I assumed it would be more romantic with an idyllic Mediterranean setting. It was a quick and easy read but fell a little short of my expectations.

I love reading about STEM heroines, but I found this one too predictable which made her feel a little annoying. The initial excitement of Abby falling for her tutees' father was excitingly written but then, once they started dating, it seemed to fizzle out a little. The boned well over Richard’s daughter which was lovely but not particularly romantic, though Abby does help him to become a better father.

I found the plot of a PhD student being wronged and then finding an amazing job for the summer (instantly it seemed) a little too convenient and unbelievable but good for her. The tutor and the billionaire falling in love were too predictable too. Every time he speaks to her, she says the hairs stood on the back of her neck which got a bit tiring as well.

However, I did really enjoy the scenery and the idea of spending six weeks traipsing around Europe on a yacht. This wasn’t the book for me but would suit someone who loves predictable light romances which are a little cliché.

thank for this arc. while this was fun and fresh, i just have to say that i don't appreciate how they used a term popularized by meg thee stallion, a black woman, and did not give her any credits.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I've read this author before and I did enjoy this book for the most part. Either it was very similar in plot to another book I loved or there were a few things I felt the author could have expanded upon.

Abby Atkinson is a 4th year PhD physics when her whole research was stolen by her advisor without any proof to back up her claims. For someone so smart as the book title suggests, Abby not being able to defend her work as hers seems a plot device to get her on Richard Vale's rented yacht in the Mediterranean as a math tutor for his 12 year old daughter Bijou. So Abigail takes the job and flies to Barcelona to meet the yacht and the occupants- Richard, Bijou, Coco the assistant and the yacht crew.

I admired Abby's independent nature with traveling and getting out of her comfort zone with adventures, to help encourage Bijou and her dad connect. Unfortunately being a child of divorce with the tabloids is not easy. The romance with Richard was a little difficult to believe. There is definitely a slow burn, and once they do become intimate it's a fade to black situation.

It was an unrealistic ending maybe but a happy one in terms of Abby deciding to pursue teaching over finishing her PhD, even though I wanted her to stick it to the guy who stole her work. I liked the side characters, Arpita and Coco. I enjoyed traveling vicariously through Abby as well. 3.25/5☆

This book surprised me in the best way! I liked, but didn’t love Kristin Rockaway’s How to Hack a Heartbreak, but this one really did it for me! The first few pages didn’t really grab my attention, but the plot moves quickly and I was soon hooked! Loved all the characters, great chemistry, authentic feelings. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Smart Girl Summer is not OMG super great but it does have some redeeming qualities. It is a relatively quick read as the words flow easily. This would definitely be a great beach read where you don't have to obsess about technicalities in the story. There are some great characters including our illustrious billionaire who is not at all how he is portrayed to be. There was SOME chemistry although I didn't see it at first...that connection (only the assistant and daughter kind of pushing for it). All in all, a cute, fun summer read. 3.5 stars rounded up because now I want to go to the Mediterranean.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Abby is a 4th year graduate student and has had her PhD research stolen by her advisor. They also won't give her a summer teaching position. Flustered, she looks for more tutoring work and finds a perfect job: 6th grade math, four hours a day, five days a week, on a yacht in the Mediterranean. No catch - but her new student's billionaire dad is way more attractive than she expected, and did we mention it's a summer in the Mediterranean?

This story really is sweet. The main characters and supporting characters are incredible, and so many wonderful things happen. If you want a happy romance with other aspects to the story that aren't about the romance, featuring a strong female lead, a cool 12-year-old, a man willing to change for the better, and people you want to root for, this is the book for you.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT I LIKED
- I'm wild about this cover and title!
- The descriptions of life on the yacht and Abby's sightseeing adventures were fun. The author did a wonderful job of making those scenes feel immersive.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME
- The writing felt juvenile and unpolished, with too many thought monologues. I lost count of how many times the author described the male character as "wounded," and I cringed through a scene where the main characters watch Titanic and compare each other to Jack and Rose.

Read this if you liked The Cheat Sheet or Shipped.

Smart Girl Summer is a Young Adult novel that advertises itself as a romance, but really is a realistic rendition of a young woman growing up and discovering the mundane and oft times slow-paced experiences that life has to offer. It’s slow unfurling story may turn off some readers, but sometimes it’s nice to take a realistic peak into someone’s normal life. It’s a nice reminder that one person’s “boring” is another person’s “bucolic peace”.

Abby needs a job and Richard needs a tutor for his 12 year old daughter Bijou, who failed math. Oh, and he's a billionaire who has rented a yacht. This is a quick, entertaining, albeit troope-y read which is buoyed by the characters. Abby's casting about for something after her Phd has gone off the rails and tutoring, which below her skills, fills the bill, especially since Richard has them cruising European waters. Richard is a bit cardboard but Bijou makes up for it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

2.75/5 Stars

So, this was a light read, but I'm sorry to say it was just average for me. I'm gonna be honest and say that I was hoping for more romance from this novel, instead I got a lukewarm relationship with no spark whatsoever, which was a bit of a bummer.
The glamorous lifestyle and summer vibes were lovely to read about, but that's about it, it didn't go any further than that unfortunately.
Overall this book just wasn't it for me, it just wasn't anything memorable and I will probably forget its story pretty soon.

