This was a really sweet story. I liked the then/now alternating chapters so you could understand the connection and build up of emotions between Sam and Wyatt. i love a good summer romance!

What a sweet story! After this and Nora Goes Off Script, I am definitely an Annabel Monaghan fan. I read this in less than 24 hours. It was exactly what I needed.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

Thank you to Annabel Monaghan, publishers, and Netgalley for the ARC of the book Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan. This is a completely honest, authentic review of the novel.

For those of you who love “The People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry or “Love and Other Words” by Christina Lauren, or “One True Loves” by Taylor Jenkins Reid then I have a book for you. Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan is a sweet combination of all the best parts of those books. It sometimes gave me The Notebook vibes, which to be honest I am all here for.

They say you never forget your first love but for Sam Holloway she wants nothing more than to forget Wyatt Pope.. Wyatt and Sam were neighbors at their parents’ summer homes on Long Island and shared a menagerie of first experiences as young teens in love often do. The story filters back and forth between the past and present which provides helpful insight into their over relationship and dynamic. In the past, we see their relationship change and develop. In the present, she visits her family with her fiancee for the summer only to find Wyatt next door, she is in for a wild ride down memory lane.

I loved Sam as a main character. She was relatable in her conflicting feelings without being whiny or annoying. Her awkwardness and uncomfortableness about being close to Wyatt again is understandable and relatable. Who hasn’t been nervous, anxious, or on edge about being near their ex? Sam’s relationship with her family are realistic for families who truly enjoy spending time together. I loved Sam’s growth throughout the novel. She was a character we could all relate to, someone who is lost in the adult life they built. I could relate to her inner turmoil between holding desperately onto who she was as a child while reconciling with who she is trying to be now.

You have to read at least 50% of the book to understand why Wyatt’s character is the way he is. At first he seems like a hot, surfer boy but as you delve deeper in the novel you realize he has been shaped by both positive and negative experiences in his life. Wyatt’s growth throughout the novel is less pronounced but present. He is trying to be a supportive friend by making amends with Sam, while fighting off old feelings that are resurfacing for her.

The supporting characters were so well done, I had no problem imagining them as a real family. I found her grandparents to be hilarious, adding comedic humor to the novel. Her parents relationship was realistically depicted as having it’s ups and downs, which was a breath of fresh air from all the novels depicting families as perfect. Overall, I thought Annabel Monaghan did a great job at building a story that left you feeling like it could have easily occurred in a real person’s life at some point in time.

This novel was beautifully written, the figure’s of speech of this novel were perfect. I loved the metaphors and similes Annabel used to make the reader fall in love with the story and the characters. The reader could relate with every metaphor or simile she used, which allowed the readers to connect to the story on a deeper level.

I absolutely love Annabel Monaghan’s voice and this novel did not disappoint.

Starting with a then/now structure and phasing into only the present helped build an understanding of Sam and Wyatt that drew readers in emotionally.

This novel was a great follow up to Nora Goes Off Script and I can’t wait for more!

So happy I chose this and got accepted because I really kinda loved everything about it. Sam and Wyatt were teenagers in love who thought their futures would involve each other. But something makes them grow apart and things don’t go as planned. Now Sam is engaged many years later and is back at the beach to plan her wedding. What feelings will resurface when she sees Wyatt again?

I thought this was delightfully well done and really enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy on exchange of an honest review.

Well, this was just the cutest! Perfect quick and easy read for the beach, lake, or couch. This will be a big hit this next summer - I can feel it.

Second-chance romances are my favorite. I fell in love with Sam and Wyatt from the get-go and lived vicariously through them falling in love. Could have used a little more meat in how their relationship formed, personally, though. And a lot of the transitions in the story seemed a little abrupt…but that also could’ve just been the formatting in the ARC.

Overall, I thought this well-worth the 4-5 hours of reading and thoroughly enjoyed it!

A Second Chance to be with the One that Got Away.

In Same Time Next Summer, Sam finds herself back at the beach in Long Island with her fiance Jack. Staying next door is her first love, Wyatt. Though he broke her heart a lifetime ago, she can’t stay away from him. Can’t say I blame her!

