Perfect read for MDW and the summer- duh. I couldn’t get enough of Ali and Ethan and I just flew right through it. Ali is 38 and in the process of getting divorced from her completely useless lump of a husband. She’s lost herself in her marriage and as a mom and just doesn’t know who she’s become. Enter Scooter, her friend’s younger brother and someone who has literally had a crush on her since high school. He absolutely changes Ali’s life and her perspective of herself. I loved that she learned how to rediscover herself as Ali- not as a wife or mom.

Lately, I find myself really enjoying stories about characters who are close to my age. I really resonated with Ali because it’s SO easy to lose who you are as an individual when you’ve been married for X amount of years. It was just nice to read about something so relatable. The absolutely adorable romance didn’t hurt either.

I adored this book! It is full of moments that turn the ordinary or the mundane into something that sparkles. For a romance, I found that it struck the perfect balance of a realistic love/life story, while incorporating lots of moments of levity and butterflies. This book made me feel all the feels, I laughed out loud and was crying by the end. Annabel Monaghan is such a talented writer, her voice is funny and quirky and has so much heart. Would highly recommend as a beach read this summer!

I absolutely adored the latest from Annabel Monaghan! Being a formerly divorced mom, her stories always resonate with me. Her characters are well written with great background stories. This time around we have Ali who is smack dab in the middle of her divorce when she meets Ethan. Will she get back on that horse? We know it, but the journey is where it's at. The banter and relationship between these two was on point and felt organic. I loved that they showed how the kids were dealing with the divorce as well. Ali's neighbor was so sweet and almost became like a second mother figure to her when her own mom died. I was happy with the ending and thought the grief and Ethan's feelings of not being good enough were so genuine. I'd highly recommend this summer read!

I look forward to every Annabel read for her whimsy, summerful writing!

Ali has everyone else's life together. Hers? Shambles. She's getting divorced and grieving the loss of her closest friend, her mom. On a whim, she says yes to a date with a handsom stranger named Ethan. Ethan, the man who turns out to be Scooter, her best friend's quirky brother. All's fair in love and summer romance, especially when everything feels right in the world.

I found myself immediately rooting for Ali and Ethan's love, especially as she figured out how shitty her ex-husband was. It was like Ethan brought new life into Ali and allowed her to be her true self. Skate parks, love of kinds and discovering love is truly possible through it all made Summer Romance another five star read.

Another Annabel Monaghan winner for me! Summer Romance is a slow burn, sweet, grief filled book. I laughed, teared up, and ended this book feeling hopeful. Hopeful that life goes on, even when grief tells you differently. Hopeful that life can always find a way, even in the hardest of times. 4⭐️ for me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As you can assume from the title, this book is about a summer romance, but it’s also about a lot more. It’s about mothers and daughters, and taking a chance on love in all its forms — whether that’s getting a dog or befriending an elderly neighbor — when you know it’s not going to last.

I always love the extended friends and family Annabel Monaghan creates in her books, and this was certainly no exception. If you liked her other books, you will like this one, too.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

arc for honest review*


reading this was so different from what i’ve read and i did enjoy it, it was such a easy short read and perfect for summer!

the book is about ali getting out of a relationship while also having to coparent with her ex partner. she later meets ethan who she does not recognize is her best friends brother. she asks him to help her with the custody or coparenting arrangements. they spent time together a lot and they start to fall in love and more happenss!

thank you netgally for this book!!

This is an easy 5 stars. "Summer Romance" had me smiling the entire book. I loved it and had such a hard time putting it down.

I have read all of Annabel Monaghan’s books and this was by far my favorite one! This is a love story- but for me the love story between Ali and her own self was the highlight. I loved the MMC Ethan and the chemistry they had together as well. This is the perfect summer beach read and I will definitely be doing a repeat read this summer!

What a perfect start to summer reading!
Ali and her kids always end the school year by speaking their wishes for the summer out loud, but this time they get more than they could have known to wished for.
Grief, hope, a diner, and an inn all play lead roles in these pages as well as a man who wears suits, skateboards, and is mighty protective of those around him.

