A lovely modern retelling of Jane Austin’s Persuasion. Olivia Taylor is returning home to the Hamptons after years away in the city. Her marriage has dissolved and her family needs her. The family estate has been under financial distress for years with her father barely keeping it afloat and someone has finally taken it off his hands by purchasing it. So they need her help to pack up and move out. No one told Olivia who purchased though it before she got there for good reason……because it was Fred Webb.

Olivia met Fred when she was 16. He is indisputably the love of her life but it’s always been complicated for them and they could never get the timing right. Their love story exists in summers occurring every 5 years and what do you know….it’s been another 5 years. Will this be their time to finally make it work or let go forever? You’ll have to read to find out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars at best.
Olivia is turning 35 and returns to her childhood home that her father has decided to sale. Olivia is recently separated from her husband and it turns out the man that bought her old home is none other than her childhood love, Fred.

The first part of the book was nice, it was very hallmark movie in essence and I could see how it would develop. What started to get to me were the glaring amount of plot holes that may or may not get addressed. Her father and older sister don't work and her family ran out of money years ago. So how are those two still functioning off of anything other than social welfare and its been established that they live an affluent lifestyle? Her divorce isn't finalized, what'll happen when they split assets and the ex husband discovers Olivia just made 5 million dollars?
edit: I finished the book and yes some questions were answered but my rating stands

What caused me to put the book down was the amount of sheer pettiness in the main character Olivia. This is a grown woman, why is she wearing a dress from her 16th birthday? Why is she pulling out an old charm bracelet just to mess with the MMC. Also the MMC is being mature and dating another woman. Why cant they just be adults about the whole situation?

I found the whole situation to be off putting and can not bring myself to finish this book at the moment. It could just be the cynic in me. This is good for romance readers looking for a light summer read. The story is told in past and present starting from when Olivia first met Fred to the current date.

Summer after Summer is a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion and even though I've never read Persuasion, the book was quite good! It definitely is a sweet and cute classic story set in a modern day setting. The book had really interesting family dynamics. Some of the characters irked me but that was okay. The dual timeline between the past and present was really good and gave depth to the book as well. I really loved the author's writing style and even though I am giving this book 3 stars I still really enjoyed it and look forward to their future works!

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for this ARC!

Look no further! This is the perfect summer beach read. The coastal vibes in this book were immaculate and completed transferred me right to the beach.

The romance aspect was not quite enough for me. It left me wanting more (in a good way).

Would absolutely recommend this one!

I enjoyed this summer romance story by Lauren Bailey. I liked that we got to see what fated Fred and Olivia each time they met over the course of 17 years. A fun little twist at the end as well!

We’ve all had that one relationship that just wouldn’t 100% end, Olivia and Fred tired summer after summer to get out right, but the timing was never right.. will this be there last chance or is the 5th time a charm?

I absolutely loved this book, Olivia and Fred relationship was kinda toxic but who hasn’t been in one of those. It touched on a few topics like friendship changing when you get into a relationship, timing being everything, and families moving on after a lost.

Overall I really enjoyed it, at first the flashback were a bit much, but the further you got in the story, you understood why they were needed, and it added a lot of context to the store

I do love a good Lauren Bailey book and this did not disappoint. She does and excellent job of setting the scene and characters. You feel like you know them from the beginning. Well written and a great read.

It was a good read a little slow, but i liked it an couldn’t wait to see what happens next. Thank you for letting me read this.

This book had everything I typically love in a summer beach read: a coastal beach house, a past love returning, and intriguing family dynamics. While it had all the makings of a 5-star read, this one didn’t work for me. There was way too much back and forth, and the story dragged on too long, in my opinion. I can see this being a hit next summer, but it was not my cup of tea!

Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

unfortunately just didn't/couldn't connect with this characters as much as I wanted to. a lovely second chance romance that just fell a little flat for me

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the fantastic advanced reader copy of “Summer After Summer” by Lauren Bailey. This novel is the first by Ms. Bailey and I sincerely hope it’s not her last. This is a modern pseudo retelling of Jane Austen’s much beloved (by me) “Persuasion.” The main characters, Olivia (Austen’s Anne Elliot) and Fred (Austen’s Captain Frederick Wentworth) although less restrained than Austen’s characters, are wonderful modern representatives. I just love this book and highly recommend it!

