Summer Romance

Starred review from April 8, 2024
Summer romance, writes Monaghan (Same Time Next Summer) in this light and sunny contemporary, is “a love affair with no reality check.” People pleaser Ali Morris has spent her whole life putting other peoples’ happiness above her own. Stuck in a loveless marriage, she’s still grieving her mother’s death two years prior and juggling the schedules of her three kids when her husband asks for a divorce. She’s exhausted, numb, and reeling—until her lust for life is reawakened when her dog pees on the gorgeous Ethan at the dog park. Their attraction is palpable and when she learns that Ethan is “Scooter,” the younger brother of a good friend from high school, she struggles to reconcile the teenage screwup she knew in her youth with the dreamy man who sees the real her. But if Ethan, who had a crush on Ali all through high school, wants more than just a summer fling, he’ll need to convince her that he’s no longer the flaky, unreliable boy he was. Monaghan makes the blossoming love between Ali and Ethan both believable and heartwarming as they grow together out of painful past experiences. It’s the ideal beach read. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff Literary.