This was a very enjoyable story where the journey to the characters falling in live felt realistic. It dealt with topics such as questioning sexuality is a very tactful way as well.

A romance with a bit of a message. The narrator was good and the accents were helpful without being distracting and supported characterisation well.
I enjoyed the slow build and thought the romance was well paced even if some of the plot felt a built slow. It was a good listen but didn’t blow me away for 5 stars.

This book is perfect for fans of reality TV and dating TV! It seems like we all need a trip to Summer of Love.

Declan King is a young boxer looking to win over the heart s of the five million viewers of the biggest dating show in the UK, Summer of Love and to do so he must show that he is falling in love with one of the beautiful women also on the show however, there is someone else who has caught his eye. In comes, Oliver Wright, a ballet dancer who is hell bent on winning the show for both the money and the hopes to win back his ex girlfriend but he did not see Declan King coming his way and so the plan has been completely turn on its head. As their on screen bromance continues to grow the pair realise this may be more and off screen romance is for sure blossoming between them.

I found this book to be completely different from any other romance book on my shelf. The characters were so well developed with so much to who they were and as the book progressed we got to see more of that and not just from our two main characters but also the other contestants on the show. I was so invested in every other side character that it made me feel for their love even more and have opinions on everyone we were introduced to. The concept of the book really did put us into the reality tv show element, it felt as thought I had a special look into the world of reality TV dating shows, the behind the scenes, extras and more. I loved how similar the language was to real life TV shows we have and getting an insight look into things. It made this such a fun book to read but especially to list to. The idea of a host, TV production, cast and crew was so creative and current and the audio narration made it easy to understand what was happening, when it was happening and put us well into the time frame so much so that again, it felt as though I was in the reality show myself, front row seat and apart of the action.

There were some important topics touched on throughout this book that really humanized these characters and made us feel connected to them. I found this to be a fun summer read perfect for holidays and sunny days. It was a fresh take on the genre and I highly recommend this.

To preface, I have never seen an episode of Love Island and haven't watched reality television in years. That being said, I did enjoy this story. The author presents an engaging picture of a Love Island-esque competition that's clear enough to understand without getting bogged down in too much detail. However, I would have liked to see more on the dates and why new people join the competition near the end. I did like that Easton considers the positive and negative aspects of reality TV and celebrity.

The relationship between Declan and Oliver seemed to develop quite quickly but personally I didn't mind it as I enjoyed them both as characters. They had great chemistry as friends and romantically as well as personal goals outside of the relationship which isn't always a guarantee in the romance genre. There was also a strong cast of side characters, some better developed than others. This was all helped along by the audio narration of Ciaran Saward and his repertoire of accents. It really helped to keep the cast of characters straight in my head.

Overall, while I wouldn't necessarily read another book centered on a reality TV competition, I would definitely pick up another book by Lily Easton. Strong characters, great chemistry and a good time.

A light and easy listen, more than a little reminiscent of love island. I did enjoy the sort of expose of the manufacturing that goes in to such a show, it was all a bit obvious but really quite sweet in its outcome. There isn’t a lot more to say. If you’ve seen love island you know the story but it does have an lgbt twist and a self discovery/coming out story that was really nice and has you rooting for the main characters.
None of this is to say it wasn’t enjoyable, it was in a no thoughts required sort of way!
Fun narration.

Huge thanks to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

4.5 stars

I loved this book! I loved the main characters and the journey we went on with them - the whole what's expected of them on the show and wider public eye vs what their hearts are telling them to do journey was fun to explore. The stolen moments between the main characters, they were so cute

Tropes:
- love island type reality tv show setting
- MM romance
- found family
- forced proximity
- 3rd person, dual pov, single narrator

I loved the other main contestants on the show, the friendship between everyone was so nice and gave great found family vibes - I also loved seeing their journeys on the show too

I loved seeing some of the games that they played on the show - i wish we got more of them

I loved that we got a couple of chapters with the characters post show and got to see what relationships stuck and what new ones were formed

I really liked the narrator, they did a great job with a mix of different accents and I forgot at times that it was only one person doing it! I'll be checking out more by them

This is a great debut novel and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author

This is a great summer read and i highly recommend it

Thank you to Belinda Audio & NetGalley for the ALC - all opinions are my own

Summer of Love is absolutely delightful. Especially for a debut novel. The writing style was flowy and I liked the characters a lot. While listening to the audio book I sometimes had trouble keeping everyone apart simply due to the fact that you get to meet so many characters at once. But hey - when I watch a dating show, I always need a couple of episodes to keep the names straight so this was very on point!

I really liked Declan and Oliver and surprisingly, I really really liked that this was so slow burny and feels only. No smut in sight! Somehow I didn't expect it and yet it was such a lovely read I didn't miss it either. The forced proximity of the dating show made for some delicious tension. On the downside, I felt like the fact that there were cameras on them at all times and there wasn't really a moment where they could speak privately and openly, didn't really help me feel the connection between those two. I wish there were a couple more moments where we could've seen them by themselves. Somehow I ended up feeling like their feelings and especially Oliver's bi-awakening seemed a little out of thin air and abrupt because they only knew the performing versions of each other.

Honestly, I am still unsure what to think of the plot point with the forced outing... I am infinitely greatful it didn't happen but ho boy did it give me some uncomfortable feelings. Mainly because I strongly suspect that producers would go this far irl as well...

All in all I had a really good time reading this. It felt like watching a dating show only with characters I really enjoyed all around! Great debut, can't wait to see what else is coming by Lily Easton :)

Such a cute heartwarming audiobook!

The story was beautifully written and very believable I loved the chemistry the characters had and the plot kept me interested it’s a fantastic debut novel

Thank you NetGalley, Lily Easton and Bolinda Audio for this ARC copy of the audiobook.
This was such a well written slow burn LGBTQIAP+ story. The situation is a believable one for 2 people to find each other (isn’t that the whole point of a dating show anyway?) and I’m shocked I haven’t actually heard of something like this occurring on reality tv. The story has many heartwarming moments as well as so many funny lines.
The audiobook narrator Ciaran Saward was the perfect voice for these characters getting so many different accents and inflections in. The pacing was fantastic and made this a very easy commute listen.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Closeted Boxer, Declan King, and recently dumped Ballet Dancer, Oliver Wright, are both about to become contestants on British reality dating TV show “Summer Of Love” . While each man needs to win for their own reasons they soon realise they may actually find love.

The narrator, Ciaran Saward, did an amazing job bringing this vast cast of characters to life. I haven’t come across any of his previous work, but I will certainly be keen to hear him again.

What I liked: I enjoyed the plot immensely, it felt more than just a fluffy romance. I’m not a fan of reality tv but I’ve seen enough to know what to expect. This debut novel was a sweet satirical piece on what goes on behind the scenes of a reality tv show. The two main characters and supporting cast were well rounded and I found myself routing for many of the other couples on the show.

What didn’t work for me: I did occasionally lose track of who was who, which is always a risk with a large amount of characters interacting so frequently, especially with an audiobook as you can’t easily flick back to double check a plot point.

Final thoughts: A brilliant debut contemporary romance.

Who would enjoy this: Fans of contemporary romance.