A heart-warming and beautiful second-chance romance. This reminded me so much of the film Love, Rosie especially with the dual POV's of past and present as more of Fred and Olivia's story is revealed. I was completely hooked on this and didn't want to put this down, it made for a perfect summer read and I can't wait to check out more by Lauren Bailey.

Great setting and story! Liked the MC and her honesty. I thought the time with Fred was well written. Flowed well. Summer books are such good ones to get lost in. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

If you’re a romance, second chance girlie(or guy) this book will be perfect for you! Especially if you’re a Jane Austin fan - I hadn’t read Persuasion but I did watch the Netflix release and enjoyed it, I do see the modern take on the book which I enjoyed!

The dual POV between past and present was a nice touch to keep you engaged and turning the pages, this book is sure to be a summer time hit!

I loved Fred + Olivia story and all of the sweet moments they share between timelines! Wonderful start to a promising future for this author (I can’t wait to see what’s to come)

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This talented author has written a great story about realistic characters. They come alive on the pages. The story moves quickly. Family and friends. Secrets. I liked this book. I liked the fact that two former lovers reconnect. The house is almost a character. Greed motivates some of the characters. Deceit…enjoy this intriguing story. Thanks Netgalley

This book is going to be a hit next summer because it’s an absolutely perfect summer read.
Olivia and Fred keep swinging into each other’s orbits, but fate is meddlesome and for some inexplicable reason or another, the timing is never right for these two. They obviously love each other deeply, but their flaws, fears, and circumstances intervene summer after summer. It’s all the hearts: breaking, wrenching, and warming. And that twist! It’s subtly woven throughout the narrative and makes for quite a dramatic ending. Retellings can be hit or miss, but for me, this modern-day retelling of Persuasion is fully on the mark. A wonderfully plotted, fast, romantic read I found thoroughly entertaining and engaging.

This is a book that beach readers will love! It takes place in posh Southampton when Olivia is called home to ready her family home for sale. She is in the middle of a messy separation from her cheating husband. Once there she learns that the home was purchased by the great love of her life.

The author lets us revisit “summer after summer” of their complicated love story. There are lots of great elements in the novel. We meet unscrupulous real estate agents and lawyers. There is cheating in unexpected places and there is the memory of the love of a mother who passed away when Olivia was very young.

This is an engaging book, with lots of very likable characters. I really enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for a review copy of this book. With echoes of Paper Palace and Every Summer After, this novel unfolds around summers in the Hamptons and the complicated and painful relationship between Olivia and Fred from the time they were in their teens until the present.

Olivia must return to the Hamptons now and clean out her childhood home before it’s sold off. After a promising pro tennis career that hit the rails, Olivia teaches children and with the summer off she is the perfect person to clear out the family home instead of her self absorbed father, her pretentious socialite sister, or her other sister who is always caught up in some family drama with her own children and husband. Olivia is reluctant to return to the Hamptons, the place where so much heartache occurred. And now, after discovering her husband Wes has been cheating on her, she finds it even more difficult to return to the place where her biggest heartache began. She tries to comfort herself into thinking that the time away from Wes will enable her to regroup and form a life without him. In the Hamptons, though, she finds more than her difficult and hapless father, her frequently absent sisters, she finds her past decisions confronting her not just in the objects she clears away, the tennis that seems to reach out and grab her, but in the very presence of Fred who is there for more reasons than a coincidence.

The novel is described as inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, a personal favourite of mine, and so I was interested to see how the author would handle it. I was pleased to see that my hopes weren’t disappointed and in fact the story, characters and setting were handled with real skill to create a wonderful, absorbing story that I enjoyed immensely. The characters have depth and the scenes are well drawn as was the setting. I will definitely look out for other books by this author.

A beautiful second (fifth!) chance romance about forever love, set against the backdrop of swoony, waspy Hamptons summers. I could not put this down, especially with the alternating timelines. And what can I say about Fred … a dreamy MMC for the ages who just wanted to be good enough for Olivia. My only gripe was the twist that made Olivia not have to truly make a decision - and the fact that it feels like I’ve read more and more stories like this that span decades where characters can’t get out of their own way. thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

something about this one is off for me. the pacing felt off and i felt myself asking 'wait now who is this character?' quite a few times. a bit bummed since the premise sounded great. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review