This book is part of the Falling for Summer series of which I have read 6 books. It can be read as a stand alone or as part of the series since they all take place in the fictional West Florida island of Sunset Harbor, and events and characters cross over throughout all 7 books.

I must confess, I wasn't entirely sold on this one when I started it, but it definitely grew on me. Both Capri and Tristan are adorable characters, who are incredibly well-developed so you feel like you really get to know them.

Ellen Quay did a phenomenal job narrating and bringing this story to life.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media & the author for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This series is just absolutely amazing!

Capri is secretly a best selling romance author, Sunny Palmer. She’s back on the island and is now face to face with her childhood crush, Tristan Palmer and main character in her first novel. Capri has done everything she could to stay away from the island and to not run into Tristan for fear he will find out her secret. Tristan is determined to spend as much time as possible with Capri and remind her of all the great things the island has to offer.

Can Capri keep her secrets and feelings hidden?

Read by Ellen Quay. The narration is spot on and makes the story even more enjoyable.

If you are looking for an easy quick summer rom-com to read then this is exactly what you need. My one complaint is that there is no steam in these scenes and so that was lacking for my personally. Still a decent book over all.

Thank you @Dreamscape_Media and @netgalley for a #gifted copy of this audiobook.

"So, I decided to unpack your old memories and display the new ones along with them. Because this is where you belong, Capri. With me. On our little island."

Rating: 4.25⭐️

Summary: Capri Collins has lived with a major secret for the past 10 years. She is Sunny Palmer, the best-selling author, where no one knows her true identity. Her most cherished book by her fans, Secret Crush, could quite possibly throw her long-time secret crush and next-door neighbor, Tristan Palmer, on Sunset Harbor into the fray of mayhem if people found out the real story behind the book. Just as luck would have it, Capri is drawn back to her beloved hometown where she runs into none other than Tristan with the intent of helping the two of them remember the beauty of their island. Can Capri resist Tristan's charms to keep her secret close to her heart?

Thoughts: I thought I was going to miss Tristan's POV within this book, but Jess did such a great job of having Capri include all the details in the story, that it wasn't lacking at all. Tristan wore his heart on his sleeve in front of Capri, even if she didn't want to read into it too much. I loved that this story centered around the idea of belonging, as that is such a theme I can relate to now as an adult. When life brings change, it's hard to feel a sense of belonging somewhere and Capri has felt that most of her life. I love how Tristan worked hard to prove to Capri that Sunset Harbor was where she should keep her roots and feel that sense of being loved by those around her. He helped give her the confidence to show the world, but more importantly, their island, who she is.

Ellen Quay did a phenomenal job of bringing this story to life for me. There were days I made my walk even longer just so I could keep listening. I highly suggest the audiobook if you're able.

Plotting Summer: Falling for Summer
Jess Heileman
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Sunny Palmer is the author of several successful romance novels. Growing up Capri Collins (Sunny) had a crush on the boy next door, Tristan Palmer. She never had an inkling her writing would go anywhere when she wrote a book about her crush on Tristan and stole his last name as part of pen name. It hit the bestseller list. She adopted the pseudonym, Sunny Palmer. That was years ago, and she has never revealed her secret.
Capri returns to her hometown, Summer Harbor, Florida to reclaim some family treasures. She can’t leave town until her missing car keys are found. If the press discovers she is Sunny Palmer, they will be all over her and Tristan; she knows that wouldn’t be fair to him. Then there he is larger than life, Tristan Palmer. Capri realizes she never got over her crush. She tries to avoid Tristan but can’t seem to stay away from him or maybe he can’t stay away from her.
This is the cutest romance book I’ve read in a long time. It is told from Capri’s point of view; it was fun delving into her mind. Capri and Tristan’s “planned outings” are so cute, who do they think they were kidding, a date is a date. Both Capri and Tristan are great characters and well developed. Several of the secondary characters are very interesting and add a lot to the story.
Kudos to author Jess heileman!
This is a great beach read.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

Woo Hoo! This books was phenomenal! Tristan and Capri were absolutely adorable and it was all brought even more to life with the amazing narrator, Ellen Quay. To say I was hooked from the very beginning is an understatement.

