3.5 ⭐️ Charming story, characters & setting.
Luved the multiple references and character connections to the author's previous two books set on Fire Island, tho this was my favorite by far!

With thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-ARC.

A compelling story with a couple of female characters to root for. Maggie May irritated me at times,vas she seemed immature for her thirty years. And at times there were several minor characters popping in at once, which muddied the waters and made the story hard to follow. Overall a good "beach read" particularly for a female audience.

I’ve been enjoying Jane L Rosen’s other Fire Island books. Her style of writing each characters perspective at the moment it’s needed is beautiful. This book is a romance, but more than that it’s about found family.

My only question is whether or not there were too many characters guiding chapters. A few of them felt unnecessary to the plot or the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-ARC!

The story of Songs of Summer was sooo good, I just want to wander to Fire Island! Perfect book for summer escape.
I enjoyed the characters and well placed family drama. And it left my with very refreshed feeling.

I will absolutely recommend this one to my friends!

Hop aboard the ferry for another wonderful trip to Fire Island! With Jane Rosen as your tour guide, you will be reconnected with a few old friends and make several new ones as you enjoy another summer getaway. At thirty years old, Maggie Mae Wheeler is living her dream as the proprietor of Maggie Mae Records, the shop owned by her parents prior to their death. She’s living in her childhood apartment above the shop and is soon to be engaged to Jason, her best friend since they were kids. But when Maggie finds a note she wrote to herself at age thirteen, she realizes there is still one unfulfilled dream she has in order to fully understand who she is. Meeting the birth mother that gave her up for adoption would fill the emptiness of family that she yearns for. The search leads her to Fire Island for a summer where drama, romance and so much more awaits her.

Aptly titled “The Songs of Summer”, the chapters in the book are called “tracks” and are very cleverly named. If it’s okay, there is one small pet peeve I feel compelled to release. In this story as I find in many stories that are set “on Long Island”, authors will say “in Long Island”. It’s one of those things that even after 47 years of not living in NY, just feels wrong. I guess you can take the girl out of NY but you can’t take NY out of the girl. Thank you, I feel better.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this delightful book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Publication date: May 20

Jane Rosen has become one of my must read authors. I hope she puts out a Fire Island every summer now that Elin Hilderbrand is retired from her Nantucket books. Always a fan of spin off books...but I wish there was a little recap in a foreword to refresh the memories of continuing readers. After 2 years the details of the back story and characters get a little blurry.

In Songs of Summer, Maggie crashes a wedding party in a Fire Island community to scope out the birth mother who gave her up for adoption thirty years earlier. As someone who didn't meet my bio dad until I was in my sixties, I was intrigued by the concept.

The actual story took a while to warm up for me. I was initially turned off by the drifting, aimless nature of Maggie's character. She's thirty, managing the record store she inherited from her adoptive parents, and dating her life-long best friend Jason because she can't think of anything better. Jason wants to get married, but for reasons she can't understand, Maggie drags her feet. When she (with Jason's help) tracks down her birth mother, she goes in cognito to see if the woman is someone she'd like to know.

Maggie became more alive for me—almost like she woke up—once she ventures to the small Fire Island community and out of her comfort zone. I enjoyed the portrait of the small no-cars allowed island community and the unfolding of Maggie's connections within it.

Songs of summer was a very enjoyable read. I would call it a light read with a lot of heart and some interesting themes. The setting, characters, and events seemed believable in a Disney kind of way. I enjoyed that the desire to belong to a family, even a messy semi-dysfunctional family was at the center of the story. I think anyone who enjoys a sweet book with clever dialogue and a taste for good music would find this novel very entertaining. It was interesting that the book referenced Mama Mia as that is what it reminded me of. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read good rom-com books with satisfying endings.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun read! Not too heavy but full of emotion and discovery.

A great summer beach read full of heartwarming scenes, a bit of humor and plenty of family drama. The characters were well thought out, each with their own personalities and back stories. This was a fairly quick read and the story was one that I won't soon forget.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVE this book! Honestly, the way Jane writes about Fire Island makes we want to book a vacation now to this haven in NY. Very likable (and relatable!) characters. Tiny bits of it seemed a bit far-fetched (the world isn't *that* small!) but for the sake of the story, I loved it!

