⭐️: 4.5/5

I went in to this book with no expectations, maybe thinking this will be an easy read to pass the time. Little did I know it would spark this nostalgia and yearning for the beach house summers I never had!

That being said, Annabel Monaghan captured the beauty in first loves, true loves, and finding yourself along the way. I have never walked away from a read feeling so warm and connected to the beauty of all of the characters. Sam and Wyatt's friendship is so raw and real that I hope to see more reads like this.

Gah! I can't wait to reread this summer!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️From the publisher:
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. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. 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.
**********************************
My review:
Well, wow. I loved this book more that I thought I would. Sam is busy hiding and being a responsible adult. And that’s all fine, but she’s not entirely happy. Pair that with resurgent feelings about her teenage love and you’ve got a story that pulls at you. I knew where it was going and I loved the ride.

The way that Monaghan changes the narration and point of view was masterful. The chapters in the past were written in third person and the chapters in the present in first person. It took me a little while to realize this was happening and once I did, it made perfect sense. We look back and see what was, but the past is the past. What a person does now is what matters. And the decisions Sam made now, in the present, was what made her “Sam”.

This reminded me of Carly Fortune’s Every Summer After which was possibly my favorite book of 2022. Teenage love, lost love, and the ability to come back together as adults and make it all right.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam Sons for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

so stinking cute! this is women’s fiction/romance done right

the vibes were immaculate and our mc’s were the most adorable (as were the side characters, who GAVE in this book, well done)

the ending could’ve been developed a bit more but that’s easily overlooked by how much fun i had the rest of the time

I went into this book blind. I requested it just based on the cover and the title. It was eye catching. I was not let down. It was very engaging from the very beginning. I have looked up the author and added her other titles to my to be read list. I would recommend this rom com to any reader.

The perfect romance/ women's fiction / beach read! I loved everything about this - Wyatt and Sam's relationship and past, the family dynamics and challenges that had to be worked through, and the theme of staying true to yourself and making that a priority.
There are definitely some things that work out way too conveniently and unrealistically, but thats okay because its to be expected in summer romance novels like this and I take it with a grain of salt. No spice, so I think a lot of people can enjoy this at different age levels.
The side characters were great as well - Granny's commentary was the best. I flew through this - its easy and sucks you right in to their cute, quaint, beach town world. The progression of Sam and Jack, and the Wyatt dynamic, was fleshed out nicely and I didn't feel like things were too rushed which can happen sometimes in books like these. I'd also say this has a lot more 'women's fiction' vibes than strictly romance.
Definitely recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advanced copy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this super quick second chance romance. I have a soft spot for this trope and Annabel Monaghan hit the mark.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. Sam’s character was relatable and likable from the start and her relationships with Jack and with Wyatt were very well crafted. That being said, there were a few things that caught me off guard, at around chapter 4 the writing switched from first person (told solely from Sam’s perspective) to third person, switching between Sam and Wyatt. I realized ( after turning back a few pages) this was because we went into the past.. I was also slightly thrown by the random Wyatt first person chapter we get towards the end, the only other thing I was disappointed with was the completely glossed over intimate scene that had been building for the entire book, All in all though, a solid 3.5 rounded up to 4

Huge thank you Penguin Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions expressed are my own. This is the perfect beach read for your next vacation. Definitely add this to your TBR for June (Available June 6th, 2023).

I absolutely loved Monaghan’s last book, Nora Goes Off Script (if you haven’t read it, you should!) so needless to say, I was over the moon to get the opportunity to read Same Time Next Summer.

It was a solid 3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4! I admit, the beginning of the book lagged for me and I found the flashbacks to be a bit too long and tedious. However, I started to adore the story and characters halfway through and I flew through the second half. I’m a sucker for a good second chance love story and I thought Monaghan delivered another solid novel. I can see this being a popular beach read this summer!

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

Perfect beach read. Hometown friends to lovers trope. I read this in a day, most of which was spent poolside. Very easy read, love the family component. Family with no filters is always comedy. Another romance where people make mistakes, just like real people, but power through forgiveness and love again. I would give this a 3.5 only because it was like a less capital R romantic Notebook. There is one STAND OUT romantic/passionate argument ending with: “Get your *hit together.” I LOVED THIS. This boom shows that real love is hard and messy and complicated and people are broken and people have to apologize, and forgive. Check it out for your next perfect vacay read.

Thank you Penguin Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced copy. Available June 6th, 2023.

Great summer read! I now want to take a tropical vacation. I enjoyed Sam and Wyatt’s story complete with a slew of quirky supporting characters! It was a quick read and a nice slow burn romance.

4.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

PERFECT summer read while you’re at the beach. And if you’re not, you’ll feel like you are. It’s a predictable romance novel, but unlike many other rom coms, there are twists and satisfying reveals. The only part I didn’t like is the pop singer’s name Missy McGee. That character can be named better.

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

The childhood love between Sam-I-Am and Wyatt was swoon worthy. Sam returns home with her fiancé Jack, and TBH he really was such a square. I appreciated the two timelines.


Things I really loved:
The growth and development of Sam and her journey to finding her true self.

I also loved the “I need to know what happened” feeling that I had until I got there. And I audibly gasped and said, “didn’t see that coming”.

It was a quick read. I felt some of it was rushed and had some missed opportunities to develop characters.

However, I still loved every minute of it.


Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

I couldn’t resist this one after loving Nora Goes Off Script. Sam and Wyatt’s love story had all the things I love about childhood friends to lovers. The wonder, vulnerability, and all consuming nature of first love. My heart broke for them as things fell apart, but their actions and decisions made sense, especially since they were teenagers. The “then” and “now” chapter format helped me understand how Sam could still be so consumed by Wyatt and their break up after 14-ish years (more Wyatt POV chapters would have been great though). Their second chance romance pulled on my heart strings and I was 100% invested in their happily ever after.

