A great sophomore book for Monaghan. I loved the characters, the location, the witty dialogue. Have been recommending it to patrons!

I really enjoyed Sam's story in this book.

It's a great summer, second chance romance, set in Long Island.

Sam and Wyatt have a rocky past that Sam hasn't gotten over yet, even though she's tried to convince herself she has because she's planning her wedding to the man she THINKS she's supposed to be with.

This story touched on going back to your roots and loving your family just the way they are, craziness and all.

The lessons learned by Sam are simple, never lose sight of who you truly are, and don't try to make yourself into someone you aren't just to fit someone else's ideals.

Very cute read. Perfectly fitting ending. A bit of a frustrating FMC but I believe that it was the intention.

I absolutely loved this summer book ! I loved this book so much that I want to re read it again . I have recommended to many friends and colleagues who have bought it and read it as well. The character development and the love story was fantastic .

I was in the mood for a summer romance, so I snagged #SameTimeNextSummer from @librofm educator picks. I liked but didn't love Monaghan's last book, but it was a compulsive listen. Same Time Next Summer is the story of high school loves Sam and Wyatt, who are now adults and haven't talked since their breakup. They grew up with summer houses next door to each other on Long Island. Sam lived in NYC and Wyatt in Florida. Sam comes to the summer house with her fiance and (surprise!) Wyatt is there. Initially told in two timelines (their childhood friendship turned love) and the present, we get mostly Sam's narration (Brittany Presley is a delight, as always), but some Wyatt in the past. I think one's enjoyment of this novel hinges on how you view the big reveal(s). I didn't buy them. At all. So this novel mostly flopped for me. It was still an enjoyable listen, but for a summer romance it was mostly sad.

A soul searching love story with wonderful characters that had me glued to the pages. This may have been my favorite romance so far, this year!

“You’re the cake that looks normal until people dig in and find out it’s spectacular. You’re the chocolate fucking cake, Sam, and you won’t even choose it.”

“You’re the most important person that’s ever been in my life, and you’re not even the most important person in your own.”

I absolutely loved this second chance romance. So much so I devoured it in less than 24 hours. Sam is back home, planning her wedding to Jack. What she didn’t plan for is Wyatt, her first love. The one that got away. This is a story about young love, heartbreaks, family drama, growing up, growing apart, and ultimately finding out what’s worth fighting for.

I didn’t expect to love this one as much as I did!

This was a truly sweet pool read that delivered on the nostalgia of first loves while keeping up enough originality to not feel overdone. I've read two books by this author and they've both maintained a kind of sepia toned cinematic quality that will have me reaching for a third.

Loved this sweeping second chance romance about young love and the road not taken. Fans of Nora Goes Off Script will not be disappointed!

I liked this story but it felt more like a YA book. Sam and Wyatt went through things when they were teenagers and basically can't let go of the past. I thought Wyatt was a jerk who never properly apologized to Sam.

This was a perfect beach read with little substance and a cute romance. I loved the teenage flashbacks and what we got from Wyatt during those times. I wish we had more of that. Sam could get really frustrating but FMC in light romances normally do. A solid summer, beach read.

I am a friends to lovers fan so I did enjoy this book. I liked the chapters indicating how they met and the build up of their love story. I also enjoyed the music aspect of the book, that is always fun! I had a harder time with feeling like she was still pinning after him. It just didn’t seem like she still loved him after all these years. I also hated the fact that she was now re-in love with Wyatt but still planning her wedding. Made me dislike her character a little more. And how did she not google him after all this time? Didn’t seem believable to me.

Good read! I think it's always a challenge for whatever books come after a rockstar read, and Nora Goes Off Script was so good. It's hard not to compare this one to its predecessor, but it held its own. This trope is (in my opinion) one of the hardest to nail, but this book did a great job!

This is the second book by Annabel Monaghan that I've read and this one just missed the mark for me. I felt like the relationship between the two main characters was more developed in the past storyline than it was in the present. I also felt like the pacing was off. I liked Sam and Wyatt as characters and I thought the mental health representation was done well. I also think the author did a good job of showing that Sam and Wyatt had matured. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I probably won't reread it.

Thank you Putnam Books and Netgalley for this arc. This is also a Bad on Paper book of the month (July 2023) book. Sam has her life set; she is engaged to a doctor and her life is safe and she knows what to expect. When she was young she fell in love with a neighbor, Wyatt, in their summer house on Long Island, but they broke up and she was so hurt she went for the safe choices and life with Jack. Sam and Jack go to the Long Island house for a long weekend and Wyatt ends up being there. Sam and Wyatt haven't seen each other or talked in over 10 years. If you liked Every Summer After by Carly Fortune and/or past lovers reconnecting, you will love this book.

Summary
Sam doesn't spend much time coming out to the family beach house anymore. Ever since the summer Wyatt broke her heart, she stays away as much as she can. But now she and her fiance' Jack are coming to visit. Her parents want them to consider a wedding there. As soon as she arrives, Sam can tell something is different... Wyatt is back next door. Wyatt, her childhood friend, first love.

Review
I've seen comparisons of this book to a few others, that I haven't read but are on my TBR. It is a second chance, friends to lovers, childhood sweethearts, dual timeline story. We see present day, as Sam returning back to the beach house for more than a weekend for the first time in years. Then we see the backstory of Sam and Wyatt and how their families bonded and the connection between Sam and Wyatt. One slight critique is the idea of people being romantic with someone for a summer as teens and then a decade later they are reconnecting and wondering if they were the love of their life. It may just be having gotten cynical in my old age 🙂 Ten years ago, these stories may have made me swoon. The reason for the falling out was not what I expected and it felt like there was an attempt at some misdirection with Sam's sister, Gracie.

This book is the perfect summer vacation read - it has everything you need for a feel good vacation read! The characters are beyond lovable, the story itself is GREAT. I think the only thing that kept it being a 5 star for me was that I had SUCH HIGH EXPECTATIONS after "Nora Goes Off Script" that held me back from rating this one a 5 star.

This one was so good! Love a good second-chance romance and this one definitely delivered! I had the opportunity to listen to the audio and definitely recommend the audiobook!

This book is such a perfect read if you're looking for a summer themed read! It's filled with nostalgic summer memories, loveable family relationships, and of course a second chance romance plot. I found this one to have similar vibes to Every Summer After and Love & Other Words, both of which I loved just as much as this one! I found Sam to be a relatable main character and I definitely enjoyed following along on her journey of self growth.

Read this one if you like:
☀️Second chance romance trope
☀️Beachy vibes
☀️Lighthearted reads
☀️Summer time

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thirty-year-old Sam hasher life all planned out and tied down. She's engaged to a doctor who has rigid (aka safe) routines and has a job in HR where she can consult with companies to make sure that their employees follow strict guidelines. Instead of feeling good about this, she is panicking as she heads to Long Island to have her fiance see where she spent summers as a child with her artistic parents. As they arrive and get comfortable, she finds out that her childhood sweetheart Wyatt is next door for the summer. This matters far too much to her as she hasn't seen him in years.
The story then jumps back and forth in time for a while. Sam is trying to plan her wedding to Jack while dealing (or not dealing) with her feelings for Wyatt. Chapters also showcase how she felt as a teenager when she was falling in love with Wyatt (and he with her-there were a few chapters from Wyatt's POV). This story had all the feels and angst. I really felt like I was on the beach in the middle of my first romance. The secondary characters are fun and there are no clear villains in the story which is nice as I preferred the more realistic approach to the story.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.