Okay Miss Aster I see you! This was a nice step away from her usual fantasy/romantasy style and I LOVED it. Elle & Parker are such cutie pies separately and together, and their chemistry was believable from the start. While they both have their own little irritations, they are both easy to root for, and I was happy to see them come together at the end.

4.75 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! ♥️

Cute book. Different from Alex Aster's norm and needs a little work. I was lucky to receive an ARC copy thanks to NetGalley. I did enjoy the story and it for sure made me feel all the feels. The main female character did make me a bit frustrated but it was easy to understand how/why she felt that way. There were times I was like just come on! All in all it was a good book and I will definitely buy a copy when it is released.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. the first 50% had me HOOKED. I immediately fell in love with both Parker and Elle and loved their adventures together. The second half fell a little flat for me, especially with basically 2 3rd act break ups. if we had continued on the path we were going, I easily would have given this 5 stars.

I’m pretty much always in for a NYC-based/enemies-to-lovers romance, so Summer in the City had all the elements for me. Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write the screenplay for a big-budget NYC-based movie, if only she could get over her writer’s block. After running into her new neighbor—Billionaire Bachelor Parker Warren—, her quiet summer gets flipped upside down when she recognizes him from a stairwell hookup two years prior, but he seems to fuel her writing, and he needs a fake girlfriend, making them the most unexpected perfect team. Honestly, I had some trouble with this one. The characters feel really surface level and the pieces of them that are more vulnerable feel so glossed over. It’s very heavy handed in her being miserable in the city, which I might be biased on since some of my favorite memories are in NYC. But Parker, who was really sweet and had big golden retriever energy, was also way too grand in his romantic gestures. I get he was a billionaire, but it felt very in your face with how much money he had. Still, he’s so sweet and endearing, I wanted to know him so much better. He is just so kind and loving and will do literally everything to make Elle happy. It made the third act break up so painful. The banter and dates in this were really cute, and I loved their pizza tour and the pieces that made them fall for each other. It has all the feels of summer and all the love of New York City. It’a fun rom com with some elements that didn’t work for me.

Summer in the City is fun and cute. The city becomes its own character. Elle and Parker have such an enjoyable dynamic, even when she hates him and he verges on love-bombing her.
However, many aspects of their personalities feel like caricatures, e.g., Elle's homebody tendencies and Parker's overly grand gestures. I understand it's to make a point, but it feels very "tell" instead of "show" at times.

The plot is fun and similar to most short, lighthearted contemporary romances. I just don’t think the author is good at connecting with the reader. I never felt really invested in the story and the writing felt a little lazy. It felt more like a rough draft.

Summer in the City was the perfect jumpstart to my 2025 reading goals. A fun and fast paced romance, a great enemies to lovers trope, and just overall a great story line. Alex Aster was first introduced to me by her fantasy series and I am happy to say she also knocked it out of the park on this romance! I would give this about 2.5/5 on the spicy level, but was sucked into the story with the slow burn and characters small but crucial details. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC read.

I knew I liked her writing style but it's a different genre so I was curious about what to expect with this one . I was not disappointed. If anything I became more of a fan to where I'd be happy to read anything in anh genre she puts out.

Summer in the City was a lighthearted read with emotion packed in. It was fun to be able to read as someone who lives in NYC, as it made it fun to picture all the places that Elle and Parker visited during their summer together. I would definitely recommend this book, which had more depth than I originally expected and some surprising turns and reveals. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!

As someone currently working through Alex Aster's other books, I couldn't help but notice the writing feels more polished in her Lightlark series compared to Summer in the City. While the premise of this enemies-to-lovers romance is intriguing, it ultimately feels a bit too familiar and predictable.

Elle, a screenwriter battling writer's block, and Parker, a tech billionaire, are both likable characters. However, their dynamic felt like it went around in circles for too long with little relationship growth. The tension was there, but the development was slow, and it didn’t feel like they were making meaningful progress towards any resolution. Their interactions could have been more engaging if there was more depth to their connection beyond the usual banter.

The billionaire romance trope continues to feel tired. Every story seems to follow the same formula—rich, mysterious guy meets headstrong woman who’s determined to be independent. While this formula can work, it’s starting to feel repetitive, and I didn't find much new or refreshing in this version.

