Another hit from Annabel Monaghan! I absolutely love how REAL her characters emotions and life situations are, and she does such a great job of writing mom and kid dynamics.

This book has great tropes: single mom, he falls first, best friend’s brother, small town, summer romance, rediscovery.

Some emotional triggers to be aware of: divorce, parent/grandparent loss, mention of miscarriage for a supporting character.

I was given the immense privilege of receiving an ARC of this book before release, and I’m so honored. Annabel Monaghan is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors!

I really want to give this a 4.5 instead of just a 4! I really loved this one! It’s such a real and relatable situation where she’s navigating a divorce with kids and trying to figure out how to live her life while still making the kids a priority. It shows how moms truly sacrifice for their kids and it’s so heartbreaking but also so loving! And the romance between them is so fierce as they work through it all together. I just really appreciated the realness I felt reading this one! And of course I know I’ve been emotionally connected when I have happy tears multiple times in a story! ;)

4.5 stars, 1 chili pepper/Closed Door but has some angst.
I loved this book - it made me laugh, cry and swoon - the best type of book IMO! Ali's story is one that I think many 30ish age married women with young kids could relate to, where you don't even realize that you've lost yourself/your voice until it's too late. I also think Ethan's story is very relatable as well - he was a bit of a "bad kid" growing up, and was overlooked by his family and town, never really seeing the growth he had made. I loved following Ali find her way back to her self through her summer romance with Ethan <3
Annabel Monaghan is the queen at writing in a way that makes her stories so relatable, realisitic and swoony, and she once again masters it in this book!

*Thank you so much to Putnam and NetGalley for this early release publication for my unbiased review!

Started off a little slow for me and took a while for me to want to keep reading it, but I’m glad I kept on reading it. I really enjoyed the love story and the connection that the two main characters had, but I also really appreciated the FMC’s journey through grief and divorce. I also thought the author did a great job communicating how wives and mothers can disappear into their family and forget themselves in the chaos. Overall a great read.

What a lovely read this was. Ali is a soon to be divorced mother of three who is also still grieving the loss of her mother. Ali works as an organizer of homes, but hers is a mess as is her life. She meets a man in the dog park and begins a “summer romance” with him. The summer romance becomes both more intense and more complicated as time goes on. There are surprises along the way and more grief, but the story of Ali finding her true self and finally “organizing” her own home is very satisfying. I really enjoyed this sweet story and look forward to reading more from this author..

I LOVED this! After inhaling Nora Goes Off Script, I instantly knew I needed more Annabel Monaghan. Summer Romance has the perfect cast of characters, and a compelling and swoon worthy romance. But most importantly, I LOVED the setting - I wish everything about Beechwood was real.

I thought it was a lovely written story. Just the right amount of romance. It wasn’t over the top and definitely not raunchy (my preference).. This was not the first book I’ve read by this author and thus will not be the last.

Rating: 4.25/5 
Benefits of a summer romance: it’s always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken...

Another amazing book by Annabel Monaghan! Ali Morris is working through the grief of losing her mother when her husband decides he wants a divorce. Ali's got no fight left, she's living in a messy home with her three kids and surviving in sweatpants. The day she finally decides to take her wedding ring off and put on "hard pants", she starts to breathe again. 
Monaghan created yet another world for us with these relatable characters that are going through so much growth and fighting for what they deserve. This story is an emotional journey about second chances and never being too late to ask for what you want. I teared up the way I seem to do with all of her books, and cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy to add to my collection.
Thank you, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Charming town, appealing characters, and a dog! I really enjoyed this book, which is a sweet, Hallmark Channel-y read (in the best way) read. It has occasional serious moments - divorce, grief - but treats them with the lightest of touches. This would be a wonderful airplane or beach read.

This will be available on June 4 - thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the advance copy!

Loved this book!! I love this authors ability to create such realistic feeling characters and situations—it creates such an immersive feeling. The characters and stakes feel real, not at all contrived. And I loved the journey of the male lead—exploring that idea of going home again as an adult really resonated with me. Will absolutely recommend.

This was a great read. Read it in a little over a day. Could definitely have beach/summer read potential. Love the MMC. Reminded me a lot of my early relationship with my now husband. Definitely made me nostalgic.