While there's nothing wrong with the writing, I just cannot give this book more than two stars. My primary issue is with the male romantic lead - I think we're supposed to be swooning because gosh, he's just so normal for a billionaire, but I was really uncomfortable through most of the book. Abby is in a vulnerable position; her academic career is up in the air after her research was stolen by her advisor, and she's left tutoring for the summer while she figures out whether she wants to continue to pursue her PhD if it means having to start from scratch. Enter the billionaire: Richard needs someone to tutor his daughter in math, from the comfort of their private yacht (which is supposed to be okay because he rented it, instead of buying it outright, I guess? and he isn't overly extravagant! he's just a normal billionaire! But I digress).

There are sparks between Abby and Richard (HER BOSS), but she tries to resist them, because she knows it will jeopardize her tutoring job (because it is literally in her contract not to fraternize with her tutoring students' parents). She ends up being unable to resist Richard's smoldering looks and they fall into a secret affair, and then embrace their relationship when his daughter says she's fine with it (because the 12 year old's opinion should override ethical and contractual agreements!) When paparazzi catch Abby and Richard leaving a hotel after a night together, Abby's name is dragged through the mud... and Richard tells her it's the price of dating him and to just get used to it. She loses her contract with the tutoring agency in the process.

While Richard does eventually see the error of his ways, there's really too much here that gave me major icks around this guy. It's 2022... the "falling for a wealthy bachelor despite his flaws because you can save him!!!" trope doesn't hold any appeal for me, sorry.

This is a light and easy read with a bit of so heavier topics (the struggles of women in STEM and academic fraud, the privacy and gossip of celebrity etc). The story mentions many lovely places the characters visit with gorgeous settings and has some adventurous tourist activities mentioned in it. There is some romance to it but no spicy moments involved.

Enjoyable, breezy, light summer romance. Grad student Abby takes a job tutoring a billionaire's daughter as they sail around the Mediterranean on a yacht for the summer. Great location descriptions and interesting, developed characters. Perfect beach/vacation read!

I have enjoyed other work but this author but really struggled to find anything redeeming about his book. Save your money

I’m going to be brutally honest and just say this was not good. The writing quality is particularly bad, the characters lack substance, and everything felt inauthentic.

For a book about spending a summer on a yacht in Europe, I didn’t get any cute travel vibes or feel like I was there. I could romanticize my kitchen better than this author could with Spain, France, and Italy. Additionally, this felt like reading a YA novel, despite being about a twenty something year old who falls for a billionaire. Unbelievably childish and the romance was laughable.

I’m usually not this harsh, but this was just a waste of time.

1.5⭐️

This was a quick fun read - perfect for beach season! I loved Abby as our narrator; her questioning grad school and her path came across as super relatable. The surrounding characters were also fun; I’d say my least favorite of them was Richard himself. He came across a bit 1 dimensional at times and while I enjoyed their connection I didn’t feel chemistry. I especially loved the connection with Bijou (albeit her poor name choice).

I’m looking forward to Rockaway’s next. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I snagged this on Netgalley when it was available as ‘Read Now’ without knowing too much about it. After a quick read of the synopsis, I assumed it would be a single-dad billionaire romance with an idyllic Mediterranean yacht setting. I was pretty much right and, for the most part, I enjoyed it! It was a very easy read and interesting enough to hold my attention. I found myself more interested in the first half than the second half though. Abby, a 4th year Physics PhD who was just wronged by her academic advisor, was a likable main character, and I’m always drawn to STEM heroines. She takes a tutoring job and falls for her student’s hot, high profile father. Bonus points for him being a hot nerd who unwinds with a good fantasy book! I really loved Abby and Richard’s pining over each other and thought they had decent chemistry but it just completely fizzled out for me once they actually got around to dating. They mostly bonded over Richard’s relationship with his daughter which was all well and good but didn’t really scream romance. I really loved how Abby encouraged Richard though and helped him be a better father. Despite being a romance, I think the romance was actually my least favorite part of the book. I was most intrigued by the academic scandal and felt the conclusion to that was a bit underwhelming. Aside from some kissing, the romance in this book is closed door. I would classify this more as Women’s fiction. Overall, a decent read but not an entirely memorable one.

Easy read! A bit more predictable than maybe I wanted but it was okay.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

Short and quick summer read about a woman who is ready for the change in her life. The big change is that she starts to work for a billionaire and they quickly fell in love without showing any affection for each other. Then they broke up after the media destroys Abby’s carrier and the outcome is predictable.
I’m not saying it’s a bad book. I’ve had some fun reading it, but I expected more under the title ‘smart girl summer’.
But if someone looking for an easy joyful read, this book is the right pick.