This book was a lovely escape to Cape Cod. A sweet, heart warming story about the bonds of friendship and the love one can develop for their hometown. This book made me want to escape to Cape Cod with a good book and a glass of wine. I loved the characters, and my only complaint is that I wanted more of Justin and Shelby! Untapped potential there!

I think this could be a perfect summer read. It centers around a small beach town that rallies behind a local bookshop in the summer.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC! All opinions are my own.

I’ve been on a Jamie Brenner bender this summer. In the month before I read A Novel Summer, I read at least five other Jamie Brenner books, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Brenner’s books have a winning formula — relatable characters and their intertwined relationships with friends and romantic interests, a harbored secret or two, all set in quintessential summer settings like Cape Cod or Long Island. A Novel Summer did not disappoint. I was hooked on this story of three friends who formed a bond over four summers in Provincetown. Our protagonist leaves for NYC and becomes a best-selling author, setting off a chain of events fueled by hurt feelings, bitterness and resentment. Secrets begin to unwind themselves throughout the book, keeping the reader glued to the story. A perfect beach read that checks all the boxes.

This was a skimmer for me. Meaning I wasn’t very hooked on what I was getting and I literally jumped ahead and was still
Able to follow what was happening. That to me shows that the story its self was moving super slow and didn’t have much excitement or was very eventful.

I didn’t like any of the characters. I thought they were all pretty selfish and entitled. The girls in this weren’t good friends to each other until the very end. Yet, you had one vying for their attention and approval. Another that held a grudge because she wasn’t moving anywhere in her life. And the other was kind of just there and didn’t offer much.

I thought the romance piece of this was so small that this story shouldn’t be seen as a romance but just a women’s fiction. The romance relationships in this weren’t romantic at all and nor were they really a good piece of the story. It felt very forced. Almost like the author had to put them in so the book could be categorized as a romance to attract more potential readers. These relationships didn’t feel as cared for in the writing unlike the three main friends you read about and their kinda friendships with each other.

This wasn’t the story for me which is okay. But it could be for you so still give it a chance if you like the sound of it. Just know it is not a typical romance and more of a general women’s fiction story.

A Novel Story is the warmth of a small beach town packaged up in a book. I really enjoyed this story of friendship, competing bookstores and second chances. It’s a love letter to booksellers. This is the perfect book to pack for summer vacation or when you’re sick in bed all day and need an escape (🙋🏻‍♀️).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Park Row Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

A Novel Summer will be out 7/16.

A sweet beach read, this story centers on three friends and the conflict that is in each woman’s life. The way they eventually come together and support one another is amazing! Enjoyed!

A Novel Summer is a fun, light beach read. The plot is simple: 3 friends, a bookstore at the beach that needs their help, second chances. If you're looking for an easy escape, this book fits the bill. Nothing deep, not a lot of depth, not enough character or plot development for me. A great premise that feel sorry on promise. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read this eArc.

3.5⭐️

Read if you love:
Summery Beach Reads ☀️
Save The Beloved Bookstore ☀️
Second Chance Romance ☀️
Themes of Friendship ☀️
Found Family☀️

Author Shelby Archer returns to the idyllic beach town that inspired her novel, and expects a warm and inviting welcoming. However, one of her closest friends has been cold and admits she felt a little betrayed by the storyline in Shelby’s best seller.

Just when Shelby thinks she can put Provincetown behind her and work on her newest novel, she is called back to help run the beloved bookstore, Land’s End. This book store is important to the town, Shelby and her closest friends. As an effort to right her wrongs she immerses herself in the bookstore, rallying for its success as a new bookstore is set to open. It’s during this time, and as she’s writing her new manuscript that she has a choice to make: personal success or forgiveness and a second chance at love.

I do wish we got a little more from the romance aspect, however this was still a great summery beach read that will warm your heart.

Thank you @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! A Novel Summer is set to be published July 16, 2024.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book. I thought there was a lot to play with, 3 best friends coming back together for a summer. But I really felt like the characters lacked depth. I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters well. It felt like it lacked intimacy. I think we could have done so much more with the story if there was more character development.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book! Run to buy it. Trust me.

