We adored Malibu Summer and easily fell in love with the characters and the setting. Libby was a new to us author and we are so excited to see what she has up her sleeve next!

The concept of the book had potential, but it was poorly executed: plotlines that went nowhere, underdeveloped characters, and dozens of missed opportunities to connect the reader to the characters and their actions.

A lot of the plot happened off the page, meaning so did much of the character development. It made for a jarring experience. The two main characters, Conrad and Ivy, seemed like friendly acquaintances and then all of a sudden are in love. What? Surely, they were spending time together if that was the case, but we weren't seeing it on the page.

Meanwhile, obstacles and threats arose and were dealt within a page in the tritest ways possible. An example: [SPOILER] a paparazzo tries to blackmail Conrad with photos of his dead wife, and conveniently dies himself within the next chapter. Police tell Conrad that he was obsessed with Conrad's ex-wife, stepson, and dog, but as to why...well, that remains forever a mystery. Completely unnecessary plot line, other than to put Conrad's stepson in a dangerous location later in the novel--something that could have been accomplished without the paparazzo character or plot line altogether.

You can see the poor character development and too-easily-resolved dilemmas merge in several scenes, such as [SPOILER] when Ivy wants to buy out the Silicon Valley investor who has been adding toxic synthetics into her organic gardening product. Apparently, Ivy and Conrad practices her delivery in advance, but we miss what could have been a good scene that shows how Conrad supports Ivy. Ivy emerges from that 3-pages interaction with the investor the victor, but you can practically see the investor shaking her fist and then twirling her Snidely Whiplash moustache. A few chapters later, the investor is suing Ivy. Great! Perhaps a conflict with some heft! One chapter later, Conrad has somehow convinced 60 Minutes to confront the investor outside her building like the national news show is doing a version of a local station's "gotcha" segment. And by the end of the confrontation with the reporter--one that lasts a page or so--the investor is declaring there is no lawsuit. Ivy, watching this at home, is leaping in the air and cheering. Yeesh.

I rarely tell people to just forego a book altogether, because there's a pot for every lid and maybe this one could be for you. But this book? I'd suggest you pass. There are much, MUCH better showbiz romances or romances featuring grieving people. I get the sense maybe this was published less on its literary merits and more because of the author's connections.

The author didn't have a bad idea at the foundations of this. It just wasn't executed well. On the bright side, the cover is lovely.

We have two new widowers after their partners are killed in accidents. Due to a friend they find themselves thrown together when Ivy moves into the cottage on Conrad’s land. These two have to work through grief to find being more. This was a very intense book with a lot of grief but a HEA at the end.

I genuinely downloaded this one because I liked the cover a lot and it sounded good - the grief in this story I feel like was betrayed really well, just two lost people who experienced one of the worst things ever trying to navigate and move on. I really enjoyed this for it being a debut novel!

I really liked the premise of this story, but it felt like important bits were missing and extra bits were added.

A love story between an environmental scientist and a Hollywood writer is definitely unique. Even more so that their stories both start off with tragedy. It was a cute story but I feel like it could have been developed more in certain aspects. There were parts of the story line that would drop off and then abruptly pick back up out of seemingly nowhere.

Thank you #penguin and #netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t let this cover fool you this is heavier than expected, but a beautiful story!

When Environmental Scientist, Ivy Bauer & Hollywood hotshot, Conrad Reed are forced together the only thing they have in common is the recent loss of their respective spouses. This story follows them each through their deep grief while putting their lives back together. Ivy is living in the guest house on Conrad’s property as his gardener for the summer. She’s taken a sabbatical from her work on her irrigation system. Conrad is back to work & struggling to maintain control on his latest project while being the sole caretaker for his late wife’s young son. The two seem to be exactly what the other needs to move forward in life.

Malibu Summer is author, Libby Gill’s fiction debut. While I enjoyed the writing style I didn’t care for the male main character. I did find myself skimming through his narrative. I didn’t buy their chemistry either. I did enjoy the writing style & will pick up another by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books & Libby Gill for the advanced copy of her fiction debut out May 21, 2024!

This is the second book I've read this week about a widow(er) and I really enjoyed it. I was moved by the grief musings and the interesting narration style.

TW for violence against a child and car crash

I did not care for this book. There was to much drama and not any chemistry. I also felt like the plot was lacking in some places.

This is a tough review to write. I enjoyed a lot about Malibu Summer by Libby Gill. (Thank you, @uplitreads !) I thought the focus on grief was done really well. The two main characters had interesting careers and there was a lot of detail and obvious research that went into that. I also really loved the character Mak and her relationship with both Ivy and Conrad.

Ultimately, I just needed a little more. A little more depth to the relationships, romantic and platonic. The relationship between the main two characters wasn’t really developed. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it was categorized as fiction instead of romance? It just felt like something was missing.

