Summer Reading by Jenn Mckinlay
When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who has dyslexia, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island. Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he's never known. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can't stop thinking about her. An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Dimensions- 5.19" W x 7.97" H x 1" D
- Genre- Romance
- Publisher- Penguin Publishing Group, Publication date - 05-16-2023
- Page count- 480
- ISBN- 9780593545720
Web ID: 16361115
Cute story. Annoying main character
This story was cute but I hated the main character because all she does about every 5 pages is talk about her dyslexia. But she acts like it’s cancer. She literally says things like men refuse to date her when they find out she’s dyslexic. Or her younger brother must be embarrassed to be around her because she’s dyslexic. Or how can a hot man possibly want to date her because she’s dyslexic. It’s literally all she talks about. I could barely finish reading it. She apparently got passed up for a promotion as a chef because she’s dyslexic. I don’t think the author knows what dyslexia is.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A great read
I really enjoyed this story. The way the author blended the main character's daily troubles with dyslexia, watching a young teen, the young teen's struggles with being "normal" and a love story was absolutely perfect. I probably would have loved this more in the summer months but it was still a great listen at any time of year!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fun summer romance!
Sam quit her job after being passed over for a promotion as head chef she suspects is due to her dyslexia. Now she’s spending the summer at Martha’s Vineyard to watch her younger half-brother, Tyler, while her parents are off on a European vacation. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. She can figure out what her next move will be while getting to know her younger brother. On the ferry ride out she has an unfortunate accident with Ben, who she finds out is the library director. A man she’ll be seeing daily thanks to the Tyler’s robotics program taking place at the library where Ben works. There are sparks of attraction, but Sam wonders how a relationship would ever work when she has such issues with reading and Ben’s so very bookish. They end up thrown together over and over, and Sam offers to help Ben with his search for his father, and while Ben helps Sam write a cookbook with all the recipes her beloved grandmother shared with her. Summer Reading was an easy romance to settle into and enjoy. I didn’t realize the hurdles some with dyslexia have to navigate and I appreciated learning about it through Sam’s story. My heart went out to her and the insecurities she struggled with because of it. I loved how Ben helped her realize how talented and smart she was and how wonderfully she coped with her disability. He was a sweetheart and a bookish hottie! Hard to resist! Besides that, Sam was a spunky extrovert and a lot of fun! I enjoyed seeing her get to know her younger brother more, bond bring him out of some of his teenage angst. I really liked Em, Sam’s best friend, and enjoyed seeing them reconnect. Em’s story is next, and it sounds like a good one! Set in Ireland at a bookstore, I’m so there!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
delightful story
This book turned out to be a delightful story. At first, I wasn’t sure about Sam, and it took a little bit for me to get to know her. The writing almost made her defined by her dyslexia and not who she was as a person. Her personality did come through after a bit, and I found that I liked and could relate to her. Ben was almost too good to be true, so his immediate attraction to her was confusing. It was a pleasure to read how their personalities came through and the relationship grew. I also loved watching Sam’s relationship with her brother evolve. That made me smile as much as the romance part of the book. I have to say that I think the book was a bit wordy, but the story is a true feel-good escape and nice introduction to Martha’s Vineyard. I do believe the next book will be about Sam’s Friend, Em. I liked her and look forward to what Ms. McKinlay has in store for her. *Review copy provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Nice Rom-Com Read
I read an ARC of this book. This review is going to be a bit long. But I feel there is a lot to touch on. This was a good book. Admittedly it wasn't quite what I expected but definitely worth a read and definitely beach worthy. Though it was a good book it honestly was a bit slow for me. I felt like it drug a little. I loved that this book put a light and focus on dyslexia. Being dyslexic myself I was really excited about and looking forward to this book. I did feel the character was a bit too exaggerated but there are people with very extreme dyslexia. The levels definitely vary from person to person. I have not had an author focus on or write for this learning disability before and I really love that. I love that the font was dyslexic friendly. This was literally the easiest book I've ever read. The font was fantastic. And I asked my son who has dyslexia if he could read it and he read it easily. I've never had such an easy or smooth time reading before it was a pleasure to read this book and I wish everything was written in this font. The story itself was good. I felt like it was more of a story about Sam and her brother's relationship,which I loved and loved watching them grow and build their relationship, with the romance on the side but still Ben's story was good and she brought everything together nicely and it ended well and positively. This book was a little more graphic in it's description then her other romance novels, well the other 2 I've read any way. While "Paris Is Always a Good Idea" did have a bit this book was more graphic and on the erotic side. Which I think is characteristic of most romances and probably why I don't tend to read them LOL though I do love Jenn's. But I like how the other two that I've read were less graphic and focused more on story and character and I thought that made them different and unique and set them apart from other romances and I really enjoyed that. So I kind of missed that in this book. I also felt that this book could have done without the f-bombs that she dropped. I think it's possible to express the emotion that she was going for without the use of that word. That being said this was still good. The other thing I liked about this book and about Jenn's books in general is that they're very relatable and they make you think and kind of reflect on yourself. I did find myself identifying with Sam in many ways even though my dyslexia is not quite as pronounced as hers. This book helped me to further understand my own dyslexia as well as my son's. And it inspired me to do further research and learn more and gain a better understanding as well as taught me the meaning of neurodivergent and helped me gain an understanding of that and better understand my own neurodivergent brain. I also enjoyed the cooking and the glimpse into Portuguese heritage and cuisine. It was a fun culinary experience. Also the setting of Martha's vineyard was a beautiful and engaging setting. Over all I give this a 3 1/2-4 star rating and if you're a fan of romance novels I would definitely give it a read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Delightful!
[I received a free electronic review of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.] 5 stars = Outstanding! I loved everything about this - the characters, the setting, the story set up, the romance, the family pieces, the dyslexia pieces. This would be a fantastic book club choice or beach read or vacation read - really for any reason. Romance fans should not miss this one! (Language, sex)
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
My favorite characters of 2023!
These may be my favorite characters of the year! This author is a favorite of mine as she has a way of crafting characters that are relatable, realistic and so very likable. You will find yourself laughing with the characters, crying with them and swooning with them at times as well! Sam, is a chef with a learning disability who has learned to live with her dyslexia and overcome it with many tools. You will find yourself wanting to go kick her bullies in the shins at times while cheering her on throughout the others. I think this book is so relatable as neurodivergent or not, we all have things we are insecure about or have been made insecure about by others. Reading about Sam overcoming her insecurities makes us all feel like we have a shot at overcoming ours. This is definitely my favorite feel good book of the year so far and I can't wait to read what else this author comes up with next!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Charming!
Such a charming beach read about two characters, Samantha (who has dyslexia) and Bennett (interim library director) who are searching for different things during a summer in Martha's Vineyard and end up finding each other. Sam wants to restart her cooking career; Bennett wants to find the identity of his father. They meet after Sam accidentally knocks his book into the ocean on a ferry ride. An inauspicious start, to be certain, but there is nothing inauspicious about their growing connection, nor about Sam's growing relationship with stepbrother Tyler. I love that the author, who has dyslexic family members, chose a dyslexic-friendly font for this book and explains the challenges and gifts of the disorder through Sam's life. It's the book's chief strength, and adds depth and authenticity. If I were heading to the beach right now, the aptly named SUMMER READING would be at the top of my book bag, as important as my sunnies and swimsuit. Happy summer reading!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com