3.5 stars

Thank you @htp_hive @htpbooks @htpbooks_audio for the complimentary DRC & audiobook.

‘ “I think we should see other people…” That one sentence unravels Samantha Parker’s perfect life.’

Can you imagine hearing those words from your husband of over 20 years? That’s exactly what happens to Samantha in Cruel Summer. To try and save her marriage, she agrees to a summer with no contact, no rules. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, growth, and some hard truths.

I really enjoyed it. Samantha and her husband were teenage parents, from a super religious and gossipy town… so there was a lot of past baggage for her to unravel while thinking of decisions she made throughout her life. A lot of people, women especially, will be able to relate to at least one or two of the things that she went through. As a teen mom a lot of her experiences hit close to home for me.

That being said, I did struggle with some of the repetition as Samantha delved into her past, I felt a lot of events, or circumstances were brought up too often. One character also did something towards the end that was so out of character and felt so out of the blue that I was actually really angry, and not in a, ‘this book is so good it made me feel things’ kinda way. All in all, I recommend this if you enjoy contemporary fiction, romance, and stories of self discovery.

All the stars for Nancy Peterson’s narration.

This one had me emotional from the get go.

It gave me a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts throughout. I don’t know that it will be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I love a summer road trip romance always and the narrator did a great job on nailing the FMCs emotions.

This book was heavily character driven, and the FMCs character development/growth is a significant plot point. I felt like it was very well executed.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the ALC.

Samantha and Will married in high school.They’d been married for over 20 years and Will takes Samantha to dinner to ask her for an open marriage.HORRIBLE!

I contemplated how many stars to give. The premise of the story was refreshing, different, new. I liked that the main characters are older, more mature. I Samantha's marriage falling apart and how it did. That might sound strange, but again it was a new and yet real premise. I liked how Logan stood by her and even his admiration for how she was there for him through his tough times, despite her not even liking him. Where it felt apart for me was the editing. About 50% of this book could have been cut out because it was just a repeat of what was already said/explained/repetition of scenes. Then their attitude towards each other threw me off. I get the back and forth, but a lot of times it was almost a contradiction to what was presented in a scene right before. One moment the characters were one way, the next the complete opposite. I was confused by where the characters were supposed to be emotionally. I found myself rolling my eyes at those parts and it was almost hard to finish. Nancy Peterson did a good job narrating as Samantha, but I didn't like how she made Logan sound in some moments. The words and meaning in the book was one way but her tone was completely not there. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel about the character.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the arc.

This was such an unexpected premise. Samantha’s world is flipped upside down when her husband of over 20 years casually suggests they open their marriage. The timing? Right as their kids have left the nest and she was looking forward to some quiet, cozy years with her high school sweetheart. 

They agree to a no-contact break to “explore” whatever this new phase might be, and while Samantha is sure he’ll come back to her, she decides to do something totally out of character: join her husband’s best friend on a road trip, helping him with his classic car restoration business. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, awkward moments, unexpected connections, and a few laugh-out-loud detours.

What I really appreciated is that this topic—open marriage, especially later in life—isn’t one we see often in fiction, and definitely not in a way that feels grounded and respectful. It wasn’t smutty or overdone. Just real people trying to figure things out. It could’ve easily gone off the rails, but the characters stay true to themselves.

Was I glued to every page? Not quite. But I was definitely intrigued, and I think this author has a fresh voice and unique perspective. I’d happily pick up whatever she writes next.

This book came out of nowhere and was the most fabulous story! If you are a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, but you're an adult this book could have the relationship love triangle for you. (Belly & Conrad, Belly & Jeremiah. IYKYK).

I listened to the audio on this one and I spent the entire time rooting for Samantha. After her husband of over twenty years asked her for an open marriage I was so living for her adventures with the swoon worthy Logan. He's got hot bad boy turned single dad energy AND he restores classic cars. Again, swoon! The journey for this story is glorious and the destination will leave you satisfied!

I found this book to be very enjoyable! I was a little worried because it’s an older demographic and the plot isn’t relatable to my life which is usually don’t like. Cruel Summer made me feel all the emotions!

Audiobook. NetGalley Arc. This book was a DNF for me. I gave it sometime and even went back to a few times to try to finish but it gave me the ick

this was the perfect summer audiobook. i loved it SO MUCH! it was so sweet and scenic, and i think it was the perfect poolside audiobook!!

I enjoyed this story pretty well. The narration was good. Easy to listen to! This is a book about finding yourself after losing yourself time and time again in everyone else, taking care of everyone except yourself, and juggling life, motherhood, being a wife, and making a house a home.

The cover of this book seems fun/flirty, but this deals with some heavy, real-life stuff, like growing out of love with your spouse and having an empty nest with no kids at home. Who are you when all of that is gone? I think it's something you probably don't think about until it's staring you in the face. I loved that she got her happily ever after, though. 🙂

With all that being said, there was a ton of inner monologue that felt really repetitive. I get it. Those things kept going through her head, but man, it was a whole lot of the same thoughts..

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook through NetGalley.

The beginning of this book had me feeling a certain way and I wan't prepared for that many feelings for what I was hoping to be a breezy summer romance book. That being said, the sadness I felt for Samantha started to evaporate as she takes the summer apart from her husband.

