Sam has never brought her fiancé to her parents' long island summer house. It's where she met her first big love, Wyatt, who's family lived next door to them. The break-up was hard and she just doesn't want to be reminded of him, even now, years later. She's only here to show Jack how her family spends the summers and to appease her mom with looking at wedding venues the couple would never go for anyways. Turns out the house next door isn't empty this summer. Wyatt's there. And Sam wishes she could be anywhere else.
This was a cute read. I can imagine this as the right fit if you're looking for something light and lightweight to read on the beach. I liked most of the characters and the writing, but found some of the plot choices quite cliché and over-used which made me unable to root for the final couple. The ending therefore also was a bit disappointing for me, but overall I enjoyed my time reading!

This was such a nice, nostalgic read! I have heard really good things about Nora Goes Off Script, Monaghan's romance from last year, and this newest once is just as good from the looks of it. I've really been enjoying a first love trope in my romances recently, and I thought Monaghan wrote it really strongly here. Whether it was because I struggled to really ever root for Sam's fiance Jack, or because the chemistry between Wyatt and Sam was simply too strong, I found myself speeding through this in order to find out whether the childhood sweethearts would end up back with each other. I really enjoyed the pacing of this novel - Monaghan didn't use up too much space talking about Wyatt and Sam as kids, but skillfully referred back to their summer of love in order to show how they are meant to come back to one another. I loved Sam's family dynamic too, and honestly just wish for more!

Second chance romance ✔️
Summer beach setting ✔️
Childhood friends to lovers ✔️
Dual timelines ✔️
Dual POV ✔️

This had all of the ingredients of my favourite kind of book but while I really enjoyed it, it didn’t quite live up to some of my favourites that are similar so that lowered the rating for me.

The scenery descriptions were gorgeous and I quite enjoyed their childhood/teenage years timeline but I wish we had more of them together in the ‘now’ timeline. I wanted some depth to their story but it felt a little rushed, particularly the ending. I loved the setting, her parents beach house sounded like so much fun (as did her parents) and I now need a beautiful treehouse overlooking a beach.
I was a little confused how in all the years they didn’t see each other, she never heard about his career or saw him mentioned on TV or social media.. that was a little unbelievable.

Overall I did like it and I think it’s a good beach read to take on holiday. I’m really looking forward to reading Nora Goes Off Script as I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Same Time Next Summer, by Annabel Monaghan, was a sun soaked delight. It’s a duel timeline narrative which I simply love, especially in a second chance romance. It’s a quick read that will have you longing to be at the beach.

Same Time Next Summer is the story of Sam, who seems to have her life totally on track. She’s got a solid job, a handsome fiancé and is heading back to get families beach house on Long Island to talk wedding plans. Only she hadn’t encountered seeing Wyatt, the man who broke her heart when they were teens. As their irresistible spark comes rushing back, so do the memories of long nights spent in the treehouse - and of the summer that changed everything.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this book was Sam’s journey in rediscovering who was is and who she could be. After having her heart broken she becomes a new person who tries to protect herself from anything that could shatter her again. But in doing so she’s inadvertently boxed herself in and lost her spark. I loved watching her rediscover who she was and find the joy in her life again .

Now, this is a love triangle which I know isn’t for everyone, but I will say it’s done really well. Whilst Sam’s fiancé Jack is perfect on paper it’s clear he’s not perfect for her, Wyatt on the other hand, well he sees Sam for who she is and is totally accepting of her. I loved how decent he was and that he wouldn’t let anything happen whilst she’s still with Jack. The yearning and longing between them was done so well. It takes Sam a while to get where she needs to be, but it’s a great journey. Also I have to give a nod to her Grandma who knew what was up all along!

As for the location, wow Monaghan sure knows how to transport us to Long Beach. It was almost as though you could feel the sand under your toes and the waves gently lapping at the shore, I loved it.

This is a perfect summer read.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this ARC! I had an amazing time with this one!

This is a contemporary romance following Sam who has returned to the beach house she used to visit every summer with her family to pick out a wedding venue with her fiancé. On paper everything looks perfect, she has a well paying job and a successful fiancé but there is a reason she hasn’t visited the beach house since she was seventeen and that reason happens to show up at the same time. Wyatt has known Sam since she was five and he was six and they spent every summer together living next door at their beach houses and swimming in the ocean. Each summer they got closer and closer together until one moment tore them apart. In the present Sam is forced to question whether this perfect, step by step life is the one she really wants or is she meant to be the free spirited person she was as a teenager?

This was summer in a book. I could feel the warmth of the sun, smell the ocean, feel the sand between my toes. This is the PERFECT beach read. This book is told in past and present timelines which as you may already know I absolutely love. The story was told in a way that allowed you to connect with Sam and Wyatt and to root for their relationship. A lot of the problems I see in second chance romances are that authors spend a lot of time developing the relationship the characters had in the past without fleshing out their current relationship ten or twenty years later. This was not the case with this book. The chemistry and tension between Sam and Wyatt could still be felt in the present and honestly I wanted her to bin Jack (her fiancé) from the start which shows the author did a good job!