WOW. This was the perfect summer/beach read. It has everything someone wants out of a sunny, contemporary fiction novel: romance, friendship, a bit of drama, career & direction, life fulfillment, family, beautiful settings, & oh so many books.

Shelby, Colleen, & Hunter were best friends all through college, when they would spend their summers in Provincetown. Three years since their college graduation, they have yet to reunite for a Ptown summer. Without spoiling too much, Shelby is celebrating the debut of her first novel while Hunter & Colleen also work in the field of books. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the three of them all end up back at the beach town for the summer. What comes is a tale of nostalgia, loss, gain, love (familial, platonic, & romantic), & the difficult choices that life often causes us to make.

There are SO many characters in this book, yet the author is able to write them all in a way that makes me feel like I know all of them deeply. They were well written & well thought out, even the characters that are decently minuscule in terms of the plot. I could picture Provincetown so perfectly. I could smell the salt air & feel the sand beneath my toes. These characters & this setting were tangible, & I was sad to say goodbye to it when I finished this story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. This is my honest review.

Small Town
Second Chance
Found Family

I had a hard time getting into this book. I thought about DNFing it. There was nothing overtly wrong with this book. It was a good concept, three friends coming together again after years and working through things.

There were too many characters and too much going on. I was not sure how everything would get resolved.

It was a bit predictable at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.


This is my 5th Jamie Brenner read. Some of her novels have been in the 4 and 5-star category for me.

But not this title.

This was the story of three adult women- Colleen, Hunter, and Shelby who were once close but life has pulled them apart. Eventually, one of them finds herself needing her friends' assistance.

One was pretty. One was smart. One was a borderline fool.

Oh wait... that's a K.T. Oslin song that my mother used to listen to on repeat.

My very random thoughts:

I like second chances. I don't mind miscommunication. But when a character or two or even three acts childish repeatedly over and over, I start looking for the end of the story to come quickly.

Hunter and Shelby spend most of the book fighting and that conflict helps spur them both to make certain choices in this book. But I was impatient for them to get past it.

I wasn't too fond of the Shelby and Justin romance. They spend most of the novel with different people. I wasn't feeling the vibes of wanting two characters to rekindle their romance.

It was a strange choice not to have Colleen as one of the POVs. Given some of her scenes with Hunter and Shelby, I craved what was in her head.

Shelby didn't seem very bright for someone who wants to make it as an author. I found it unconvincing that she kept playing innocent as to why her friends were so mad about the books she was writing.


A real hit and miss for me.


Expected Publication Date 16/07/24
Goodreads Review 12/07/24
#ANovelSummer #NetGalley

This book… had potential. I could see it as a little hallmark movie. The second chance romance was underwhelming. I got SO irritated with Hunter and Shelby. They both were super immature. And very inconsistent. Which I guess makes them human because I guess we are all that way sometimes?? I could’ve used more run ins between Shelby and Justin. I could’ve used WAY less descriptions of random stuff I didn’t care about. I feel like the author was very good at describing things but put it in all the wrong places. Like we get it you went to help Duke wash his dishes and the soap was this scent and made tiny little bubbly suds in the white smooth farmhouse kitchen sink (k that’s not actually an example but that’s what happened.) I feel like the character development was underwhelming? Like there wasn’t a progress to them having their “aha” moments, just welp now I’m over this fear I’ve had my whole life and I’m good. Ugh I don’t know. I was rooting for this book but it really was just underwhelming. I stopped reading at one point but picked it back up and just had to get more into it. I thought this was maybe 3 stars but I don’t see myself recommending it which automatically takes it down, and though this was an ARC read there were some parts of the story that had me scratching my head. Oh my gosh and PTOWN. For the love please don’t use that nickname the whole book. It was like nails on a chalk board.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC read I received in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion, as well as Harelquin Trade Publishing.

