Member Reviews

Finished ✔️ Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan and it was overall really an enjoyable read.

4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: June 6th, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No

The ultimate summer nostalgia read about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn’t seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from the age of five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their live story, and herself.

An unforgettable love story that was delightful.
It bursts with the magic that comes with your first love.
Everyone I want in a summer romance

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I love a good second chance novel, and the past/present setup really worked so well with this one. I loved Monaghan’s debut novel, and this one felt similar but also very different. The characters were well developed, easily likeable, and it was an overall fun, heartwarming read. I’m so thankful I was given the chance to preview it, and I’ve already recommended it to several friends and my local library!

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I loved looking at the past & present to see how the same event influenced two lives in such different ways. Sam’s families quickly became one of my favorites and the lake have such a tactile and grounding setting for the story. This will definitely be a perfect read next summer, so get it on your TBR for 2023!

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I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I did not think that I could like some thing. As much as I liked the authors first novel, Nora goes off script, but I think I actually like this one even better I loved the setting, the role that summer played in sam’s life in Wyatt’s life and overall their crazy chemistry that lasted for decades . I highly recommend this second chance at first love novel.

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When Sam comes face-to-face with Wyatt, her childhood love whom she hasn't seen in 14 years, in the place they fell in love, old feelings can't help but rise to the surface. Sam tries to balance these new, old feelings, planning a wedding and re-discovering the carefree woman she used to be while at the beach.

This is the perfect summer, second-chance romance! Annabel Monaghan captures the feelings of first love and childhood summer romance, along with the complexities of family drama, living through heartbreak and growing up. The book flipped between present-day and the past for the first half and then transitioned into the present-day once the reader had all the necessary back-story. Sam's family was endearing and gave Sam advice and pushes in the right direction in a light-hearted way.

The progression of the character's rekindled relationship felt realistic and the conflict was more believable than similar books. I was engaged through the very last pages and I'm very happy we narrowly avoided a major cliche in the final chapter.

Annabel Monaghan has officially become an auto-buy author for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review (all opinions are my own). Highly recommend picking up Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan when it comes out June 6.

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I love a past and present romance story that develops through vivid flashbacks from alternating POVs of the characters, and that’s exactly what Monaghan delivers. It’s the sweet, building anticipation of young summer love and then the bitter heartache that follows. Years later the two main characters see each other again and it’s obvious that they never got over each other. It’s a wonderful love story that kept me rooting for Sam and Wyatt until the very end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I loved Nora Goes Off Script and Monaghan hits it out of the park again!

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This book was right up my alley. Long-lost lovers reunited even though one of them is engaged? Yes. And on the same beach they grew up on and fell in love on? Yes. Realizing they've loved each other all along? Yes!

Samantha & Wyatt are next door neighbors. But only for the summers. Then they go back to their "real lives" away from each other. Those endless summer days (and nights) bring them closer together every year until they finally admit their feelings for each other.

Everything is great until something totally unexpected happens. Anger enters their relationship in ways they never could've imagined and the summer ends before they know it. Essentially forever.

Many years later Sam is engaged and heads to the beach for wedding planning. Little does she know Wyatt is living next door and seemingly great friends with her family. You can imagine what happens but the journey to get to the end is wonderful to read.

Sam & Wyatt are the kind of couple that a movie should be made about. This book should be made into a movie.

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I got lost in the pages of this book, today……📖

It wasn’t that I hadn’t read something similar before, I had-But, this time, I was transported back in time!

Growing up near Ft. Lauderdale beach, I can remember the warmth of the sand, the sound of the waves as they break on the shore, and the look of the foam as it retreats back into the ocean.

And, how intoxicating FIRST LOVE can feel.

Sam and her fiancé are in Long Island to check out a wedding venue. But, when she arrives she is shocked to discover that her first love Wyatt, HER WYATT, was also back home.

She hasn’t seen him since he broke her heart fourteen years ago.

