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REVIEW: Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monoghan

 


Genre: Romance | Romcom | Fiction

Release Date: Expected 6th June 2023

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Beach Rules:
Do take long walks on the sand.
Do put an umbrella in every cocktail.
Do NOT run into your first love.

Sam's life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiance, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family's Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there's no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?

Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt's guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed--Sam's memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt's skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt re-enters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.

"You're the most important person in my life, and you're not even the most important in your own."

A brilliant, beautiful summer romance. It's sweet, a bit steamy, and sweeping - brimming with teenage nostalgia and the painfully joyful memories of first loves.

Monoghan absolutely nails the mix of romance, contemporary comedy and heart in his dazzling, dizzying tale of a woman at a crossroads trying to reconcile who she is and who she wanted to be. Sam was SO relatable and made so many witty observations that any woman who has found herself as a background character in their life will find so much connection and catharsis with. She takes us back to her younger years of teenage confusion and the intense feelings that shaped the adult she became - showing us just how much our formative years decide where we go next.

The story is full of vivid nostalgia and bright summery scenes that made my heart ache for carefree sunny days gone by. There's moments of bright clarity and healing as Sam reconnects with her younger, hopeful self for the first time in years. She takes us through the regrets, the expectations, the fond memories and I felt every punch that Sam did as she realised how far from herself she'd strayed. I loved how despite this being a love story, it wasn't just about finding a lost love but finding a lost sense of self too. 

The characters were beautiful - I loved her relationships with her family, with the men she's loved and love. They all open up slowly, the story moving at a leisurely pace like a summer afternoon as we get to know people, diving in and out of the past. Sam drives most of the story with a strong voice, switching between her and Wyatt and learning about who they were and are. At times there was a little too much expositing but in general I loved strolling memory lane with them.

This book is the perfect formula for a cosy beach read. 


⭐⭐⭐⭐


I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title.

cw: cheating, sexual content, abusive parents, alcohol.


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