Here, we see Sam and Wyatt’s past and their present, and fall in love with their characters as they fall back in love with each other.

Same Time Next Summer is a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance that melted my heart. This was a fun, flirty rom-com that I read in less than a day, and was right up my alley.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the arc.

I LOVED Nora Goes Off Script so I immediately had to get my hands on her newest novel and I'm so thankful for it because I couldn't have enjoyed it more than I did!

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan was everything I was expecting it would be!
It was fun, exciting, heart warming and filled with lovable main and supporting characters.
Sam and Wyatt, were realistic, flawed and very likable characters who stole my damn heart!
I loved everything about these childhood sweethearts. They were relatable and unforgettable.
The characters in this book are absolutely everything. I'm telling you that you are going to fall in love with these two. They did an amazing job at bringing such a story to life.
I loved how detailed and vivid this story was! I could see it unfold in my mind's eye!
Full of emotion this wonderful, entertaining and satisfying read was definitely a favorite of mine.
I will pick up anything Monaghan writes because I know how she writes some of the best contemporary romance I've ever read!
If you love Second Chance Romance/Friends to Lovers/Self Discovery you'll love this book!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

G.P. Putnam's Sons,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

I loved everything about this book... The beach, the characters, the loves, the stories. It was a perfect read, My only complaint is I wanted more! I immediately went to Amazon and ordered another book by Annabel Monaghan !

You know what makes me happy? When a book is so good, after days of pondering what to write in the review and all you can manage is that the story is perfection.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam for this eARC.

Same Time Next Summer is like a comforting 90s romcom in the very best way. It had me feeling the same lovely comforting vibes as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and You've Got Mail with just a touch of The Summer I Turned Pretty. The plot is just predictable enough to be familiar and in without feeling obvious and boring. A perfect summer read. I could see myself bingeing this on a summer afternoon.

The dialogue is cute and fun without being over the top packed with non-stop quips and sarcastic comebacks. The characters feel like actual people but also fun people I want to know. The relationships also feel very real and believable in a way I don't always see in romcoms that involve an old flame.

If you're looking for a fun summer read with a lot of heart and something to say about family and loss, this is a prefect choice.

Reeeaalllyy enjoyed this second chance romance story! Stayed up way too late multiple nights because I couldn’t put it down. Every single character in this book was enjoyable to get to know. I only wish there was a bit more character development so we could get to know them even further, I feel like it would have made the story punch you in the gut even more. The perfect beach read but found myself wishing this book was longer.

Same Time Next Summer is the story of Sam, a 30 year old engaged professional living in NYC who revisits her family's summer beach house, and begins to allow herself to remember the girl she once was. This story is told from a dual timeline of her younger self and current self, and although there are two very different past and present love interests in this book, this is more than a love story. This story unpacks a lot of history that ultimately led Sam to the decisions she made in her adult life, and I enjoyed watching her navigate her way back to the girl she once was. I enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script and I believe Annabel Monaghan has done it again with this satisfying, read in a day book that I'm sure will be a hit this summer! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this early copy.

This was a perfect summer read. It captured the freedom of summer at the beach and the all encompassing feeling of a first love. Taking place in two timelines (then/now), it follows the story of someone planning a wedding but trying to balance memories of a relationship from the past. Would definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

• Second Chance Romance
• Friends to Lovers
• Childhood sweethearts
• Starting over / figuring life out
• Mains in their 30s
• Summer, beach town setting

Sam Holloway has a seemingly perfect life – a great job, a seamless life plan, and an upcoming wedding to her wonderful doctor fiancé. What more could a girl want? Sam and Jack go to visit her family beach home on Long Island for a summer vacation gathering with her family and to look at a perspective wedding venue. It’s brings back a lot of memories and ghosts for Sam – including the presence of her childhood best friend and first love Wyatt, whom she hasn’t seen in 14 years…

Nora Goes Off Script was a delight and a sleeper hit for me, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to read an early copy of Annabel Monagha x newest arc Same Time Next Summer. Once again Monaghan delivered a book that just swept me up into the story and away. I found myself sitting down and reading this book in a day.

