// thank you to the publishers and net galley for granting me an arc of this book!

i’m very sad that i did not enjoy this book as much as i wanted to. i think i went into it wanting the wrong things: i’m a massive fan of jane austen’s persuasion and so i was really excited to see a modern retelling of one of her lesser-known works, especially one advertised as ‘perfect for fans of beach read by emily henry’. while i loved the summer house setting and multiple timelines, i think this book felt a bit confused. it felt like the retelling didn’t entirely understand what made the original so great.

we’re not given a lot to root for with regards to fred specifically and the main couple more generally. in the original, the beautiful thing about the romance is that both characters see each other so clearly. they are the first people in their lives that put the other first–and not just put them first, but understand and see one another so clearly where no one else in their lives does. here, i think we’re missing that *reason* to root for the main couple despite all their years apart. especially when, when describing the start of the relationship with the main character’s husband, i found myself rooting for him more than fred. this idea of her finally having a love where she felt safe, and learning that love didn’t have to be turbulent and uncertain to be *real*--i thought that was a really beautiful message and i was honestly rooting for them. their first summer together when they are 16 is sweet and described well, but you really have to trust in the main character when she tells you ‘it’s like this with no one else’ because it’s honestly not that clear from their actions. you can really tell that the main character has some attachment issues in terms of not wanting to commit to something serious through hardships–and this is by no means a criticism of the book, it felt very realistic for the main character to be going through these things considering everything that had happened to her. but it makes it much more difficult to root for the main couple, especially in contrast to her husband, where you don’t see her pull herself back constantly (probably because she’s not actually interested in him beyond the safety net, but that’s neither here nor there).

furthermore, i think that the fact that both characters emotionally cheated on their partners for one another made it much harder to root for them. especially when we see the main character suffering from the effects of her husband cheating at the very start of the book. again, i do think this criticism partially comes from reading this reading this primarily as a jane austen retelling–because in that book, what’s so nice is this idea they both held a torch for one another and never got close to marriage because they both unconsciously compared every person that came after to one another. whereas in this book, it feels more like an strange obsession that the main character can’t quite get rid of. within hours of landing in london, she seeks fred out despite how badly he hurt her, simply because she ‘can’t stop herself’ and ‘has to see him’. it just felt a little less sincere.

i also found this was a strange kind of retelling. some of the character names were retained (i.e. calling the love interest fred or his ‘fling’ lucy), but others were not (i.e. not calling the main character anne). some plot points were kept, but twisted slightly (i.e. selling their house, but being defrauded by her husband in the process). i found there were not a lot of positive additions to the story–basically only the idea that the oldest sister, who stays at home with her father, unmarried forever, in persuasion, is bisexual. i thought this was a really nice new layer to add to the original, and something i will carry with me when i reread persuasion as a ‘headcanon’. fragments were also taken directly from the original text (i.e. fred’s letter saying he’s ‘half agony, half hope’), but these made little sense in this context. fred-from-new-england would never say that, he wouldn’t use those words. he also wouldn’t send a letter when they’ve always reached out to one another via text.

another thing i found quite strange, which is more of a personal pet peeve, is the hyperrealism in this romance. while i understand that a story that spans across the last 20 years will contain things like the financial crisis of 2008 and the covid pandemic of 2020, seeing events like these in romance novels always puts me off. personally, the primary purpose of romance is escapism, escaping into a world close enough to reality that it could be real, but still isn’t. so to include things like how the covid pandemic ended up inadvertently causing the main characters divorce really put me off. however, this is a personal preference of mine, and i’m sure other people prefer the hyperrealism.

i will say that i loved the main characters commitment to her ambitions, her tennis career was her everything, and that was nice to see. i loved the way she ended up choosing her own ambitions and plans over those of fred when he proposed to her at 21. which, when she said she wanted to not get married to her, he thought the best move was ending that relationship–and i think this underscores what i disliked about this book so much: none of these leaps in miscommunication felt realistic or logical. miscommunication, especially in love stories which span such a long timeline, is natural and human. but none of these instances felt realistic. or, if they did, they felt like things i wouldn’t be able to get past if i was in that situation (i.e. her not telling fred she had a fiance and him finding out when he popped by her hotel room before what was basically a date).

i also loved the thread throughout here about the main character discovering more about her mother, who passed away in when she was a teenager, through the house. finding her journal, her favorite books, and using that to understand her mother’s life–and relate to it, now that she had lived similar experiences. again, i will say that it felt too on-the-noose for her mother’s favourite book to be persuasion and to discuss persuasion *inside* a persuasion retelling–but perhaps that is a personal preference again.

lastly, i would like to add that the ‘final plot twist’ made absolutely no sense. if the author had wanted to make this kind of plot twist work, they would have had to make wes (the husband) behave very differently–both in terms of trying to fix his relationship all summer only to apparently be plotting against the main character so he could get her money? but also in terms of how he acted towards their realtor. there was absolutely no indication of anything that our main character suddenly *discovered* (discovered by reading the fucking contract to sell the house, something SOMEBODY surely should have done earlier). it felt like a last-ditch effort to make the audience prefer her relationship with fred, and without feeling guilty that she’d have to get a divorce to do so.

furthermore, the idea of her and fred moving in together (back into her family’s house, which he *obviously* bought for her this whole time (after she lied about not having a fiance)) felt a little nonsensical. it didn’t feel like a healthy and natural start to an adult relationship.

however, i did love the part of the epilogue where she picks her tennis career up again, and this time with the security of having people at home cheering for her and ready to pick up the pieces if she loses again. it was a nice little conclusion to her tennis career subplot, especially when she sacrificed so much for it.

his is a lovely, enjoyable, huggable summer romance read. Nothing too earth shattering and I hear it’s a retelling, but it was enjoyable, easy to listen to and light for the summer.

