Thank you @jillfranciswrites and @youhadmeathea for the ARC of this wonderful summer read! Also thank you to @dreamscape_media for the ALC opportunity!

This book is a second chance romance that takes place mainly in a small city on the Italian Riviera. The imagery that the author writes made me want to book a flight immediately to Italy! 🇮🇹

After years apart, Ellie and Cris are headed back to their families small town to attend the wedding a family wedding. Ellie is upset over a very public implosion and Cris is a newly retired swimmer who had been recently accused of using banned substances.

They are reunited in the town they spent most of their childhood summers. They agree to make a plan to help each other out and clear their names. Will they also pick up where their summer romance left off??? They have so much to confront if they want this second chance to last.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an advance listening copy of #TheSummerYouWereMine. Second chance romance set mostly in Italy. Heartwarming.
4 stars.

I didn't enjoy this really at all as a romance but loved the famiy and friends and community of characters the author built up.

The Summer You Were Mine is a second chance romance set in Italy. While it offers a charming summer love story, the plot relies heavily on miscommunication. If the main characters simply communicated with each other, they could spare themselves a lot of heartache.

This beachy summer second chance romance finds Ellie an autistic, talk show host with a doctorate in psychology and Chris a newly retired competitive swimmer returning to Italy for their grandparents wedding. Both have had missteps in their careers and come up with a plan to help each other out. Their past childhood interests in each other and business dealings make for a twisted second chance at love.
Though at times the book was dragging and other parts felt rushed this was a cute story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC of this book. These options and thoughts are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Jill Francis for the chance to listen to this ALC early!

This book was such a beautiful surprise. The Summer You Were Mine is everything I love in a second-chance romance. Sweeping setting, emotional depth, and characters with real history and heart. Set along the dreamy Italian coast, the story brings Ellie and Cris back together after years apart, and their chemistry is immediate, but so is the weight of all the time and pain between them.

I absolutely loved Ellie’s journey. Navigating a career fallout, making sense of her recent neurodivergent diagnosis, and learning to see herself in a new light. Cris was just as layered, and seeing him shift from a public scandal into a place of self-reflection was so satisfying. Their connection felt honest, nostalgic, and full of longing. And that slow burn? So worth the wait.

The narration by Nicol Zanzarella and Tim Campbell was spot-on. They brought so much warmth and emotion to the characters, and their performances really pulled me into the story even more.

This was a cozy, thoughtful, and deeply romantic listen. Perfect for summer days or anytime you need to believe in second chances. I’d happily listen to anything Jill Francis writes next!

I was really looking forward to this novel! The cover and title sold me on the book. Unfortunately, the story was meh for me. I couldn't get into it and the Italian was not translated so I either looked it up or missed that part of the story which was another detractor for me. I even requested the audio book and it did not keep me interested either. I had a hard time with the Italian in the audio and the man's accent was a bit difficult for me to decipher at times. I am sorry I really wanted to love this book. I will not post my review on my socials as to not detract from the book launch.

Thank you Net Galley, Jill Francis and Dreamscape for the opportunity to preview this title and wish that I could give it a better review.

deliciously swoony and atmospheric. A gorgeous second chance romance set amidst the backdrop of the sun-soaked Italian Riviera.

I can’t remember being so frustrated reading a book

During their whole childhood, Ellie and Cristiano were best friends. Their families did everything together, and they did too. Until, one day, something happened and they started to avoid each other’s presence.

After fourteen years of not talking, a wedding is fusing Ellie and Cristiano’s families together. Neither of them can skip this time, so they would have to act as if nothing has happened between the two for an entire summer. It shouldn’t be so hard, right?

The Summer You Were Mine had a couple things I liked: the Italian setting, the Italian added at some points of the story and Cris’s struggles as an athlete who is in chronic pain. But they didn’t compensate for the fact that the heroine was insufferable, the story relied on miscommunication and that I couldn’t see why the main characters were into each other. It seemed like they had fallen in love fourteen years ago, and seeing each other again was reason enough to want to be together again. People change, so I would have liked to see them falling in love again. Also, I couldn’t see any kind of chemistry between them.

On top of that, they didn’t make each other better. If anything, they kept hurting each other with their misunderstandings and with the fact that Ellie didn’t seem to care about Cris at all. I want my main characters to make sense. To make each other better, to support each other’s dreams. I saw that on Cris, but not on Ellie.

