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A review by emslitlibrary
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
4.25
I devoured this in, like, 2 sittings. It is a beautiful story about grief, motherhood, and finding yourself again after you’ve become a little lost. Annabel is so good at writing about life in a very simple way that somehow still makes your heart ache.
Ali is about to be divorced, with 3 kids she adores, grieving for her mother who she lost 2 years ago. She’s kind of a mess when we find her. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband is the literal worst. When she finally gets up the courage to put on hard pants, she runs into her best friend’s baby brother (he’s actually 36, and she doesn’t actually remember him). He’s a little bit of a kid at heart, but has his life together despite his family and everyone else thinking he’s just a screw-up. When he sticks around for the summer to clean out his parents house, Ali pursues a romance with him “just for the sunmer.” Yeah, right.
I really love the way Annabel writes and I loved this story. It feels immersive without being overly prosaic or flowery. It’s a realistic and somewhat heartbreaking account of what it’s like to be a mother and trying to find something that’s just for you. It’s definitely reminiscent of Nora Goes Off Script, a personal favorite of mine from this author.
Ali is about to be divorced, with 3 kids she adores, grieving for her mother who she lost 2 years ago. She’s kind of a mess when we find her. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband is the literal worst. When she finally gets up the courage to put on hard pants, she runs into her best friend’s baby brother (he’s actually 36, and she doesn’t actually remember him). He’s a little bit of a kid at heart, but has his life together despite his family and everyone else thinking he’s just a screw-up. When he sticks around for the summer to clean out his parents house, Ali pursues a romance with him “just for the sunmer.” Yeah, right.
I really love the way Annabel writes and I loved this story. It feels immersive without being overly prosaic or flowery. It’s a realistic and somewhat heartbreaking account of what it’s like to be a mother and trying to find something that’s just for you. It’s definitely reminiscent of Nora Goes Off Script, a personal favorite of mine from this author.