Annabel Monaghan even snuck in some advice: "You're the architect of your own experience." If you don't like it, do something about it. Oh, and go ahead and get the dog.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the book of the summer. It's been 2 years since Ali's mom passed away and 1 year since her husband told her he no longer wanted to be married to her. She wakes up that morning with so much anxiety and grief.... but it doesn't last long when a dog wanders in followed by his owner... This was the cutest book and I loved every minute of it.

2.5 stars

This book just wasn’t for me. I’m definitely in the minority on this, but based on reading other 2 star reviews, I know I’m not alone.

Summer Romance is great if you want a lighthearted beach read that has no drama. The premise is a soon-to-be-divorced mom tries to navigate life as a single parent, all while grieving the recent death of her own mother and facing all the “firsts” that come with dating again.

And that’s where my main issue with the book lies. I don’t have qualms with a book that has no drama, but the story isn’t just low stakes; it has no stakes. I just don’t see how that can be when the book touches on heavy topics like grief and divorce.

For example, the MMC initially tries to hide his identity from the FMC, as if it would be the end of the world if she finds out who he is. But the reader can totally figure out who he is before the FMC does, and it’s just a letdown when you realize he’s just a regular guy who’s misunderstood by his family. And not like bad-boy-actually-good-boy type of misunderstood either, but more like my-parents-just-don’t-get-me misunderstood.

This goes the same for the reason that the FMC and MMC think they can’t be together. The FMC makes it seem like it is absolutely impossible for them to stay together, when in reality, it’s very possible for them to stay together, but just requires some effort. Think Michael and Holly from The Office when they *spoiler* break up after Holly moves to Nashua (it’s just a 5 hour car ride, guys; not great, but not impossible).

For that reason, it was difficult for me to feel motivated to pick up the book.

Another thing that made it hard to get into the story is there’s too much telling and not enough showing. Oftentimes the FMC just tells us exactly how she feels about something or someone, and we don’t get a chance to form our own opinion as readers because it’s just part of the narrative. And that tends to contribute to some flat one-dimensional characters. The mom? Good. The MMC? Good. The ex-husband? Bad; very, very bad. I mean I don’t doubt that ex-husbands can suck, but there isn’t one redeeming quality that the guy is given, which explain why the FMC fell in love with and married him in the first place, then proceeded to stay together and have 3 kids with him.

There are parts that I enjoyed from the book, and mostly they are when the author captures the little moments in beautiful prose, when it’s showing and not telling. Like the chapter about the morning the FMC decides to take off her wedding ring; so much is said when she makes that decision, and then sets the ring on the cinnamon in her spice cabinet before shutting it away.

Again, I know I’m in the minority about how I feel about this book. But I think fans of Annabel Monaghan books will also love Summer Romance, because it seems to have similar tropes to Nora Goes Off Script. And anyone who wants a light summer beach read should give this a try too.

Special thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this digital e-ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan will be out June 4, 2024.

This was a nice and sweet beach read romance with closed-door spice. I like that the FMC is a professional organizer and yet her house/life is a mess. It’s a mess because she has lost herself over the years, is grieving the loss of her mother, and is also going through a divorce. She has to reorganize what she thought she wanted to what she actually wants out of life. And always like a MMC that is open about his feelings. Note that there are a few good organizing tips in here lol.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC. This was my third Annabel Monaghan book and it was a hit like all the others. This was the perfect slow burn that hit on so many important topics. The ending was emotional and beautiful. I loved it.

In 2022. Annabel Monaghan’s Nora Goes Off Script was hands-down one of my favorite books so I was eager and excited to receive a copy of her newest novel, Summer Romance. It turns out, my excitement was founded. This book did not disappoint with its concise language, dry wit, and caring touch.

One of the things that makes Annabel Monaghan books a joy to read is that she is a master at writing approachable female-identified main characters. They are women who are trying to make their way through the world, dealing with problems as best they can, with a little bit of grace and a lot of wit and humor. They are flawed yet likable and I suspect that many of us can see parts of ourselves within their fictional attitudes and journeys. I found this story to be so sweet and poignant, but the very best part of my reading time was spent rooting for the main character and her many touching relationships.