For example, there was this time where Cris admits that he wants to work on healthcare, even though he would have to study for it. That was important for Cris, you can see it was a dream of his and he spoke with so much passion about it! I wanted Ellie to care about that, to ask questions and support him. But she kind of forgot about it until later in the book. Ellie spent the book not caring for Cris because she was too focused on the fact that he hurt her fourteen years ago-when his father had just died, I may add-, therefore he didn’t deserve to be loved. That’s not how love works. I read a second chance romance I really loved this year (Rewind it Back). What I loved the most was that: the main characters had hurted each other in the past, but they still cared so much that they couldn’t endure hurting the other person in the present.

As you can see, my real main problem was Ellie (h). She was supposed to be a therapist, and I know that doesn’t make her perfect, but she took everything Cris said as an attack. She was oversensitive and dramatic, all the time choosing to misunderstand his words and not let him explain himself. I was very excited for the autistic representation, because I tend to relate very heavily to those characters. But, this time, I couldn’t do it at all, I didn’t see her analyze what was happening around her. She just assumed everything was against her.

I also think everything was a bit over the place. For example, at the beginning of the book Ellie discovers her parents are getting a divorce, and she spends the book worrying about that and making sure to babysit them, so they weren’t alone together, instead of asking why they were doing it. If my parents told me they were having a divorce, I would want to talk to them. She was supposed to be an adult and she had a PhD in psychology!! We needed to wait more than half the book to get that.

As for the audiobook, I don't like commenting on the narrators' voices because it's very subjective, but from the first minute I heard the voice of the female narrator I knew I was going to struggle. There are voices/accents that command my attention, and there are others that don’t. I spent the book trying to focus on what they were saying, especially the female narrator, since the hero was narrated by another person. That being said, I loved that, for someone who only studied Italian for half a year, their Italian sounded good-I even managed to understand everything!

Overall, I didn’t believe in the romance between the main characters and couldn’t stand the heroine. The writing style wasn’t bad and I liked the setting, but this was a romance, and I needed that to be good.

🎧Read as an audiobook

*Rating: 1.5/5 stars

I kindly received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

Travel to Italian Rivera in this swoony second chance romance. I love that the MCs were childhood friends and his grandpa is now marrying her grandma years later! It was so fun to get to know these characters it felt like you were apart of the family. This book had all the things: rekindling of friendship, reminiscing of the past, meddling family and all the Italian culture.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

When your job hits the fan because you were accidentally on air and voiced your true thoughts you’re more than thankful you had a vacation to Chiavari, Italy planned for your grandmother’s wedding.

Although Ellie may not get the summer escape she was planning. As her mom just dropped the bomb they are getting a divorce and need her to keep it a secret for now. Oh and not to mention her childhood bestie turned nemesis will be there.

But Cris is also escaping his own drama as his retirement from pro swimming is being overshadowed by his own scandal. It seems Italy is the perfect backdrop to reunite and let the summer magic rekindle old friendships and maybe even sparks.

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“Maybe it’s because this isn’t just some idea, Ellie. After thirty years of history, it’s kind of hard to think that we are some kind of revolutionary new concept in relationships. Even though we didn’t speak for years, we might be the most consistent thing in each other’s lives. So . . . what if the only thing we’ve messed up is not being together?”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Second Chance - Childhood Besties
* Disgraced Podcast Host FMC
* Retired Pro Swimmer MMC
* MCs in 30s & Starting Over
* Autistic Rep - Diagnosed in Adulthood
* Italian Rivera for Grandparent’s Wedding
* Meddling Family
* Blueberry Pie, Ferris Wheels, Pouring Rain
* Dual POV

☀️🇮🇹💕☀️🇮🇹💕☀️🇮🇹💕

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book it was such a good summer read. The childhood best friends turning into more was great. It was an easy listen that kept me entertained the whole way.

I really enjoyed this debut featuring a podcast sports psychology host who accidentally blows up her career by making an unintentional on-air comment. I loved that the FMC is dealing with a late in life autism diagnosis and then is unexpectedly reunited with the one who got away when she travels to Italy for her grandmother's wedding. Cue a summer of romance, healing and second chances (both career and love). This moving and emotional story with great neurodiversity rep was excellent on audio and perfect for fans of books like One last shot by Betty Cayouette or Rules for second chances by Maggie North. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Finished 7/2/2025
2.5 rounded up to 3.

TW: death/grief of a parent

Neurodivergent autistic and mental health rep. Sports Podcaster FMC. Swimmer MMC. The story overall was light angst and had lots of very cute moments and conversations. Loved the sprinkled in flashbacks of their childhood friendship every summer. Liked that he didnt make a big deal about her autism especially since she was so worried to talk about it.
Unfortunately, I got really bored at many points in the story and didnt hold my attention.