I especially loved how Capri wasn't the center of attention but managed to still be the main character of her story, even if it was somewhat reluctantly. And I am just absolutely in love with all of Sunset Harbor. This place needs to exist because I I want to plan my next summer vacation there!

And then there's Tristan. He is just so dang good. And the chemistry between Capri and Tristan was perfect. I loved that, despite Capri's pining since childhood there wasn't the "Oh, yeah, I've totally liked you that long too" angle. I was ready for something a bit different and this. was. that. It was perfect. Did I mention I loved this book?

This is a sweet, no-spice romance with lots of steam and kisses.

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Vagabond Publishing, LLC for the ALC. I loved it so much.

I loved my reread via audiobook of Plotting Summer. The narrator NAILED Capri’s personality and the way she voiced Capri’s inner dialogue was the BEST! She made it so entertaining as fun and I think I loved this book even more the second time.

I loved seeing different parts of the island as Tristan and Capri go on the cutest planned “outings”. Yeah, it sounds like a date to me too. But we’ll let them call it whatever they want as long as they are TOGETHER because these two are FIRE!

I loved the secret identity, the romance writer-isms, the long-time crush and the history between the two of them.

This book is single POV and as much as I would have loved Tristan’s point of view, I loved Capri’s inner voice and I didn’t mind being in her head the whole time.

I really liked getting to know the side characters. Heath - Capri’s brother in law - is a hoot! He’s my favorite!

The connections with the characters in the other books were so fun. Capri is Walker’s sister and best friends with Jane (both from Summer Ever After) and Jess and Kortney did a great job collaborating to write those relationships.

This book had SO many cute moments and I LOVED the ending! It was so perfect! Hooray for annotations, that’s all I’m gonna say.

Don’t miss this adorable installment in the series! Jess Heileman’s writing is so much fun and she writes characters that are so relatable and lovable.

🔥Romance: Kissing

I LOVE Tristan and Capri! And I loved this book! This was a sweet, second chance romance with the fun twist of Capri’s journey as an author writing under a pen name. It’s no surprise Capri has been pining for Tristan for years and their chemistry is better than ever. I loved the evolution of their relationship and the epilogue life update.

Capri has a secret: she's the anonymous author of a bestselling romance series, all inspired by her childhood crush and next-door neighbor, Tristan Palmer. When Capri returns to Sunset Harbor and Tristan seems determined to reconnect, she must protect her identity and her heart or risk losing everything—including Tristan.

This series as a whole (well, at least the four I’ve read) has been a true sunshiny delight. I feel like I’m now part of a small-town friend group I can return to every summer. The setting becomes more enchanting with each book I read. I wanted to go clear-bottom kayaking with the manatees and spend the day at the seaside resort right alongside Capri and Tristan.

What I don’t want is to spend a day with this group of characters in high school. I had to keep reminding myself that these were adults, not 17-year-olds learning to deal with grown-up decisions. I think if we had Tristan’s POV included, the substance of their relationship would have felt more mature. Because we only get Capri’s thoughts, her unrequited high school love continues to feel like the only thing their adult relationship is based on. (and Tristan 100% led her on in high school so...)

Author protagonists are not my favorite, and I think I now know why. Unless exceptionally executed, it tends to feel like the book is continuously breaking the fourth wall, telling us the tropes and plot because the story isn’t written well enough for us to subconsciously catch on. However, (spoiler alert!! I’m sorry, I have to mention this because it is literally my favorite part of the story) Tristan annotates the book she wrote about him, and I melted at the intimate sweetness of this gesture. I guess not all aspects of an author FMC are utterly thankless.

Thank you, @dreamscape_media, for the ALC! 🩵 The audio performance was great!

Perfect for you if you like:
Secret identity + unrequited love
Next-door neighbor childhood friends to lovers
Wallflower gets the jock

Similar to:
Passion or Penalty by Leah Brunner
Beachy Keen by Kasey Stockton
The Enemy by Sarah Adams

⛔️closed door romance (kisses only)

3.5⭐️, 0.5🌶️

The two previous books in this series I’ve listened to both had Capri & Tristan involved and I was so excited to get to their story! It was a hecking adorable childhood crush (she’s pining) to friends to lovers! I wasn’t blown away by this storyline as it was just as cute as the rest of the other books and idk why but I was hoping for more? Either way. still enjoying reading this islands stories!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

What an adorable story. This is part of the Falling for Summer series where different authors write each book in the series. This was one of the better ones. The characters were charming. I loved the weaving in and out of the story from the previous books. This story was the same time as another book. What a great concept. The storyline was cute. The writing was easy to follow. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was great.