Overall, while I did enjoy the chemistry between Elle and Parker, the plot didn’t do enough to keep me invested. The setting in New York City was fun, and I appreciated the humorous moments, but ultimately, this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations based on Aster's other work.

Thank you so much to Alex Aster and William Morrow for the eARC of this book! I was so excited to get to read Alex's first non fantasy book. She hit this one out of the park. It was a great quick romance read for me. The story flowed quite well.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

What a fun book! I wasn’t sure what to fully expect since this is the first non-fantasy book by Alex Aster but she knocked it out of the park! Summer In The City is funny, thoughtful, dramatic, and heartbreaking all at the same time. There was some unexpected parts, which I like since it helps the story be more interesting, as the author doesn’t immediately lay everything out on the table about what’s happened in the past, who certain characters are right away, etc. I like that some aspects of the story and what happened in the past (mainly regarding the FMC’s family and why she is so sensitive about certain things) are revealed slowly throughout the book instead of all at the beginning. There were quite a few twists and reveals that I didn’t see coming, which was pretty fun since they were unexpected and interesting! There is a bit of time-hopping, which I don’t always like, but I feel like it made the last 10% of the book seem a bit rushed, which is why I didn’t rate it higher.

Overall, I enjoyed the characters, although I do think that the FMC, Elle, was a bit whiney/dramatic (but also so real. the banter and sassiness was very helpful, or else I wouldn’t have like her as much) but man, oh man, I loved the MMC! Parker is successful, thoughtful, and hardworking. I can’t say more without possible spoilers but he was my favorite character overall. The side characters were pretty fun, too, and I like that they added another layer to the story… maybe this book will turn into a series where we get a spin-off of her best friend? I hope there is more to this story, though, as the ending was a sweet happily ever after that we’d all love, but I feel like there were a few things that were left unanswered.
🤞🏻 there will be more after this!

Tropes:
🤍 Fake dating
🤍 Billionaire MMC x Screenwriter FMC
🤍 Enemies to lovers
🤍 Second chance
🤍 Spicy

Alex Aster can very much write more than YA fantasy! I had to try out Summer in the City the second I saw it because I wanted to see how she did with a cutesy little romance compared to a fantasy novel, and she did not disappoint! Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn, and witty banter done extremely well. This is a must read summer rom-com for 2025! If I'm not wavering between crying and laughing out loud, then it's not gonna be a 4 or 5 star read for me. Summer in the City had me doing both, as well as everything in between! Kicking my feet and yelling at the characters included. The only negative thing I have to say about this is Elle kind of came off a tad bit too whiney for me, but so many FMC's these days get "drama queen" and "immature" labels from me. So it's not just this one. Overall I had a really good time reading this, and am definitely looking forward to seeing what Aster comes up with next!

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from Netgalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

Summer in the City by Alex Aster is they story of Elle, an anonymous screenwriter living in Manhattan for the summer, as she navigates the city she has committed to hate. She runs into Parker, a tech billionaire who had propositioned Elle once in a stairwell, and through her hatred of him manages to produce some truly terrific writing for her next screenplay. Each of them having their own reasons, they agree to fake-date for the summer, but will that be enough time to realize that maybe the other person isn’t who they initially seemed to be?

It has been awhile since I have read a contemporary romance, and Alex Aster hit it out of the park for me with this one. I loved it. She is a master at setting up the scenes in the story and making me feel like I am walking alongside the characters as they explore New York. The relationship between the main characters is believable without being overdone and there are surprises along the way that absolutely kept my attention. I lived vicariously through the characters and their lavish lifestyles and truly enjoyed what it must feel like to live in Manhattan. This is the first book I have read by this author and it will in no way be my last! Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

4.5 ⭐️

Summer in the City by Alex Aster follows the story of Elle, an anonymous screenwriter grappling with a severe case of writer’s block, and Parker, her wealthy billionaire neighbor, and her enemy from the past. Elle’s creativity is stifled until she realizes that the one thing fueling her inspiration is her complicated relationship with Parker. In an attempt to help her break through the writer’s block, Parker proposes a deal: he will help Elle experience everything on her NYC bucket list, visiting all the places she’s incorporated into her screenplay, and in return, Elle will agree to fake date him for the sake of his public image.

