Who do you choose, your first love or your fiancé?

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan features Samantha ( Sam) and her fiancé Jack as she has her entire life planned out and is all “ buttoned-up,” as she calls it, to be successful by playing life safe. However, as Sam visits her hometown on Long Island to plan for her wedding, she reignites sparks with Wyatt, her first love. As the summer progresses, she has to choose between staying in her perfectly designed life with Jack or taking risks and starting a life with Wyatt. The choice is left to her to make.

Same Time Next Summer had an absolute chokehold on me as I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. Same Time Next Summer is the second chance romance novel of the year in my books, along with childhood best friends to lovers.

This book features a non-linear timeline which I absolutely loved. It gave the readers a deep dive into Sam and Wyatt’s story of first love. I will have to say, at first, I was more invested in the past timeline; however, as the book went on, Annabel Monaghan seamlessly intertwined both timelines to create the most beautiful writing. Same Time Next Summer is a fast-paced read that can quickly get one out of a reading slump.

As a hopeless romantic, this book had me smiling like a fool throughout the book. Same Time Next Summer was a poignant story of Sam finding herself throughout her time on Long Island and included themes of not settling where one wasn’t happy. The book had the perfect summer vibes with the beach house setting and a summer romance.

My only complaint about this book is the love triangle had little action. It was as if Sam and Wyatt and Sam and Jack were two completely different couples that never connected, being that Sam was the center of the love triangle. However, I overlooked this because of the heartwarming romance presented in this book.

Overall, this book was the perfect summer romance and is one of my favorite reads of the year. This is a summer must-read, and I highly recommend it. I gave this book five out of five stars on Goodreads. While the story was not complex, it was simple and heartwarming.