Review: Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
Thank you Putnam for my early copy of Same Time Next Summer! All thoughts are my own.
You know that feeling of the sun soaking into your skin and you feel totally and completely relaxed? That is the feeling Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan gave me. It was such a delightful read that also addressed some really complex realities and feelings surrounding mental health and young love. It took the freedom of the summers of our youth and juxtaposed it with the realities of discovery (and rediscovering) our identities in adulthood.
It’s low on the spice scale but really pulls on your heartstrings in the best way. I really, really enjoyed this book and I think a lot of people will this Summer as well!
Synopsis:
“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 fiancé, 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 reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice. Is her heart worth the risk?” —StoryGraph
What I Liked:
The Tropes—I’m a sucker for second chance romance, that’s no secret. Especially a summery second chance romance? I love it so much.
The Setting—Long Island beaches that aren’t the Hamptons are some of my favorite.
The Vibes—This book made me so excited for Summer. I read it in March and it was the perfect antidote for the still cold, dreary, snowy, gray skies I see each day.
The Characters—I loved Wyatt and Sam so much. I really loved the internal conflicts, I loved how they communicated with each other (until they didn’t—that made me sad) and the side characters were amazing.
What Didn’t Work:
Wanted More Back and Forth Structure—I’m a huge fan of Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After and how things unfolded structurally in that novel. I think I wanted a dash of that element thrown in, mostly because I loved the scenes set in the past so much. They were oozing with summertime nostalgia.
More Exploration of Dividing Conflict—I love stories about complex characters and the conflict that drove the main characters apart is certainly complex. I loved how it showed that through time and adulthood, we can all look back on past mistakes with perspective. But I do wish we got a bit more exploration of it between the two main characters.
Character Authenticity: 5/5 Spice Rating: 0/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Content Warnings:
infidelity, depression