Oh, who doesn't love a summer romance? This one is so romantic!

Ash and Kellan meet while they're both in NYC just for the summer. Ash has been going through a rough time after a divorce and wants to spend her summer sightseeing, and Army vet Kellan is, I think, just there cat sitting for a friend? Either way, they meet, they're attracted, and they decide to enter into a friends-with-benefits situation. Good for them. I love this trope, and this is a pretty good one in a subgenre (f/f) that I don't read much of, but I do appreciate!

This is a pretty straightforward f/f romance that is easy to predict and does contain the typical Big Dramatic Thing very near the end of the story, but it's still very enjoyable. I haven't been to New York City in years, but the author does an excellent job describing it in detail, which really made me want to go back. This kind of book is probably all the travel we'll get to do for a while, so I'm glad I read it!

Unfortunately I was unable to get in to this story and had to put it down, however, I'm sure it is a highly loved book and appreciated by the right readers.

Sweet, romantic and just what you want from a love story. Good character chemistry. Great sub characters.

Brooklyn Summer fell into my hands at the wrong time. I just can't force myself to read a story line this when I am not in the mood. I will edit my review if I ever enjoy it.

It's not often the blurb undersells the book, but in this case, the reality of reading delivered more than promised.

Kellan and Ash are a super cute couple, even though they're ostensibly just friends with benefits. What I liked was the genuine ease with which they went about their lives. It didn't seem manufactured, controlled or unrealistic like some books.

Maggie Cummings also gives the reader a fun journey through some of New York's sites for some extra fun.

If you love NYC and romance this book is for you! Ashleigh is going through it after her relationship crashes and burns. She decides to leave town for the summer when she can't seem to avoid her ex-wife and her new boyfriend. Kellan is an army vet in NYC to cat sit. When a mutual friend connects Ash and Kellan what starts as a friendship of city exploration blossoms into something more. This book is sweet and a well-paced slow burn with enough drama to keep it interesting.

Brooklyn Summer by Maggie Cummings is a light summer romance full of sight-seeing in the Big Apple. Ashleigh McAllister is a newly divorced math teacher who is looking forward to her summer break. Some daytrip diversion in her hometown is the perfect thing to keep mind of her failed marriage.

Kellan Dwyer - a recent army veteran - is in the city to cat-sit for her Aunt before heading back to her job at the family resort in Colorado. When she and Ashleigh meet they decide to spend some time together exploring the city. There is mutual attraction but because of the temporary nature of Kellan’s stay they are keeping it casual. We all know how well that works.

It should have grabbed me, but it didn’t. I knew this would be a slog for me when I started reading (and finishing) a few books in between. But I am not a quitter and I don’t like to skim so I didn’t. Looking at the high scores of my fellow readers I think I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read this book. The romance felt very middle of the road, the many day trips were growing stale, the 80% drama was very contrived.

The writing is solid, it had all elements a romance needs but it wasn’t enough for me.

f/f

Themes: summer in New York, the noble butch, losing your wife to a dude really stings, Blue the cat, I started this mid March...ugh... this book was a real struggle for me.

3.3 Stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed exploring New York City through the eyes of the main characters. Kellan and Ashleigh had amazing chemistry, their conversations flowed naturally, their relationship was very well paced and the sex scenes very well written. I related to and genuinely liked both leads. The supporting characters were also very well developed (I particularly liked the scenes with Liam). Overall it was an engaging book. My only gripe is that the drama in the end and the whole Dara storyline felt unnecessary.

This is a lovely romance with all the right elements to make it sweet, a little different but still heart-warming. Ashleigh is a planner and she’s planned her summer around seeing the sights of New York that locals tend to forget to go and see. She’d like to be spontaneous but then she’d have to plan that too. Kellan is from Colorado but pet-sitting for her aunt in Brooklyn and wanting to see a bit of New York while she’s there. She also wants to look up someone from her past. Ashleigh and Kellan meet through a mutual good friend and it seems obvious that they should do New York together.

Although they’re both mid to late thirties, they both seemed a little younger even though Ashleigh has learnt to cope with the ending of her 17-year marriage and Kellan has retired from the army. I didn’t mind it but occasionally their ages caught me by surprise. I liked Kellan’s portrayal particularly because her gender identity comes across as more fluid and not as a stereotypical butch lesbian woman. I liked the nuance created and that she was just a person without a big issue around presentation.

I quite liked that I didn’t always get Ashleigh’s point of view because she didn’t always know herself. Characters that can’t be put in boxes appeal to me. It’s a light read with loads of interesting dialogue, a little bit of angst and lots of steamy chemistry.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Kellan Dwyer arrives to New York City (NYC) to cat sit for her aunt for the summer. She reconnects with an old Army friend, Liam, who introduces her to Ashleigh McAllister. Ash is a math high school teacher off for the summer and coming off a bad marriage that ended in divorce. Her ex is now dating a man and living right alongside Ash in Brooklyn. Trying to overcome this, Ash decides to become a tourist in her own city. Liam is busy with his bar so decides to ask Ash to take Kellan out on the tours. The two mains pair up for almost daily outings that quickly turn into more. With Kellan in town for just the summer and Ash still trying to recover her shattered confidence, they are only up for a summer fling. Can this turn into true love?

