive in places and the story could have more of a punch if it wasn’t set up like that. The third act break up really didn’t make sense at all and the on and off again relationship became more annoying than realistic.

However, there’s enough of a good story to keep you going. 3.5 stars is more like it.

When I started this book I thought I would hate it, but I ended up adoring the slow burn. 🔥 Will made me frustrated because of his shame and wondering after having a great marriage but Logan was the real deal. They have amazing chemistry the cruel summer for Sam ended up being a hot hot summer.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced release copy of this book. Great summer beach read!

Careful what you ask for, you just might get it, and then we see the journeys unfold. What an amazing story, that was emotional, but as they each thought about their lives, and what they want, it made me think about mine. So much can happen in three months, and we have a ring side seat to it all. I enjoyed this so much, and I think many people will enjoy and get so much from it.
I received an ARC from Canary Street Press through NetGalley.

The premise of this story made me immediately request it from Netgalley. This book did not disappoint! The deep emotions in this book made me stop and think about my own life and the choices of the characters. The character arcs were amazingly developed. The writing was top notch. I thought about this story for several days after finishing. I did not expect to feel so much from this book. The author did a great job. This is a great start to my summer reads! I received this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Oh, my stars-this book is so emotionally fabulous it will be hard to follow with another read. The deep, introspective journey that a woman makes is overflowing with self-discovery. When her husband requests an open marriage so he can sow his wild oats, his selfish self did not entertain a thought that his wife might do some sowing of her own. Each step of her journey is an eye opener. An absolutely fantastic novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first Maisey Yates and I will be going back to read her prior titles. This story started out slow and a bit sad but, believe me stay with it! I loved the growth of the FMC throughout the story that will resonate with readers in my opinion. I loved the sense of adventure and I was able to picture many of the locations and want to add many to my bucket list! This is the perfect summer read to pack on your adventures or the beach!

Thank you Net Galley, Maisey Yates and Harlequin Trade Publications for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.
Cruel Summer is expected to be released June 24, 2025.

This is a story about finding what you really want in life versus what you've thought you had all along. Are you living your dream life or just going through the motions because it's what you thought was meant for you to do? When a not so pleasant request from your husband, the person you thought you wanted to spend your life with turns your world upside down, how do you recover?

This was an easy read and I figured out pretty quickly where it would go, but I enjoyed the process of discovery by both Samantha and her husband's best friend, Logan, as they spent the summer reevaluating their friendship.

Thanks, NetGalley for the chance to read and advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Forced Proximity, Friends to Lovers/Forbidden Love🌶️🌶️🌶️

This is a book about self discovery. I couldn't imagine being married for that long with your high school sweetheart and having children and a whole life built and then hearing the bomb he dropped on her. How she felt that finally this was their time and yet her husband felt it was his time. Talk about a midlife crisis. I have been known to have one of those, but now my second earring or bucket list seems mild.

I struggled with the writing in this book, I felt there was a lot of rambling from the FMC. I had a hard time imagining the road trips they were taking from the description. I also didn't really feel that her pain or her struggles came out strong in the writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Canary Street Press for this advanced copy.

Heat Index: 6/10

—40-year-old heroine

—husband wants an open marriage... and his best friend has a problem with that

—years of unspoken pining

—roadtrip romance

The Basics:

After getting pregnant at eighteen and marrying her high school sweetheart, Will, Sam is settled into her marriage. But with their youngest off to college, Will proposes the unthinkable: an open marriage. Desperate to keep her happy life, Sam offers a separation and thinking period for the summer. Enter Logan, Will's best friend, who offers Sam the opportunity to help him drive his restored cars to their new owners. It's a way to keep Sam's mind off her inner turmoil—but with Logan keeping long-held secrets, it might turn into a lot more.

The Review:

I really love reading romances about people 40 and over, and Cruel Summer captures a lot of what I enjoy—Sam and Logan are characters who've been through LIFE. Their traumas are sadly somewhat ordinary, the kind of thing a lot of us have faced or will faced. But, with flashbacks woven into part of this book, it weaves into a history between them... A history Sam didn't exactly let herself acknowledge they were building.

