This was absolutely perfect. I adored this love story! It felt like you were on a journey with Ali, as her friend while she grieves her mother and tries to reconcile her future as a divorcee with three kids. In life, we often feel like we're supposed to pick up the pieces independently without asking for help. This novel felt like like a breath of fresh air! Life is hard and sometimes we need someone to help nudge us along and help us see ourselves how they see us. I would 100000% recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Just perfect. *chefs kiss*

I was unsure what to expect with this book. I adored Nora Goes Off Script, and was disappointed by Same Time Next Summer. Which direction was Summer Romance going to fo?

The short answer: Itself. The long answer: All the best parts of Nora Goes Off Script times one hundred. I absolutely loved it!

Summer Romance follows Ali Morris - a mother of three, recent divorcee, and daughter in mourning. Ali is likable, relatable, and all the other '-ables' I would use to describe my best friend. Along comes Ethan, seemingly hardworking and respectable, who turns out to be her friends once-goofy younger brother.

I loved how this booked not only touched on navigating romance as a divorcee, but also a single mom and someone who is in their late 30s. The character development between Ali and Ethan is on point, and while I don't always loved closed-door romances I found this one to be highly believable. We need more books like this!

I can't wait to buy my own copy once this releases, and read it in the summer! Between Summer Romance and Nora Goes Off Script.. Monaghan has quickly become an 'auto-buy' author for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin for my ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have loved Annabel Monaghan's other books but this could possibly be my favorite! She manages to write fun, romantic stories that are still so well written and smart. Just as I have recommended her other books to many customers, I will be recommending this one to anybody who wants a great book that will leave them smiling, laughing, and rooting for a happy ending for this lovable characters.

I will definitely recommend this book to library patrons who enjoyed "Nora Goes Off Script," but this one just didn't do it for me. The storyline may have hit too close to home for me in the death of a parent aspect. It's well written and fans of her other works will certainly enjoy it.

I really enjoyed Annabel Monaghan's newest novel. I loved so many of the characters and really appreciated the deeper topics covered such as grief, rediscovering yourself, and thinking about the ways your decisions impact others. I'll be recommending this one to friends - it's really the perfect summer romance!

I have enjoyed all of Annabel Monaghan's summer offerings, but this, by far is my favorite.

Ali is finally about to make her divorce final. With 2 tween daughters and a 6 year old son, she is ready to face the summer of summer camps and soccer practices. Her mother has recently passed away and she finds herself having "conversations" with her to help sort through her situation. She and her elderly neighbor have a close relationship, each helping each other face the changes in their lives. When Ali's dog "marks his territory" on a man in the dog park, her summer starts out with a bang. As the summer progresses, Ali helps him clean out his parents' house, she is, after all, a professional organizer, in trade for his legal assistance with her divorce proceedings. As the title suggests, Summer Romance ensues.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a can't put it down kind of a read. Because I read this as an ARC, I read it at the start of January. While the season was incongruent with the book, the message of a fresh start resonated loud and clear.

Highly recommend.

I received an Advanced Reader copy via NetGalley from Penguin Random House / GP Putnam's Sons.

I've become a fan of Annabel Monaghan, and her book Nora Goes of Script was so good. This one is in a very similar vein. I really appreciate that she goes for the romance of older women and the nuances of such. As a 40+ person, its kind of fun, not only to read about romances of 25 year olds. This was a lovely if a tad predictable romance, that will be a perfect Summer book for your vacations next year.

I loved Same Time Next Summer and Nora Goes Off Script very much, but I think Summer Romance might be my favorite book by Annabel Monaghan! Summer Romance is heartwarming and the perfect feel good book! I highly recommend reading this book when it publishes on June 4, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P Putnam Son’s for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a delightful read! Annabel Monaghan has become an automatic read for me and Summer Romance didn’t disappoint. I truly appreciate the author’s use of an older, married(ish) mom as the protagonist! It’s nice the see parts of my life reflected in a rom com book. This will be such a wonderful beach read this summer!

This was a beautiful story of growth and learning your own self-worth. As a mom of three, so much of Ali's story resonated with me. I found myself highlighting so many passages and thinking "yes! this!". I loved the parallels between her relationship with her mom and her relationship with her pre-teen daughter. Again, so many beautiful words of wisdoms.

Ethan is a great MMC, someone who brings out the absolute best in her and sees her where she is for who she is. I loved the banter between them.

This was a very easy read with extremely lovable, relatable characters. It was my first read by this author but I'll definitely be coming back to her in the future.

4.5⭐️
This was my favorite Annabel Monaghan book. The romance was great but there were so many other storylines that were even better: grief, family, taking care of others, friendship, community, and more. It gave all the feels wrapped up in a happily ever after romance! I couldn’t put it down and loved Ali and Ethan’s story. The perfect summer read!

I am so thankful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It touched me in a way I was not expecting. I love Annabel Monaghan’s books, especially Nora Goes Off Script, but Summer Romance is now my favorite of her books. I loved the characters and the story so much! This is definitely going to be a book that I recommend to my friends and reread myself. Thank you Annabel Monaghan for this amazing book!!!