I enjoyed this one. It was a pretty straightforward romance that will please fans across the board. Of course, my romantic heart was happy with Kellan and Ash. The dialog flow was great and easy between the two mains. NYC served as a nice backdrop to the budding romance as well, but without taking over the story like some settings do.

While Ash’s inner struggles were well discussed and explored, it was Kellan’s story that felt somewhat lacking even though the story was not just told from a single main’s POV. There is this mysterious close friend from the Army and clearly there was a fallout between them that partially brought Kellen to NYC a decade later. The result is some angst that seemed to come more from miscommunication than anything else. I’m usually not bothered by this, but maybe I need more misunderstanding to fuel the angst than what was said between the mains here.

Overall though, this was a solid read and will have me reading Ms Cummings’ previous novels (already own!). 4.25 stars

ARC generously provided to me by BSB via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I liked this one. Liked that it was focused on the MCs. I found this to be cute and sweet. A good read :)

Cummings unintentionally summed up her own book in a single line. “Perfect and sweet and unbelievably sexy.”
I loved everything about this book. Every single thing.
The setting was wonderful. Ashleigh and Kellan spend the summer touring all the attractions New York has to offer.
The characters were all amazing and interesting, none more so than Ash and Kellan. Their friends and family were all amazingly fleshed out and likable.
The plot was wonderful and perfectly paced. There was a very natural flow to the story.
Ashleigh and Kellan grew organically into friends and confidants as their overwhelming attraction built and built until neither could resist. The romance was passionate and loving as they both try to deny the undeniable feelings of love growing between them. The sex scenes were both sweet and highly erotic.
The dialogue was excellent. I loved not only how they talked but the level of communication between them, other than one very major time. They click on a fundamental level and it shows in each of their interactions.
I loved the ease with which the story and characters flowed, from the harmony to the conflict I was invested and enthralled. I completely fell in love with this book.

I read this one within one day. I was totally into the main characters and their excursion.
I followed their outings and now I want to revisit NY again. Both characters are lovely. Both have some past drama, yet I think Kellan is more down to earth, believe in me, kind of person.
Ash had a bit of bad experience and I totally feel for her. Sometimes, no matter how much we try, things just do not work. I loved their chemistry and way they communicated. I still think Kellan is the perfect person to be around though.
I have nothing bad to say about this book, because it was awesome!

I liked this light and breezy summer romance. It’s a love story times two when you include the sights and sounds of NYC. Ashleigh the math teacher decides to use her summer holidays to explore her city hoping her best friend Liam will join her in the adventure. Liam suggests his old army buddy Kellen in his place as she is in the city babysitting her Aunt’s kitty.

Ash is reluctant to date much less fall in love again after so many years with her now divorced wife. I liked how the vulnerable “what if it was me, not her” self esteem issues keep Ashleigh wary of the feelings she has for Kellan.

Kell is everything a femme could want in a soft butch. She’s kind, generous to a fault and quick to make the most of flirting opportunities with Ash. She makes her feel special. She is almost too perfect, the gentlewoman filled with kindness even when Ashleigh throws up blocks in their relationship.

While there is insta-attraction, I found this to be a slow burn romance. When they did acknowledge their attraction the sex scenes were varied and hot. I liked how adventurous Ashleigh became when she grew more comfortable with Kellen. The inevitable bumps along the road to happiness happen and you want to slap some sense into certain characters but overall, a pleasure to read.

Nicely done.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

Ahhh...romance in New York. Ashleigh McAllister, awesome teacher, awesome person, but struggles with letting go of her relationship breakup. Kellan Dwyer, out of the military, spending time apartment and cat sitting while her aunt is away on business. When they meet, there is a sizzle which is difficult to ignore. As they spend time together checking out the sites of New York, getting to know each other, they came face- to -face with how much they enjoy spending time together. However, both Kellan and Ashleigh have issues to deal with that cannot and should not be ignored. The will they or will they not, was a little much at times but due to their personalities (both good people) I was interested to see how issues would be resolved.

I am one of those people that judges a book by its cover (cover & title first), first impressions matter. And this one is perfect, the cover fits the title perfectly and after reading the book, the story as well. For me it’s mostly the colours that make it perfect.

Ok, on to the content. Ashleigh has been in a total funk since her divorce, she has decided to be a tourist in her own city over the summer break. Her longterm friend Liam just retired from the army and opened a bar near her parents’ house, where she has been living. She wants Liam to join her on her touristy summer. Liam’s army buddy Kellan is in Brooklyn for the summer oh house sit for her aunt and Liam does some introductions so the two ladies will have each other for sight seeing. Ash is really in a funky place where she is sort of hung up on her ex, but not in love with her still, more carrying around guild for the end of the relationship. This stand sin the way of having fun, at least that is until Kellan swoops in and is herself. They see the sights, talk a lot en tease each other a great deal. Their interactions are great and you feel something building. There are some amazingly weird twists in this book, I found them a little far fetched, especially when they were both sharing all these details of their lives but this one thing was not mentioned until a surprise reveal. This surprise and the way the story developed afterwards was a tiny let down for me, that’s why I give it 4 stars instead of 5. I think it could be resolved in a different way, but I guess all is well that ends well.