This should not bother a happily engaged woman, and YET, it does.

Initially told in alternating the timelines of THEN and NOW-until we remain in the present day timeline…

Maybe, SAFE isn’t what adult love should feel like?

MAYBE it should always feel just a bit more dangerous than that and if safe is all you are feeling it’s because you are afraid of being hurt again if you demand something more?!

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

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

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I will recommend this one to my readers who want a book for their pool bag. It is a high school romance rekindled with a main character finding herself. Sam's family made a fantastic supporting cast as she deals with her unresolved feelings for Wyatt. Not quite at the same level as Nora Goes Off Script, but still an enjoyable book. Perfect for summer.

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Really enjoyed this second-chance romance. Loved the setting of the beach & a family summer vacation.

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3.5 stars. This book was a good pick for my very first NetGalley book (am I real reader now?? (St) I absolutely loved Nora Goes Off Script so I was very excited to read this book.
My number one complaint I have about Annabel
Monaghan's books is that they are way too short. This book was very short and I feel like a lot of the action was reserved for the very very end. This book felt like a mash up of Every Summer After (young teenage love at the beach/lake) and Eight Hundred Grapes (bring your fiancée you aren't so sure about home to the parents.)
It tells the story of Sam and Wyatt and their young love and then heartbreaking breakup at the beach in alternating then and now timelines. It is beautifully written, sweet and heartfelt but to me it didn't feel like it brought anything new to the table. I think the story would have been more interesting if Sam did not have a fiancée, who was merely a plot device, not a real character who she had a real relationship with. Overall, it is a sweet quick read but I definitely preferred Nora.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP
Putnam/ G. P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

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This is my favorite read for the year thus far. I loved everything about this journey. The author was so vivid in her storytelling. I feel like i had my own trip to the beach for the weekend.
I loved the pacing, the characters, the realness of the story. It had me grinning and sobbing. I will be recommending this to all of my book friends who enjoy a beach read with a little “more”.
*second chance romance
*closed door scenes

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DNF at 60%

This one was rough...from the beginning I had no connection to the very bland main characters and no interest in their relationship. There wasn't enough development to their friendship as kids and romantic relationship as teens to make me care about them in the present. The second chance/summer romance is a difficult trope because it's been done so many times, and in this case, there's nothing unique to make it stand out. By the halfway point I could see what direction the story was headed and I had no interest in continuing reading, so I skimmed the last half and am glad I didn't waste much time on it.

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This book was fantastic. EXACLTY what I needed to read. I have been having a really hard time concentrating on reading and this book got me back in the swing of things. If you are looking for a feel good, summer read, then this book is just for you.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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After being bowled over by Nora Goes Off Script, I admit I had high expectations for Same Time Next Summer. The pull of summer vibes on the east coast drew me into the story from the start. Sam has crafted her own perfect world, at least from the outside looking in. But we slowly see the pull and draw of Wyatt, despite years of separation and a rocky past. The unfolding on the narrative (and Sam’s perfectly crafted plans) was very sweet and provided the exact book I needed for Spring Break reading. This was a sweet one!

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This book was such a short and sweet read.

The book mainly follows the female protagonist, Sam throughout her journey as a thirty year old corporate woman living in New York City. Sam's flashbacks of her teenage years are showcased on Long Island at her family's beach home. While Sam is getting married to Jack, her current fiancé, she can't help but drift back to her summer boyfriend, Wyatt. Sam ventures down to her family home where she visits while she makes preparations for her wedding with Jack, but in the other house next door, Wyatt showed up which made Sam question everything in her life, including going through with the wedding.

I loved how the audience met the current Sam as a woman who carried herself as a posh New York City styled woman who slowly starts to relive her teenage years through her family's beach house.
I personally think Monaghan did a great job of having Jack be an unlikeable character from the get-go so the audience could see how absurd it was for Sam was about to marry a guy completely opposite of who she truly was.

