This is going to be the book of the summer. I loved Annabel Monaghan's last book, but this one is even better. It's a second chance love story set at the beach, and you can absolutely feel the sand between your feet when you turn each page. I read this in one night!

This is going to be THE beach book of the summer.
I was totally sucked in from the very first chapter. Sam is the textbook definition of type A, she brings her equally straight-laced fiancé to the laid back beach town where she grew up spending summers to look at wedding venues. BUT GUESS WHO SHE RUNS INTO HER FIRST LVOE WYATT.

This had be absolutely screaming!
Told in alternating now and then timelines ( which i love) we get to see sam and wyatt fall in love and all the nuances that come with being someones first loves.
If you loved every summer after, the summer I turned pretty, and love and other words I think you will relaly enjoy this.

Written in dual prospective and timelines, Monaghan's newest release is the perfect summer romance read. Monaghan's characters are not only complex but incredibly relatable; you’ll be pulling for Sam and Wyatt to get everything they want in their personal and professional lives. Additionally, Monaghan's descriptions of the Long Island beach really make you feel as if you're there. This book's Women's Fiction with a light element of Romance which mainly deals with the heroine reevaluating her life. While not particularly heavy, be sure check the CWs.


I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
Narrators: Dan Bittner, Brittany Pressley
Rating: 4.5
Steam: Closed Door
Pub Date: 6/6
"Same Time Next Summer" by Annabel Monaghan is the ultimate summer nostalgia read. This second chance, friends-to-lovers story captures the essence of summer romance, and I loved every minute of it.

Sam's life seems to be on the right track with her perfect fiancé, Jack, and a promising career in Manhattan. However, everything changes when she returns to her family's beach house on Long Island to start planning her wedding. She comes face to face with her first love, Wyatt, whom she hasn't seen in fourteen years. As memories flood back and their undeniable connection resurfaces, Sam is forced to question the safe life she’s built for herself since her heartbreaking split with Wyatt.

The summer vibes in this story are just perfect. It’s set in a charming beach town where everyone remembers Sam and Wyatt as teenagers. The dual timeline shows us the beautiful moments the two of them shared when they were younger and the path their relationship took to the estrangement they have now.
Monaghan's writing style is captivating, and her perfect pacing kept me flipping pages well into the night. Even though the story is full of familiar romance tropes, the story felt fresh, and I was pleasantly surprised when something happened that I didn’t see coming.

This book is the perfect combination of romance and women's fiction. Because while Sam is trying to decide what to do about her feelings for Wyatt while being engaged to Jack, she’s also struggling with how this older version of herself became so different than who she used to be. I thought there would be a love triangle situation, but the story’s written so that it doesn’t feel like one.

I loved Monaghan’s book, Nora Goes Off Script, and after loving this one as well, she’s become an auto-buy author for me! I recommend this book to anyone seeking a heartwarming story that encapsulates the magic of summer love. I went back and forth between the audio and the ebook, and I loved how perfectly the two narrators, Dan Bittner, and Brittany Pressley, depicted Sam and Wyatt.

Read if you like:
*Every Summer After
*Dual POV
*Childhood friends-to-lovers
*Beachside settings
*Dual timeline

Thank you so much to Putnam Books, NetGalley, and PRH Audio for my ARC and free audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam for the ARC!

I really enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script so I was thrilled to get and arc of Same Time Next Summer. This one will be perfect for people who are looking for an angsty summer romance to read. The flashback timeline was my favorite to follow along with, the sweetness of young love and the tension of family drama was great. The present timeline was harder for me to enjoy because I didn’t connect with the characters as adults. Their personalities and choices made it hard to root for them (for me).

If you enjoyed Every Summer After, The Roughest Draft or The Happy Ever After Playlist, then you’ll enjoy this one!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This book was a great way to start off summer. The way Annabel Monaghan writes and describes the setting pulls you in. I felt at times like I was physically on the beach or in the ocean the way she would describe the details. I could have easily sat and read this jn one or two sittings.

This book felt similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty, Every Summer After and a little bit of The Summer of Broken Rules. There was second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers and a dual timeline and POV.

The heartbreak that occurred in the book between Sam and Wyatt was done so well it was almost hard to get through because it felt so real and raw. Both Sam and Wyatt you could really sympathize with so easily. They were the type of characters you were rooting for the whole time.

The only qualms I had was my distaste for any kind of emotion cheating, but that being said the way it was handled in the end I had no problems with. It did not have too much emotional drama which I liked. I also liked the talk Sam had with her dad about her situation (which I won’t spoil by going into things about her dad’s past you’ll have to read to find out!).

It is a fairly clean romance with only a couple closed door scenes with a little bit of implied intimacy but nothing too explicit.