I absolutely love Jamie Brenner’s books and A Novel Summer is one of her best. A love letter to female friendships, second chances and independent bookstores, Shelby, Hunter and Colleen will not leave my heart anytime soon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Shelby, Hunter and Colleen have been friends since college and have drifted apart. They reconnect to support Colleen and her bookshop. Besides the friendship of the 3 women, there are some small romance subplots! This is the perfect, fast paced beach read for book lovers!

3.5 stars
A Novel Summer, by Jamie Brenner, is a friendship based summer-themed book that follows three friends, Shelby, Hunter and Colleen who go there separate ways at graduation. They return back, years later, at a book signing event and the reunion is less than welcoming.

As the characters return to Provincetown on Cape Cod, the small town beachy scene is quaint and summery. The bookstore setting is also perfect for book lovers. The characters have to navigate through hurt, betrayal, misunderstandings, and the potential impending loss of a family business.

The story includes the miscommunication trope, and certain characters who made the same poor choices over and over. There was frustration over the behavior of Hunter, whom I found to be an aggravating character and her attitude disconnected me from the story, to a degree. The story also hops from one character’s perspective to another with little warning. All-in-all, this drama-filled, character-driven, seasonal story was entertaining and atmospheric, but not my favorite of the summer.

Another great Jamie Brenner book! Three college friends, Colleen, Hunter, and Shelby, reunite in Provincetown, a small beach town where they spent a few summers.
Colleen, a native of PTown, ran the family bookstore.
Shelby, an aspiring author, returns to PTown, to promote her first novel set in PTown.
Hunter, whose rich family has a beach house in PTown.
When Shelby returns, she doesn’t get the reception she imagined, but is asked by Colleen to run the bookstore when forced to bed rest during her pregnancy with twins.
All three ladies have life decisions to make this summer, and ultimately decide what is really important.
I enjoyed the book, but found Colleen to be whiny! I would have told her to get with it!
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my feedback.

I hesitate to call this a rom-com because it wasn't really comedic, but this is definitely a perfect lightweight beach read/summer read. There are several characters that we get to know enough about that we understand them even though it almost feels like this could be a sequel to a book with their story from before this novel began.
It's funny because when I looked this book up to add on Goodreads I was surprised how many other books Jamie Brenner has written. Since this is a story about a first time author I was mishmashing her with the real author as if this was her story. I think this speaks to the fact that I was believing the story which makes me like a book more.
The town (Provincetown-aka Ptown) was like another character in the story. All I ever knew about Province town was it is a town welcoming to gay culture and lifestyle. I felt like this book did not emphasize this and let me see it's other characteristics too which was educational and less stereotyping.

Can you go home after you've written about your friends? Shelby does, even though some of them have shunned her, because her pal Colleen needs help running her bookstore while on bedrest. Told by Shelby, Colleen, and Hunter this is very much about friendship and forgiveness-with a touch of romance. Big quibble- it baffles me how a novel set in Provincetown doesn't include or even acknowledge its longstanding and vibrant LGBTQ community. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Fans of this genre know that it will make a good beach read.

Jamie Brenner is one of my favorite authors, and I loved everything about her newest novel, “A Novel Summer”. In this well-written and captivating novel, I appreciate how Jamie Brenner describes the importance of literacy, bookstores, authors, readers, friends and community. The author vividly describes the scenic landscape of Provincetown, on Cape Cod. The author describes her colorful and dramatic characters as complex and complicated. The Genres for this novel are Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance and Fiction.

Shelby Archer is a published and established author, who goes home to visit two of her estranged friends. From Shelby’s novel, some of the people in Provincetown compare themselves to the fictional characters, and have conflicting feelings. Shelby’s ex-boyfriend is an environmentalist, and helps his community, but Shelby is anxious about seeing him and his family. One of Shelby’s friends owns the town bookstore, and is incapacitated and asks Shelby to help run it. At this time, it seems one of the bigger Bookstores will be competition for the small bookstore.

Jamie Brenner vividly describes the roles of publishing houses, agents, publicists, the difficulties of being a bookseller and an author. Literacy is so important to me, and I found that this was the perfect summer read. I highly recommend this book to others.