I couldn’t put this book down—I devoured it in one sitting, to the point of ignoring all my responsibilities just to finish. The pacing was perfect; there wasn’t a single moment where the plot felt slow or dragged on. The chemistry between Elle and Parker was electric, and their witty banter kept me eagerly turning the pages, always looking forward to their next encounter.

If I had one critique, it would be that Elle’s reluctance to accept Parker’s gifts became a bit repetitive. She seemed to take one step forward and two steps back whenever Parker tried to spoil her or offer support. While I could understand her hesitation at times, it eventually became frustrating as she kept pushing him away, even when he was clearly doing everything out of genuine care. The emotional climax at the end was especially maddening for me; Parker’s intentions were so pure, and Elle’s overreaction to his kindness felt disproportionate. Despite this, the book overall was fantastic, and I’m totally obsessed with it. It’s a fun, heartfelt read that will have you flying through the pages.

4.5 | i love this but unfortunately its not a 5 star read as there are a few (really just 2) things i dislike about it. one, the smut. i strongly dislike smut and there are 4 smut scenes. two, the way elle (the fmc) acts towards parker (the mmc) during certain scenes.

this book felt like an adventure while reading, i felt like i was in nyc with the characters and all the other places they went. i cried when we were given elle’s family background and i cried even more when i remembered that i was judging her for acting out when it was actually very valid! (im so sorry 😔) while reading this i could imagine it so perfectly to the point where it became a movie in my head. i wish all books were like that for me, sighhhh. but overall this book is lovely and i cant wait to have a physical copy in my hands on release day!!

What a cute summer read! The author really captured what it feels like to be in the city for the summer. NYC is such a magical place and it feels like anything is possible there. I loved seeing it through these characters eyes. Their adventures made my heart soar! It was great for a lighthearted read. I really liked the backstory about Elle’s mom and Elle’s character development through that.

Abby Jimenez posted a rave review of Summer in the City and I trust her recommendations implicitly so this was immediately moved to the very top of my TBR. I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint. It's an enemies to lovers/fake relationship story about a screenwriter and tech CEO who agree to pretend to be a couple for the summer for their own career related reasons. It's certainly not a new premise but Alex Aster did a great job making it feel original. Elle and Parker had great chemistry but I think the NYC setting was what really did it for me. There was so much accurate detail of everything from pizza shops, to brunch spots, to parks and, having lived in the city, I could picture all the things. Maybe someone without a NYC connection wouldn't be quite as charmed but there is undoubtedly a lot of good stuff here. It looks like this is Aster's first book in the romance genre so that makes it all the more impressive.

posted to goodreads

I liked the writing and the banter in this book. I feel like the story flowed and I really enjoy Alex's writing style. I liked the show of what money can and cannot buy, and how we need to build relationships with those we care about.

It is difficult to give more feedback without writing spoilers, but I will try my best.

I felt like Elle was a very self-righteous character that did everything possible to push Parker away. It made no sense from the beginning why he was so enthralled with her. I felt like she literally didn't have any redeeming qualities. At least not enough that he should be so smitten.

I liked Parker as a character but, man he just let her walk all over him and lecture him and he was basically like "do it again". He did over the top romantic gestures and she only saw them as a moral failing and didn't even try to see that he really wanted to make her happy. She was even outright rude about it sometimes. Even toward the end of the book I felt like he started acting completely out of character to what had been building.

There are a couple of specific things that I think should be completely taken out of the book but it would definitely be spoilers.

4⭐️
This story has some of the typical things in romance books: enemies to lovers, fake dating, millionaires (or in this case billionaire?), girl trope and spice.
I laughed so hard in some scenes, and the way she describes New York made me want to visit ASAP.
It was a very easy quick read, the reasons I didn’t feel like giving it 5 stars is because I didn’t connect with Elle, she was too defensive and Parker was the sweetest man but still he had to work very HARD to prove himself to her. He literally spent money in a way that made it feel too much.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for providing me this digital copy in exchange for my honest review