First time author for me! Honestly, I dislike 3rd person Dual POV, but thankfully it was dual narration.

Audiobook narrators: Tim Campbell, Nicol Zanzarella
Dual POV, Third Person
Tropes: Second Chance, Small Town, Slow Burn, Ex-Childhood Friends to Lovers, Wedding setting
Notable Microtropes: Big family
Spice: 1/5

Listened at 1.5x speed.
First time listening to Nicol Zanzarella and only my second Tim Campbell. They were both expressive in their delivery, unfortunately there wasnt many times they got to be that expressive throughout the story. I had no issues with speaking Italian or the accents and on both narrators and thought they did well. Had no issues with their other gender characters voices.

Thanks to Dreamscape Audio and NetGalley for providing an ALC.

3.5/5

First off Greta is hilarious and honestly the friend I would be and would say the same things. She was my favorite. This book is set in Italy and has the perfect amount of culture throughout the book.

Ellie is caught on a hot mic saying some not so great things about the people she interviews. But good timing for her she is going back to Italy for a wedding and this will give time for the drama to die down.

Chris is also headed to the same wedding, but he is trying to run from the not so great rumors of what he may or may not have taken as a professional athlete. But Ellie has a solution for both their problems, in the form of a new interview.

However, Chris and Ellie have a past, and their time together is showing them that maybe they are missing out on things they should have acted on in the past.

Second Chance
Childhood Friends
Slow Burn
Neurodivergent FMC

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the opportunity to listen to this book. Nicol Zanzarella and Tim Campbell did an amazing job narrating this audiobook.

I had really high hopes for "The Summer You Were Mine"--and maybe that didn't set this book up fairly. I had the absolute pleasure of getting both the text and audio ARC of this book; the narration really added to the story, especially when there were Italian words (flawless!)! I also LOVED loved LOVED the neurodivergent FMC (representation for the win!) but perhaps that also added to the lack of chemistry between the FMC and MMC? Maybe? Overall, it was a really good book, just not my standout all-time fave. Definitely a good summer read, especially on audio if you like that format. *I received a complimentary audio and e-ARC from the author/publishing company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I love love love a second chance romance . Especially one that takes place in a overseas destination. It just adds to the romance and vibe of it. Enjoyed this very much!

The beach Italian setting of this book was absolutely amazing! It takes place off the coast of Italy. Made me want to pack my packs for a summer in Italy. The found family and the second chance romance of this story pulled me in.

The audiobook is narrated by Nicol Zanzarella and Tim Campbell. These two were great and included some Italian accents and language that really immersed you into the Italian setting a little more.

Finally a book with summer vibes that deserves 5 stars.
Set on the Italian Riviera, with delicious Mediterranean food, sun-soaked beaches, and a lot of big Italian family charm, The summer you were mine quickly won me over.
Genius move to use Italian accent and Italian words, it gave the audiobook an extra kick.
Ellie is good at fixing other people's problems, yet when she creates one of her own, everything seems to fall apart. Good thing she's going on vacation.
Chris has a history with Ellie, and meeting again brings back the sparks. He is struggling to reinvent himself after a work-related fiasco.
As a slow-burning second-chance romance, this book delivered on chemistry, charm, and emotion.
As a neurodivergent myself, Ellie’s journey with her autism diagnosis hit me in the heart. I love how there is more visibility for functional forms of autism that might not stand out to the naked eye.
I might have stayed home while reading, but it felt like a vacation.

2 ⭐️
╰► 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!

❰𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐭. 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐣𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰!❱

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨💭
╰┈➤sigh… i had really hoped that this book would be as good as the premise made it out to be, but in my opinion, it was lacking in some departments. i wasn’t captivated by the storyline, although some parts did catch my attention this book could've had a little more built up tension between the two main characters, and that could’ve made it much more intriguing. it just wasn't giving me the vibes i was looking for, so i’m disappointed.

₊˚ʚ ➼➻❥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞 + 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚🌊🏖️
╰┈➤ with these two characters, they were both going through their own struggles, and trying to work through their own mistakes. as for the romance in this book, i didn’t feel a romantic spark between ellie and cris, so that was obviously a problem for me, considering that this is a romance book. their dynamic just felt too awkward and i literally couldn’t, connect to the characters.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣🔒
╰┈➤ although this book was disappointing, i did like that the setting was in italy, and i also enjoyed the side characters. just because this book wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it can’t be for you, so maybe check it out.

Such a good wholesome story. I really enjoyed the romance between the two main characters and all the side stories as well.