Contemporary Romance Review: Summer Reading | Jenn McKinlay

Pick this book up for the cover alone (adorable!), but stay for the neurodivergent lead, hunky librarian, and the complicated messy family relationships that will charm you.

Samantha Gale leaves behind a disappointing career moment as a chef to spend the summer in Martha’s Vineyard at her family’s tine cottage hoping to reinspire her career. That was before she knew she’d be stuck chaperoning her half-brother Tyler—a total brainiac who plans to spend his summer in a robotics competition at the local library.

Sam is dyslexic and the library isn’t a place she has found comfort or belonging in the past. But in a twist of fate, an awkward incident on the ferry ride over causes Sam to meet a very attractive man (whose book she happened to ruin) named Bennett Reynolds. Coincidentally, he is also the interim director at the library.

Bennett isn’t just coming to Martha’s Vineyard for the library, though. He is looking to find his father whom he’s never known. All he knows about the man is that his mother got pregnant with him while on that very island.

The summer is full of events. Sam and her brother find kinship against all odds, old friendships are rekindled, Sam is inspired to find a new direction for her career, and of course, she finds love with Bennett. Sometimes a summer getaway is so much more than you could ever expect!

I enjoyed seeing a non-traditional leading character. Particularly one with dyslexia, which I learned more about through reading this book. The story is told in the first-person format so I felt I got to learn more about Sam’s struggles through her own experience, rather than being told.

Sam is a relatable heroine—she’s a funny, a bit insecure, smart, and lost right now. She’s looking for what is next for her in life, and that’s a struggle many of us have been through at one point (or several) in our lives. The time on the island is restorative for Sam in more ways than one.

Sam and Bennett have great chemistry. Bennett is a romance hero written for women, and it made the story fun to read because of course you’re going to root for them. Bennett reads to Sam, Sam teaches Bennett and Tyler to dance. So many charming moments! I also liked Bennett’s story about searching for his father. The setting is a bonus (and a welcome one!).

One additional add—the author not only took care in writing a dyslexic character, but she also wrote the published book format to be accessible to readers with neurodivergence. This was an extra caring touch that I want to commend the author and publisher for.

The food, the island setting, the love story—this will deliver everything you could want from a contemporary romance book!

About the Book | Summer Reading

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’s dyslexic, 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.

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About the Author | Jenn McKinlay

Jenn McKinlay is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. She is also the winner of the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for romantic comedy and the Fresh Fiction award for best cozy mystery. Her work has been translated into multiple languages in countries all over the world. A TEDx speaker, she is always happy to talk books, writing, reading, and the creative process to anyone who cares to listen. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with kids, pets, and her husband’s guitars.