I knew I was going to love Summer Reading from the very first pages, which are actually a note from the author. McKinlay shared that she did a lot of research on dyslexia and other learning disabilities to carefully portray the heroine in this story. In doing so, she learned many things about how she could ask the publisher to change the printing of the actual book to make it more dyslexic friendly. It was nice to see this being addressed both by the character on the page and in the actual printing of the book itself. I hope other books will be printed with these things in mind going forward. Small changes can make books more accessible for everyone to enjoy!

That being said, the story itself was just a warm, wonderful read. I loved Samantha and Ben – they were both easy to connect with. Sam had a lot stacked against her at the beginning of the story and it was fun to see her stretch herself outside of her comfort zone to achieve things she wasn’t sure she was capable of. I’m a big fan of Jenn McKinlay and this story is one more example of why!

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summer Reading is a relaxing, feel-good contemporary romance perfect for a beach day. Samantha, a neurodivergent professional chef between jobs, is relieved when her father invites her to stay at their family home on Martha’s Vineyard to “chaperone” her fourteen year old half-brother for the summer. Her plans for a quiet, uneventful summer are tossed aside entirely when she meets Ben-the-hot-librarian on the ferry over. As Sam forges a relationship with her brother, Tyler, and reconnects with her oldest friend, Em, Ben falls easily into step beside her, helping her to recognize and appreciate her brain for all of the impressive things that it can do rather than feel ashamed of her learning disability.

I loved the role reversal that Jenn McKinlay developed here. In my experience, the charming bookish protagonist is almost always a woman, while characters in the culinary arts are typically more masculine. Not only did I love to see the representation of neurodivergence (as well as hypochondria, which I expect to see more of in book #2.) I also really appreciated McKinlay’s efforts to accommodate neurodivergent readers by selecting a dyslexia-friendly typeface and format. Books like this are the reason why I will always argue that no genre is more inclusive than romance. Lastly, I absolutely adored the sibling rivalry turned affinity between Tyler and Sam.

I really enjoyed this fun and flirty summer romance! The bookworm MMC and the woman who would rather do anything than read was a nice twist on the usual female bookworm characters. Also, I really appreciated the FMC's struggle with dyslexia - I haven't encountered that challenge in many other stories and I thought it was really well done as part of the character development in this book.

The supporting characters in this book were well done - the MMC's quest to find out who his father is felt a little out of place at times, but overall the storyline was enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy to read and review!

This was a really sweet romance with a hint of steam and intriguing characters. Sam is a neurodiverse chef and Ben is a librarian that loves to read. I thought the author did a great job with a sensitive subject and also created a delightful chemistry between all the characters and I loved the family vibes. The audiobook is fantastic and I enjoyed every moment lost in this book.

I have been waiting for this book ever since Berkley promoted it on Instagram in the past few weeks. And I have some mixed feelings about it.
Let me first say that I truly enjoyed the different representation that Summer Reading represented. We have dyslexia and neurodivergence representation, which is a true joy to read in Summer Reading. It gives us an understanding of the characters' behaviors in the book.
Second, I have a problem with the characters' chemistry with each other. They started off rough in the beginning, so I could really picture them together. It wasn’t until the middle that I felt something for them as a couple, which is a bit too late in my opinion. I need to read about their chemistry or attraction for each other from the beginning or leading into the middle.
Third, I love the summer vibes that this book gives off. It made me excited for the summer to come. And I think it’s truly a perfect read for the summer season or the pool season as well. Its setting is around Martha's Vineyard, which is the perfect summer destination.
Fourth, I wish this book was marketed as a fiction read or a women's fiction read rather than a romance read. The romance part wasn’t really the main focus of this book. It was truly about the two characters' journeys in life rather than their romance with each other. They have bigger issues to deal with.
Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. But I can say that I did enjoy reading it as a whole. I just wish certain parts were different.
If you enjoy reading fiction centered around the characters' life journey rather than the romance aspect, then you will enjoy reading Summer Reading.

Unfortunately, I just did not buy the chemistry in this one. I did like Samantha and Bennett overall as a characters, but their romance just never clicked for me. I am not turned off by this author though and see potential for a favorite in the future.

I love to read books that feature bookish characters so when I saw that Jenn McKinlay’s latest novel, Summer Reading, features a “swoon-worthy bookworm” who falls for a non-reader, I was excited to dive in and meet these characters.

Set on Martha’s Vineyard, the story follows Samantha “Sam” Gale, a talented chef who was recently passed over for a promotion she should have been a shoe-in for. Angry and frustrated because she thinks her dyslexia is why she was passed over, Sam quits her job and moves back home and into her dad’s house. He and Sam’s stepmom are traveling for the summer so this will give her the opportunity to regroup in peace, her only responsibility being to chaperone her 14 year old stepbrother, Tyler, who she hasn’t had much of a relationship with in the past. Sam has no idea how life changing this trip home will be.

I’m going to say up front that while I really did enjoy this book, it wasn’t my favorite Jenn McKinlay book, mainly because the story felt a little uneven for me. I adored the part where Sam and Tyler really start to bond as brother and sister. They morph from practically strangers to true siblings throughout the course of the book and it’s a relationship that both of them clearly needed in their lives. I also loved the bond between Sam and her best friend, Em. Em is that kind of supportive friend who immediately asks whose butt she needs to kick when she learns someone has hurt Sam, and Sam is the same way for Em. It was lovely to see them looking out for each other.

The romance was actually the part of the story that I wasn’t completely sold on. I really liked Sam and Ben together. Ben was definitely a swoon-worthy bookworm as advertised and I was a big fan of the way he didn’t underestimate Sam’s intelligence once he learned of her struggles with reading. I also very much liked that he didn’t try to “fix” her but instead incorporated reading aloud into their time together so that he could share his love of reading and stories with Sam, just as she used some of their time together to share her love of cooking with him. As much as I enjoyed watching them spend time together, I didn’t quite feel the same level of “sparks flying” chemistry that I’m used to experiencing in romance novels. Since I didn’t experience that, I didn’t completely buy into them taking the relationship to the next level.

There were also a few dramatic side plots, including a big health scare for one of the side characters and a search for a long lost parent for another, and I felt like the story would have been better if those had been a bit more streamlined as I felt the side drama pulled me out of the story. There’s a grand gesture to end all grand gestures though that fully pulled me back in and had me grinning like a fool and finally buying into Sam and Ben as a couple, so all was well in the end.

As I said, Summer Reading was not my favorite Jenn McKinlay novel, but it’s still definitely worthy of going in your beach bag this summer.

Summer Reading was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters and found the story interesting.

Both Samantha and Bennet are so sweet and likable. I quickly and easily wanted to see them together. I really enjoyed Samantha's budding relationship with her 15 year old brother. Their quick coming together was a joy rather than having to endure an angsty drawn out relationship.

McKinlay did a great job writing in Sam's dyslexia. It was an eye opener for me of what it's like to live with it.

Everything in this story just works out so well. Even the super stressful search for Bennet's father and dealing with his mother, comes to a nice conclusion.

Summer Reading was definitely worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

A girl who has sworn off reading due to her dyslexia and a gorgeous book-obsessed male librarian meet on a boat in the most comical and not so cute way, and the rest, as they say, is history. When Sam meets Ben on the boat on her way to Martha's Vineyard, she feels connected and intrigued by his good looks and well-read nature. But when the boat docks, she loses sight of him before even catching his name. While visiting her friend at the local library, Sam runs into handsome boat guy (Ben) again, only to realize that he is the library director. Soon they find themselves spending more time together in this delightful romantic comedy.

A fun and engaging novel about family, relationships and learning about yourself. Samantha is dyslexic, and returning home after many years away is a fresh start with her teen brother and friends. Her interactions with the world around her are different and inspire those around her but also inspire a love of stories within her. A definite summer beach read.

✨𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪✨

Thank you @prhaudio and @berkleyromance for this complimentary audiobook and gifted copy.

For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha’s Vineyard at her family’s tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she’s tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there’s no place Sam, who has dyslexia, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library’s interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island.

Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he’s never known. He’s taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can’t stop thinking about her.

An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she’s always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.

𝘍𝘶𝘯, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭!
This is my kind of perfect summer read or to read at any season to be honest, it was just a great read. Loved the characters, loved the chemistry, loved the story, loved the setting. Loved everything!

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 by @mckinlayjenn releases today May 16, 2023.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Beach vacations are my favorite!

#summerreading #jennmckinlay #prhaudio #PRHPartner #prhinfluencer #berkleyromance #BerkleyPub #romancebooks #romance #audiobooks #pubday #pubweek #newrelease #booksandcoffeemx

this was truly perfect summer reading, set in martha's vineyard (TAKE ME THERE) in a quaint small town, with great main characters. i loooooved that the male MC was the reader here (take that, gender norms!) and that dyslexia was represented so honestly in the female MC. the sibling relationship between the female MC and her brother was SO sweet and i really enjoyed seeing it blossom over the course of the story! this one was just a really lovely read.

Thank you for the free book @berkleyromance!! #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram

𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: friends to lovers, small town, Martha’s Vineyard setting, cute meet cute, neurodivergent rep, bookish male lead, sibling relationships

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚”

⬆️ We’ve all been there, girlfriend 😂

So our female lead: got passed on for a promotion, left her job as a chef in a big city, and decided to spend the summer in her hometown.
Male lead is a librarian who’s only visiting the island for the summer.
They meet at the ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard. How? I won’t tell because it’s a cute scene 😂

Anyway, this book is perfect for all your beach read cravings! I love that this was set in Martha’s Vineyard! This literally made me miss the island and I’m itching to visit it soon!

I love the dyslexic representation and it honestly made me understand this better. Like how reading really is difficult for them and thank god for the existence of audiobooks! But I mean, A HOT GUY READING TO YOU? Seriously only in books 😂 actually he was reading her smut - so it does have some spice, my spice seeking friends 😉

I love the development of the sibling relationship between the lead and her brother too! It’s one of my favorite storylines in this book.

One thing I didn’t like is the third act breakup because their relationship seemed so mature but I guess men freaking out when things get too real is accurate? 🤷‍♀️ It did make way to a cute ending though so I guess that was needed in the story.

💭 Are you a good cook?
☕️ I’m decent buuuut very recipe based lol. I reread cooking instructions multiple times just to make sure I don’t mess it up 😂

Out of work chef Samantha Gale visits her hometown of Martha's Vineyard over summer so she can look out for her younger teenage brother. She meets a handsome library director, Ben, and sparks fly, although Sam is dyslexic and not a reader. Ben helps her work on a cookbook she longs to write, honoring her Portuguese cooking history. She helps Ben search for his father, whom he has never met.

I wanted to read this novel because I enjoy beach reads, liked the setting, and like foodie details - which I knew would be included, with a chef as lead character!

This was a delightful rom-com with a heartwarming romance, a sweet family story (especially Sam bonding with her younger brother Tyler), and some more serious themes as well (Sam's neurodivergence and Ben's search for his father). It was well written, with likable characters (not just the leads but Sam's brother and best friend as well), a summer setting I really enjoyed, and one of my favorite recent rom-com storylines.

I enthusiastically recommend Summer Reading for fans of beach reads, heartwarming romantic stories, and summer settings. This is the first book in a series and I am already looking forward to future reads by this author!

This book was a fun and easy read. I also felt like I learned so much about dyslexia and how to make it easier when you meet people with dyslexia. This book is a great summer read. I immediately loved Sam and Bennett. The book deals a lot with family and relationships among step children. This book will make you laugh out loud and maybe shed a few tears.

I'm a sucker for books about books and that led me to pick up SUMMER READING by Jenn McKinlay. I loved the foodie references and the Martha's Vineyard setting was especially perfect for summer, but I had a hard time feeling invested in the main character's chemistry and connection. Their love story didn't jump off the page to me in the same way that other relationships have. Admittedly rom-coms aren't my preferred genre but I do enjoy them as a light palate cleanser in between heavier summer reads, especially in the summer.

What I most appreciated was the neurodiversity/dyslexia representation and the way the book was structured to be more accessible to dyslexic readers. Overall, I'd recommend this one to tried and true fans of the genre but for readers who dabble in rom-coms may have better luck with another book.

Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)

This was an enjoyable book about a woman who has to chaperone her brother and hates the library until she meets a hot book nerd there where she accidentally destroyed his book. This was a fun summer read for me which was perfect for this time of the year. I really the storyline of this book as I don’t believe I have read a book where the girl isn’t a reader but the guy is. It was nice to get an opposite approach. I enjoyed the conflicts that were in the book but I do have to say that it kind of killed the romance part. There were too many breakups for my liking. The pacing was great and I enjoyed the New England-themed setting. This book doesn’t mainly focus on romance but also self development and sibling bonds. This book is in Sam’s pov and I wish we had a couple of the male leads as I wanted to know what he thought.

Sam has Dyslexia and is told to take care of her brother while her family is on vacation. She is a chef and I loved it when she talked about the food. I enjoyed her story and seeing her growth throughout the book. The main side lead is Bennett and I just wish we got his POV. He was a great male lead and I loved reading about him. There weren’t many side characters but I did enjoy seeing Sam and Tyler build their sibling relationship. The romance was cute but not the best with the opposites attract trope. It wasn’t spicy but there were steamy scenes.

The ending was well done and I enjoyed the HEA. This book was well written and I enjoyed how cute this book was. There are some triggers for readers as it does get deep into some things but I think it’s a book you will read if you are at the beach. I do recommend checking this book out if you have time as you won’t regret it.

📖𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜
✍🏻Jenn McKinlay
🗓️5.16.23
💘Contemporary Romance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If there’s one thing I’ve recently learned about myself, it’s that I love a foodie romance. Summer Reading was love at first sight as soon as I saw the cute cover, but once I realized the main character Samantha was a chef, I was completely smitten by the mouthwatering food descriptions.

I also enjoyed the Martha’s Vineyard setting, the female friendship, the sweet sibling relationship that develops between MC Samantha and her younger brother.

I also loved that the author included a neurodivergent character with dyslexia, and appreciated the author’s note so much.

The chemistry between Sam and sexy librarian Ben is so good, and I thought it was adorable that book loving Ben would read to Sam.

The audiobook narration was fantastic, and I highly recommend narrator Kelsey Navarro Foster.

Thank you Berkley Romance, PRH Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy

overall, summer reading by jenn mckinlay was a pretty solid read! i thought the introduction of the FMC and MMC was pretty adorable and amusing, and i really enjoyed the martha's vineyard setting of the book. the "new england summer" aesthetic really added to the overall atmosphere and energy of summer reading. the only thing i found to be a little irritating is the FMC's inner dialogue on her dyslexia. i've never met someone with dyslexia who approached their condition the way in which she did. i found it to be a little unrealistic when she was claiming all of her past relationships failed SOLELY because her boyfriends discovered she had dyslexia. i don't think whether or not someone having dyslexia is a common determinant for many people in relationships.

the "third act misunderstanding" felt a bit put off until the last minute, and then rushed. mckinlay did a pretty solid job on writing foreplay, but the FMC and MMC constantly being interrupted was very unsatisfying.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤’𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙢, 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙮, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙩-𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.

📍 Read if you like:
• Summer Reads
• Foodie Romances
• Books About Books
• Martha’s Vineyard

This was such a surprise of a read, I loved the summer romance vibes it gave and the mention of food recipes throughout the book.

Our main character, Samantha, has dyslexia and I thought it was very well portrayed. Sam spends the summer in Martha’s Vineyard watching over her fourteen-year-old brother.

She meets Bennett, who is a librarian and loves reading. I loved the twist where the guy was the reader, it was interesting seeing the role reversed.

The book itself was a bit too long and tired to be too much. At times, it felt so overwhelming.

However, I do think this author talked about these difficult topics in such a moving way.

While this is mainly a romance, there were so many other themes scattered throughout the book. Sam was finding her way to become a chef.

I also really enjoyed the family relationships and how they grew throughout the book. For example, Sam and her brother, Tyler, developed a stronger sibling relationship that I found enjoyable.

Overall, this was such a delightful romance read perfect for the summer. I enjoyed the talk about reading and books, Sam and Ben didn’t have a big connection - but I still enjoyed following both of them. This would be the perfect beach read this summer!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Bullying, toxic relationship, death of parent, cancer, medical content