This was a very entertaining book. There was so many layers to it and I found it very enjoyable.

Adoption and being an adoptee were written so well. Maggie's aversion to change and dependency on those she has left are very relatable to many people. This was adventurous and contained wonderful soul-searching.

I would read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

When Maggie May finds an old letter to her future self, it sends her on a soul-searching journey to Fire Island looking for the birth mother she’s never known. Caught between the life she’s built and the family she never had, she’s forced to rethink everything she thought she wanted. It’s a summery, music-filled story about love, identity, & finding where you truly belong.

This one had so many elements I love—a beachy setting, layered family dynamics, & quirky characters. I also enjoyed the musical thread running through it, with each chapter as a “track” complete with a song title; this was such a fun & creative touch!

That said, the pacing was a bit uneven for me. The short chapters made it feel fast, but the story itself moved slowly, almost like it was unfolding over weeks instead of days. I kept waiting to be fully pulled in, but the connection never quite clicked.

Still, it’s a solid summer read—light, heartfelt, and well-crafted. Maybe it just wasn’t the right book at the right time for me.

Thank you to Berkley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

5 out of 5 stars. If I could give more than 5 starts, I would.

Even though it is only June, I am going to say this will be one of my top books for 2025. "Songs of Summer" is the third book in Jane L. Rosen's Fire Island series. The first book in this series is one of my favorite books of all time. This unfortunately set the bar very high for me regarding the second book in the series, "Seven Summer Weekends", which I did not enjoy as much (again, my hopes were really high so it was likely a really good book but I wouldn't have known it). This current release in the series takes me right back to my feelings regarding the first book.

Once again, the reader is brought into the world of Fire Island. The main event is the wedding of Julia's best friend from "On Fire Island". Maggie Mae Wheeler, a young woman who owns a vintage record shop, comes to Fire Island to try and reconnect with her birth mother, whose identity she has just recently learned about. Through a series of events, Maggie becomes involved with the Fire Island gang and all the events that lead up to the wedding.

I have always enjoyed the writing style of Jane L. Rosen. It can be said that her books fall into the "Romance" genre but - no offense to Romance book lovers - her novels are much more nuanced than that. Ms. Rosen's books rarely follow the boy & girl fall in love/event tears them apart/they get back together and live happily ever after story arch. And if they do, there are so many other details and sub-plots around the story that the reader barely notices this. My main reasons for rating this book so highly are as follows:

- I love how every character, no matter what role they play in the plot line, has a defined story and background. There are no "NPRs" ( a term my kids would use) in the this novel. And I didn't find that there are so many characters that it becomes confusing to keep track of everyone. I believe this is because the descriptions are so well done and nuanced that it is easy to remember all the various players in the story.

- The book is funny. Not a huge, laugh out loud funny, but more of a sarcastic underlying humor that keeps the story from becoming too cute and predictable.

- This is a personable preference but one of my favorite things: I LOVE all of the pop culture references in the story. Because Maggie owns a vintage record story, she has vast knowledge of classic music and music artists. Despite the age of the characters (which I think is older Gen Z or young Millennials? I'm not quite sure which group people in their late-20s are categorized as) there are a lot of Gen X references to music and movies, which I always enjoy.

So run - don't walk - to your nearest library/book store/on-line book purchasing website to get this book. Then when you're done it, lend it to a friend. It is the perfect summer read!

Thank you Berkley for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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3.25 stars

When I first started reading this book, I was immediately hooked because I loved the main character, Maggie’s, voice and felt like she was speaking directly to me. However, the multiple POVs in this story became overwhelming for me and I regularly found myself wishing we stayed in certain POVs longer while in others I felt they weren’t strongly necessary to the story. I usually love multiple POVs but I was getting whiplash from how often we pivoted in this story.

This story makes for a good, casual beach read to slowly follow along with while in a climate similar to the characters. If you’re hoping for a simple feel good read focused on family and personal growth, you’ll be happy reading this. If you’re a big music lover, you’ll probably also have a strong interest and connection to this story. Although it wasn’t my all-time favorite book, I don’t regret reading it.

I loved getting to interview the author about this book! She absolutely made me want to visit Fire island!

