Summary
Sam is a chef who quit her job, and is spending the summer taking care of her half-brother Tyler back home on Martha's Vineyard while she tries to figure out her next steps. She's always wanted to write a cookbook of her grandma's Portuguese recipes. Tyler and Sam couldn't be more different; he is a brainy science kid who is spending the summer doing a robotics camp at the library, and being dyslexic, Sam's least favorite place is the library. The new interim library director works with her best friend and oversees the robotics camp, and he's also the hot guy Sam saw on the ferry, who was reading. Bennett was intrigued by Sam from the moment she knocked his book into the ocean on the ferry. He's on Martha's Vineyard to find his birth father. Sam and Bennett work to help each other out and sparks start flying.

Review
This was a fun read. I really appreciated the inclusion of dyslexia to this storyline and the author's note at the beginning about how she researched fonts best for people with dyslexia and other things to make it more readable for them. It definitely helped shed some light on the struggles those with dyslexia have to deal with. Reading has been such an integral part of my life that I can't imagine not having that outlet. I loved Bennett reading to Sam and helping her discover that she does enjoy reading, but just in a different way. I also loved seeing Sam and her brother build their relationship. It is a perfect beach read for summer.

Very well done contemporary romance. opposites attract love story between a chef and a librarian. Sam, tHe heroine is dyslexic and reading*is not her passion, but cooking is. Ben is temporarily on assignment at the library and searching for his birth father. Sam takes the summer to repair her relationships with her teenage brother and her best friend Em. She and Ben fall in love. Have big misunderstandings but get their HEA.

This is a DNF for me. I just couldn’t connect with the characters and did not find myself wanting to pick this one up. Totally a me thing I think.

Review will be posted on 8/16/23

Samantha Gale, a chef, was passed over for a promotion and she feels it's due to two things: one being that she is a woman and the other is that she is dyslexic. She is angry, so she quits her job and decides to spend time at her parents' beach house on Martha's Vineyard while they are away. This works out perfectly because they need a chaperone for their son who is Sam's step-brother. Sam thinks this is a great opportunity to reconnect with her stepbrother and take time to relax for once. While en route she has an adorable meet cute with Ben Reynolds, the library director. Sparks fly! But how could a dyslexic foodie who loathes books fall in love with a book lover? There's no way, right? Well, as their romance blossoms, Ben pushes Sam to do more and be more and in turn, Sam helps Ben with a problem of his own. Jenn McKinlay's Summer Reading is just that - the perfect summer read for vacation or a lazy day at the pool.

I love that McKinlay switched the usual roles and made the female the book hater and the male the book aficionado. It was nice to turn the tables a bit and see something a little more unusual. McKinlay handled dyslexia so well and really gave it some thought; in fact, the book is published in dyslexia friendly font, etc. While there were some over-the-top cheesy romance moments in Summer Reading, I was here for it, because who doesn't love a big romantic gesture in their beach reads? No doubt that Summer Reading is a cute beach read that is an entirely feel-good romance; plus, it is one of my favorite book covers of the summer.

Someone get me to a New England beach town NOW. Why does it just sound like the most perfect place in the whole world?? This book has me researching Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard vacations like my life depends on it (it does, and that’s NOT dramatic).

This was a sweet story but the romance stayed pretty surface level to me. There was clearly a chemistry between Sam and Ben but for most of the book, it seemed like that’s all there was. I wanted a bit more of a slow burn for them.

The A+ of the book for me was Sam and her brother. I loved every milestone of sibling bonding they went through and it really warmed my heart!

**I received this book for review from NetGalley, but all thoughts and opinions are my own**

SOME SPOILERS

Summer Reading is a perfect beach/vacation read. It is a lighthearted romance,but also covers some deeper topics - which is my favorite kind of contemporary!

We are following a young woman, Samantha (Sam) who is back in her hometown for the summer due to being in between jobs. While back in town, she runs into a man she had a recent (and very memorable) encounter with and she is eager to find a fling for the summer. However, Bennett is on the hunt for something more. Will their relationship last?

I really enjoyed the setting of this one, I love a good small-town romance. Imagine Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls) but on a beachy island. Everyone knows everyone! I also love that several of the scenes take place at the library!

The characters were also fun in this one, I loved watching Sam and her little brother grow closer through out the book and it makes me want to go call my sister!

I also love that the book not only discusses the topic of dyslexia and mentions ways to help those who are dyslexic in the work - but it also actively practices what it preaches by making the physical copy more dyslexia friendly. I also really enjoyed the conversation about how audiobooks are just as relevant/real reading as reading the physical copy - that is a hill I will die on, I love audiobooks.