Olivia Taylor is heading to her home to help her family clean the house out. It's being sold and her father and sister will have to move out. Her husband Wes and her are having marital problems so she packs her stuff up and moves out. She will decide after the summer where she will live. The house is worth a lot of money and they family will each received a nice sum of money.

Olivia meets Fred when they were 15 and 17; over the years they have tried to have a relationship that always seems to blow up. Well Fred is the buyer of her home; seems no one thought to tell her.

This story spans a 20-year relationship of Fred and Olivia. Her friends and family have always interfered in their relationship and now after all the years where is it going this time.

Summer After Summer by Lauren Bailey had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This book was a delight to read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

If you like the movie Love, Rosie, you will like this book. Olivia and Fred's story takes place over 20 years. Though they love each other deeply, they keep missing each other or messing it up, never quite sticking. But MAN this book is good. It's sweet and heartbreaking and surprising. There's a level of mystery and a plot twist at the end that shocks you. It's hard to read books of couples who are so right for each other go back and forth over years. It always hurts my heart because I ache for the years that they miss. But also these types of books are some of my favorites, and Lauren Bailey does an incredible job at it. I honestly wish I could read it again right now for the first time.

Loved the setting, the Hamptons. A typical time to clean out the family home story. Lots of baggage, lots of indecision, lots of doubt. Just didn't hold my interest all the way through.

This had all the potential to be an amazing book, but unfortunately there was too much back and forth, was drawn out and didn’t give me the spark that I was expecting. Definitely could just not be my cup of tea

Summer After Summer is the perfect beach read. Set in the Hamptons, Olivia’s family home has been purchased and she is tasked with cleaning it out. Her sisters are of little help, and have also neglected to tell her who the buyer of their childhood home is, before their Olivia arrives out East, nursing a broken marriage. Lauren Bailey dives into the world of a love triangle, while also telling a love story of a family home and one of sisters.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! Even though the story was fairly predictable, I loved the character development and the storyline. I will be looking for more books from Lauren Bailey!

This was an easy, addictive read about 2 people who meet one summer as teenagers and continue to connect with each other every 5th summer. There’s some summer romance and some family drama that both make this a great read! I definitely would recommend this book and look forward to future books by this author.

I love a solid beach read! This one hit the spot and I was hooked throughout this summer romance! Flew through it!

Lauren Bailey's "Summer After Summer" is an enjoyable beach read, though it probably could have done without a few chapters. The story became a bit redundant in areas, Olivia and Fred's second and third and fourth and fifth, etc. romance is a journey for the reader and you'll find yourself rooting for them again and again. Bravo to the author for a finished work. What a triumph!

I just absolutely loved this sweet, captivating summer romance! It really hooked me in from the very beginning and I found it hard to stop!

This was such a good read, I felt like I left my life and transported into this book. The characters were written perfectly and the pace of the book was spot on

This book is everything I love in a summer beach read: a coastal house, an intriguing family, and a past love returning. I loved the twist at the end that brings it all together! I also love the back and forth timeline! All the characters intertwined so gracefully! Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

This book was slow for me to get into but I really enjoyed the pacing, the depth of the characters and how the author wove the story together!

Lauren Bailey's debut novel "Summer After Summer" is the perfect book to grab this summer! I loved the family aspect, tennis, and complicated love story in this book. I couldn't put it down!

Ahh I had such high hopes for this one! The premise sounded great and I was excited for a fun summer debut.

Unfortunately it wasn't what I was hoping for. The book has a lot of mis-communication between the characters which lead to some frustration, as well as I really did not like the main character Olivia. I felt like she was acting very immature. It maybe would have sat better with me if she was younger, but given that she was older than me - some of her actions were annoying.

I also felt confused with a lot of jumping between POVs and timelines. The pacing was tough, and I felt like too much time was spent in the past.

I guess the book is a modern re-telling of Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' and while I haven't read that book, this one felt familiar to me. Overall I think it could have been done a bit better but it wasn't terrible.

☀️ Summer After Summer - Lauren Bailey

3.5 ⭐️ - This is a lovely, enjoyable, huggable summer romance read. Nothing too earth shattering and I hear it’s a retelling, but it was enjoyable, easy to listen to (highly recommend the audio) and light for the summer.

This one has your second chance, young love romance and it’s sweet, heartbreaking, and heartwarming at the same time. I enjoyed the characters, their relationships with each other both in romantic and familial ways, and the progression of the story. The flashbacks kept me engaged with learning about our characters past loves and current lives. I definitely recommend this for your summer reading list, especially for romance readers!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Olivia and Fred. They have known each other all their lives. They dated when they were young and broke up. That’s what happens, when they are both single they try again, but something happens and they break. This time Olivia is in the process of divorcing and she return her family’s beach house in the Hampton, where she meet Fred. She is scared to see Fred because they both have changed, but maybe this time will work.

After having time to sit with this book I didn't feel like I was enjoying it was much. I really enjoy second-chance romances, but this was done in a way that made me feel like the main characters weren't really meant for one another. I know there's a thing as not getting the timing right, but this seemed to happen for them over a decade which just feels like such a long time to figure your shit out. But then again I don't have this experience so I can't totally judge I suppose!

I did however really enjoy the little twist at the end. That was super satisifying and I love when the bad guys get their dues and don't have happy endings.