Summer Romance is centered around a love story, but it is really a book about loss and change. Monaghan has created a character that is mid-life and, in more than one way, is evaluating an adult existence that is not what she’d expected in her younger years. As she continues down her path of transition, she uncovers parts of herself that had gotten lost, while also seeing that sometimes what you happen upon is even better than what you’d hoped for. The dating story gives readers the light-hearted antics that we love, while the journey of discovery adds a level of maturity not typically present in beach reads. It's such a great mix: Not inane fluff. Not overwhelmingly heavy. It’s the right combination to captivate your heart and your brain in equal measure.

I removed one-star from my rating because I found that some of the support stories start with strong, earnest emotional investment from the reader, but as the book concluded, those resolutions felt a bit flat and hurried. These pressed wrap-ups certainly didn’t ruin the book, but they were noticeable and I found myself wishing for more. Additionally, while not a critique, I want to caution anyone that is currently dealing with grief, particularly from the loss of a parent, that now may not be the time to enjoy Summer Romance. Ali’s mother’s death is two years in the past and the aftermath is handled beautifully, but her grief does play a role in this novel’s journey.

For me, the appeal of a story that is fun and dreamy, yet rich with humor and emotional connection cannot be overstated. This novel is refreshing and invigorating, much like a dip in the pool on a hot day.

I wanted to love this so much more than I did, unfortunately. I’ll start by mentioning that I LOVED Nora Goes Off Script and I really liked Same Time Next Summer, too. I think Annabel Monaghan is lovely, and she writes with heart and quick witted dry humor that I love. I loved the FMC’s relationship with her mother, even after death, and I appreciate the themes of a woman finding herself (no matter her age) and standing up for herself and what she wants. That being said, my issues were:

Insta-love.
Ali seemed way older than Ethan?
The whole skateboarding thing (couldn’t it have been tennis or something😫 ?!). Show me a 42 year old woman who would get on a skateboard willingly.
& Finally, it just didn’t scream summer to me.. besides a trip or two to a beach, this love story could’ve taken place in any season, IMO.

Bummer, but the first two were tough acts to follow. I do think lots of people will enjoy this one, though, and I bet Ethan will be a fan favorite book boyfriend…

I’m not a big fan of romance but I love a mid life character with a sense of humor. There was more depth to this romance as the main character was dealing with a divorce, the death of her mother and finding her way out of grief. She’s a professional organizer whose life and her own personal pantry are a mess. It’s a fun summer closed door romance.

Wow! This ARC was such a treat!!! Excellent blend of romance with enough depth to the side plots and major character growth, I loved this! 4.5 stars!!

Now that I’ve read two books by this author, one thing she does really well is writing more mature characters. In this one, our FMC is in her mid thirties and finding love after the loss of her mother and a divorce. Her struggles felt real and the way she reacted and moved throughout the story never felt overdramatized, which just made everything feel so much more believable.

Also loved SO MANY side characters - her kids were a treat, her best friend Frannie, Frannie parents, her neighbor, the freaking dogs!! There was so much love in this story outside Ethan and Ali, who were spectacular on their own. 🥰

I think fans of Emily Henry, Kennedy Ryan, and Abby Jimenez will love this!

Summer Romance was a great way to kickoff summer reading. Is has been awhile since I finished a book in less than 24 hours.
I loved Nora Goes Off Script and while Summer Romance deals with very different issues, it is just as good.

My apologies in advance for how incoherent this review probably is. Jet lag is real, folks.

I have a bit of an accidental tradition with this author’s books: I always read her books on vacation. I read Nora Goes Off Script in Canada, Same Time Next Summer in northern Florida, and now Summer Romance in Norway. Her books are just the PERFECT vacation reads. Her writing style, humor, and the life lessons she weaves into her books always makes for a good time.

This is once again the case in Summer Romance. I’m giving it 3.75 stars, though, because there were some things that annoyed me. Specifically how Ali seems to shove her kids off for her “summer fling.” It all worked out well in the end (the ending was pretty perfect!) but it bothered me throughout the book.

As for spice, it’s closed door but you know they’re doing it off page. Nothing is described, though, which I appreciate. Also very little swearing (the first line of the book has a cuss word but don’t be put off by that. There’s not much at all).

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC! All opinions are my own.