Songs of Summer by Jane Rosen is a delicious escape to Fire Island! There is so much heart in this book, from adoptive parents to birth parents and best friends to soulmates. Maggie finds herself on a journey of self-discovery from small town Ohio to the beaches of Fire Island. This was a page turner with lots of drama and humor throughout. I devoured Rosen’s novel in just two days! Now I need to go back and read Seven Summer Weekends (that I somehow missed)!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

Although this started off slow for me, it was very light and sweet. I loved the characters and the different perspectives.

This is the perfect ending to Rosen’s Fire Island trilogy. Maggie and Jason have been best friends and are considering moving to a different relationship, but Maggie is determined to first find out who her biological mother is before committing. When she realizes that her biological mom, Beatrix, will be at a wedding on Fire Island, Maggie travels from her Ohio town, where she lives above her record store, to Fire Island, and the fun begins. Many of the beloved characters from the previous books reappear, as Shep, Renee, Matt, and others. Dylan and Matt have also been best friends, but when Matt meets Maggie, he is immediately lovestruck, complicating more as he cannot let on who Maggie really is and what she is doing on Fire Island. The musical references enhance the story. Highly recommended as a summer beach read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a beautiful story of taking risks and following dreams, even if it means leaving a comfortable bubble. I loved how every chapter header was attached to a song, and truly followed what was happening in the chapter. This book had a strong playlist that I'll be sure to enjoy this summer. I enjoyed this book, first time from this author between the setting, the family drama, and the amazing characters, this is a wonderful summer read.

Received this book from NetGalley for honest review.

Such a fun beach read! I loved being transported once again to Fire Island, for the third in Jane L. Rosen’s trilogy. She has developed a diverse and fabulous cast of characters and a beach community I was excited to revisit, and this heartwarming and joyful story did not disappoint. Moreover, I had a ball discovering the song title headings for each chapter and singing those tunes as I read.

Recommended to those who have already discovered Rosen as well as to fans of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Elin Hilderbrand and Meg Mitchell Moore.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

I absolutely love this series (though all stand alone) and this had a little bit of both 2 books in them. Honestly, it made me want to go back and reread them because this story is several years later (I think it said 12) and has many of the same characters. This was about a daughter looking for her biological island on Fire Island and falling in love in the process. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, though I had read previous books I needed to make notes of them as I got into the story. Everything and everyone was connected in the end, wrapping it up so nicely.

Jane L. Rosen's books have become my summer must-haves! I am obsessed and invested with every person on Fire Island and absolutely LOVE that Jane gave us the full story we've been waiting for since ON FIRE ISLAND came out! When I read a book and am left wanting to know what happens with the characters after, I know I've become connected. To be able to read multiple books and know exactly who the original characters were from the previous stories shows how great of a writer Jane is and how intertwined to our own lives books can become. A story of adoption, finding your family, discovering what falling in love means at different stages of life and much more. Take me back to Fire Island!!!

Fire Island, a barrier island off the cost of Long Island,is the perfect setting for bittersweet intergenerational stories of family, romance and summer memories.

The novels can be read out of order ( I read Seven Summer Weekends first not realizing it was part of a series). But together the three develop character arcs that will grab your heart. Whether you prefer laying on the beach with a paperback or with earbuds, these are perfect summer day reads.

On Fire Island: Book 1 introduces us to the core community of characters. Our narrator, Julia, has passed of cancer. As her husband Ben morns her by returning to the place they shared their summers, Julia observes the impact of her life on others as she awaits crossing over. This is a warm and realistic look at grief and the way in which a single life can be intertwined with so many others. Beautifully balanced between the sad and the uplifting, it’s a perfect beach vacation read.

Seven Summer Weekends: When newcomer Addison inherits her aunt’s beach house, she plans to flip it fairly quickly after hosting seven guest house visitors contracted to stay each weekend. But the quick turnaround doesn’t go as expected in a community that doesn’t like change, not to mention living next door to an insufferable but attractive man ( who happens to be the grieving husband from book 1). Romance, humor, found family and healing all can be found here.