There is a good start here and a great foundation for an emotional exploration of how grief affects people. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set on a sunny Malibu hillside, the story follows Ivy Bauer, a bright environmental scientist who, after her husband’s tragic death, takes a summer job as a gardener to grieve. She ends up working for Conrad Reed, a wealthy Hollywood actor struggling with his late wife's death, his sweet stepson Hudson, and a career heading in a direction he's feeling unsure about.

What a unique plot for this debut novel. What I liked: Ivy is intelligent and passionate about her work and she shares her joy of learning with Hudson and her new Malibu community. A focus on our care of the environment and our earth is incredibly applicable and importance should be placed on the people who are studying new, healthier methods. Hudson is so sweet and earnest. The relationship he develops with Ivy is compelling, as it doesn't feel forced or out of place in the story.

What I struggled with: I didn't feel that the connection between Ivy and Conrad made sense. Conrad was pretty unlikable and he often seemed distant even in his interactions with Ivy. It truly felt that she had more chemistry with JP! Because of this forced love story, the second half of the book was difficult to believe. On top of that, it got messy with the Sal blackmail and Alexandra chemical additives storylines.

All in all, I would give this novel 3 stars, as many of the descriptions placed me right in the Malibu sun, among the plants and by the pool - not a bad place to be.

Thank you so much to Libby Gilly, UpLit Reads and Penguin Books for sending me a physical copy of this book and giving me the opportunity to provide a honest review.

I enjoyed this book! I started out reading the kindle version but switched to audio when I realized it was narrated by one of my favorites- Therese Plummer. She never misses, and this of course was no exception. I like how the author described the very different grief processes that the characters went through - Ivy, Conrad and Hudson. There was a lot going on - soil science, Hollywood BTS, grief, kindergarten and natural disasters! I’ve never been to California but I can imagine this is all actually pretty accurate for that area, haha. There were several tropes that I liked as well: opposites attract, single-dad, women-in-STEM, love after loss, found family - the author was able to incorporate them all seamlessly. Definitely add this one to your TBR if you want to savor the last bit of summer!

Looking at this cover I was fully expecting a light hearted ROM.vom, but on no, theirs grief (which yes, is mentioned in the book synopsis). It's pretty intense in that aspect. As for the romance, I didn't feel the chemistry. I guess it's hopefully, and maybe healing, but it wasn't for me.

I love the idea of this book with two grieving people who learn to move on, but that’s about all the positives for me with this book. The plot and chapters seemed all over the place and seemed like the story wasn’t fully fleshed out. Connor and Ivy had a very weak romance and what felt like having no chemistry. They just seemed to like each other based only on the fact that they lost their spouses. This sadly was not the book. Thanks to Penguin House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Group and Netgalley for a E-arc in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating:
1 Star
My Opinion:
I thought the concept of the book was interesting. Both of the main characters learning how to deal with their grieve together. But I felt the characters had no chemistry. Both seemed more workplace driven. our FMC was more worried about getting back to her office. I think this would be a good cleaner after a difficult read or two. I think I just read this at the wrong time, I would like to give it another trip at a later time. The writing was simple, but a little too simple. I did like the short chapters to help keep the book moving.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't the romance for me. I found the relationship development between Ivy and Conrad to be underdeveloped, and the main characters to be one-dimensional. The characters' jobs and their individual grief over being widowed are the central focus of this book, whereas the romance was somewhat in the background. Conrad is a tv show writer who wants to create shows with more impact, while Ivy is a soil scientist who is trying to create a novel irrigation system but is having problems with an investor. They both have issues at their jobs that take up the majority of this book; the resolutions are much too abrupt and convenient. There are other mini-conflicts in the book, mainly an issue with a weird photographer guy. This character is cartoonishly evil, and the resolution to this conflict is just bizarre.

I just don't think I really understood the point of this novel, nor was it really the summer romance I was expecting. I'm sure there is an audience for this book, but that audience is unfortunately not me.

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This book had such a cute vibe! It didn’t have that much summer mentioned in the book but it was such a great story. It locked me in at the beginning and had a few tear jerker moments. If you don’t like stories od death then this book might not be for you.

I liked this one! This was a not quite a beach read (as though the cover and title suggests) but an emotional read with a heavy subject matter and navigating through loss. I am not sure this was quite a romance book and would be best categorized as womens fiction. Thank you so much for the ARC!

A grieving soil scientist takes a job working as a gardener for a recently widowed TV exec and falls for him. Really loved all of the gardening talk in here! I mean, with a cover like that, was expecting this book to DELIVER on the flower/gardening descriptions, and it 100% did! I don't always like kids in books, but I thought Hudson was adorable, and I really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Ivy progress. Two things in particular held me back from fully loving this one. The characters felt a little half-baked and one-dimensional and the writing style felt awkward and stilted.