Ali is about to be a divorced woman with 3 kids and a loser husband after recently losing her mother (who was also her best friend). This book takes us along her life as she learns so much about herself and finds love again (with an absolute precious gem of a man)

This book was so sweet! Filled with wonderful lessons about love, grief, and relationships, it feels like a big long hug the whole time you are reading it. I love how often she felt her deceased mother present with her and didn’t shy away from being so candid about grief.

A little repetitive at times but overall really heartwarming and a great story. Anabel Monaghan always tells a wonderful story and I will always be looking forward to her next book!

So many relatable and funny quotes from this book but my favorite was: “The great thing about being an only child is that, at the end of the day, you find everything right where you left it.”

Instagram review coming soon!

Annabel Monaghan crafts the compelling complexity of real life experience (especially the hard parts) in a way that makes us feel less alone, but also allows introspection by reflecting alongside her characters. This isn’t just a flippant gas station summer romance book. Rather, Ali and Ethan’s story holds the heaviness of grief, the incredulity of parenting, the realizations of divorce, and the hope of new love. Just like in Nora Goes Off Script, the author’s humor is spot on. The tender moments of this novel, like the mundane icks of parenting with an unhelpful spouse, are portrayed with moving accuracy. But rather than lay out everyone’s struggles in a list, the author paints them as little poignant snippets in a fun, well paced story. Would highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy from Netgalley for review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I didn’t think there was a love story or couple I could adore more than Nora and Leo but Ali and Ethan may have just taken the top spot. But Summer Romance is so much more than a love story and that’s what touched me the most. It’s a story about growth and grief and finding a way back to who you are. Each relationship Ali has was so perfectly crafted and contributed to the growth we are all so blessed to witness in Summer Romance.

I started this book before bed and wouldn’t you know this amazing story kept me up until 2:30 AM and I currently have no regrets. I laughed and I even cried as I went in this incredible journey with Ali. She grew so much and I felt the struggles she faced as a wife and as a mother. That feeling of losing yourself and then slowly coming back to who you are meant to be. This is an awesome story and I’m only sad that I don’t get to read it for the first time again. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really liked this book! It was a bit slow in the first half, but I really enjoyed reading the last half.

The FMC, Alice, is a mother of 3 children in the middle of a divorce while also mourning the death of her mother. We follow her as she discovers herself again after losing herself in her previous marriage. I thought her character was very courageous and strong, especially when she was interacting with her kids. I admired how she was able to pick herself up and her moments of quiet self-reflection. (Pete, her soon-to-be ex-husband, makes me so angry and I love it when she sticks it to him.) The MMC, Ethan, is Alice's best friend's younger brother who has been yearning for Alice for years. He is a reminder of Alice's true self and helps Alice find herself again. Also has the patience of a saint. And together, they engage in a romance with a deadline - a summer romance.

I was worried I wouldn't relate to Alice's character (since I'm not a divorced mother of 3), but I was wrong. I could still identify with multiple aspects of her journey and empathized with her worries that held her back from her relationship with Ethan. It was also very interesting to see how her perspective on her relationships with her mom (and even her dad) changed throughout the book. I liked how the relationships were complex with multiple layers. Overall, this was a great, clean romance novel that touched on many mature topics (grief, parenthood, divorce).

Wow. Just WOW!

I did not expect to find my first five star read of 2024 so quickly on.

Annabel Monaghan has a writing style that just flows. With the right amount of vivid imagery, great descriptive detailing, and pulling together of plot lines that make reader use imagination and gain closure. I would gladly devour another work of hers any day.

What I loved: the FMC Ali has flaws, quirks, and talks to her dead mother. She is slightly self deprecating in a way that’s so relatable of SAHMs. The town and backdrop, community and interests are all well laid out and the story is certainly one where I felt a life lesson gets bestowed onto the reader.

What I didn’t love: the beginning dig on a bit, and it took me about 10% to really pick up speed and get into the book. Once I did however, I was so glad and could barely put it down. The friendship between Frannie and Ali didn’t seem like it truly had an origin so maybe it was written in convenience. It’s believable in small towns but wasn’t adequately described for how pivotal their relationship is to the ability to carry out the story.

Amazing book, it will be added to my list of ones I wish I could read again for the first time. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

This is the second book I have read by Annabel Monaghan and she is now on my must follow list. Both books have been 5 stars. The plot, scenery, and characters are all incredible. In Summer Romance, Ali is the FMC. In the past two years her world has been torn apart. We follow her on a journey to get back to finding her original self. The one she lost when she got married. With that freedom comes a romance and it is so sweet. Monaghan writes feelings so well. Just that human connection of doubt, disappointment, joy, excitement and the happiness of those days when you are feeling like superwoman.

Once again Annabel proves what a fabulous author she is by writing yet another FANTASTIC romance!

I just loved this book, from the wrung out and stressed mother that is Ali, to the handsome and charismatic Ethan. There were many surprises in this story and I loved everyone of them. I loved watching both of their journeys from the way Ali learns to stand up for herself and Ethan, to Ethan realizing that he doesnt have to run away to live the life he was meant too1

Annabel writes characters with such heartfelt and real emotions, I love getting to go into their inner world and find more about them. She is a one click author for me and I love rereading her stories...