This book was such a delight to read. I was completely engrossed. What really drew me in were the two main characters. They were so well developed and they captured my whole heart.  The perfect summer read, with great characters, nostalgia, and romance.
Annabel Monaghan refined story telling was so natural that you’re effortlessly swept from page to page. I followed along my physical book with the audiobook. Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley narrated very nicely. They were the perfect duo for the characters in the book. And the pacing was solid! I will definitely be checking out more books from Annabel Monaghan.

This is bound to be THE book of the summer! When Sam goes to tour a potential wedding venue near her childhood summer home, she is immediately thrown back in time to her past life with Wyatt... who is not her fiancé! I love a book focusing on someone forced to reevaluate things and make a decision between what currently is and what could have been. The contrast between her buttoned up current life and her free-spirited first love was excellently written. I loved Carley Fortune's debut, Every Summer After, last year, and this book has the same kind of magic for me. Will definitely be buying a hard copy on release date!! Thank you for the early review copy- amazon review to come!

I don’t know if I’ve ever been more satisfied by an ending. While she was by no means a perfect character, I found I related so much to Sam. Both in her train of thought and her metaphors/connections she made with her feelings. This was the kind of light hearted, second chance at love, easy read I needed right now!

I didn't want this book to end! Please give us more stories about Sam and Wyatt!

Annabel Monaghan has definitely become one of my favorite must-read authors now with Nora Goes Off Script and now Same Time Next Summer.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book made me want to pack up and move to the beach for the summer!

⭐️: 4/5- This Second Chance Romance is a perfect beach read! Second chance romances are not usually my jam, but I really enjoyed this one. This book really reminded me of Love and Other Words, but I think this one is SO much better. In part one this book goes between “Then” and “now” to cover Sam and Wyatts story. I kept smiling reading about Sam and Wyatt falling in love as kids. I loved all of the characters and I loved the location. I suddenly want to go for a swim in the ocean so badly and feel so nostalgic of going to beach in the summer as a kid. While the romance is the focus of the story, i really enjoyed Sam’s rediscovery of self the most. If you’re looking for an easy beach read, I really liked this one!

🌶️: 2/5 most of the spice happens off page.

If you like Second Chance Romances, Friends to Lovers, Love and Other words, Dual Timelines, or beach reads I think you will really enjoy this one! It was the perfect book to read to kick off Summer.

“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.”

Thank you @Putnambooks and @annabelmonahan for the gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Same Time Next Summer is out June 6th, 2023

“You’re my person on the beach.”

I don’t know that I can write a comprehensive review. This book was amazing. Completely, utterly, and undeniably a 5⭐️ read. When I read Nora Goes Off Script I had fallen in love with this author and knew instantly that I’d read anything she wrote and STNS is the perfect - yes PERFECT - beach read for 2023.

Sam & Wyatt were fantastic characters. They are lovable in so many ways, and I cannot go into them all without this turning into a 10 page essay. The entire cast of characters were so well rounded, so developed. The writing was incredible. The author has a way of making you feel like the things happening to these characters are happening to you. Like she’s narrating YOUR OWN LIFE back to you, even though you may have never done these things. Every line, thought, feeling makes sense. Nothing is rushed. Nothing is slow. It all unfolds and makes you feel at the exact right time. It is exciting, vulnerable, and tender all at the once.

This story does have a dual timeline where we can see what happened between Sam & Wyatt when they were young - how they played, lived and loved to what they are now. Distant. Civil. Heartbroken. We don’t get a lot of Wyatt chapters but I think they were some of my favorites.

For sure this is a similar genre to NGOS; more contemporary women’s lit than romance but the romance! Gosh, the romance in this was igniting! I in fact have already done a 2nd read of STNS but it may take me a 3rd or 4th to truly gather my thoughts for a more thought out review because, as mentioned I LOVED this book in so many different and wonderful ways.

Y’all: pleaseeee go get this when it comes out! There was not one disappointing moment. This story pierces your heart; it is fresh and poignant and mirrored what youth and summer and love and freedom feels like. If you’re looking for a second chance romance, a nostalgic love story, the perfect book to read at the beach… this is it.

Gah! I wish I had more eloquent words to fully describe how much I adored this novel. Sam & Wyatt will live in my brain and heart and every summer forever. Sorry (not sorry) to all my acquaintances who will never stop hearing me rave about Same Time Next Summer. Also - I will never read the word “corps” the same way ever again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Same Time Next Summer is going to be this summers hit. It's got the perfect summer setting (Long Island), a second chance romance, nostalgia, a quirky family and Sam's journey on relearning who she is. I read this book in less than a day. It was impossible to put down. The romance between Sam and Wyatt was so sweet (both past and present). 5 stars. This is the perfect summer beach read.