This novel sets us up with the idea that Logan is much more Will's friend than Sam's. He's a guy she's known since high school, sure, but they were never that close. The way Yates uses the flashback scenes is kind of brilliant, because your'e like—wait, hold on. What is Sam not telling us here? And that feels real, too. Because people lie to themselves. And boy, is Sam lying to herself, and Logan isn't exactly okay with letting that go anymore.

Here's what keeps this from being a more conventional "local man has longed for his buddy's wife from afar for years" book: Logan is a widower. And his wife—who's been gone about a decade when the book picks up—was someone he loved deeply. But there's a lot of complexity to the way that relationship is handled, and we're really dealing with a lot of grown up feelings here.

Which doesn't mean the book isn't fun! I would call it angsty, but not "angst angst angst"-level angsty. Because ultimately, something good is happening—Sam is getting real with herself, rediscovering who she is, and yeah, having a bit of a sexual reawakening. (Spoiler alert: they do it.) Would that all women with shitty husbands could embark on a life-changing roadtrip (or series of roadtrips, really) with their husband's hot bestie!

Sam's story is the centerpiece here. It's single-POV, and I think Yates handles that well. I also think it would have been hard to tell this story with a lot of Logan's POV. He's by no means a flat character, and even if he doesn't get quite the degree of internality as Sam, I still appreciated that he wasn't this flawless paragon of a man. Widower heroes often can be—either they're the victims of Awful, Mean Dead Wives or they grieve in a saintly way. Logan's situation is neither of those things. I was surprised by how raw Yates kept some of his revelations. Very human! But flawed in a way we don't see in as many romance heroes in this moment.

And also. He's very hot. Sam deserved. And deserved. And DESERVED.

The only thing that frustrated me and took the story down a peg toward the end was this Thing that happened somewhat last minute. Because it happens last minute, it has to be resolved last minute for our HEA. And it's not that I really took issue with the Thing happening. I just think the pacing with it was a little off, and it happened in a way that basically existed to assert that no, what was happening wasn't All About The Boy. Which, sure, that's great, but I kind of already got that and didn't need it re-stated.

That being said, I did really enjoy this, and despite the wobbles, the ending did indeed make me happy. This is my first Maisey Yates novel, but it won't be my last. Sam and Logan felt so real to me, yet still offered that romance novel swoon.

The Sex:

While the sex scenes in this novel aren't the most descriptive (and this is a slow burn, which it needed to be) they are passionate, hot, and romantic. Few women have needed to get their backs blown out to the degree that Sam did. And thank God it happened.

The Conclusion:

A character-heavy, emotional romance about being honest with yourself and coming to terms with what you really want, Cruel Summer is the kind of beach read I'm looking for.

Thanks to Canary Street Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was delightful and a truly perfect summer read! I felt like I was just so giddy while reading this and k think that is everything you need to know. Definitely pick this up!

Fantastic!! Absolutely brilliant! Obsessed with later in life stories and this one definitely delivered fantastic tropes while handling such a difficult topics! In life you have to pick yourself! And you can start over as many times as you want!

Think Challengers but a roadtrip without one of the two men

Favorite quote: “This summer she was…. Sam. Not Samantha and Will. Just Sam.”

This self discovery summer read is perfect for the start of the season. I had such a good time reading this and getting to know Sam. Sometimes we truly are just wrapped up in the same stuff we do every day, every week that taking a step back to relax, travel, talk with someone new opens our eyes to all of the good things in life. This is the first Maisey Yates book I’ve read but it definitely won’t be the last!

I started this book and hoped I would connect with the characters but sadly this book was just not for me. The husband told Sam his wife he wanted an open marriage after being married for over 20 years. I read it with an open mind but just could not get into the story. It was one that took me longer than usual to finish.
Thank you NetGalley, Maisey Yates and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of Cruel Summer. This is my personal review.

A little too predictable for me. I like darker books so this veered too feel good for me. Might check out some of the authors other books though.

Sam was so sure of her life and her marriage. Her husband's request came as a shock. A shock she needed to find her true self. She’s spent her 22 years of marriage trying to please others, doing everything for her family and showing the town that she is a good person. This is about her change; letting go of everyone else’s expectations of her; living HER life for herself. I usually enjoy Maisey Yates stories. I didn’t care for the characters at all, and the plot was a miss. I found myself skimming pages. Sam’s inner thoughts got to be a bit much and repetitive. It wasn’t an enjoyable read for me.