I looooved Nora Goes Off Script, so I had high expectations. Summer Romance may have been even better. Annabel Monaghan writes the most authentic characters that I love and root for. The story centers around Ali, a divorced mom of three, and Ethan, her best friend's brother who has a current lawyer-former delinquent-skateboarding- swooning over her since childhood- sort of thing going on. Both Ali and Ethan were a perfect mix of complex depth and pure goodness. It was real and raw, with humorous banter, and all around beautifully written. I had tears, laughed out loud- all the things you want from a book. Annabel Monaghan, you genius. Everyone needs to get their hands on this book starting June 4, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC!!

Well, Annabel Monaghan has done it again! I couldn’t put this down but at the same time wanted to read it slowly to savor every word. I absolutely LOVED this book.

We meet single mom of three, Ali Morris, on the anniversary of not only her mother’s death but her husband asking for a divorce. She’s struggling with the next stage of her life, where she’s feeling “on her own” for the first time. Then she “meets” Ethan Hogan & suddenly she’s ready to wear “hard pants”. She wears lip gloss to the dog park. She wants that “Champagne Summer”. When he turns out to be someone from her past she prepares herself for a Summer Romance knowing he’ll be back to his life in Massachusetts by the end of it. The beautiful memories & flashbacks of her mother make you feel like you also lost her & are mourning Fancy too. As the summer (& Ali’s feelings) progresses, she becomes the person she always wished she could be but can she prevent her heart from breaking come the end of it?

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for the ARC of this book. After devouring Nora Goes Off Script & Same Time Next Summer during the summer of 2023 I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I’m calling it now, this is going to be THE romance book of the summer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ isn’t enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I have loved every Annabel Monaghan book I’ve read and this one was no exception. I felt like I really knew the characters from the very beginning and rooted for Ethan and Ali throughout the book. I loved how Ethan felt so misunderstood but he was so patient and understanding and kind. I loved watching Ali progress through her grief and finding herself again. I didn’t want this one to end! Annabel Monaghan is definitely a MUST read author for me!

This book was fantastic. The characters are flawed and real, and I'm a sucker for self-deprecating humor. It was a perfect bingeable read. Ali's journey to rediscover herself after the loss of her mother and her marriage is poignant and raw, and the romance is icing on the "getting her groove back" cake. If "glow up" was a book, this would be it.

Summer Romance is such a beautiful love story. After meeting all the characters I was completely invested in the story and how it all unfolded. This is such a sweet story and discovering all the side relationships Alice has in her life was so amazing and every relationship was important and valuable to the story. I would 100% recommend is you want a romance read for the summer!
ARC was read through NetGalley

Annabel Monaghan is permanently on my "Must Read" list. Another wonderful book!

Ali lost her mom 2 years ago. One year ago, her husband asked for a divorce. She is trying to get up and function every day for her 3 kids, and that's about it.

One day, she decides to take off her wedding ring, and her dog pees on a man's leg. It's a sign, right?! What happens next is a story about a woman finding herself again, along with a little bit of a summer romance.

I always love Annabel's characters, and the way that she writes wants me to keep going (and lose sleep because I cannot put her books down). I was invested in the characters, rooting for Ali and Scooter, no matter what happened, I just loved them as people. Her books always put a smile on my face and are a fun, quick read. Highly recommend!

This was such a refreshing book- a cute summer read in the middle of the winter!

Ali is a newly divorced woman and recently have lost her mother- has just been muddling through everything for her lesser than caring husband and kids, and she’s not too sure what to do. Enter Ethan, her best friends brother who she runs into at the dog park! He throws her for a loop when he tells her he liked her when they were younger, and asks her out.

I really liked that the MCs were late 30s, I don’t see enough representation for this! I liked that Annabel wrote characters that were relatable - not glorified. Ali hasn’t worn real pants for years - who else can relate to that LOL!!!!

I would mention that there isn’t too much problem and resolution - it’s more of Ali working through her grief, finding herself and finally taking what she wants and making the life she wants for herself. Closed door scenes as well, and the side characters were hilarious.

Summer Romance releases June 4, 2024!
Special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed every moment of this swoony upcoming book by Annabel Monaghan. This book lived up to everything I loved about Nora Goes Off Script and then some. The characters were realistic and relatable and I wanted only good things for them. I was stalling on finishing the book because I didn’t want it to end! Definitely recommend adding this to your summer reading list- it would make a perfect beach read!

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC of this book.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I started this. It was slower than I was expecting, but in a prose-y kind of way, and I found myself falling in love with it. Both Ali and Ethan were so completely relatable to me that it actually made me hurt inside. All their fears, the pain they’ve lived through and deal with, the happy times… it was all so real. Gah, the way they fell in love was so perfect and I just want to sit here in these feelings and bask.

I couldn’t put this book down. Didn’t want to at all. Thankfully, there was bad weather that gave me the day to partake in the selfcare of getting lost in this book and doing nothing else. I want to read this again, and I want to live in this world for a long, long time. I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m not sure I’ll ever really move on.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my thoughts on this book! Ali is caught up in quite a few big life changes when she takes off her wedding ring and her dog claims a man at a dog park for her. I absolutely loved the layers to this story- Ali’s relationship with her mother, her relationship with Pete, her relationship with Phyllis. Gosh, each one of those brought up so many emotions in her and me as I was reading the book. I will definitely be recommending this book to my book-ish friends and reading more by Annabel Monaghan!

This book really hit home for me, I lost my mom at 22 in 2016. I never related to a book so much. It was well written and such a beautiful story about finding yourself and finding someone help bring you out of your darkness at such a time when everything was crumbling. I love this author and have all her books and already pre ordered this book before I even had this chance of reading it before release date. I can’t express enough how I will recommend this to other and write a review on Instagram. I love a strong lead women. This book was fun-tastic!

I enjoyed this book. The main character, Ali is relatable to anyone who has ever had to manage grief while also trying to wade through everyday life.

At times, I found the book to be predictable but I enjoyed the character development and backstory of Ethan.

Normally the trope of dating the best friend’s brother results in the friend being upset but I liked that the friend was supportive or not outwardly against it. I honestly thought the parents were going to come back from Florida and tell them that winning the lottery was a lie and really they decided to move to Florida to help move Frannie and Ethan along in their lives.

I felt the relationship between Phyllis and Ali could have been flushed out more at the beginning to emphasize the importance of Phyllis in Ali’s life.

Overall, a very enjoyable and feel good book. I think it is relatable to anyone managing their own grief, whether that’s the loss of a loved one or loss of a relationship.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to review this ARC!

I absolutely loved Annabel Monaghans newest romance. I felt like this was a combination of her last two books and it turned out even better. With great chemistry between the main characters and a realistic divorcee storyline, I felt this was a very real book. Could totally see it becoming a movie!

June 2024 Me is mad at January 2024 me for reading this now and knowing she won’t be able to read it and fall in love with it for the first time later on.

January 2024 Me is saying whoops oh well because it was the best and I’m soooo glad I didn’t wait any longer to read it.

Everything about it was perfect.

If you’re the type of person to scoff at perfection, fine, chew on this: golden boy is quite golden, it’s mentioned over and over, how “gold and golden” he is in every way except literally being called golden boy. Do we care? No. Because, like I said, everything about Summer Romance was perfection.

Banter, conflict, resolution. Check check and check.

I leave you with one piece of advice: don’t start this at 10pm you will stay up all night reading.

4.5 ⭐️ read. This is the 2nd book I have read by the author and I really enjoyed it as much as Nora Goes Off Script. There is a nice balance of humor and “the feels”. And, who wouldn’t love to have a summer romance! At first I felt Ali and Scooter took off a bit fast, though I appreciated how they had a prior history of knowing each other and that carried the Summer Romance through. Overall, a nice light book, perfect for a beach read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
The character growth (of every single character), the summer vibes, the relatable motherhood references - perfection. Not to mention the fact that this book was such an emotional roller coaster and explored divorce, grief, loss, change, growing up, relationships, motherhood, and dating.
I really enjoyed this book and it felt like a big warm hug.💕

Another wonderful book by Annabel Monaghan! She has the ability to write a fun rom-com while also leaving me with deeper questions to ponder about myself, which I appreciate as a psychologist. For Same Time Next Summer, I was left thinking about the role of fear and defenses in my life. With Summer Romance, I am thinking about the ways in which I have allowed life to silence my voice and what aspects of past versions of me I would like to reincorporate into who I am now. All of this wrapped in a sweet, easy-to-read story!

Summer Romance is a very relatable read for today’s busy wife and mother. It is about loss, love and the pursuit of a balanced life.

After losing her beloved mother and going through an inevitable divorce, Ali finds love in an unsuspected way during her “champagne summer.” Follow Ali as she navigates through the ebbs and flows of finding her person after enduring difficult hurdles that so many women face today.

I absolutely adored this book! I cannot wait to read more novels by Annabel Monaghan!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC. This book was so good. I loved it so much. It was so much more than a simple romance (although there was lots of that). It was a book about healing, grief, parentally love and finding yourself again. I loved Ali and her story was so well done. I haven’t read Nora Goes of Script or Same Time Next Summer but they are definitely going to the top of my TBR list. Perfect summer read. The release date for June is perfect.

I laughed. I swooned. I cried. This book made me FEEL the many facets of love our main character, Ali, has in her life. Summer Romance was a perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and GP Putnam for the ARC!