This book was so good! I loved Annabel’s book Nora Goes Off Script so much, and I was so excited for this one! It is going to make a perfect beach read! I love a second chance, and it has an alternating timeline and I love both of those things so much. This is my favorite kind of book I think? It’s the summer house, finding your person when you’re a kid, losing them, the life altering heartbreak, the moving in and growing up and then coming back together? All of it is SO GOOD?! I just love it so much. And I loved Sam and Wyatt so much.

I loved Sam so much. She grew so much, and then she kind of stopped, because she was comfortable right? And then she finally faced Wyatt again and everything changed. And it was exactly what she needed. Wyatt was exactly what she needed. And this was of course about the two of them, but it was mostly about Sam’s journey of healing as a teenager/young adult and then sort of re-healing as an adult?

Which isn’t to say Wyatt didn’t go through a lot of changes! Because he did! And it was just as beautiful. He was a broken and sad kid who loved so hard, but didn’t know what to do with his life changing. And he pushed away the good thing because he didn’t want to hurt her in the process of finding himself.

But I loved them together. Seeing them in the past where they began. And then seeing how easy it was for them to step back into being friends. And even though it stirred to so many things for them and everyone around them. The two of them, at the end of the day were easy. Exactly what they needed. And I loved them so much.

The reason they stopped talking was so complicated, but I’m glad it was an external(ish) conflict?? It was obviously something that affected them both, but it affected Wyatt so much more and that changed their relationship. They were living though the same thing but with different outcomes, and he couldn’t get past it - and I don’t blame him. but I’m just glad it wasn’t because they didn’t love each other?? Because they clearly did!

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I loved being back in a world that Annabel created!!

I loved Nora Goes Off Script so much, so I was excited to read a copy of Same Time Next Summer. It’s a quick, easy summer read, but it felt a little flat. Scenes and moments were kind of glazed over without much development, and the different points of view were confusing. Just a little meh and vanilla for my liking, but not bad!

For fans of Every Summer After & Love and Other Words, Same Time Next Summer did not disappoint! I loved the then and now timeline and the childhood friends to lovers story. The plot twist was a fun surprise that was executed flawlessly. A must read for the summer!

For fans of Every Summer After & Love and Other Words, Same Time Next Summer did not disappoint! I loved the then and now timeline and the childhood friends to lovers story. The plot twist was a fun surprise that was executed flawlessly. A must read for the summer!

Nora Goes Off Script was one of my favorite reads last year so to say my anticipation level was high for this one would be an understatement. BUT Annabel Monaghan came through and delivered THE swooniest summer read that had me shopping for a beach house.

Sam and Wyatt have next door beach houses and formed a deep friendship then young love as kids/teens. When an action tears them apart, they breakup and lose touch for years. Sam comes back to the beach house as an engaged adult and, of course, Wyatt happens to be visiting at the same time. These two must find some closure to their situation, but the pull of young love is strong.

This premise is nothing new. I can name 3-4 books off the top of my head who basically do the same thing. The thing that makes this one stand out is the emotional pull of this writing and these characters. Annabel Monaghan knows how to create characters that you can see yourself in. The hurt, love, and hope is tangible. Sam longs for the carefree girl she used to be, but is comfortable with the safe bubble that she's put herself in. We don't get as much from Wyatt, since it's mostly from Sam's point of view, but the tension between them is wonderful. If anything, I wish we would have lost the fiance a bit sooner, but I'm also happy with the journey that Sam took.

The book is incredibly page turning. It has short, binge-able chapters and you never get stuck in a timeline for too long. It's literally made for summer reading! Now I'm off to wait 12 months for Monaghan's next summer gem.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this nostalgic story of Sam and her first love Wyatt then and now. I liked the change in POV between Sam and Wyatt and the different timelines. It was a story that resonated with me as I search for a new career path. I understand how Sam felt not living her authentic life and instead living this life that was safe that she built. It was a great storyline and really showed her growth by the end. If you liked Every Last Summer I think you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam for my digital ARC of this book which releases 6/6.

Wyatt and Sam (Samantha) grew up spending summers on long island as neighbors, friends and when they were 17, so much more. An event takes place that tears them apart. They both move on eventually and build their own lives. They have returned to Long Island this summer, Sam with a fiance in tow. Sam and Wyatt rekindle a friendship and maybe more.

What I loved:
- I loved these characters! Sam and Wyatt's love story is classic young love and it is very sweet!
- The side characters are great. I loved Sam's parents and her brother and his boyfriend
- This beach setting was so perfect for a summer/beach read. That's just what I want to read in the summer.
- The short, fast chapters made the pages go by very quickly.
- This plot was a romance story, yes but it had a little bit more and hit on some heavier topics as well.