Ever since meeting Capri as Jane’s best friend and the viral secret author Sunny Palmer in Kortney Keisel’s Summer Ever After, I’ve been waiting for the chance to see how her story plays out. Plotting Summer was a wildly entertaining journey, and I was so glad to have the chance to get an Advanced Listener Copy of the audiobook on NetGalley (this is the predominate way I’m reading books during these jam-packed summer days). Another single POV, which generally isn’t my favorite, I didn’t mind sticking with Capri and her viewpoint throughout the entire book. I absolutely loved seeing her navigate Sunset Harbor while trying to avoid being found out as the famous Sunny Palmer. And Tristan’s pursuit of her was so sweet! I loved the adventures they went on 💜 I also loved how it seemed to be written in tandem with Jane and Walker’s story (Summer Ever After). There were a few overlapping scenes. This read was a little slower than some of the other books in the series, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It just followed a different path to get to the same ending. I liked that it had a different “formula,” if you will. And that epilogue was SO good! 😊 The narrator was wonderful as well!

Read if you like:
🔥Chemistry!
💘 He pursues her
🕵️‍♀️ Secret Identity
💞 Second Chances
🤫 Secret crushes
📚 Bookish main character

Intimacy: Kisses Only

Thank you to the author, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the Advanced Listener Copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Such a cute summer. I loved the town. The characters were very well done. The chemistry and banter made for a really fun read. I did find the main female character annoying at times, but I think that was also her charm. As always, a book about a writer sucks me right in! Just an overall fun summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

"I create a mental image of him to store away for later because he's radiating a this-scene-needs-to-be-in-a-romance-book vibe. Not that I intend to write another story about him—one is regrettably too many—but that doesn't mean I can't grab nuggets of inspiration here and there to jot down. The man is basically a living, breathing book boyfriend, and it would be a travesty not to continue to share bits and pieces of him with my readers."

I have read and loved each book in the Falling for Summer series, but Plotting Summer is one of my favorites! This book put a smile on my face and had me laughing out loud! Tristan and Capri are absolutely adorable together. I loved watching Tristan slowly coax Capri out of her shell and get her to open up to him. Their banter and chemistry are so good!!!

One of my favorite things about this series has been seeing the overlap of the characters and their storylines. It's so fun to see each of the main characters from different viewpoints. This whole series was so well planned and executed!

Although I really enjoyed this book when I read it, listening to the audiobook made me love it even more! The narrator brought these characters (all of them, not just the MCs) to life! Her pacing and inflection added another level to the humor and witty/flirty banter as well as the heartfelt moments. Ellen Quay managed to give each character a distinct and fitting voice! I will definitely be listening to this one again!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Plotting Summer, by Jess Heilerman, is the third book in the collaborational Falling for Summer series. This is the story Capri Collins making a rare visit to Sunset Harbor to visit her family and for the purpose of picking up the boxes of books that were in her grandfather’s library. Talla, Capri’s older sister, has purchased the family home from their gramma DeeDee when she moved to the Seaside Oasis Senior Center. Talla and Heath have three children and really need the space the boxes occupy. Expecting to make a quick trip in and out, Capri is detained when her car keys go mysteriously missing. Capri is now stranded on the Island.

Ten years ago, a young Capri wrote a bestselling novel. With her major crush on neighbor Tristan Palmer, who teasingly called her Capri Sun, she published under the pseudonym of Sunny Palmer. Now, with a dozen bestselling romance novels to her pen name, Capri is fearful of being discovered, especially when her novels seem to be a mainstay of the Island’s book clubs.

Back on the Island, Capri does her best to avoid Tristan but seems to encounter him wherever she goes. As he makes his intentions clear, it is time for Capri to drop pretenses leading to a very fun story. I did enjoy this book and do recommend it!

Just loved every part of this book! It was such a sweet, tender love story. Tristan was such a cinnamon roll, and that's my favorite kind! This whole series has been fantastic. I loved this love story so much!

