Book Review #153: Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

 

Maya is 23 and figuring out her life, Conor is 38 with everything figured out. When they become forced together to celebrate Maya's brother's destination wedding, Maya can't help but feel that a summer romance with Conor is exactly what she needs - even if it's problematic.

I'd heard good things about this book, and as a Hazelwood fan it was always going to be on my list. That being said, because I didn't love the first book in the series, Not In Love, I was a bit sceptical.

Unfortunately I didn't love this one either.

That being said, I did like being back with the characters from the first book, particularly because we got to hear more from people who were only mentioned a few times in the first book. Though there were still some supporting characters that I wanted to hear more from.

I also really liked the setting. The idea of taking the characters away from academia and work, and seeing a different side to them in a new environment was really interesting.

It took me a long time to really get into the story. At about the halfway mark it didn't feel like there was any kind of romance on the horizon, problematic or not. The will they/won't they lasts way longer than it needs to. 

I never felt any feelings about Maya and Conor as a couple, it didn't really matter to me whether they got together or not. And while I felt the longing from Maya, I wasn't convinced by Conor. I felt the same way in the first book, one person in the couple wants the relationship much more than the other, and that doesn't really work for me.

There were lines that felt thrown in to satisfy romance fans, rather than actually being authentic to the characters. And while we're on that, some of the slang used throughout felt really out of place.

The arguments and conflicts were circular, going around and around with no resolution. Then after about 350 pages they just decide it doesn't matter, rather than anything actually changing.

And then it took too long to wrap everything up. Once the characters have made up their minds, what more do we need to know?

Overall, this one wasn't for me. I liked going back to these characters, and I had no problem with the age gap, but the way it played out just made things feel repetitive. And as much as I wanted to root for the couple, I didn't care about them as much as I wanted to.

2.5/5