I have so many butterflies after reading this that I’m going to have to open a lepidopterarium!

There was so much I enjoyed about this story but I’ll do my best to distill it down to 3 things.

1. A love story built on the FMC and MMC being fully themselves…while discovering more about who they really are. They are the architects of their own experience!!
2. The descriptions. Ali falling for Ethan and describing feeling like she is carbonated! Wow. Brilliant.
3. The representation of the joys and pitfalls and challenges of the mother/daughter relationship.

Not only was this a fantastic love story. It was also like ASMR reading about all the organizing.

This is a perfect beach read for summer.

I want to thank NetGalley for a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My review may contain spoilers.
This story was about a middle aged mom who was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders: a messy divorce, managing 3 kids and trying to figure out who she is to her core again. In comes Ethan and changes everything for her. She feels alive again. She feels excited again!
Honestly this book was exactly what I needed and I read it at the perfect time. I just got a dog myself so if you guys catch me at the dog park trying to find my Ethan this summer stay cool. I don't think Annabel Monaghan can do any wrong when it comes to her sweet romance novels.
10/10 for heart felt hallmark type of love
0/10 for spice and I actually LOVE that.
Am I getting old?

I love Annabel Monaghan’s books and this one was no exception! I don’t feel like there are enough romance novels about moms and this author really did them justice. This is a story that is heartwarming and encouraging. I even found myself laughing out loud at parts. A quote that is said many times throughout the book “you are the architect of your own experience” resinates profoundly.
The author’s note at the end also brought a deeper perspective to the book and made me tear up. I already can’t wait to read her next novel!

I love this book so much! You can feel the chemistry between Ali & Ethan. I adored both of them. Ali is still grieving the loss of her mother. She’s soon to be divorced & has lost her way. Ethan has his own identity issues in his family & town. I laughed a lot but was still moved by her clear depiction of grief. This book is well written, funny, poignant, and completely charming. Annabel Monaghan has created a world you won’t want to leave.

It’s been two years since Ali’s mom passed away and one year since her husband asked for a divorce. She’s finally ready to move beyond her grief and be more present in her life. She runs into a handsome guy at the dog park and ends up going on a date with him. Unfortunately, he turns out to be her friend’s screw up younger brother. This throws her a bit, but much to her surprise, she likes him too much to stop seeing him. But their romance has an end date as Ethan is only in town for the summer.

I loved this book. There are no hooks and it’s a completely “normal” storyline; as in, this could be anyone’s life story. So Monaghan pulls you in by making you FEEL all the feelings for these characters. You want Ali to get back to her old self and Ethan to be comfortable in Beechwood. A lot of books have a miscommunication trope where you’re screaming at the characters to get their heads out of their asses and figure it out. But with Summer Romance, I had no idea how they were going to resolve their issue. So romantic, so sweet.

I loved this book! This is my first book by this author. I’ve heard so many good things that I thought I should give her books a shot and I do not regret! Her book had very realistic characters that make you feel like you actually know them. She sucks you in the book. Thank you for giving me a chance to read this beautiful book!

The second I finished this book I was texting my mom, my sister, my sister in law and my friend to pre-order it. I loveddddddddd this book. I absolutely loved it!! I feel like I will genuinely miss every single charcter now that the books over. I laughed, I cried. I loved the love story but also the relationship that Ali had with her daughter, the raw look at parenting a teen. Would give this a billion stars if I could.

Monaghan has done it again - summer romance is a fresh, heartwarming story that reminds us it’s never too late to find love and to take a chance 🌟 i will definitely be re-reading ali and ethan’s story during this summer at the beach!

read if you like:
- best friend’s brother trope
- single moms
- INTENSE eye contact
- MMC falls first and hard
- dogs with people names (and lots of personality)

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this e-ARC.

I have loved all of Annabel Monaghan’s books and “Summer Romance” did not disappoint! There’s something about the way she writes where she pulls you into the story and you feel everything that happens to the characters. I originally thought “Summer Romance” was going to be light and fluffy like a summer romance can be (ha ha) but it wasn’t. This book was heart felt, made me think, and I enjoyed the journey Ali went through. I love when characters grow! There were some interesting choices made along the way, like how is skateboarding sexy? But it worked!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!