I love Jess Heileman's books so when I found out she was going to be a part of the Sunset Harbor series I couldn't wait to read it. Plotting Summer has humor, romance, and a heroine with a long-time crush and a secret!!

Capri Collins has a BIG secret. She's Sunny Palmer, best-selling author, but no one on the small island of Sunset Harbor where she grew up knows, except her sister! Why does no one know? Because she kind of took the last name of her high school crush, Tristan Palmer, as her pen name when she wrote her first book. She had no idea that book would take off like it did and now 9 years and many books later it's too late to change her author name.

Be still my heart, Tristan is the perfect book boyfriend!! He and Capri had so much chemistry right from the beginning and all the "outings" he planned were perfect for her. All I know is any man who plans a spa day is well on his way to winning me over. I loved Capri's relationship with her sister and her grandma is something else!

The setting of Sunset Harbor added charm to the story and the cozy, small-town setting added to the romance. It also reminded Sunny of her roots and everything she left behind while pursuing her writing career. Plotting Summer is a perfect summer read for romcom fans.

You need to add this one to your TBR now! It’s filled with heart, humor, and the kind of romance that leaves you smiling long after you’ve turned the last page. Jess Heileman has given us a story that’s as warm and inviting as a summer day at the beach.

I loved the narrator and thought she did a fantastic job. I would happily listen to her narrate more books. I received a complimentary audiobook from Dreamscape Media via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

I love that Capri stands by the romance genre as a writer and is patient with people's curiosity and opinions about it. I feel bad for her longstanding crush on Tristan. There's something off about Tristan's character that I can't put my finger on. The way he explains things to Capri—about how he's been living his life based solely on people's expectations of him—is so spineless. I bet he'd still be living the life he thought was meant for him if things didn't happen to him the way they did. And he was definitely playing her when they were younger. I don't like the idea that just because the girl he's been with for more than a third of his life broke off their engagement and ran off with someone else that he was now conveniently available and ready to explore whatever connection he has with Capri. It's just so cheap. He had the chance to do that when they were younger, but he didn't. He was too chicken shit, and well, as I mentioned earlier, spineless.

I enjoyed Ellen Quay's narration of this. She kept my attention during the parts I felt like skipping. This book is around 2.5 stars for me, but I'll round it up to 3 stars for the narrator.

If I had one word to describe this book, it would be adorable! Tristan and Capri (pronounced CAP-ree, not cuh-PREE) are so freaking cute. They were neighbors growing up & Capri had a massive crush on Tristan. So much so, that she combined his nickname for her with his last name to make her author pen name.

Now, she avoids the island to avoid Tristan and any chances of having her secret uncovered. When circumstances force Capri to stay on the island longer than the day trip she anticipated, Tristan suggests they do some outings together. I loved seeing the things they chose to do! I also liked how Capri wasn’t a perfect character— she’d made past mistakes that hurt some people and she owned up to those and reconciled as best as she could.

I also loved that Gainesville is mentioned in the book. My husband and I lived there during his grad school & my daughter was born there so that was fun. 🐊 #chompchomp

*Audio Note: The narrator did such a good job with Capri’s internal monologues and just was lovely overall.

Favorite Quotes:
😍 I create a mental image of him to store away for later because he's radiating a this-scene-needs-to-be-in-a-romance-book vibe. Not that I intend to write another story about him—one is regrettably too many—but that doesn't mean I can't grab nuggets of inspiration here and there to jot down. The man is basically a living, breathing book boyfriend, and it would be a travesty not to continue to share bits and pieces of him with my readers.

📚 "And love, or the lack of it, encompasses countless other feelings-happiness, sadness, jealousy, heartbreak, redemption, pettiness, wholeness, and on and on. Love stories are where we can see the whole spectrum of human emotions on display—in both its lowest and highest forms. That's what romance is. What's better and more impactful than that?"

❤️ "You're worth remembering, Capri Sun."

💍 “And while in some respects, you have your own claim to Palmer now, I want to officially give you my name." And then suddenly, Tristan is down on one knee, pulling a ring from his pocket.

Second chance romance meets A Novel Love Story. One day Capri wrote a romance novel based on her childhood crush Tristian Palmer. Now she is a famous romance author (in secret) publishing under the pen name Sunny Palmer who is stuck back at home on the island. Could the story be any cuter?