I do wish that there hadn’t been (what I feel was) emotional cheating on Sam’s part, but I could see how it could happen given how much was still left unsaid between her and Wyatt. I also felt that things at the end wrapped up too conveniently and easily with Jack and both Sam and Wyatt’s futures, but those things didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. Overall, this was a wonderful read about love, family, and being true to your heart.

CW: strained family relationships, divorce, dyslexia, parental infidelity (past), grief, anger, emotional cheating (flirting and light non-sexual touching while the FMC is still engaged)

Tropes: childhood friends to lovers, second chance, forced proximity, epistolary (texts), vacation romance, he falls first, it’s always been you

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so excited to read this after loving Annabel Monaghan’s “Nora Goes off Script” and it did not disappoint! So much detail and love in these characters, and it immediately made me want to head to the beach. I feel like this would make the perfect rom com movie and was watching it all play out in my head the entire book!

Thanks to GP Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I loved Nora Goes Off Script this year, so I was anxious to read Monaghan's new release. When Sam takes her fiance, Jack, to her artsy family's beach house on Long Island, she comes face to face with her first love, Wyatt, next door. She's also in the midst of a work crisis and spends the time in Long Island reassessing all of the parts of her life. I liked this one but did not love it. This trope normally works well for me, but this version left me wanting more from the ending and the characters, and some parts of the plot just did not work well for me. Still, it's a fun, beachy read with well-done representation.

I loved Nora Goes Off Script, so I was super excited to read Same Time Next Summer, and it did not disappoint. The dual POV, dual timeline, and short chapters made for an easy fast paced read. The nostalgic first love timeline combined with the beach setting makes for an excellent summer/beach read. My only complaint is that I felt like Sam’s relationship with Jack dragged on for way too long.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER
Annabel Monaghan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT so I knew I needed to get my eyes on this second book by Annabel. I loved it and highly recommend you pre-order it…out 6/6/23.

“The sun was low but not down, that last whisper of a summer day that you want to suck dry”

Samantha and Wyatt meet at their summer homes on Long Island when she is 5 and he is 6. Over the summers, they form a great relationship and finally a romance. They surf, swim and hang out in his treehouse basically every day of the summer. A family secret is exposed and Wyatt leaves for CA and Sam is devastated and it takes her a long time to be able to move forward with her life. Fast forward about 12 years and Sam returns to the beach with her fiancé, but she also finds out that Wyatt is there too!! Will they be able to return to the love that they had as teenagers or did they miss their chance.

This book had me laughing and cheering for Wyatt and Sam. I was transported to summer and the beach…one of my favorite places!! I loved this story and it will be one that I will be telling everyone about!!! It will be one of my favorite reads of 2023 for sure!! I devoured it in one sitting as I ignored everything that I needed to be doing!!!

The wildly popular “Nora Goes Off Script” by Annabel Monaghan was one of my top ten reads for 2022, so you can imagine how excited I was to read her follow up novel “Same Time Next Summer”!

30 year old Sam and her fiancé Dr. Jack have the perfect life in New York City. Neat and tidy and full of lots of “clean lines”. Everything is just fine. Except that part where Sam did something out of character (or was it?) at work and now might get fired. It’s really nothing she can’t fix with a week on Long Island at the beach with her family. Probably. When they arrive at the house where Sam spent every summer from age 5 to 17, something feels off. The sounds of an acoustic guitar from the neighboring house can only mean one thing. Wyatt’s here. Her Wyatt. The Wyatt she grew up with and loved intensely the summer she was 16. The same Wyatt who broke her heart and who she hasn’t spoken to in 14 years. Suddenly, Sam is drowning in memories and the need to prove to everyone, including herself, that she’s moved on. Because she has moved on, hasn’t she?

There’s so much tension in the opening chapter you just can’t wait for the whole situation to fall apart because of course it’s going to fall apart! There’s no big whammy here though. Just a slow unraveling of everything Sam ever thought she knew about her family, her relationship with Wyatt, and most importantly herself.

“Same Time Next Summer” is the perfect summer beach read. You can’t help but picture yourself eating dinner with the family on the deck or surfing with Sam and Wyatt in the Atlantic. It’s told in two timelines with two points of view and features themes of coming of age, self discovery, and forgiveness. It’s a short one that I read in a day. At times, I just wanted to shake Sam for being so obtuse, and although it didn’t give me quite the butterflies that “Nora Goes Off Script” did, I still thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Out on June 6, 2023. Definitely pick this one up if you loved Monaghan’s previous book or if you’re a fan of Kathrine Center’s works.

4/5 ⭐️

Thanks to the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and NetGalley for sending an eARC copy for review. All opinions are my own.

#SameTimeNextSummer #NetGalley

ARC READ THROUGH NETGALLEY. All opinions are my own.
When I first started reading this book I had a hard time getting into it because the whole oh we had a summer romance when we were teenagers and then we broke up because life but now that we're adults and see each other again, do we still love each other? is not my favorite trope. It feels overdone to me and I just don't really like it, but this book turned into something more than that. It was also about finding who you are again and maybe making some hard choices to get back to that person. It started off slow for me because of the trope that it follows, but I ended up enjoying it.

As soon as I read Nora Goes Off Script, I became an Annabel Monaghan for life. I’m happy to say that, after reading Same Time Next Summer, that hasn’t changed. This book was all things summer, second chances, and first love. In a mix of present moments and flashbacks, Monaghan tells Sam and Wyatt’s and I quite enjoyed it. I loved the look at family and dreams and the unexpected ups and downs of life.

Note: contains swearing, skippable steam, and infidelity of minor characters.

*Thank you for an e-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.