We’ve all been there, right? Young, with hopes and dreams of making it big. Maybe even as well balancing this with a long-term relationship, that’s fraying at the seams while you both commit to your careers. Well, Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell follows Sawyer who is doing just that... okay, not just that, she’s worried her fiancé is having an affair too.

But she’s not alone, Nick, the other collateral damage from this apparent affair suspects so too. Summer Fridays couldn’t have come at a better time for these two, to get together and reflect on their assumptions and figure out their next steps. But as the temperature soars within New York, it seems too that things are getting a little hot in Sawyer and Nick’s friendship too.

Dubbed as You’ve Got Mail for a new generation, Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell takes us back to 1999 when dial up internet, emails and instant messaging was all the rage. And in true You’ve Got Mail style, after having read this book, I give you this: You’ve Got A 5 Star Book Incoming.

So here I am, having finished this book. I’ve read the acknowledgements, I’ve placed my kindle down, and I’m just staring into a blank space. My heart is calming down from being taken to ecstatic elation one moment to unbearable heartbreak the next and back again. I’m aware that I’ll being thinking of this story, Sawyer and Nick for time to come. And that’s how I know this is a 5-star read for me. No scratch that, a 6-star read. So, I made that pre-order purchase.

I relate to Sawyer, as a young adult struggling to assertively establish her place in the world, but her sarcastic, witty banter cemented my love for her. Nick, I grew to love too, after a rocky start, but I quoted so many of his words. Not only his wisdom, but his vulnerability and courage to lay himself bare too.

I live for lyrical, poetic writing and I am a sucker for quotes to take with me, and when I experience it it’s like the hit, I feel like taking the first bite of my favourite chocolate. Suzanne didn’t just give me a teasing first bite, not even a whole bar, she gave me the whole damn chocolate factory.

I think what propelled this story to a 6-star review, and one that I’ll keep close to my heart when I reread it again and again, is when we propel to the future to 2001, where New York is reeling from September 11th. I feel as though this sends home the message I received from the book, which is parallel perhaps to the character development we witness through Sawyer. To take that leap of faith, lead the life YOU want to live, not what you ought to do for others. But also, to know when you find home within a person, to be grateful that you have found that person and to hold and keep them close. Cause in that message, the fragility of life also lingers.

I thoroughly recommend this novel to others, and I am so grateful to have read Suzanne’s work. Suzanne has just gained another follower, a loyal admirer of her work. Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for sending this book for review consideration.

I was so charmed by this wonderful book. I was instantly immersed in the setting of New York at the end of the last century and thought it was so well done. Sawyer is a great character, extremely likable without ever being a Mary Sue, and her love story with Nick was perfectly paced and engrossing.

I can't remember the last time I was this engrossed in a work of women's fiction. The setting, New York in the late 90's, was so beautifully presented - what it might have been to live in the city that never sleeps before the advent of social media! It felt like a real love letter to the city, to such an extent that NYC became a character all on its own. It had a whimsical and retro feel that I adored and the strong sense of setting meant that I felt totally immersed in the story. I loved Sawyer, although I did find her frustratingly passive at times, and Nick was also a wonderful layered character. It is well written, well paced and there are some particularly beautiful passages about the city itself. To me it was quite reminiscent of an Emily Giffin novel and would be a great escapist summer read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.