actual rating: 1.5. i am going to be honest: i only picked up this book for the title. i saw a Taylor Swift song and i clicked. i simply didn’t vibe with the premise. i liked reading about how Sam found herself over the summer, i just didn’t like Sam herself. she was giving very much “woe is me” vibes and i did not like it. plus i could not get over the fact that she and her husband were essentially cheating on each other over the summer! major ick.

Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates is a beautiful story of heartbreak and second chances. When Samantha Parker’s idyllic suburban life is upended by her husband Will’s request for an open marriage, she embarks on a summer long journey that forces her to confront her identity and desires. This novel explores complex emotions as Samantha struggles to reconcile her love for her family with her own needs. The tension between stability and freedom, and between the past and future will keep you hooked!

Maisey Yates writes a thoughtful and heartwarming story of finding yourself - and romance - when your world is upended in a way that was not ever anticipated. I like the growth of the FMC and the travel the main characters experienced - it was fun to travel along. Thank you to @NetGalley and @Harlequin for this intriguing ARC, the opinions are all my own.

I LOVED THIS! Reading this in the fall was like sitting on a beach in Cancun when the rest of my family is at home with 12" of snow. Sweet, poignant, and fiercely independent! Job well done!!

4.25/5.0

I had the opportunity to read Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates as an ARC by Net Gallery. This was my first time reading a book by Yates, but it certainly won't be the last.

Samantha's longtime husband and father of her children tells her the words no wife wants to hear: he wants an open marriage.

She is understandably devastated, and they spend the summer apart. I love that the author wrote an emotional story about adults in their forties finding out what they truly want in life.

Samantha spends the summer delivering classic cars with her husband's best friend. She takes the time to reflect on her life and where she wants the rest of it to lead.

I enjoyed the story and Yates' writing style; I look forward to reading more of her books.

#CruelSummer #NetGalley

My daughter yelled, "Mom, you have to listen to Cruel Summer when you read this!" She was so excited! I can not say enough good things about this absolutely darling book! It was just adorable. I loved it and didn't want it to end. I always suggest a book by Maisey Yates.

Maisey Yates is a wonderful author. She knows how to draw you in with her deep characters and fantastic writing.
This book is no different!

Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates made me laugh and cry and when I finished go give my husband the hug of a lifetime.

Sam is stunned when her husband, Will, asks to take the summer off from their marriage. She thought they were happy and everything was fine and that they were going to start the next chapter of their lives as empty nesters until Will drops this bomb on her.

Sam decides to survive the summer apart from will by helping his best friend drive classic cars across the country. The trip with Logan helps her rediscover herself and if she even wants to get back together with her husband at the end of the summer.

It was hard for me to disassociate myself from Sam in this book and how I would react to an apparent mid-life crisis from her husband and this book made me think and compare my own life to it - and realize how lucky I am! This book will make you think and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in lieu of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a divorcee, I was really looking forward to this book and I was very pleasantly surprised!

My biggest hang up was the ending-while sweet, it was unrealistic and glossed over the most difficult part of their journey.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I had the great opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I chose this book because of the cute cover thinking it would be a fun rom com and the hope that the author was a swiftie. Well, the author was a swiftie.
This was not a lighthearted rom com as I expected. This is a slightly heavy romance dealing with trauma and grief. The writer does a great job of building the connection between the love interests. Some enemies-to-lovers go straight from hate to attraction and leaves the reader wondering how they fell in love. This author almost does too good of a job of the connection between the leading lady and leading man.
In the end I was super excited when I realized the leading man and everything ended up how I wanted.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!

I enjoyed the story, but there were times where the introspection was a bit too much. I would have liked more dialog between the characters and less of Sam's thoughts. It got to be pretty repetitive.
I loved all of the Taylor Swift references!

Really cute love story. I liked the cover and the theme of this book. However, this was really close to Just for the Summer book. It was good but mirrored.

A book about breaking away from what's comfortable to discover the unknown that brings you joy and depth. Sam has been in a long-term marriage when her husband, Will, requests they explore other relationships. Hurt and a little lost, she reaches out to Logan, her husbands best friend. There's unexplored desire between them, but Logan needs Sam to make him her choice, not as a rebound, for comfort or any other reason, but for herself. It takes Sam a lot of pondering and courage to get out of her comfortable rut and reach for things that she truly wants.

This book delivered a lot of emotional depth, but in some ways, it was too much. However, as someone in a situation almost similar to Sam's, I could relate.

