romance
Ali’s mom died two years ago and her husband left her one
year ago. Her life has become a struggle but she’s decided the time has come
for her to start crawling out of her shell. That’s just when she meets Ethan in
the dog park and commences a summer romance.
I don’t normally read two romances in a row, but I loved
Nora Goes Off Script (NGOS) so much that I jumped at the chance to read Annabel Monaghan’s next novel, Summer Romance, in advance of its publication. And there
wasn’t much time before that publication date so I had to dive in immediately. Probably
because I had just finished the first novel, the similarities between the two
novels were the first things I noticed. The story focuses on a small-town woman whose marriage recently ended, the
woman has children including a non-athletic son, plants/wildlife/animals are
significant to her, there is a sunrise tradition, her romantic interest is
attractive and never before married, and someone intrudes on her crossword
puzzles. This book even had a reference
to Leo (although it was the astrological sign in this novel as opposed to the
lead character’s name).
Forcing myself to quit noticing all the similarities, I was
able to enjoy this romance. In fact, this one seemed more plausible than NGOS
since the guy is a normal guy as opposed to a famous movie star. Again, the
characters were charming and realistic. The situation again felt (mostly)
authentic. And while NGOS is still the
better novel, the relationship between Ali and Ethan seemed more balanced in Summer
Romance.
While I enjoyed the way the novel wrapped up, I was not a huge fan of the “conflict” leading up to the ending. It was sad and a bit pathetic. I’m not saying it was out of character for Ali who was still working on regaining her sense of control but it was just sort of boring to this reader and, obviously, not handled well on Ali’s part. In the end, it lowered my opinion of the novel overall. But if you like novels that don’t bring the reader too much anxiety and have a solid happy ending, you’ll enjoy this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced galley! This book will be released on June 4, 2024.
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