Last summer, I read both of Annabel Monaghan’s books in a row and loved them both. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her third novel, Summer Romance and it did not disappoint.

Summer Romance [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] is about a professional organizer who is a mess herself. Like, Alli has mail piled up in her sink and she let’s her trash panda of an ex walk all over her. Her mom died two years ago, her ex left her on the first anniversary, and he asked for a divorce on the same day, one year later. She is a messss.

Alli puts on hard pants for the first time in a while to take her dog to the park, where said dog pees on a guy. That guy happens to be pretty cute and a lawyer. Also, he’s a skateboarder and isn’t the stranger she initially thinks him to be. This little run-in turns out to be a pretty great thing for her in a variety of ways.

Overall, this is a pretty solid book. Did I want to jump into this book and punch Pete (the trash ex) in the face multiple times? Yes. Unfortunately, that’s not a thing we can do with fiction, but I guess that means she did a good job writing the villain.

Annabel doesn’t write spice into her books, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re going to want to move on. However, if you like some steam in your stories, this will be a winner for you. It’s a sweet story of a divorcee processing grief in a variety of forms and getting a second chance at love and life.

If you can make it through Summer Romance without a craving for ice cream sandwiches, you’re a better person than me.

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