My main gripe with the book is the way Ben acted towards the end, it felt slightly like he reacted that way just to add "drama/conflict" in the relationship rather than it being a genuine way that character would react. The ending felt a bit cliché too with him jumping on the boat.

I think you will like this book if you enjoy Emily Henry, Beach reads, slow burn romance, books about books, and found family.

Samantha is spending the summer on Martha’s Vineyard with her half brother, Tyler. Bennett is spending the summer working at the library and looking for answers about his father. The two are opposites - Sam is dyslexic and Bennett is a bookworm - but sometimes opposites attract.

I thought this was a perfect beach read! It was super fun.

While I wanted to love this one - the MMC is a librarian!! - something about the romance portion of the book felt forced. I respect McKinlay's attempt at writing about an FMC dyslexion, as it's not something you see in books. However, I felt like I was being beat over the head with Sam's dyslexia and that brought the mood of a summer read down a bit. However, I absolutely love the growth between Sam and her half-brother Tyler. As an older sister with a sibling 9 years younger than me, it's fun to see the connection between Sam and Tyler now that they are older and have more life experience.

Read if you like:
• meet cutes
• books about books
• oposites attract
• foodie romance
• dyslexia/neurodivergent rep
• sibling friendships
• East Coast settings (Martha's Vineyard)

I really loved this author’s previous work, but I couldn’t get into this novel. The characters weren’t all that enjoyable and overall I was just kind of bored. Thank you netgalley for my free review copy.

Summer Reading by Jenn McKinley is an easy beach read. Although this book clocks in at nearly 500 pages, it does go fast. The story is about Samantha who is a chef. She's back in Martha's Vineyard for the summer to watch her little brother while her dad and stepmom take a whirlwind trip to Europe. On the ferry to the island, Samantha meets Ben and accidentally destroys the book he's reading. It turns out that Ben is the interim library director. Sam thinks there's no way he can be into her because due to her severe dyslexia, she is unable to really read well. And with him being a library director, he's into books. Also, Sam. It turns out Ben is in Martha's Vineyard not just to work but to look for the identity of his father.

The positive about Summer Reading first. I did a hybrid read of this between my eARC and the paperback from the library. The paperback is set with a dyslexia friendly font and is mindful of using bold instead of italics. I wish all books came with consideration for dyslexic people. Otherwise, this book just feel kind of flat for me. As I said, it doesn't take long to read, but it also didn't keep my attention. I found my mind continually wandering and I chose to do other things besides read this book. It's an okay read but never really feels like it goes beyond the surface for the characters.

I really enjoyed the dyslexia representation in this sweet, beachy romance. Bonus points for the food and book talk between the main characters.

really enjoyed!! this was acute story great for a summer beach read. the romance was very sweet and both main characters were likeable

I really wanted to read some summery books this summer and so I picked this one up. With a swoony librarian as a hero, how could this one go wrong? Sam loses her chef’s job and goes back home to Martha’s Vineyard to watch her half brother. Sparks fly when she meets the new librarian but wonders how it can work when she doesn’t read due to her dyslexia.

So an opposites attract sets up this romance. But I liked the friendships that form and Sam’s and her half brother’s change in attitude towards each other even more than the relationship. And while I love that this book includes a neurodivergent character, I did grow a little weary of it popping up. With devices being able to read aloud what is on screen and audiobooks, the world is better equipped to help out this issue.

I did root for Sam and Bennett, which is what I judge all romances by. They drew close when they helped each other overcome obstacles. I liked their chemistry as it jumped off the page. I loved Sam and Tyler’s relationship and how it went from non-existent to a sweet sibling bond.

And I almost forgot to mention all the talk of food, since of course Sam is a chef. Make sure you don’t read this one on an empty stomach.

I am always all in on a summer book set in Martha’s Vineyard. Samantha returns to Martha’s Vineyard trying to figure out her life. When the opportunity arises to watch her teen half brother, who she barely knows, she jumps at the chance. It allows her an opportunity to get to know her brother and figure out her life after her career as a chef is up in flames.
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On the ferry over she meets a handsome Bennett. Bennett loves to read, works at the library and is her opposite. She hates to read, hates the library and all things bookish but she is drawn to Bennett. This is a romance and loved their relationship, but I really loved the sibling relationship in this one also!
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The author did a great job writing about the family dynamics of a modern family and an even better job writing about Sam’s dyslexia. There is also a great authors note.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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This was a cute summer read that easily helped me get lost in the scenery of Martha’s Vineyard!

Sam is home for the summer to take care of her teenage brother while her father and step-mother go on vacation for a month. Home just happens to be Martha’s Vineyard where she meets and falls for Ben, the new librarian. With a sordid history with reading due to her dyslexia, Sam is resistant to the pull of attraction, but soon Ben and Sam become inseparable.

I thought this one was a bit long but was super cute and the perfect beach read.

Overall, this was a cute and fun vacation read for me! I will always tear through a book while im on vacation but this one was a little harder to get through because it took me a minute to get into but the more I read, the more that I enjoyed it. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was that it takes place on Martha's Vineyard which I go to with my family every year so getting to read about it made me happy. The relationship between Sam and Bennett was definitely cute, but at the end of the day I was left wanting more out of their relationship even after the clever banter happening throughout the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jenn McKinlay for this opportunity to read and review this book!

The perfect summer/ beach read.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

What happens when a dyslexic chef meets a handsome librarian? She does everything she can not to fall in love with him. Sam is spending the summer on Martha's Vineyard taking care of her younger half brother when she runs into a handsome librarian, who is spending the summer on the island in search of his birth father. In no time, Sam is helping Ben in the search for his dad, while Ben is teaching Sam how to love books. McKinlay tells a fun, cute story about facing one's reality rather than hiding who one really is, while also shining a light on the challenges those with dyslexia face on a daily basis. Not much is ever written or known about what it is like to have this disability, and McKinlay provides an excellent example of the daily things those without dyslexia take for granted. I sincerely appreciated that aspect of the book - not only did I enjoy the story, but I learned something as well!

I really flew through this great summer story!

Even though I don't have dyslexia or know anyone that does, I really appreciate the font being written in the dyslexic friendly one. I learned a bit more about this reading disorder through the character Sam. I also liked how she became an accomplished chef (shame on the people for firing her because of her dyslexia!) and I also loved that she wanted to write a cookbook in honor of her Grandma.

I liked how this flipped the script and made the boy bookish! From their first gross (this falls on another, not their, part) meeting in the ferry to the way they both help each other with their individual wants, I enjoyed watching the relationship develop.

What I really loved was the relationship that blossomed and grew between Sam and her half brother Tyler. How she teaches him to dance and how he teases her like a "dad" when she's with Ben.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Summer Reading is a delightfully entertaining contemporary romance written by Jenn McKinlay. This author is relatively new to me (this being only the third book in this genre written by Ms. McKinlay that I have read) and so far, I am very happy I stumbled onto her writing in this genre.

The main characters are Samantha, a chef without a kitchen and Ben, an interim library director. This seems like an unusual pairing for what one can assume is a to-be romantic pair since Sam struggles to read due to her dyslexia and Ben is very much into reading. What we quickly realize is that Ben is a sensitive guy who just does not give up! And - Sam is a gal who longs to feel validated and loved. I loved the fact that while reading a romance I was schooled in a topic that I knew precious little about - dyslexia.

The story begins with Samantha arriving in Martha’s Vineyard to look after her younger half-brother while their parents take off on a much needed vacation. Little does anyone know that Sam is without a job or direction in her professional life. This is a chance for her to re-boot. Ben has taken a temporary position in Martha’s Vineyard to be able to research the summer his mother spent here and got pregnant, in hopes of figuring out who is father is now that his mother has passed. An unlikely pairing if I do say so myself - but it works.

I enjoyed the maturing dynamic between Sam and her half brother Tyler. To begin - there is friction (but then isn’t there always when dealing with young adolescent boys?), but what is evident is that they never really had a chance to bond and get to know each other as Sam was practically out of the house when Tyler was born… and she was not very accepting of her new step-mother to being with. As their relationship begins to mature, you see a strong family bond building. I thought the way Sam guided Tyler in his quest to impress a certain young women was genius - through food. Given that Sam is a chef though, I expected nothing less. And the driving scenes - priceless. I loved how the sibling bond grew throughout the story.

As Ben hunted for his father, and his relationship with Sam grew, I enjoyed their collaboration’s - both in searching the island for any clues available to figure out who Ben’s father was as well as Sam having Ben (and her brother) as sous chef’s / helpers on her Friday cooking gig’s. I was a bit frustrated when Ben pulled away - but what is a romance without a bit of angst? The journey to find the identity of Ben’s father is engaging… but you will have to read the book yourself to get more details on this particular journey!

This story had intrigue, romance and good ole fashioned family angst. Additionally, a hot lead in Ben, wonderful location and great writing make for an overall enjoyable read. In fact - one that I can recommend, especially if you want to be taken on a journey to Martha’s Vineyard and follow Samantha’s summer adventures.