I loved Sam as a character and I loved watching her rediscover herself and take back her life. I liked being able to see the contrast in her personality in the past and present and how she was finding her way back to her true self. Wyatt at times really annoyed me and was incredibly selfish but at the same time he was eighteen and his life was falling apart so we have to cut him some slack. The writing was also really beautiful but not in an over the top way if that makes sense?

I recommend this to anyone looking for the perfect summer/beach read and a second chance romance done well. I’m so excited to read more from this author because she knows how to write a good romance you can get invested in with complex characters. Every romance fan should pick this up!
Release date: 6th June 2023

By god, this book was exactly what I needed. Second love romance, friends to lovers, teenage to adult love. It was pure perfection. This is my second read from this author, and I was weary going into this, as I thought it'd ruin my experience I had with the first one, because it was such a good read. But no! It was just as cute and wholesome and okay, painful sometimes, and by the end it just felt like a warm hug.

The bond between the two main characters, was out of this world, you could clearly see that they had something unique, something that time and all other external factors cannot wither away. And despite knowing how things should go, or wanted them to, the fact that there were so many layers to them, it made them feel so very real.

This is a beautiful romance book, one that lovers of this trope will absolutely love.

I found fhis to be quite an enjoyable read! The story was very cute, and I fell in love with Wyatt. However, I didn't quite like the main character. I felt like she could have made some decisions way earlier on, and it kind of felt like it was dragging along now.

Same Time Next Summer s the perfect holiday read and had me wanting to head for a beach immediately, book in one hand, cold drink in the other. Sadly that wasn’t an option but I spent several wonderful hours in the garden reading this truly delightful book!

It is a story of first love, first heartbreak and second chance romance full of wonderful characters and one I guarantee will leave you with a smile on your face.

Sam’s life is pretty sorted – she has a good job in New York and is engaged to Jack, a doctor and an all-round good guy (if perhaps a little rigid ……). Whilst planning their wedding they travel to Long Island to her family’s beach house, where she spent her summers growing up.

What she doesn’t expect is to encounter Wyatt, her first love who she hasn’t seen for thirteen years since he broke her heart in a messy break up. Memories come flooding back and soon Sam finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about what she wants from life.

I read Monaghan’s previous book, Nora Goes Off Script , last summer and loved it – there is something about her writing style that draws you in and makes her books ones you don’t want to put down.

The story is told in dual timelines, Then and Now, and it keeps you turning the pages to learn all about Sam and Wyatt’s history. I loved seeing their growth over the years, and Sam’s eccentric family ensured an entertaining supporting cast.

The beach setting is so evocative and the book really does take you back to long, lazy summers growing up and the heady excitement of first love. It is truly a fun read and confirms that Monaghan is now an auto-buy author for me!

Tropes: Second Chance, Childhood Friends to Lovers,

This book took me right to the beach - I could feel the sand beneath my toes, the sun cream on my skin and the sea salt in my hair. This location seems to be a trend in romances this year, as well as angsty second chance romances. I was a bit dubious as I was let down by the other two (Happy Place - I'm looking at you), but I shouldn't have been.

Monaghan did an incredible job and really pulled off the second chance angst. Often, authors either make the initial break up too real (and so I don't want them to get together) or they make it so low stakes that there is no angst. Same Time Next Summer has perfected the balance, and I couldn't get enough of it.

Watching Sam and Wyatt grow as people and grow together was a delight. A truly romantic, swoony romance. I adored it.

Thank you to Annabel Monaghan, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

The sun is starting to shine in the UK and this is the perfect summer beach read. This book was such a delight to read and such a good book about first love.

I was so excited to pick up this book as it has some of my favorite tropes: childhood friends to lovers mixed with a second chance. Plus it's set in the summer!☀️ I loved the writing style and the love story of Sam and Wyatt and how they found their way back to each other. But what I loved, even more, was watching Sam's journey and discovering what she wants in life.
One thing that did bother me was the fact that she was engaged to someone else while still clearly having feelings for Wyatt. The ending was a bit rushed but overall it was a really good book, perfect for summer ⛱️
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Same Time Next Summer" is a heartwarming second-chance romance that will leave you with a smile on your face. The story follows Sam and Wyatt, who unexpectedly reconnect after a messy breakup when Sam returns home to plan her wedding to Jack. As they finally reconnect after radio silence for years, Sam's carefully crafted life begins to unfold as they discuss their past and confront the choices that separated them.

Annabelle Monaghan skillfully captures the essence of summer, with nostalgic charm and vivid descriptions. With well-developed characters and a jucy plot, this book delivers a delightful escape for summer.


