Summer Romance Mini Book Reviews

Summer is coming.

With the season of unrelenting heat and inevitable death by radiation sun, beaches, and travel fast approaching, I find it odd that I’m no longer reaching for fluffy contemporary romances. After all, they usually make the perfect read for those indulgent summer days spent lounging around the house. They also tend to be easier to comprehend and therefore mindlessly read while I’m dying of dehydration fun.

While I’ve found solace enjoyment in other genres for now, I know that some of you may be hopelessly searching for a distraction from your pain FUN. Luckily for you, I’m due for a few reviews of books that I’d constitute as summer romances—and some are definitely more mindless than the others. 

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Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Holly Harper

Goodreads Description: Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot’s rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society, and made elegance and glamour her business. She’s riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she’s blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start—and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.

As Margot finds her footing in a town where everybody knows not only your name, but what you had for dinner last Saturday night and what you’ll wear to church on Sunday morning, she grudgingly has to admit that there are some things Lake Sackett does better than Chicago—including the dating prospects. Elementary school principal Kyle Archer is a fellow fish-out-of-water who volunteers to show Margot the picture-postcard side of Southern living. The two of them hit it off, but not everybody is happy to see an outsider snapping up one of the town’s most eligible gentleman. Will Margot reel in her handsome fish, or will she have to release her latest catch?

This is by far my favorite book in this post. Molly Harper made it easy to imagine and immerse myself into the tight knit, southern community with her descriptions of the town’s scenic lake and old-fashioned main street. Even if you don’t like romance, I would recommend this book just for the carefully thought-out characters. Margot’s family was hard not to love when they all had such quirky and distinct personalities. The two story arcs—Margot reuniting with her family and her romance with Kyle—blended perfectly to create a sweet, heartwarming summer read.

☆☆☆☆

i really liked it

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A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole

Goodreads Description: To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.

Italian vineyards, princesses, a forbidden romance. Can you think of anything more romantic? (I’m sure you can, but shhh just play along.) It was easy to get lost in the sprawling royal estate with the main character, Caresa. The love interest, Achille, was also surprisingly lovable. There’s plenty of stories about shy girls ending up with outgoing/talkative guys, but not so much the reverse. It was refreshing to read about a shy, bashful male character.

This book is for fans of traditional fairytales and soap operas. The princess falls in love with her prince, but not without the family drama.

☆☆☆

i liked it

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Little Gray Dress by Aimee Brown

Goodreads Description: Emi Harrison has avoided her ex-fiance, Jack Cabot, for nearly two years. Her twin brother Evan’s wedding is about to end that streak.

From bad bridesmaid’s dresses, a hyperactive sister-in-law, a mean girl with even meaner secrets, and too much to drink, nothing seems to go right for Emi, except when she’s wearing her little gray dress.

When she speed-walks into Liam Jaxon’s bar, things get more complicated. He’s gorgeous, southern, and has no past with Emi. He may be exactly what she needs to prove for the last time that she doesn’t need or want Jack!

Her favorite little gray dress has made an appearance at nearly every major event in Emi’s adult life. Will it make another grand appearance when she least expects it?

The chapters of this book alternated between the present and past. Through each flashback, we learned more about how Emi and Jack came together and how they ultimately fell apart. This type of storytelling usually commands my attention, but the characters lacked connection and the plot needed more ✨oomph✨. While I understand how the concept of the little gray dress was supposed to add whimsy and uniqueness to an otherwise cliche story, it just didn’t cut it for me.

☆☆

it was okay

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Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Goodreads Description: Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

AHHH, don’t hurt me! This review is not quite… mini.

There’s no doubt that Alex, Approximately is a summer read. The story takes place in a sunny California beach town and the love interest comes from a family of surfers. While I adored the quaint, coastal setting, I have a couple reservations about this book.

Even though I know firsthand that making friends online is commonplace in this day and age, I was taken aback by how open Mink’s dad was to her talking to Alex online. Perhaps I’m not as progressive as I think. In any case, I thought Mink’s dad could have encouraged her to be more cautious while still being accepting of the friendship.

I also couldn’t get over how mean Porter was to Mink and didn’t think their relationship was particularly healthy. This is a recurring problem I have with the Enemies to Lovers trope. All couples fight, but in my opinion, a relationship shouldn’t be built on how well you argue with each other. Maybe I just didn’t completely understand Porter and Mink’s banter. The couple had their cute moments, but it was overshadowed by their miscommunication and unnecessary drama.

☆☆☆

i liked it

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Thanks for reading! Is there a specific genre you prefer to read based on each season? Have you read any of these books? If you did, what did you think of them? Let me know 😊.