What I didn't like:
- Nothing!

4.5 stars rounded up

This book delivered in spades! I loved Monaghans first book and this one certainly lived up. The setting was rich, the characters were real and I fell in love with this story. I honestly can't wait to reread it. Highly recommend for your spring and summer reading.

Review will be posted on 6/2/23
Sam has it all figured out. She is engaged to Jack, a doctor, and they live in an organized apartment in Manhattan filled with muted grays and minimalist decor. It's in major contrast to her life at her family's beach house in Long Island, which is filled with artwork, driftwood, shell collections, and bright colors. Sam plans to take her buttoned-up fiance to Long Island to look at a possible wedding venue. Returning here is difficult for Sam as not only is it the polar opposite of her life in New York, but it's also a side of herself that she hasn't shown Jack. It's the messy, carefree, sand between her toes side. It's also the spot of most major heartbreak- her childhood sweetheart Wyatt broke her heart at 17 and she hasn't seen him since. Wyatt and Sam were very close since childhood as he lived next door to her beach house, so this was more than your average breakup. She needed some major therapy just to get over him, so the thought of being near Wyatt this weekend is testing her quite a bit. Wyatt is in town for a music festival, as he is a singer/songwriter and surprisingly, her family is still very social with him. Cue the awkwardness! The more time Sam spends at the beach, the more she starts questioning her relationship with Jack, what she wants out of life, and how she lives her life in New York. Also, could she still have feelings for Wyatt this many years later? Annabel Monaghan's Same Time Next Summer is beach read perfection. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed Sam from the start of Same Time Next Summer and I adored her carefree life at the beach house. Monaghan nails the then/now narrative technique and shares with us what life was like as a teen at the beach house and the evolution of her relationship with Wyatt. I thought she did this brilliantly! I could see where the story was taking us, but Monaghan did the second-chance romance trope very well. She made it work seamlessly and it felt authentic. I was smitten!

Which leads me to Wyatt. I really adored him in Same Time Next Summer. He is a complex character and I appreciated his backstory. I would have liked more of him, but the chapters we do get from his point of view were well done. His struggles felt very real and his difficulty to find his niche also felt very relatable. I was rooting for him and don't even get me started with his Florida surfer boy guitar-playing vibe. Swoon!

Monaghan depicts life at a family beach house so well in Same Time Next Summer. I felt like I was there at the beach with Sam, swimming in the ocean, feeling the breeze, climbing up to the treehouse, running through the dunes, and eating dinner on the patio. I adored it! Same Time Next Summer has absolutely everything I love in a beach read and it is going down as one of my favorite books of the year. A grand slam of a summer book and one that should be in everyone's beach bag this summer! Fans of Every Summer After will want to pick up a copy of this book immediately!

Are you a fan of Annabel Monaghan? Will you read Same Time Next Summer when it comes out next week? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

4.5/5⭐️s! Monaghan's ability to transport her readers into the setting of her books is unmatched. Nora Goes Off Script made me want to live among magnolias with a tea house in my backyard and Same Time Next Summer reminded me of my days living at the beach.

Sam heads to the beach with her doctor-fiance, Jack, to look at a wedding venue. While there she runs into her first love, Wyatt, who broke her heart when she was 17. With a cast of fun characters and a relationship told through time jumps and different POVs, it reminded me of The Notebook (without the tears at the end).

I thought the pace of the book was nice, although some parts felt a little slow/dragged out for me, but I think that's just because I was eager to get back to Wyatt and Sam's story.

Pub Date is June 6, 2023 and I highly recommend adding to your TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts!

Review- Same Time Next Summer

This was the PERFECT summer read. Same Time Next Summer had me yearning to be at the beach and swimming in the ocean. Sam and Wyatt are such incredible characters. Their childhood summers had me feeling nostalgic and remembering memorable vacations. This is a second chance romance that will hook you from the very first page. I was having quite the book hangover before I started this one, but was quickly cured after diving in and immediately loving this story. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Same Time Next Summer will hit shelves June 6th!

A fantastic summer romance that reminds you of your first teenage love and all the awkwardness and beauty that comes with it. I really appreciated the focus on learning to love your full self and the people who love that self too.

The impetus for the teenage breakup was a little overdrawn for me and I thought the therapy mentions were a little rushed and not quite helpful but overall a fun read with light steam that will tap into your creative side.

Sam spent years at the beach with her first love, Wyatt. They break up due to some drama between others. Years later, Sam is engaged to Jack and they spend a week at the beach and Sam sees Wyatt for the first time since they broke up.

First love for Sam and Wyatt is a strong bond, and I truly appreciate the internal dilemma of Sam. We get peeks at others, but stay in Sam’s world. The ending was *chefs kiss.*