In Songs of Summer, record store owner Maggie Mae finds herself on Fire Island in search of her birth mother. Hoping to observe her mother from a distance, she underestimates how everyone knows everyone else in the community. As two long term residents celebrate their wedding, Maggie finds a complicated family including a grandpa, a estranged aunt, and a whole set of folks not blood related but just as much family, if only she lets them know who she is. But what will this mean for her settled life and best friend/fiance back home in Ohio? The story had me I tears, both happy and sad! I loved the playlist format of the chapters, adding music to the mix.

This book is such a warm, nostalgic gem! It centers on a group of friends reuniting at their lakehouse to reconnect, heal old wounds, and rediscover what matters most. The writing feels like a gentle summer breeze—relaxed, heartfelt, and full of nostalgic reflections on friendship and life’s simple joys.

The characters are genuinely likable—and flawed—in all the right ways. The story balances lighthearted moments (vintage playlists, starlit conversations) with deeper emotional revelations about what it means to grow up together and apart.

If you're in the mood for a breezy yet meaningful summer read that’s all about the magic of friendship, shared memories, and finding your way back home, this one’s perfect.

3.5 - I requested this one based title & description and didn't know it was a sequel of 2 former books. I went ahead and read those first, and loved them both. This one probably could be read as a stand alone since there is so much review of the past, but I was glad I had waited and read the others. I did enjoy the continuing sagas of our Fire Island friends, but 30 year old Maggie is the main character here as she searches for her birth mother. Warm & tender hearted, a good beach read.

Songs of Summer was a great book about Maggie who in the spur of the moment goes off to find her birth mom. While she has a fantastic childhood with awesome parents, they are now gone and before she makes a serious commitment she feels she needs to make this journey.
What ensues is a fun beach read as she is engulfed by a family that thinks she is the girlfriend of a boy in the family who's coming to the wedding of his mother. But really she is the daughter of the brides sister. Due to this rouse she gets to see all the messy, loving, and dramatic family stuff that outsiders wouldn't see. It was so good and made me want to see more. Luckily this is book 3 in a series . So now it's time for me to read the 1st two books. Just a note: you don't need to read the first two to understand this book. It a story unto itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

Oh how I adored this book. Maggie May, named after a famous song, was adopted and lived over a family own record store. She loved her childhood- especially her best friend Jason and everyone thought they were meant for each other.

Both of her parents passed away and when she turns 30, she reads a letter she wrote to herself 17 years prior, she remembers how she used to dream about finding her birth mother. This will take her to Fire Island and a Summer to remember. (I LOVED all the characters you will meet along the way- Matt, Grandpa and her birth mom.) I gave this book 4 stars because it really annoyed me how she seemed to all of a sudden "forget" to charge her phone and contact Jason throughout the book. Also, it took me awhile to get used to all the characters and their chapters- I don't think it needed to be from so many perspectives.

All in all, I highly recommend!

this was a very cute story and would be a great summer read for this season! this book cover is what initially drew me in and the storyline did not disappoint. thanks netgalley and berkley publishing group for this arc!

Songs of Summer (book 3 of the Fire Island Trilogy) Jane L Rosen

A young woman crashes the wedding of the summer on Fire Island in search of her birth mother—and gets a whole lot more than she bargained for—in this warm, heart-stopping getaway

Jane L Rosen did a phenomenal job tying this series up. She writes characters that you want to know. The reader actually feels like a part of this tight knit community on this tiny tourist island.

Maggie May’s life changes after both her adopted parents are gone and her best friend proposes marriage. Before she can plan for the future, she needs to know where she came from. Following the breadcrumbs of 23 and me , Maggie May finds herself on Fire Island crashing a wedding and quietly finding the family she didn’t know she needed.

Jane L Rosen has long been a favorite of mine and she never disappoints ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maggie was raised in a small town in Ohio, above her parents' music store, named for her, Maggie Mae. When she was 10, her parents told her that she was adopted. She's always wondered about her birth mother, but never really sought to connect until her childhood best friend asks her to marry him. She then feels the burning need to locate her birth mother. Through DNA matching, she finds that her birth mother is a college professor, also in Ohio. When she goes to meet her, she finds that the birth mother has left to attend a wedding, then will be away for a year on sabbatical. She decides to visit the island where the wedding is being held, and ends up "crashing" the wedding.

"Songs of Summer" is the perfect beach read for summer! I loved everything about the book! Special thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy of this title. I loved it - pick it up today!