Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and Alex Aster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a gorgeous cover and that, combined with how much I love the author, immediately made me want to read it. I’m also a big fan of NYC, even though I’ve only been twice, but I loved it both times. I really enjoyed this one and it felt like both a heartfelt love letter to the city and a really fun romance.

This one follows screenwriter Elle and tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker. They’ve met before, but the situation wasn’t ideal, turning it into a lovers-to-enemies situation. The banter was so fun to read and I really loved the adventures that the two characters got up to in the city. I also really liked learning about her career because I haven’t read many books about screenwriters before.

My one complaint about this one is that I didn’t love the last part of the book and I didn’t really think it was necessary. It seemed like things went a little backwards and the growth that the characters had was ignored. But, I’m known to not like third-act breakups, so it may just be a personal issue.

Thank you again for an early copy! I recommend this one for romance fans and I’m really happy to see Aster exploring different genres. I love her fantasy books, but I’m excited to see what else she does as well.

This took a while for me to get into because I didn't understand why Elle was so offended in the opening scene. I guess maybe billionaire romances just aren't my thing. I did enjoy the story once I got into the meat of it. However, I agree with the other reviewers about the last 20% of the book. It felt like all the progress Elle had made went out the window. The spicy scenes were good and I did genuinely enjoy reading their love story. I just wish Elle had been nicer!

3 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and Alex Aster for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to be approved for this book and couldn't wait to start it. I read through this in a day and truly enjoyed it up until the last three chapters. There were a few lines throughout the book that took me out of the story but not enough to dissuade me from liking it and rating it pretty high up until the final chapters. The last three chapters are what took this rating from a 3.75 to a 3 as the final conflict really annoyed me.

I wish there was some better character development and that the final conflict was set up differently. The over the top proposal not being the main thing that made her mad in regard to money but the home purchase was wild. Additionally, the time it took for them to get back together according to the timeline was quite a while but only fleshed out over 2 chapters. Overall, this book gets a 3 rating as I enjoyed it and it had a good plot set up but there was room for improvement.

Unfortunately, I was only in 10% of the book when I encountered a line that made me want to put this book down immediately: "'Are you afraid I'll hate you for having a daily intake of saltine crackers, ice cream, bagels, and lattes and somehow still having a Pilates body?' My face scrunched. 'Pilates body?'"

Elle, an aggressively careless and supposedly unassuming FMC, feels like a relic of the 2000s or 2010s. In a bad way. There's nothing romantic about a woman who is so devoid of physical health that she can't walk down stairs without needing a man to carry her laptop. It's disingenuous when someone wears only sweatpants but also can namedrop California Closets in almost the same breath.

Despite this, Aster's writing style is engaging, but the traits that were supposed to make Elle likable and relatable weren't working for me to the point that I didn't even want to learn about her traumatic past to sympathize with her. The male love interest also was not intriguing enough for me to want to see the progression of their relationship. Unfortunately, I think Aster's writing stuck too within the confines of the tropes (enemies to lovers, fake dating) without being fresh.

Personally, this book did not work for me, but transparently, I did not not make it more than 35%.

I love love love this book! It was such a a fun book about an enemies-to-lovers summer romance between a screenwriter and a tech billionaire. The main characters, Elle and Parker, had witty banter and great chemistry. Elle had wonderful, supportive female friendships. And I found myself constantly rooting for them, even when they were getting in their own way. Highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

I've seen Alex Aster and her books everywhere, but have never read anything by hers before. This book convinced me to take the plunge into reading her back log! If I could describe it in one word, it'd be 'fun'. I loved the FMC Elle, and all the banter between her and the MMC, Parker. Fake dating isn't my go to trope, but it was done in this book in such an adorable fashion. Huge romcom vibes, set against a NYC setting - this book is a great lighthearted romantic read!

I loved this book! It has all of the best tropes, and the banter made it such a quick read! It’s a great summer day, sitting on the porch and relaxing book. Perfect romcom with some spice. The FMC was written incredibly well!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.


I literally ate up every word in this book. I wish I hadn't read it so quickly because I'd give anything to read it again for the first time. I cannot believe this was a debut novel the way the author hooked me from the very beginning. She wrote a realistic love story, including all tropes from neighbors to lovers and fake dating. Reading it made me miss living in the city when I was in grad school, and the writing made me feel like I was back in the city. The characters had significant chemistry, and the grand gestures were certainly gesturing; the ending wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't a distraction.