Samantha embarks on a summer of road trips in classic cars with unexpected love at the end. More importantly, she learns that it's okay to step away from what you know and embrace a future with less certainty. Samantha's character starts out with so much concern over how she will be viewed that it stops her from doing things she wants to. One bikini and a tattoo later, all of life's questions haven't been answered but she has started to understand it's okay not to make everyone around her happy, so long as she is happy with her choices.

Be prepared to start out with a little heartache for Samantha and Will.
Be prepared to be a little heartbroken for Logan.
Be prepared to be happy for Samantha and Logan.
And in the end, maybe you will also be happy for Samantha and Will as they meet again at the end of the summer to discuss where they want their marriage to go.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4

I enjoyed this book a lot! It’s not often that a romance novel involves characters in their 40s, which is a refreshing change of pace. I love a romance that involves a road trip and this did not disappoint. I liked how mature the MCs were and how the FMC learned so much about herself throughout the book. I wasn’t a huge fan of the third act breakup, but the conclusion of the book was still good!

The narration was well done in the story as well. I was engaged the whole time and enjoyed the narrator’s acting!

It was okay… I was expecting more and the storyline kind of stalled for me. Not bad, not great. I understand the dilemma and the struggle the MC is going through, but it felt a little too coddling for me.

4.5
I loved this book. It made me feel everything i wanted to feel from a romance book. If you like Abby Jimenez's Part of Your World series, you'll love this one!

A huge thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A provocative story of a woman finding her true self in her 40s. After being shocked that her husband wants an open marriage, Sam embarks on an even bigger journey: learning what makes her happy and leaving other opinions behind. I laughed, I cried, I had conversations with my own husband about some of the questions raised in the book. One of the best stories I’ve read this year.

Samantha’s husband of over 20 years comes to her with a proposal for an open marriage. Stunned, she suggests a trial separation for the summer. Samantha ends up road tripping with family friend Logan all summer for work and they develop a deep connection.

I was a little thrown off by the premise of the book and have to admit it was not my cup of tea. However, I really enjoyed the development of the FMC as she journeyed to find herself and explore what she wants out of life. The narration at times was a little monotone making it hard to stay engaged, but otherwise it was a fun summer read!

Thank you Net Galley, harlequin audio, and the author for this arc!

This is one of the best books I have read (well, listened to) in a long, long time - and I work in a library and have access to many books and get tons of recommendations. I loved the two main characters, Sam and Logan, and their journey. This is a romance, but not your typical trope driven one, although it is categorized as forced proximity; it is so much more than that. Both of the main characters were very real, relatable and well developed. The narration was wonderful and really made them come alive for me.

Dealing with one's history and emotional baggage is a theme in this book which I found much more interesting than just a typical trope driven rom-com style book. I can't recommend this highly enough. If I could, I would give this 10 stars. I am definitely going to take a look and try out more of Maisey Yates's back catolagoue.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for allowing me to listen and review this book! This book truly was an 4.5 out of 5 stars. The beginning was sad and put me in tears, wanting to fight Will! Then the trips were full of fun, excitement, romance and self discovery. I really loved that Samantha was able to figure out what she wanted in life herself since she has always done things for everyone else and forced to put her own needs last. The only things I didn’t like were the ideas put out about being pregnant young, in a smaller town and the stigma behind it. I actually went through this (not as young) but younger than people thought and while something’s are right others are not. That’s the only thing that made me cringe but I could look past that and loved the book as a whole!

Thanks to Maisey Yates, Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ALC
☆☆☆☆ .5
🌶️🌶️
Not gonna lie, the first reason I was attracted to this book was the name and the cover, just to be hit with an amazing story on the journey of rediscovery, self love and new adventures.

Samantha Parker's been married for 22 years to Will after they got pregnant at 18, and she believes to have the perfect life, but Will changes everything, when they out for dinner he asks Sam for an open marriage, feeling blind sided Sam is obligated to rethink her whole life, an who she is outside of being a wife, a mother and a daughter.

When Will's best friend Logan finds out about what's going on, he offers a temp job to Smantha to drive the cars he restores across the country with him through the summer.

Samantha's emotional journey take us thru her grief and self discovery, it's a very emotional story where she learns a 40 that its ok to put herself, her wants and her needs first, that life doesn't need to be perfect that she doesn't need to be perfect but what she needs is to be genuinely happy, to be her unique and passionate self.

Gotta say this is my first Maisey Yates book but certainly won't be the last.

Meanwhile i love the narration provided by Nancy Peterson she gave the exact voice and tone i gave Samantha in my head when i read this book the first time.

This book was a cute and fun summer time read. We follow Sam, who has been married and raising kids since she was a kid herself. Now that her kids are all out of the house, her husband comes to her with some less than ideal news, he wants to have an open marriage. Sam who has been with her husband for decades, feels like this is a punch to the gut. Was she not enough? Why does he want to sleep with other women? So they both agree to part ways for the summer, which will give them both time to really think about what they want. Sam ends up on the road trip of a lifetime that summer, just trying her best to escape her new dreaded reality.

This really is a journey about Sam finding herself, dropping expectations that society has on us, and a story of womenhood.

I think that this book was entertaining, however I do not expect that it will stick with me for long. I appreciated the conversations, but the last 25% of the book really took my rating down. I was not a fan of the way the third act conflict between characters happened. Overall, I still enjoyed it and would recommend for someone who wants a quick summer read.