Again it is similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty and Every Summer After with a childhood friends to lovers trope and a dual timeline. It also has a similar beach town feeling and family reunion as The Summer of Broken Rules. So if you enjoyed any of those books this is a great one to pick up this summer. If you’re like me and you liked Nora Goes Off Script but it wasn’t your favorite, I think you’ll enjoy this one a lot more. This will definitely be on my summer recommendations list-it has all the beachy feels!

Comes out June 6th!

Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for this digital reviewer copy so I could share my review!

This book was a fun easy read to help kick off the start of summer. Sam and Wyatt are the quintessential young summer love couple so its no surprise that the book starts out many years later with both of them grown up and having taken different paths in life. Sam is getting married and comes back to visit her summer vacation home with her family and runs into Wyatt and old feelings resurface. However it not just about a couple reuniting (spoiler alert) but its about finding yourself again!

I enjoyed this book and I liked Sam's storyline. I liked how she discovered she wasn't living the life she wanted before it was too late. It was a sweet story but something about it felt off to me. Perhaps its because I never had a great summer love or I'm too practical to up and quit my life. I gave it three stars because it was missing something for me, not because of the author, the book, or the writing. I will say if you want a quick summer read this is a good one to keep you company by the pool!

I could smell the salt water air while reading this book. A second chance, childhood sweethearts romance set in an idyllic Long Island beach town. I was internally screaming the entire time for the fiancé exit stage left. A perfect book to read while on vacation or when you're dreaming of getting away to the beach.


***Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. ***

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my

I really liked Nora Goes Off Script last year so I thought I’d give this one a shot, and I actually like it so much more!! I enjoyed both the story and the characters. I was sucked in right away and would not have put the book down if I could help it! It’s not the typical romance book where it’s all about one couple, it’s really about Sam planning a wedding and realizing she probably shouldn’t be with her fiancé, and then she used to be with Wyatt back in high school and this is the first time she’s seen him in years.

I do kind of think the Wyatt/Sam parts were a little bit rushed and I would have liked to have read more about them as a couple.

Definitely recommend!!

Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Her first love, Wyatt is here. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right? Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt’s skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.

This was one of my most anticipated summer reads and it did not let me down! It's the perfect read to put on your summer reading pile. You will be instantly transported to a beach town dreaming of the summer days you had as a kid. Some of the tropes you'll see in the book include: A Love Triangle, Second Chance Romance, Dual POV, and Dual Timelines. Sam's character arc is an emotional transition, but I loved it. Sam has a really fun quirky family which is just so precious. The wedge that drove the two of them apart originally was such an interesting arc. I don't know how I would have handled it. Overall this was a very enjoyable read that brought out the nostalgia of my youth, even though I never had a summer house or lived near a beach. Something about it just pulled at me.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 6/6

I was super excited to receive this book from the Associate Director of Marketing at Penguin Random House because, to be honest, I hadn't even known that Annabel Monaghan came out with a new book. Seriously readers if you loved her last book Nora Goes Off Script then you have got to pick this one up. It was absolutely delightful in my opinion and well frankly it should be on everyone's summer reading list if you love a good romance.

This is the story of growing up, spending your summers at the beach, and falling in love for the first time. We follow Sam and Wyatt two friends who meet every summer at their parent's Long Island homes. Their friendship grows over the years until eventually they discover that maybe being friends isn't enough anymore and they start a relationship. They spend their teenage years falling in love at the beach until one day when Wyatt is eighteen he makes a discovery that will change Sam and his relationship for years to come.

Present-day Sam is in her thirties working a corporate job while Wyatt is also in his thirties living what appears to be the same life he had as a teen. Sadly though they have not seen each other since that awful summer years before. Eventually, Sam ventures back to Long Island with her Fiance who happens to be a doctor named Jack. She plans on staying there only for a few days to plan some of their wedding with her folks. What Sam is counting on is that Wyatt will not be there but man is she mistaken once she hears him playing his guitar in the tree house next door. Suddenly she is transported back to her teenage self and the anxiety rises in her all while she is trying to appear cool and calm.

Her stay eventually leads to more days than she had expected which is great in one way and troubling in another. She is very much enjoying her time with Gracie her younger sister swimming at the beach, surfing and just walking along it. She feels like she might be getting back to herself and in doing so may have discovered that Jack does not know her as well as she had thought. Could this lead to trouble? She has also managed to get to know Wyatt again but this time as a thirty-something which may have been a bad idea. Sam has been faced with some serious decisions that she needs to make on where she wants her life to go.

Everything I have written here is entirely my own thoughts and opinions. Again I would love to thank Penguin Random House for this ARC because I absolutely loved the story and look forward to reading anything Annabel Monaghan will write in the future.