I absolutely adored Sam's romance with Wyatt in her teenage years. It brought me back to my first romance as a teenager in the summer, and the remembrance of dreading the summer coming to an end.

What was the most shocking to me was the plot twist regarding Wyatt' mother and Sam's dad. I did not see that coming and i was extremely disappointed at the two of them for creating such distress on both families. The hardest part was seeing how much Wyatt took it to heart and pushed Sam away for so long. My heart ached for Sam.

When Wyatt and Sam started to rekindle their friendship and ultimately started to fall in love with each other again, I thought it was sweet, but a bit forced. On my end, I didn't think that their passion for each other was really there, even if the character's thought it was from a reader's perspective, I could just see how forced it was. I wish their romantic connection in the present stage lasted a bit longer. I think a lot was still left unsaid and i was left unfulfilled.

Sam leaving Jack's house without a huge fight or really truly saying what she wanted and only giving Jack back the ring also left me wishing there was more to that scene. She had built this fake life with a guy who she thought she was in love with, but her reality came crashing down in more ways than just her love life. As a human, especially a woman who has been in Sam's place, I wish there was more explosion and purpose behind her decision to leave her life behind and chase her new life.

Other than that, I thought it was a pleasant read, especially seeing Sam's adoration for her little sister, Gracie, and Sam's ability to find an artistic vision with her life again.

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Thank you to Penguin Group, Putnam, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

It's official- my new favorite romance type is beach summer reunion. "Same Time Next Summer" swooped in and stole my heart away. Sam and Wyatt were so incredibly real and the dual timelines of then and now were perfectly juxtaposed. Sam's struggle to live out loud and freely after a traumatic experience in her late teens was perfectly characterized. Monaghan displayed each character's vulnerabilities and fears so realistically, and I empathized with them deeply. I did not realize that Monaghan was the same author that wrote: "Nora Goes Off Script." I have this book, also graciously given to me by NetGalley, and can't wait to read it. If you need a feel good, emotional and heartwarming summer romance, pick this one up right away!

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Get your preorders and library holds in now for this perfect beachside read. Sam returns to her summer family home with her new fiancé, only to run into her first love. This was a compulsive read with lovable characters and a setting that makes you feel the sand between your toes. I appreciated the closed door romance and the little bit of depth that kept this romcom from being too cheesy, but still not too heavy for a vacation read. Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for this advance copy.

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This is an enjoyable romantic read about a second chance romance. Sam is engaged to a doctor who checks all the boxes for the perfect husband. What she doesn't see is that her carefree personality is being crushed by a man who is very rigid and unimaginative. Sam and her fiancé go to visit her parents at their summer home on the beach where Sam has wonderful memories of summers growing up. Her teenage years were spent on the beach with friends, especially the guy next door, her summer romance through the years. The romance ended badly when they went off to college. When Sam discovers that her teen love has returned to the house next door she finds that those romantic feelings are still there and Sam must figure out who and what she wants from her life. The story is well written and entertaining and if you liked Annabel Monaghan's first book (Nora Goes Off Script), you should enjoy this one too.

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My summer romance must have pick!

This book gave me that nostalgia of being a kid and celebrating summer to its fullest. Falling in love for the first time. & the youthful feeling that the world is at your fingertips.

Alternating between timelines you get to visit Sam and her summers spent growing up visiting her creative parents Long Island summer home a time when she is carefree and falls in love with the boy next door. You also get Wyatt’s perspective from those summers spent surfing and collecting seashells alongside Sam.

Fast forward to present day… Sam & her put together not so much carefree other half Jack visit her parents summer home in search of a wedding venue. When she arrive Wyatt is in town and their whole story unfolds and it’s one that is heartbreaking and beautiful!

Annabel Monaghan creates some of the most memorable characters. Everyone she presents has a purpose and has a bit of charm.

This one stands ahead of the game for me in the second chance, summer setting romance books. I will definitely be recommending this one to so many!

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