This book was a great way to start off summer. The way Annabel Monaghan writes and describes the setting pulls you in. I felt at times like I was physically on the beach or in the ocean the way she would describe the details. I could have easily sat and read this jn one or two sittings.
This book felt similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty, Every Summer After and a little bit of The Summer of Broken Rules. There was second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers and a dual timeline and POV.
The heartbreak that occurred in the book between Sam and Wyatt was done so well it was almost hard to get through because it felt so real and raw. Both Sam and Wyatt you could really sympathize with so easily. They were the type of characters you were rooting for the whole time.
The only qualms I had was my distaste for any kind of emotion cheating, but that being said the way it was handled in the end I had no problems with. It did not have too much emotional drama which I liked. I also liked the talk Sam had with her dad about her situation (which I won’t spoil by going into things about her dad’s past you’ll have to read to find out!).
It is a fairly clean romance with only a couple closed door scenes with a little bit of implied intimacy but nothing too explicit.
Again it is similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty and Every Summer After with a childhood friends to lovers trope and a dual timeline. It also has a similar beach town feeling and family reunion as The Summer of Broken Rules. So if you enjoyed any of those books this is a great one to pick up this summer. If you’re like me and you liked Nora Goes Off Script but it wasn’t your favorite, I think you’ll enjoy this one a lot more. This will definitely be on my summer recommendations list-it has all the beachy feels!
Comes out June 6th!
Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for this digital reviewer copy so I could share my review!