"Songs of Summer" is a captivating and heartwarming read. The story is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of Fire Island and a compelling plot that keeps you hooked. The romance is sizzling, and the characters are engaging and relatable. Maggie Mae's journey of self-discovery is both touching and inspiring. "Songs of Summer" is a perfect summer read that will leave you feeling happy and hopeful.

The story of Maggie May and her search for her birth mother was a wonderful read. Maggie crashes a wedding while in search of her birth family and gets a lot more than she bargained for. I loved this book!

I loved this summer beach read with a great deal of heart. We get to know 30 something Maggie who finds out in second grade that she's adopted. Her parents die when she is fairly young. Her goal is to locate her birth parents. Introduce a cast of characters that are funny, successful, estranged and are all part of the family she will discover, love and want to be a part of. Maggie will also discover exciting love versus comfortable, practical love as Her new life blossoms. Well developed story and characters.

Maggie searches for her birth mother on Fire island while she tries to discover who she really is and what she really wants from her life.... to marry the boy next door or perhaps seek out something further from home. A fun read.

This book was exactly what I was looking for- a refreshing, light read. I flew through it in just a day. It had family drama, romance and humor, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it could be considered "chick-lit", there were some big issues included in the book from adoption from both the birth mother and child's point of view to the chemistry needed for a romantic relationship. I think it will be a great book to read on vacation and possibly to discuss in a book group. Highly recommended!

All I got to say is fantastic!
I loved everything about this novel. Once I got started I couldn’t put it down.
Who wouldn’t like this story?! It’s got all the right ingredients in it to keep you turning the pages.
Family dynamics are definitely strong here. A battle between two sisters was intense. Neither could forgive the other which was sad.
Your heart will break for these characters. I know mine did. I was really hoping they would find a way to get along.
I simply couldn’t put this book down it was so very good. A few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming but those are the best parts of the story.
5 stars for a very special and entertaining story that kept me hooked until the end.! I highly recommend it.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine

Maggie May found out she was adopted at 9 and she didn't search for her birth mother until her 30th birthday. When she received the results of the DNA test, she follows her mother to Fire Island and crashes her mother's best friend's wedding festivities. This wedding weekend has the chance to turn Maggie May's whole world upside down. How will she react to everything as she starts to peel the layers back on her biological family?

Overall, I would rate it 4 stars, it was a really cute story. This book covered some pretty heavy topics, such as adoption, friendship, betrayal, and loss, but it was written in a lighthearted and heartfelt manner. This book would be a great and easy summer read. I enjoyed seeing things from multiple POVs, it almost felt like watching a movie play out. Jane Rosen did an amazing job capturing the instant chemistry between Maggie and Matt and I loved how she weaved in music and lyrics throughout. This book needs to have a playlist associated with it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

Rosen is one f my favorite authors. This novel absolutely lives up to my expectations for a delightful Rosen Read!
Maggie May, an adoptee who has lost her parents begins a search for her birth mother. With the help of a DNA test, she locates her, teaching in a nearby Ohio university. Happily for the reader (especially me) we travel with Maggie to Fire Island where her birth mother is attending a family wedding.

So, Maggie gets to see her entire genetic family in action, real family craziness, before introducing herself to Beatrix, her birth mom. Oh, so much fun and so many twists and fibs along the way. I was laughing and crying as this delicious tale unfolded!

I am a devoted reader of Rosen so I was delighted to have her give me an update on two very special characters from her previous novel, Addison and Ben. Maggie and the reader also get to see young Matt and his older mentor Shep play significant roles in Maggie’s life.

I highly recommend this novel as a must beach read. In fact, pre-order this as a Christmas/Chanukah gift for friends! I know this will appear on all the 2025 lists for best romance/summer read.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel written by one of my favorites.

This is a delightful fun book, not a boring page in it. Maggie May has always known she was adopted. She is 30 years old when she and Jason, her childhood forever friend, decided to search for her birth mother

Beatrix has not spoken to her sister in 30 years. Matt an Dylan are both 30 year old best friends from childhood, who are wondering if their relationship will change now that his mother is marrying her father.

Sounds chaotic, I know, but the author skillfully weaves these characters

.A surprise for literature today this book has an ending solving all issues and relationships. The frequent references to song lyrics vibes almost makes the book feel like a musical.