This book surprised me in the best way..it's not just a romance; it dives deep into themes of loss, grief, and self-discovery. The story is filled with depth and personal growth, especially in the way Ivy and Conrad's relationship develops - it's truly touching.

If you've ever experienced the loss of a loved one; this book will resonate with you. The author captures the emotional highs and lows of grief with such realism, making the story feel authentic.

While it's not a light read Conrad's stepson Hudson adds some much needed humor to balance the heavier moments. Overall, it's a beautifully written story about finding love after loss.

Plus, the author 's vivid depiction of Malibu adds the perfect summer beach vibe to the book.

This should be categorized as literary fiction over romance. While there is the opposites attract romantic story line, it is really about two people rediscovering themselves after loosing their spouses. I think it is a great novel. It has deep subject matter, the characters and plot are clearly developed. I enjoyed it.

"Malibu Summer" is a story of finding purpose (and love) after loss. The two main characters are each reeling from the loss of their spouses. A mutual friend, Mak, connects them with the idea that Ivy needs time outside the lab and working in the garden, while Conrad has a mansion with a neglected garden. So, taking up the challenge of restoring the garden gives Ivy a change of scenery as she processes her husband's death, and will help Conrad should he decide to sell the home his wife loved so much.

Little did anyone expect that their mutual understanding and compassion would lead to sparks and a sense of belonging, and the guilt that goes along with that as they ponder "moving on" with their lives.

If you've ever lost a loved one, you'll find this hits close to home. Yet the author did a fine job of handling the roller coaster of emotions that grief produces and realistically reflecting them in the story.

It's definitely not a light-hearted book, although Hudson, Conrad's stepson, provides some humorous relief. But it is a well-written and thoughtfully produced story of love after loss.

Thank you to Libby Gill, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

An intelligent, super fun beach read. The characters and situations are quite unique making this a book that is hard to put down. The only thing the main characters seem to have in common is the fact their spouses are recently deceased. A real “opposites attract” type of romance that is well written and very good. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

This book was way too slow, and I ended up not finishing it. The characters were living separate lives either their grief, and I needed them to come together sooner for the romance. Nothing of importance happened in the first half. I think people who enjoy sad romances might like this one, but it didn’t hold my attention.

2.5⭐️
Thank you Penguin Books for the ARC & happy release day!
I went into this book loving the premise, that two recently widowed people are intertwined by fate and are able to heal together. I loved Ivy and her world as a scientist. While this book is about two people’s individual stories, I think I needed them to connect more because I didn’t thoroughly enjoy that the only thing that connected them was death. I hoped for a little more. Or even better, if this was a story about friendship I think it would’ve been more believable and natural if they weren’t romantically linked at all.

3.5 stars rounded up! I thought going into this that it was going to be a fun romcom summer read, and there was a little bit of romance, but it definitely wasn’t the main idea. I don’t think I would have picked this up if I knew just how far it delved into grief and the many, many ways it can affect not only you, but everyone around you. Also how each person handles grief in their own ways. That being said, I’m glad I read it, and it definitely made me feel my feels about my own grief, so for that I would recommend this. I did have some issues with some of the side characters seemingly having their own storylines and chapters, and then not again for the entire book. It felt like it was put in as a convenient way to lead into the next issue for the main characters, but I was waiting for more storyline for those characters that never happened. There were also some chapters that just seemed to end abruptly, and the teeny bit of spice seemed forced. The ending saved it for me though, and ended up being really sweet and heartwarming, and I liked how everything was tied up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The cover of this book is so pretty. So so pretty. And very deceptive, because the writing is awful. I got to about 33% in and calling it. I’m so bored. The characters all have forced small talk, zero chemistry…I don’t mean for this to come out so mean. I commend anyone who writes a book and has it published. This just wasn’t it for me.

**I received a copy of Malibu Summer from Netgalley. I am writing this review volunatarily.**

This was a cute summer read that explored coping with grief between two characters who have both had great losses. This was much more a contemporary fiction than romance. Hudson was my favorite character and I cared more for his story than anything.