This was one of my favorites from Maggie Cummings. I have been in a reader's slump and this pulled me out. Love the romance it's just warms you just enough on a cold winter night.

Ashleigh McAllister is a year removed from amicable divorce from her wife of a dozen years, and plans to use her summer vacation to explore Brooklyn, where she lives - and where she constantly runs into her ex and her ex's boyfriend, much to her annoyance. Kellan Dwyer is housesitting for her aunt (and watching over her aunt's cat) for the summer, wants to see what Brooklyn has to offer, but also wants to meet up with her old Army buddy Liam and her old friend Dara, for reasons not given - just a mysterious indication that they haven't spoken in a long time.

As it turns out, Ashleigh also knows Liam, and has known him since childhood. Liam's just renovated a pub that's been in his family for a few generations, and it is at the pub that Kellan and Ashleigh meet, with Liam suggesting Ashleigh show Kellan around Brooklyn, since he's very busy with the reopening. They agree, and so begins the tour of the city.

At least they didn't meet cute. I'll buy the use of a friend of a friend once in a book, but there are two in this, one early, one late. The first one made a lot more sense.

That the two would fall for one another is a given, but their internal monologues about each other start off right then and there, and after awhile, that starts crowding out everything else. We also get a pronoun discussion when the doorman at Kellan's aunt's place calls her "Mister", which seemed kind of odd. Eventually, Ashleigh takes Kellan to meet the family, and also asks her to be her plus-one to her friend Shauna's wedding.

Spoilers from here

Spoilers from here

I'm trying not to be too hard on the book here, because I know the genre and it ticks all the boxes on what one might expect: femme meets butch through mutual friend, they immediately begin having very intense thoughts about one another, they run into at least one of their exes, and eventually sleep together, with some fairly heavy sex scenes thrown in, and there's the requisite thing that drives the lovers apart before they reconcile and live happily ever after.

I think what bugged me was the Dara subplot - the thing that drives the lovers apart portion. This is also the late friend of a friend mentioned previously, at about the 80% mark on my Fire. Dara happens to be friend with one of Ashleigh's friends (Shauna), is at Shauna's wedding - and has a kid who looks just like Kellan.

Now, throughout the book, in between descriptions of places and what each one is thinking about doing to the other, Kellan hems and haws about telling Ashleigh (and thus, the reader) about Dara. This doesn't make much sense to me, as they have been spilling their guts to one another up to this point. Ashleigh's response to seeing the kid is just overly dramatic and really just very odd. Instead of listening to Kellan's explanation, she runs off and ignores her. Now, part of this is on Kellan, because I can't fathom why on earth this would be so difficult to tell Ashleigh about given the other things they've talked about, especially since the explanation is rather mundane: Dara needed an egg donor, and Kellan, being her friend, donated. That's it. They weren't married or even partnered, and there's no obligation on Kellan related to the kid. I did, though, find it funny that Dara's last name is Torres - I've no idea if the author is a fan of the real Dara Torres or not, but that might be a little jarring note to people who know the name, bouncing them out of the story for a moment.

Eventually, Ashleigh gets over herself, and they all live happily ever after.


Overall, the writing is good, the two main characters are fleshed out fairly well, and the actual sex scenes are decent. It's a light summer kind of read for fans of the genre.

Three and a half stars out of five.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the advance copy.

This is a feel good book! I really liked the main characters, Ashleigh and Kellan. They met through a mutual friend of theirs. Ashleigh is on summer break from her teaching job and Kellan is taking care of her aunt's cat and apartment. They decided to check out all that New York has to offer. They both realize that there are more than friend feelings between them, but Kellan is only there for a short time. What happens shocks both of them.
Would recommend.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars. The book is about Ashleigh McAllister, a math teacher who has the summer off. She is recently divorced from her wife who left her for a man. Ashleigh has the whole summer planned to make the most of her summer in NYC, Her friend, Liam, who had just come back from the military introduced her to his military friend, Kellen Dwyer who is house sitting her her aunt in an apartment in Brooklyn, Liam thinks its a good idea for Ash to show Kellen around NYC all summer, since she already had plans to do all these activities.

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the premise of the plot, two characters falling in love throughout the summer. I did not really enjoy this book tho.I felt like a lot of the drama between Ash and Kellen was very immature for both the characters being in their late 30s. The main drama of the book mostly just annoyed me and I just wanted it to end as it was an over reaction to something she shouldn't have reacted so strongly about. The drama in the book really turned me off from this boo.k, as I enjoying it in the beginning. I do not recommend this novel.