Read if you like:
- Neighbors to lovers
- Fake dating
- Billionaire Romance
- Slow burn
- Single POV

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! I haven’t read anything by this author yet, and I know it was her first romance- I hope she writes more! I loved the FMC and MMC- their love story and personal growth was perfection! NY setting, and exploring the city, just gave me all the feels that I need to visit and do my own exploring. I cried a few times, and the sense of family, and also new friendships was beautiful. I do highly recommend this book!

I really loved this romcom! Elle was so resistant to love and Parker was so sweet. 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

LOVED! I've read Alex Aster's YA fantasy series and enjoyed that, but I feel like this is her genre! Was thoroughly entertained on the whole ride, and loved Elle and Parker and every side character. It's funny because I was feeling a bit skeptical about this because I typically don't love a billionaire trope, and I typically don't love anything too cliche New York, and somehow I found myself eating this up! I hope she continues writing more contemporary romances.

I really enjoyed this romance book. The main couple are so cute together and the spice level was perfect. And it did not take over the story!

Summer in the City by Alex Aster was good. The first third of the book was enjoyable and I found myself having a good time reading it. The middle of the book was my favorite part. Everything was going along well, with minimal bumps. You know the usual of any book plot. At this point in the story I was thinking this is a four-star book, I liked everything enough to keep reading. The ending ruined that rating for me. I gave the book three stars. I would recommend this book if you're looking for a summer romance, that is fun to read.

This book was SO, SO good! I absolutely adored it. The writing was very good and captivating. The plot was intriguing. And the chemistry between these two was amazing! I loved the complexity of the characters and the romance that grew so beautifully.

The spice was pretty good, despite being very brief and mild. I really loved the emotional depth of the story and the growth of the main characters as individuals. This book was so good, and I'll definitely be preordering the beautiful first edition!

Where do I even start? This book was sooooo good.

I generally do not like time jumps in books, especially when they are years long. But how the relationship between Elle and Parker flourish makes it all worth it. There's tension immediately. He never stopped thinking about her. And technically, she couldn't stop thinking about him either even if it was out of hatred. But when they come together to rewrite bad memories with good ones... UGH!

The emotional journey towards the end of the book was also surprising but in a very good way. The story could have ended at a certain point but after Elle's journey alone and learning some new information, you realize that it couldn't have just been a HEA before. That little piece was very much needed to really close one door and open another (and her heart).

I reeaaaaaallly enjoyed this book and will be making sure to purchase it when it comes out!

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.**

This book took me by surprise in the very best way! Such a fun and cute story, didn't want to put it down!

This was such a cute story and I absolutely loved it! I was so glad that I got the chance to read this one and I’m looking forward to reading more rom coms from Alex Aster in the future. Parker and Elle were so great together and even with all their ups and downs this was just such a fun enemies to lovers story that I sold highly, highly recommend.

Billionaire, rememberable meet-cute, grand gestures, fake dating rom-com.

I’ve had Alex Aster on my TBR radar for quite some time. Honestly, I was stoked at the opportunity to read an ARC of her newest release, a romance. However, now when I have to form my thoughts into a coherent review, I am battling on my true feelings towards Summer in the City. When it comes to romance books featuring a billionaire, you have to suspend some belief; but our king of grand gestures Mr. Parker Warren had me thinking “lol ok” one too many times. This, coupled with the depth and growth we see from Elle, and the amount of high highs and low lows in their relationship left me wondering if I just liked or loved this romance.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of Summer in the City in exchange for my honest review

An enemies to lovers romance featuring Elle, a screenwriter, and Parker, a billionaire CEO. The two are forced to be neighbors after a run in a few years prior that left Elle absolutely hating Parker. Elle has a strict deadline for her next screenplay, but will Parker Warren help or hurt her creative process?

I had a great time reading this story and adored Parker the grand gesture king. Suddenly I want to spend my next summer in NYC.

The last few chapters left me a little frustrated and I would have loved to see the end of the story go a bit further.

Overall I think this a quick, cute romance that will make a fun summer read. I hope Alex writes more contemporary romance in the future.

SUMMER IN THE CITY is a fun billionaire romance, but it does require you to suspend your disbelief (unless you're a billionaire, I guess. Which I am nooooot). This was my first Alex Aster book but I am interested in picking up her other books after this. I've been in a rough reading slump and this was a great book to help pull me out of it but I can't say it was the best romance ever. To me, it lacked a lot of details; we knew the basics about the main character and love interest, but they both felt very surface-level and so did their relationship. Because of that, I didn't *love* this one, but it was a pretty quick and entertaining read.