#netgalley #CruelSummer

Cruel Summer is an emotional road-trip romance about second chances, self-discovery, and the complexity of love. When Samantha’s husband suggests an open marriage, her world is turned upside down. A summer road trip with Logan—her husband’s aloof best friend—leads her to question everything she thought she wanted. Their chemistry is slow-burning, and as they journey across the country, Sam’s feelings grow in unexpected ways.

Maisey Yates skillfully balances romance and introspection, making Sam's journey relatable and heartfelt. This tender, thought-provoking read will have you rooting for her to choose the path to her true happiness.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the opportunity to receive the ARC.
Book publication date - June 24, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Cruel Summer tells the tale of a 40 year old woman who's life is turned upside down as she and her husband go on a summer long separation to see if their marriage can work. She is blindsided, and decides to help her husband's best friend drive classic cars cross country in order to deal with her relationship and life after the summer ends.

And it was fine. Pretty predictable mid-life crisis story, and there were definitely some points that resonated with me. But it felt like total fantasy from start to finish. It's clear to me that this was just not the one for me. I did not feel like I had really anything in common with the main character except for our age range, and living in the PNW. So, while I appreciated the idea, the rest just wasn't for me.

The book did move quickly and was one you could sit down and read on a rainy Sunday in one sitting. And I liked it for that. The MMC was less annoying than the FMC so there is that.

Overall though, if you're an independent woman, this one probably isn't for you. It is exhausting reading about how the FMC thinks this obviously imperfect marriage was just so wonderful and how would she ever deal with being alone. Blech.

I thought this was going to be a fun fluff book and it was so much more. I couldn’t put it down and I loved the characters. I love that it delved into the human condition. Sure, love and life isn’t simple but I couldn’t put this down and I appreciated things Sam thought and had to go through.

I have already recommended to friends.

Samantha Parker always believed her relationship with her high school sweetheart was perfect. For the last twenty-two years they have had the perfect marriage, perfect family, perfect life - until he asks if she would consider an open marriage. The journey Sam takes during the summer off from her relationship makes her realize she hasn’t been herself (does she even know who that is?) and has always been a bit too selfless with everyone in her life. The concept is incredibly relatable and has you questioning your own life a bit. How often do we sit in relationships for comfort, knowing they may not actually be the right ones for us? How often do we find ourselves giving and giving and giving until we realize we have nothing left? This is a sweet story about finding yourself again, not realizing you lost yourself in the first place. This book provides you with lots of opportunity for introspection.
At times I did think it was a little repetitive, but I still loved it. Beautifully written.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!

“I think we should see other people..." That one sentence unravels Samantha Parker's perfect life. She has a loving husband, three wonderful kids and a comfortable suburban lifestyle. But on the brink of their long-awaited empty-nest chapter, Will asks Samantha for something she never dreamed.”

Cruel Summer starts off with Sam and Will taking a summer off from their marriage - which is crushing for Sam. We follow her through the summer where she grows and learns so much about herself.

Heads up that this book is definitely not a cute romcom, but more of an emotional love story with growth and rediscovery.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

**Book Review: *Cruel Summer* by Maisey Yates**

Maisey Yates’s *Cruel Summer* dives into a whirlwind of summer romance, drama, and secrets that will have readers captivated from start to finish. Set against the dreamy backdrop of a coastal summer, Yates masterfully blends romance with themes of family, friendship, and betrayal, creating a story that is as emotionally charged as it is engaging.

The novel follows a cast of characters who each bring their own baggage and aspirations to the story, with tangled relationships and unexpected connections that unravel over the course of one intense summer. Yates’s strength lies in her ability to craft flawed, layered characters who are deeply relatable, making their choices – good and bad – all the more impactful. The story is rich with emotional tension, and the stakes feel high as the characters confront their pasts, face painful truths, and make decisions that could change their futures forever.

Yates’s prose is vivid and immersive, painting a clear picture of the coastal setting that feels almost like another character in the novel. The atmosphere is charged with a blend of nostalgia and yearning, as the characters seek both escape and redemption in the familiar yet ever-changing summer landscape. For fans of romance and drama, *Cruel Summer* delivers with plenty of twists, heartfelt moments, and steamy encounters that keep the pages turning.

While the novel brings an undeniable sense of escapism, Yates does not shy away from addressing deeper themes. Issues of forgiveness, self-discovery, and resilience are woven into the characters’ journeys, making *Cruel Summer* a layered read that resonates well beyond the surface-level plot. It’s a story of love, loss, and the ways in which we find ourselves in the most unexpected places – and people.

For fans of emotional, character-driven romance with a touch of suspense, *Cruel Summer* offers a rich and satisfying escape into the complexities of summer love and second chances.