pub 5/10/22 by Berkley • Adult Contemporary Romance • Received from pub for review⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 stars | One thing I've realized this year is that my favorite romances might just be the second chance kind that alternate between the present-day adult characters and their past younger selves. Every Summer After totally fits the bill. Persephone (Percy) Fraser and her family spent six summers of her life in Barry's Bay, whether she met and eventually fell in love with Sam Florek. They were inseparable as they went from friends to something entirely more, until it all blew up and they dropped out of their each other's lives. Then Percy gets a call about Sam's mother's funeral and she knows she has to go back. As they reconnect in the present over the course of a weekend, we get frequent glimpses to the past which little by little shed light on their current situation. I enjoyed both timelines, wanting to know more, and I rooted for them to face what was undeniably between them. Their story pulled me in, in a way that I wasn't expecting when I started it. That said, I do think the climax and resolution felt really rushed as certain truths didn't get revealed until there was only 20% left and I wish the former had happened much sooner. But honestly, even with that criticism, it was still a really good book and I'm so glad I decided to read it!
pub 5/3/22 by Berkley • Adult Contemporary Romance • Received from pub for review⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5 stars | Unpopular opinion time: I liked this book but I didn't love it. Maybe it was just the timing but this wasn't a new favorite. It was cute though and a great beach read, if that's what you're looking for. We're introduced to successful literary agent, Nora Stephens, who's fully aware that she is not the typical romance novel heroine and in fact, she's usually the one getting dumped (which endeared her to me right away!). She's okay with this and is happy to focus on her career and her younger sister Libby. When she agrees to a sisters' trip in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for a month, it's meant to broaden her horizons. But instead of falling for a small-town guy like her sister hopes, Nora keeps running into Charlie Lastra, a book editor she knows from the city who's always given her mixed signals. As they get thrown together over and over, there's no denying their interest in the other and their interactions were charming and sweet. I have to say though, I didn't necessarily feel the chemistry. I rooted for them because I was supposed to but to be honest, my heart wasn't in it. I also think the role Libby played and the co-dependency between her and Nora was something that rubbed me the wrong way. I understand a lot about helping family, especially financially, but the way this was portrayed didn't work for me (I think because it is a topic I have personal feelings on). But like I said, it was a cute book and I have been consistently entertained by Emily Henry's romance novels so if you're fan, you're sure to enjoy this one.
I'm really looking forward to reading both of these!!
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