Thank you Netgally for the ARC

This is a second chance romance, friends-to-lovers book which are some of my FAVOURITE romance tropes. I was already anticipating the release of this book so when I was given an advance reader copy, I was super excited. It didn’t disappoint 🫶🏻.
This book NEEDS to be your summer read this year. It had me hooked; the characters are so real and wonderful. We have realistic dialogue, a story that is inspiring, relatable, and heart warming, and a couple that you can really root for. The writing was so clear and alive; Annabel Monaghan writes with a beautiful fluidity that kept me picking up the book at every opportunity. I can’t wait to read more of her work. 🤍

Same Time Next Summer was the perfect mix of second-chance romance and personal growth to make up the ultimate summer read. The flashbacks to the past reminded me of The Summer I Turned Pretty in the best way, while the current timeline focused on personal growth and a little romance. As someone in my late 20s who sometimes feels a little lost, I definitely related to Sam in her personal journey as well. It can be easy to let other people decide what is best for you.
The growing up that both Sam and Wyatt went through felt genuine and earned and I’m so glad they got their happily ever after.

Almost as good as Nora goes off script. I really like the writing style and the characters in her books. It is just so much fun and makes me feel ready for summer!!! I loved the setting!!!

Oh Sam. She's avoided spending more than a few days at her family's beach house on Long Island since a traumatic event when she was a teen but now she's more or less stuck there for a week with er fiance Jack- and her teenage love Wyatt (the boy next door) is back as well. Sam's meant to be looking at a wedding venue but she can't quite seem to get there. This moves back and forth in time to tell the story of the Sam-Wyatt relationship. Wyatt's living in LA, writing songs, and "working at a Shell station," but as Sam discovers, there's a lot more to him. Jack is a precise guy and a good one but is he the right one? He's a man who never goes into the water at the beach. Or is is Wyatt, who worked with her on her shell collection? This is very much a second chance romance where you have to suspend belief that Sam would never have googled Wyatt or checked for him on social media. They're both good characters and you'll like her family and their chaos. Quibble- Sam's job problems feel trope-y (although the root of the issue is entertaining) and her choice, her calling comes out of left field. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's a good read.

I loved Nora Goes Off Script so was really excited for a summery beach read! Unfortunately it just didn't have the same oomph that I was looking for.

The flashbacks didn't seem to add much to the story and took up a lot of room that could have been used to flesh out the plot and characters a bit more. I didn't feel like I was rooting for Sam and Wyatt to get together as there wasn't much of a slow burn that was needed for this sort of second-chance story. It also made me uncomfortable with how flirtatious and swoony Sam got with Wyatt when she was still engaged - it's always a personal turn-off for romance books as it was definitely bordering on cheating.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I loved Nora Goes Off Script and wanted to love this one also. Unfortunately I didn't love it but I enjoyed it.

The reasons I didn't love it was because it felt a bit rushed in the end and it felt too short. Also, I have a problem with main characters who constantly lies to themselves and have no self-awareness. They can be very exhausting sometimes 😅 That's just my personal view.

The things I enjoyed was the setting on Long Island and the side characters who were special 🥰 Sam and Wyatt's love story was sweet but I can't say I thought they were superexciting 🙈

All in all, it's a great beach read and I encourage you to read it even if it's not as good as Nora Goes Off Script.

Sam and Wyatt were perfect for each other. Having spent every summer next door to each other as kids, their friendship grew to love until one day, thanks to the bad behaviour of the adults surrounding them, their love was no more.

I loved Annabel Monaghan's debut last year, so I was eager to read Same Time Next Year. This book is about Sam's healing fourteen years after Wyatt breaks her heart. Having eschewed any long-stays at the same family holiday house or any communication about Wyatt (this becomes an important plot line), she returns to plan her wedding, after pressure from her family to stay.

Sam is a very different woman, where she was once a free spirit, she's now buttoned up and conforming her her fiance's very specific tastes. It's a slow-burn second chance, as I got closer to the end I honestly was unsure where the story would go, as Sam is reluctant to change from the rigid persona she's crafted as a result from her trauma. The chemistry is still there, but Sam is now engaged and her heart can't let herself be hurt again.

This book is like one of Wyatt's songs, it will break your heart, make you angry (both Sam's psychologist and fiance), but overall it will give you the swoons, especially after I you think all hope was lost.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

This book is your quintessential second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers summer read. Based at a beach house in Long Island, this book has all the beachy, summer romance vibes.

The maturity difference in Sam and Wyatt in the ‘Then’ vs ‘Now’ chapters was really realistic considering what they went through (no spoilers here!) and helped to explain their ‘Now’ decisions perfectly.

The ending felt a little rushed, but I feel satisfied in that every character got their happy ever after.