While reading I could just feel and smell that beach town setting, I felt swept up in the flashbacks in that nostalgic feeling of summer, of childhood and endless days, and first love. Monaghan has a gift of delivering these stories that give you both a heartfelt love story filled with characters you can’t wait to unravel, as well as these glimpses into different life experiences we all see and/or can relate too. I really loved the characters in this – both Sam and Wyatt in particular, and was so happy we got a dual POV experience to have a glimpse into the minds of each (past and present).

There story was one filled with ups and downs, lots of emotion and change and growth – but it was such an enjoyable journey to follow. I liked that the characters were in their early thirties and still exploring and figuring things out, for me its always refreshing to see mains out of their teens or twenties still figuring it all out. I definitely felt like this one had a tinge of Sweet Home Alabama feel to it, with the second chance childhood romance angle (and I’ve always been a fan of that movie). I think many will enjoy it, especially those who have enjoyed books by Sophie Cousens and Beth O’Leary and the like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read an early copy of this fantastic book! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and freely offered.

I LOVED "Nora Goes Off Script" and was so excited to read this. While I enjoyed this--I'd give it 3.5 stars, but rounding down--I didn't love it. The story just didn't pull me in as much, and I kept thinking I was reading Carly Fortune's "Every Summer After" again. I also don't understand why the "Then" part has Wyatt in the third person but then changes to first in the "Now;" it was confusing. The second-chance-at-love is fun, and I was one of the lucky ones who experienced a first love like Wyatt and Sam so I related, but this just needed something more.

**spoiler alert** I requested this novel because I really enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script by the same author. Much of this novel is predictable - woman is on the verge of marrying the "perfect" guy who is handsome and successful and loves her and yet she procrastinates on her wedding plans as the date approaches and then she encounters her first love. And along the way the woman finds herself and learns to live the life that really makes her happy. We know how this is going to end but that's why I enjoy this type of book, because a predictable, satisfying ending is a comforting read. There were a couple of surprises along the way. But I rated this only 3 stars because I didn't feel like Sam's character was somebody I got to know and love and relate to. I also got tired of the trips back in history.

A sweet story that has something for everyone…..first love with next door neighbor, friends to lovers, second chance romance.

Sam thinks she’s winning at life with a great HR job in the city and Jack the doctor fiancé. She’s currently planning their upcoming nuptials and that brings her back to her parents’ Long Island beach house. The house where she spent her childhood summers and fell in love with the boy next door…Wyatt.

Wyatt and Sam grew grew up together in the summers on Long Island and their love was slow growing and eventually all consuming until it all fell apart.

Sam has done her best to put her first love in the past but when she arrives at the beach house with her fiancé in tow….Wyatt just happens to be living next door again.

Wyatt the musician and Jack the doctor could not be more different. And Sam isn’t the same person that she was 14 years ago, so she shouldn’t have any problem forgetting about Wyatt and moving forward with Jack….right?

You’ll have to read it to find out! I promise that the beautiful prose written in past and present with Sam and Wyatt’s dual point of view will make it all worthwhile.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

I had really high hopes for this book because it features my favorite romance trope: second chance. Unfortunately, it just did not fully work for me. I felt that the characters and the plot were under developed even though the first part of the book felt like it took forever to really get going.

My biggest piece of feedback is to go deeper! The skeleton for a good story is there but I would have loved to know the characters more: what truly motivates them, what is holding them back, and how does that interact with one another. Two examples: Jack's character felt flat to me - I was not sure I knew anything about him other than that he loved tennis but I didn't fully understand his connection to Sam. This was the same with Wyatt, what has made him hold on this long? What did it truly feel for him to go through everything he went through? The story from nobody to famous star was too rushed.

I think if you're able to go back and dig deeper and avoid being entirely too predictable, this could be a good story.

If you like Every Summer After (look at that cover blurb), this book will feel familiar - first loves, a now and then timeline, a beach town. But the beach town, circumstances of now and the history of then are all different. You may need some Kleenex. Closed door with lots of chemistry. Enjoy!