Talk about a perfect summer beach read?! A Novel Summer hits all the marks: Small beach town setting, local characters, second chances, friendship, romance, and a beach town bookshop!

A NOVEL SUMMER is the quintessential beach read - it’s set in an iconic location, moves quickly, and ties all the plot lines in a pretty bow at the end of the book. With an insider’s look at the publishing industry, book lovers will find lots to enjoy about Jamie Brenner’s latest novel.

Set in Provincetown on Cape Cod, the story focuses on three friends all with connections to publishing: a bestselling author, an editorial assistant, and a local bookseller. Ms. Brenner paints an appealing portrait of life in this small town with a cast of eclectic characters who support the main narrative (Hello, Mia, Carmen, and Duke!). There’s relationship conflict a plenty - between friends, lovers, family members, and colleagues. And there’s a book store that needs saving!

While I enjoyed this quick and entertaining read, I sometimes felt the relationship between Shelby, Hunter, and Colleen felt superficial and could have benefitted from further exploration. It’s not a bad thing when you are invested enough to want more character development, right?

Pack this one, along with your sunscreen, for your next trip to the beach.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harrlequin Teade Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner is the perfect beach read by a new-to-me author who has been influenced by authors I read and look for their books—Elin Hilderbrand, Emily Giffin, Nancy Thayer, Dorothea Benton Frank, and my absolute favorite, Susan Mallery. I’ll add more of Ms. Brenner’s books to my TBR pile and look forward to reading them all.

“Novel” means something new and original as well as a fictionalized book, and both definitions play out in the storytelling. Three college friends—Shelby, Hunter, and Colleen—go their separate ways after graduating, even though they plan to reunite each summer in Provincetown on the Cape.

The four summers Shelby spent there with her best friends impacted her life, but she hadn’t returned, and now she’s a bestselling author in New York City. Hunter is from Boston and comes from money. Her family owns a vacation home in P’town. She is at loose ends after losing her job but doesn’t see herself ever leaving the Boston area permanently. Colleen is running her family’s bookstore, Land’s End on the Cape, and never planned to do anything else. The bookstore plays prominently in the story. But life has a way of making you rethink those plans when you’re led in a different direction.

When all of their lives are at a crossroads, they end up on the Cape once again. Anger and bitterness are marring their friendships, and they need to be able to apologize and move on. But that’s harder than it should be. Multiple stories are told with many twists and turns. The story is sometimes choppy when one of the characters tells the story from their point of view, and then we switch to another’s. There’s no break in the page nor a new chapter to make us aware, and it often took me a moment to catch up.

With the wonderful and colorful backdrop of P’town, there are family and friends, love interests, some romance, novels written, plans derailed, arguments, conflicts, secrets, business decisions, and more. I could smell the ocean and the food and visualize the setting. All three of their lives are different than expected or planned, and they deal with what’s happening rationally and irrationally. But when they start to mend fences, they each have a chance at a happily ever after that they hadn’t envisioned for themselves. There is closure, but it was rushed, and an epilogue would have given a more satisfying conclusion.

A Novel Summer is a beach read set on the Cape. The vivid descriptions made me feel I was there, sipping a cold drink and hearing the waves in the distance.

I loved this book!! A fun spin on “You’ve Got Mail” set on Cape Cod. I had no idea who Max was when Duke mentioned him, and there are some rogue editing issues (the f l specifically), but those little things aside, this was near perfect. Loved the story, the characters, the flow, all of it.

Well done!

A fun beach read about friendship lasting through growing pains - love that survives and the love of a small home town on the Capri.

Love the bookstore background and the way the friends grew and evolved in their friendship.

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!