This was a wonderfully written book, but a hard read due to depicted grief. The characters have wonderful depth and it truly is a lovely read.

This is a debut fiction/romance book for Libby. Conrad and Ivy are unlikely partners who meet one another as they process what life can and will be as they both deal with the unexpected grief of losing a spouse at a young girl age. They are also both dealing with the possibility of losing their livelihoods for completely different circumstances. Overall there is good chemistry between the characters, and I found the most endearing character to be Hudson. Who as a young boy who has dealt with more than most. This could be a good therapeutic read for someone dealing and processing grief. Not a read for everyone but still an enjoyable ride that I would recommend. Thank you Netgallery, Penguin Books and Libby Gill for choosing me to be an arc reader for this book.

Bauer is this incredibly smart PhD boss, who is killing it at her job and saving the world. Then her husband tragically dies, and she can’t deal, so she steps away from her life and takes a job as a gardener. Her new boss is a Hollywood has been, whose wife recently died. Of course the two fall for each other.

I just was not feeling this book. The characters were both extremely successful in their careers, which was great, but they just didn’t seem to have any chemistry with each other. Their deceased spouses didn’t seem all that great, so it was hard to feel bad for them.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

Absolutely the best read

I found this cover to not be at all what the story is. The story is so sad and the main characters have NO chemistry. It was written so weirdly that I ended up def-ing at about 75%. But what I read, 2 stars.

First off what drew me to read this book was the stunning cover. It definitely gives the perfect summer reading vibes and I was so happy to pick it up from NetGalley! What I soon learned from reading Malibu Summer was that this went beyond a cheeky summer romance, but delves into second chance love after loss and grief.
Malibu Summer is told from the two main characters’ POV. Ivy Baur, a bright innovator and PhD candidate in soil science and Conrad Reed, a handsome, yet aging producer and struggling TV writer in Hollywood. They are complete opposites, but what ties Ivy and Conrad together is the recent loss of their spouses and trying to grapple with life’s daily demands as they figure out how to manage day to day with the gaping hole they loved one left behind. Also Mak a mutual friend fits into their relationship venn diagram as well and I truly hope we hear more about her story next time!
Overall I enjoyed learning about Ivy’s studies and how she was so invested in her work. I loved the interaction she had with her grief support group, you don’t see that very often in books. It was also a unique experience to sit alongside Ivy as she navigated these uncharted territories of grief. I did struggle with the chemistry that Ivy and Conrard shared on paper. It seemed rushed and I had a hard time with the pacing of their story. I still don’t understand the photogate part of the story and had to keep rereading it to put the pieces together.
I would overall rate this story 3 stars! ⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the eARC in return for my honest review.

This book started out engaging, however certain sections of the book dragged out or were unrelated to the storyline. Many parts of the book were realistic while other parts completely fantastical.

This is a book about second chances, overcoming grief, and chosen family that I ultimately found to be a bit slow for my liking.

3/5 stars

Trigger Warnings: Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief. Moderate: Car accident.

I went into this book thinking it would be a light summery read because the cover shows it is but that is not the case. This book had grief from the first chapter which you'd read from the synopsis. It is filled with growth between two adult characters and great side characters.

The more I read, the more I grew to like the characters, the setting and was very curious as to how it would end.

If you're looking for a book with heartwarming characters, a very fun and elaborate setting, second chances, overcoming grief and found family, this book is for you. I loved the forced proximity and this book was especially great on audio.

I loved Mak (Ivy's best friend) and Hudson (Conrad's step son) the best and I loved the scenes they were in. The last third was filled with so much drama and overall, I'm glad I read this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions my own.

DNF @ 20%. Unfortunately this one missed the mark. While the short chapters keep the story moving, I felt the main characters either very boring (Ivy) or completely unlikeable in every way (Conrad). While I'm sure the book plans to evolve them further, I found Conrad's dislike (view spoiler) and his complete obsession with his work exasperating. The weak writing did not help matters.

The cover is quite misleading for the tone of this book.