I adored Nora Goes Off Script and despised Same Time Next Summer, so I did not know what to expect from Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan. It really could have gone either way.
Alice is in a rough spot. She's still grieving her mother who died two years ago, she's been separated from her husband for a year, and she's a professional organizer whose own pantry has four containers of cornstarch. She has three kids she really loves, a dog named Ferris, and she meets a nice, sexy guy named Ethan at the dog park. But then she learns who Ethan really is.
Interesting characters: Well, they're characters with personality traits. Alice has allowed a marriage to take away key elements of her personality and she's trying to rediscover them. Ethan has some family baggage he's dealing with. I liked the dogs.
Believable conflict: Yeah, I mean, geography is a real thing.
Emotional tension: This was done pretty well. Ethan doesn't want to get physical until Ali is all in and that takes a while.
Happily ever after: These two are never going to make it. He is going to be resentful of all the sacrifices he needs to make and he's going to end up being a bad husband and even worse stepfather. He's a nice guy and he's going to hate himself for his resentfulness, but as soon as the oldest graduates from high school, these two are going to get divorced and he's going to move back to the town that made him happy. There's an HEA on page, but I am not convinced.
Look, this just a worse version of Nora Goes Off Script. A single mother who is barely holding her life together meets a guy and geography should keep them apart, but eventually they get together. But while I think Nora and Leo are 100% going to make it, I do not think these two will. This wasn't as good as Nora Goes Off Script and not as terrible as Same Time Next Summer, but it's not an instant classic for me. Also, I 100% agree with Suzanne that having the word summer in two of your three titles is super confusing. This could have had so many other names!
3.5/5 stars
Line of note:
"If you actually fall for someone who's leaving, it's as crazy as getting a dog."
Phyllis looks confused.
I explain. "You get a dog and you know two things - you're going to fall in love with it and it's going to die one day. You knowingly walk headfirst into a heartbreak. That's the basic madness of dog ownership." (page 193)
I snorted out loud at this.
Hat mentions:
There are fourteen hats in this book, which is lot for a contemporary romance. A panama hat, baseball hat, bucket hat, two graduation hats, just lots of hats. That made it a little more fun for me!
I gave this one 5 stars and really liked it! I liked that it featured a divorced single parent. We don't see that sort of protagonist all that often and it made me think of friends who are in a similar position. I decided not to read her 2nd book since I do not like books about infidelity or infidelity-adjacent situations and hearing that it was about running into her ex while looking at wedding venues = hard pass for me.
ReplyDeleteNora was also a divorced mom and that book did it so much better. Oh, well. You're not missing much by not reading the second book - the characters were terrible!
DeleteI just got this from the library but haven't looked at it yet. Like you, I loved Nora and hated/DNFd the second, so who knows. I will at least start this one and see how it feels, but good to get your input on it.
ReplyDeleteIt was an easy read, I'll say that much. Not too hard to get into it and she writes pretty good dialogue. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author.
DeleteThank you for your service, Engie. (Not reading this.)
ReplyDeleteEvery time you've mentioned _Nora Goes Off Script_, I've always confused it for _Oona Out of Order_ (which I disliked), so I've steered clear of poor Annabel Monaghan due to no fault of their own. Oops.
I didn't like Oona, either! Don't be confused. Nora is great!
DeleteLOL, I knew you weren't going to like this one.
ReplyDeleteI DNF-ed Nora, loved Same Time, and this one is probably my favorite of hers! I am an outlier in the Annabel Monaghan fandom, haha.
You DNFed Nora?!?! Stephany, you are definitely not reading these books the same way I do.
DeleteWhat do you mean? I’m a little confused by this comment, admittedly…
DeleteOh, just that I LOVED Nora and you DNFed it. I thought this was one was mediocre and it's your favorite. It's like we're reading different books!
DeleteLoved Nora, DNFed Same Time, and am not sure if I should read this or not. I mean, Nora really kind of got me into the romance category, but as long as I have plenty of Katherine Center and Emily Henry to read, I think I can survive okay?
ReplyDeleteRead what your heart tells you to read. LOL. I'm just here to say this author is a bit inconsistent for me.
DeleteSAME! SAME! SAME! I really liked Nora Goes Off Script, and think I might have liked Summer Romance better if I hadn't already read NGOS because it felt like so much repeat from that book.
ReplyDeleteThe title is also horrible. And I didn't feel emotionally attached to any of the characters. I really liked Nora.
I have an attachment to the dogs in this book. That was my only real note for Nora - I thought the book would have been improved with the presence of a dog. LOL.
DeleteMEH! This is why I don't like romances.
ReplyDeleteThe best romances are AMAZING. But there are a lot of meh ones.
DeleteThe title is rather uncreative... Do the publishers think we readers are stupid?
ReplyDeleteAnyway I enjoyed Nora goes of script but haven't read the others. If I come across the book I would but it it is nothing I want to spend money on.
Yeah, I would have been IRATE if I'd paid for this book. IRATE.
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