Warning! This review contains light spoilers!

Introduction:

To wrap up the summer season before heading back to school, I wanted to read one last summer romance novel, and decided that Annabel Monaghan would be a great choice for a fun, atmospheric, summer-y read. Annabel Monaghan is an author that has gained popularity within the last two years and is loved for her relatable, down-to-earth female leads, her enjoyable build-up, and most importantly, nailing the vibe of a perfect summer day. With all this in mind, I was extremely excited when I picked up Same Time Next Summer and started diving into the world of childhood summers on Long Island and a long-lost love. However, Sam was not the only one with a deep longing in this book, because as the story went on, I couldn’t help but wish that there was more depth and connection within the story.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan is a story about Sam, a woman who thinks she has her whole life planned out and perfectly on track. She works a slightly boring office job that she tells herself she loves, and is engaged to a doctor who is constantly pushing her to be the best version of herself. But when she goes back to Long Island to visit her parents and look at possible wedding venues, she starts to see bits of her childhood self that she thought she had tamped down long ago. Wyatt, the boy next door and ex-boyfriend from her teens is also back in town, and as hard as she tries to stay away and focus on wedding plans, Sam can’t help but get sucked into the vortex of obsession that Wyatt brings on.

Critiques:

When I first started reading this book, I absolutely loved it. The vibes were amazing and second-chance romance happens to be one of my favorite romance subgenres. My issues with the book developed the further in I got. Sam’s character felt very flat and “copy-and-paste” to me. I wish I could tell you more about her than “city girl with an office job goes home to small town and falls in love with childhood sweetheart” but that’s pretty much it. I was dying to get to know her on a deeper level and really wanted to like her, but I felt like I wasn’t able to connect with her at all. 

One of the biggest irritants in this book was Sam’s fiance Jack. In my opinion Jack has no redeeming qualities and while I didn’t feel like I knew Sam well, I do know that Jack knew her even less. I don’t remember a single scene in the book where I thought: “Oh I get why they’re together”. Between making her read boring books she didn’t like, pushing her to stay at the job she hates, and not asking her opinion on any of the wedding planning, I kept wondering why Sam would stay with him, or even date him in the first place. He’s a selfish and uninteresting character that I would forget about as soon as he left the page, and become immediately annoyed with as soon as he came back. 

While I know that Jack was never supposed to be a love interest in this book, it really just seems like he was written-in to add an easy out for why Sam and Wyatt didn’t date sooner. Jack’s miniscule contribution to the story and irritating qualities makes the entire progression of the story obvious from the beginning and emotionally bland.

Redeeming Qualities:

While there were many things about this book that I didn’t enjoy, I would be remiss to not talk about the parts that I did like. As I mentioned earlier, this book does an amazing job of setting a scene and atmosphere. The vibe of the setting was addictive and I really liked the summer feelings the book brought on. 

Another element that I really enjoyed was the way that Sam was able to reconnect with her childhood self, and that we as readers are able to follow her journey to self-rediscovery. Even the simplest things like salty ocean hair, sandy toes, or lightly sunburnt cheeks would take Sam back and remind her of how enjoyable life was when she wasn’t constantly stressing about being perfect. I enjoyed seeing her slowly let go and fall back into her more natural and happy self.

Conclusion

While this was by far my least favorite Annabel Monnaghan book I’ve read, I still had a good time and it fulfilled my desire for a fun summer-y read. If you’re looking for a short read that is low-stakes, where you don’t necessarily connect with the characters or the story but you get good summer vibes, then this is a great option for you.

2.5/5 stars

Book cover image from Random House Publishing.

Buy Same Time Next Summer either online or at your local bookstore!

Also check out our latest post on the novel Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid!