"Summer Reading" is a lovely romcom about friendship, love and family, set on Martha's Vineyard. The main protagonists are chef Samantha and librarian Ben. Sam is dyslexic and of course Ben loves books. A definite case of opposites attracting, though naturally they are also both good looking. Some great characters and witty dialogue.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Oh my heart, I couldn't put this book down, it was so compelling and full of love and emotion I didn't want it to end but when it did, scrummy recipes! Thank you

Idk, man, this was a disappointing hot mess to sat the least.
MC has dyslexia and it's her only personality trait. The love interest likes to read, and that's his only personality trait.
Wow. Riveting.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

DNF. This felt very heavy handed in the way it was written - and it didn't need to be. I appreciated the neurodivergent lead, though the writing was such that it felt very hammered into the internal monologue, rather than being shown to us. SHOW ME, DON'T TELL ME! There are so many better ways to incorporate this into a character without it feeling like it was jammed in there for the sake of being different to other romance novels. There was a lot more depth to discover and, after the first chapter, I was bored. Also, what romance book needs to be more than 400 pages? Certainly not one with this premise. The balance of action to dialogue was way-off and there was something that really got on my nerves about the writing style. Maybe it was just too chatty rather than prose - it just wasn't for me.

This was a good story, but sadly not one of those where you can’t put it down, it didn’t grip me. I enjoyed having a heroine with dyslexia, and a hero who understood how it made her feel, but who didn’t think any different about her. I was a bit puzzled with the story of the friend Em, as it didn’t seem to add anything to the overall theme, whereas the stories with all the other secondary characters did. It’s an ok read to while away a few hours, and if you’re looking for a book to pick up and put down, you will like this, but if you want something that hooks you, this isn’t the one for you

Classic romance fiction. Love the elements of bookish setting, grumpy non committal man. Great use of tropes and loved the cover palette

First of all I would just like to thank random house and jenn herself for letting me review such a wonderful summer cosy read .

I really enjoyed every bit of this book it had me hooked . For someone who lives with dyslexia I thought that jenn really hit the spot . I related to the character so much . I also thought it was brilliant how jenn had this book made with dyslexia friendly text . This is a book for the first time I felt heard and seen . I was nodding along with some of the things which was happening to the character think yes this is how it is everyday .

Thus book definitely gave me all the summer feels that i needed and I know it will for others .

I really enjoyed jenn writing and really enjoyed the story development . It was perfectly paced .

I enjoyed everything about the characters Sam and Ben reading about the love story how the characters grow together was magical .

This book will have you feeling all the summer vibes great to take on hoilday and I just hope we can get more made like this.

I'm giving this book a great big cosy summer vibes 5 stars✨️

Summer Reading

Hmm. On paper this book sounded ideal. But I struggled with a lot of it. Samantha our protagonist is a chef, she’s also dyslexic. This is where I struggled. I appreciate the need to highlight dyslexia, my husband has it. He struggles with reading and spelling particularly. He is also a deputy head teacher. It’s never held him back. It doesn’t appear to have held Sam back either - however quotes such as ‘most men run a mile when they realise I’m dyslexic’ and ‘he went back to college and came back with someone smarter’ just didn’t ring true for me. I enjoyed some parts of the book. The descriptions of Martha’s Vineyard were beautiful and Ben sounded great, although we didn’t get to know him as much as I hoped we would. I also really liked the bond between Samantha and her half brother Tyler.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book immediately caught my attention. Can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is? When I heard the male love interest was a reader and the female main character was dyslexic it sounded like a perfect read. The author made sure this book was in dyslexia friendly formatting which I appreciated as someone who works with young people with dyslexia. The whole premise of the relationship sparking between the two characters was the fact that he was a book lover and she wasn’t was just hilarious! I also loved the family relationships building throughout which really sparked off an amazing review for this book.

However, a lot of this story just fell flat for me. The characters seemed dull and repetitive, the story didn’t have much depth to it, and it just didn’t hold my attention. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t love it as much as I desired to.

I will continue reading McKinlay’s other books to see if I enjoy them more!

Samantha is spending the Summer at her Dad's house on Martha's Vineyard because her dad and stepmom are going to Europe and have asked her to stay with her half-brother, Tyler. Well, that, and she quit her job as a chef and is currently unemployed and in need of money, so it's a win-win.
Then Samantha meets Bennett Reynolds and her summer plans start to change. She is now working events at a local restaurant, reconnecting with her childhood best friend, and helping Ben hunt down his long-lost father while also, kind of, falling for him.

Summer Reading is a great beach read with some lovely family dynamics and non-romance-centric plot points. I enjoyed the plot however at points I found the dialogue slightly cringe-y even for the romance genre (which I generally love). I also felt that since, throughout the book, Ben really pushed Sam to let him in and trust him with her problems, it seemed very out of character for Ben to disappear after he got the news about his dad. For someone who seemed to be very capable of dealing with tough emotions, it didn't add up to me.

I loved that the main character wasn't a book person. It was a very needed difference from the norm while being inclusive of neurodivergence.

Overall I did like the book and it was a great summer read *wink*

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley, and Jenn McKinlay for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A really enjoyable read, and definitely suited for a summer holiday read! I loved how the author had researched so thoroughly neurodivergent brains and the impact dyslexia can have, I think readers who are dyslexic/neurodivergent hopefully will feel 'seen' with this so powerful stuff. It's also wonderful that the author pushed to have the book produced with dyslexic friendly text - all books should be like this!!

I loved the two main characters of Sam and Ben and how their love story developed, it was sweet and hot at the same time. And the additional relationship development with her younger half-sibling added to the depth of story.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

I was hooked right from the start on this one!
Loved Ben from the off and the way the relationships for Sam and her immediate group flow through the story is enchanting and so well written!

This is in many ways a classic romance story - it’s comforting - but the protagonist has dyslexia and the love interest is a librarian. I particularly liked the use of dyslexia friendly font used. I read this book in 2 sittings by the pool- it’s a perfect holiday read. I did think some of the characters were a little 2D or that their stories didn’t develop enough but overall enjoy the story and the sentiment.

I thought this book was really thought provoking, it definitely made me think about how we absorb information and why we read. I loved seeing the sibling relationship between Tyler and Sam develop too and the Sam and Ben love story was sweet.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

While my daughter has dyslexia, this book is the first time I’ve really understood the difficulties that she deals with ALL the time… so great to have a main character that is refreshingly different

Loved the relationship with her younger brother, the other islanders (Vineyarders) and the hot bloke on the ferry!!

An enjoyable summer read - If I ever re read books, then this would be a definite beach read!!

4 sunny stars !!

Great beach read!

I was so happy to get approved for this book! I love that the sexy librarian trope was turned on it's head with Ben. am and Ben are such a cute couple and I really enjoyed rooting for their romance.

This was a sweet, quick, and heartwarming read.

An absolutely stunning novel that really dives into the life of someone with dyslexia - a somewhat slow burn romance, it was incredible to see this type of representation in a fun and interesting piece of fiction. The book is beautifully written with some wonderful characters, and it had me laughing & crying in equal measures. I would read this again and again!

There were parts of the books I loved and other parts which did not sit as well.
I kived the sibling relationship and how it devekoped, I liked the growing relationship between the two main characters but felt at times it was a bit full on for such a short time knowing each other and felt the information about Sams parents and best friends did not add a huge amount. Bens mother added a different dimension but his search held more interest.

A good summer ead.

A disgruntled Sam quits her job, when she doesn't get the promotion she longed for. The story finds her returning home to look after her brother whilst her parents go on holiday. On the way home via ferry she 'literally' bumps into Ben, sending his book into the water, they get chatting he loves book but she is dyslexic, but despite this they strike up a friendship. Lots of twists and tales, but all in all a good read