Annabel Monaghan has done it again! This is an absolutely perfect romance! I laughed, I cried, I pictured myself reading this on the beach...it was everything I could want! I am normally not a big second chance romance fan. but this was written so beautifully, I fell in love from the very first page!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! This book is the perfect way to start summer! I enjoyed the back and forth in time between the past and present. Sam is a great and relatable character. It's both scary and refreshing to try and find yourself in your 30s and decide what parts of your life you love, connect to, and want to change. It feels relaxing to reconnect with your youth and find your path. I enjoyed Sam's family. They're fun and colorful. Wyatt is romantic and stressful in the best way. This book makes me want to go to the beach and find new and old passions. I highly recommend it!

Same Time Next Summer is the perfect summer read to take to the beach or read on the way to your destination. I enjoyed Monaghan's previous book, Nora Goes Off Script, so much that when this one came up, I had to request it. While this one has a good story and is mostly light, with a few serious spots, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Nora.

What I loved about the book:
-great setting
-good romance build-up
-a good mix of characters
- nostalgic feels of a first love

What stopped me from giving it five stars is that it is a little predictable. It's hard to make second chance love fresh, but based off what Monaghan did with Nora, I was hoping for a new perspective.

runaway bride meets every summer after. i was nervous about this one as I LOVED nora goes off script and sometimes follow ups just dont match the feel and vibe but I think Annabel Monaghan's writing is just perfectly right for me. I really enjoyed her characters, the way they tried to figure themselves out and how they fit together, Its not cheesy or forced and it I enjoyed Sam so much. She's an easy heroine to follow and feel for. I also wish I had her therapist after my first heartbreak! Man, so much good advice there...
Read this for summer on a warm day and enjoy the waves:)

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the digital ARC!

What I Liked

The writing just flows so beautifully and draws you in from the first page. The story is told in present-day first person from Sam's perspective, with past chapters in third person from both Sam and Wyatt's POV. This is a tricky move to pull off, but I felt like it worked well to give us backstory and a sense of present-day urgency.

I adored Sam's family and how free they felt at their beach house, how they just let their art drive their lives. The were fun side characters who really shed light on who Sam is and how hard she's worked to be different to protect herself.

The banter and ease between Sam and Wyatt is also great. You can really feel that longterm friendship-to-lovers connection between them even as adults who broke one another's hearts.

Like many of my favorite stories, there is a lot of focus on Sam learning to accept herself and choose to do what makes her happy, rather than what makes her feel solid and safe but doesn't bring her alive. I love that self-discovery and self-honesty being the heart of the story, even as it kind of plays out through a love triangle.

What I Didn't Like

At times, I did feel like Sam's fiance felt like one of those "this guy is so obviously wrong for her, ugh" kind of characters, which I hate. Yes, people do get engaged for the wrong reasons some times, but I would've liked to see a bit more humanity out of him at some points in the book to avoid his being a charicature of a tight-laced guy. There are some moments of that here and there, but ultimatley it did feel like he was painted in a way to make us feel no guilt about rooting for Wyatt.

I will also chant my usual refrain that things did kind of wrap up quickly at the end, though I think the foundation was laid for the ending in a way that the quickness did sort of make sense.

In all, I absolutey loved Same Time Next Summer and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good romance, a beach read with depth, and/or a story about a woman overcoming her past to embrace her true self. It comes out on June 6th, but you can put in a preorder right now.

I didn’t love this nearly as much as Nora Goes Off Script. I think it was a decent short summer romance, However I think it was hard to connect to the characters and also think idea of basically not being more mature from the age of 18 to 30 is a bit much. Overall, I’d recommend if someone wanted a second chance summer romance, but I didn’t love this unfortunately.

“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.”

In the least surprising turn, Annabel Monaghan writes another book I love.

A cross between The Summer I Turned Pretty and Sweet Home Alabama. This one features first love, then and now timelines, and second chance romance. Same Time Next Summer is your 2023 beach read.

This book is a nostalgic look back at young love. Samantha and Wyatt spent summers on the beach in Long Island growing up, but then things happened that drastically altered their plans. 14 years later they meet at the beach again and have some hard decisions to make.

This is 100% the beach read of 2023. I know it.

I got wrapped up in this character’s life and the pages of this book. I loved watching the entire story unfold and Sam get back to who she was as a person.

While Wyatt was infuriating at times, he was also super endearing and I found myself liking him anyways. I liked watching his growth from young boy to teenager to full grown adult.

This is definitely a story of second chance romances, lifelong friendship, and staying true to your colors through all seasons of life.

Such a great summer read!