Summer Reading

De: Jenn McKinlay

Narrado por: Kelsey Navarro Foster

When a woman who’d rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.

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 has dyslexia, 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.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains recipes from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Jenn McKinlay (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"With the light touch of a whisk-you-away rom com, Summer Reading explores some of the most important relationships in our lives. The characters are fresh and beautifully drawn, and the chemistry is magic. It’s the perfect summer vacation." —Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script

"Summer Reading is a pure delight! Has all the elements of a perfect story: small island setting, a feisty yet vulnerable heroine, and a nerdy hero who stole my heart." —Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author of Our Italian Summer

“Add to this McKinlay’s flair for capturing just how family and friends can make us feel both vulnerable and strong, conveyed in breezy writing buoyed by quippy banter and sizzling sexual chemistry, and you have a book that is pure reading bliss in any season.” —Booklist (starred review)

Not the best

I listen to a lot of Jennifer McKinley books and I usually LOVE them, and listen to them multiple times. I picked this book because the main character is neurodivergent, and so am I. I have ADHD so I thought the concept was neat. That being said, this book was not the best. It started sooooo slow and the narrator took a while to really get into reading the story. The Narrator just really didn’t keep my attention. It did pickup and get better the last 2 hours, but it was a struggle to even get to that point. 3/5 stars, wouldn’t listen again.

Terrible narrator

I had to go read the print version. I couldn’t take the constant breathy endings of words. Ugh.

Well crafted characters

Having read many of Jenn Mckinlay’s books, I’ve come to expect strong main characters. She does a great job of portraying warm but realistic family relationships. Her teal life as a “boy mom” is on full display in this novel. The teen brother of the main character is a delight and spot on.

The perfect summer read

🌊📖 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙮 @mckinlayjenn 🌊📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
🎧 11 hrs. 17 mins.

“ ℋ𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝒾𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝒽𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒, 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓉’𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔.”

✨𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
This book was excellent for a quick and cute summer read. I loved the plot, I loved the characters, and I was instantly hooked from the beginning. Sam and Ben’s chemistry is off the charts! I love how the male main character is the bookworm and I love how he would read books to Sam to share his love for books. I love that Sam recommended to her best friend Emily and how they supported each other and I loved how she bonded with her little brother Tyler. This story was so cute! I couldn’t get enough. @mckinlayjenn did an excellent job at bringing awareness to people who suffer from dyslexia 👏🏻.

When Sam comes home for the summer after being laid off her job, the summer she thought she would have was completely different. Sam’s a chef who happens to be dyslexic. She hates reading only because she can’t read the works due to her disability. She’s spending the summer back in her hometown of Martha’s Vineyard. Ben is a librarian on a quest to find his father. What they both least expect is a summer fling. This book is perfect to read right now as we are in the heart of summer, highly recommended.

❤️𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙀𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
-Summer Romances
-Book Nerds
-Chefs
-Opposites Attrack
-Love At First Sight

Elementary at best

Very basic writing. I felt like I was reading a 6th grade essay. As a mom of dyslexic kiddos, who struggles from dyslexia as well, I was excited for this book, but if I hear neurodivergent one more time, I’m going to scream.

Less victim mentality, more reality please.

Made me cringe

The term “neurodivergent” was so overused I wanted to pull my hair out. I’m a mom of a child with dyslexia and thought this had potential to be great…it fell short. The reader’s voice also didn’t work for me- Even speeding it up didn’t help. Overall I liked the story, it was just a little hard for me to move past those things.

Perfect summer story

Loved this book. It made my 2 hour a day commute just fly by. Samantha and Bens story was great but I really think I loved the sibling bond Between her and her brother even more! I wasn’t a fan of the narrator and really hope the next book has a different one and I hope the next Book is about Emily!

25 yr. Old Summer

Easy read about a summer of unexpected happenings. Fun to read and takes you to an easy summer.

Great for dyslexic readers and reading

Great for dyslexic readers and reading. I love that you did so much research about dyslexia.

Meh 🫤

For those who raved about this book especially for its spice… I’m genuinely worried for you. Are you okay? For the plot, I loved the concept. Any reading/writing adjacent career or hobby being present in books is a plus simply because I can connect as an avid reader. I like Samantha and I really did like Ben. I loved the storyline of sibling bonding and found it to be endearing. Honestly had me missing my little brother and made me want to pick up the phone and call him. He’s also a teen and I am much older than him and for that subplot I was here for. The main plot had so much potential but for me really just fell flat. The search for Ben’s father was lackluster at best. And I’m not neurodivergent but if I was I’d be pretty insulted by how negatively it’s talked about by the main character who is herself, dyslexic. This is not a criticism of the authors writing. I understand stories sort of just develop on their own. Characters become real and thus the story begins to write itself. I would love to read another book by Jenn McKinley, this one in particular was simply not for me.

And it should be mentioned that… your neurodivergent brain is not a defining factor about you. I’m sure it comes with its challenges and like anything creates an insecurity that could rule you if you let it. But lots of people live with dyslexia and/or ADHD without it being something they have to brace other people for before bonding or forming a relationship. Like any obstacle that people live with, once you learn your way around it/through it, it no longer becomes a thing you hate but something you embrace as a part of you that makes you, YOU. I struggled reading all through grade school. I wear glasses and my eyes would hurt and tire with reading within seconds literally maybe not even a full sentence… not after a decent amount of time. I also lacked comprehension skills and that made my reading struggle all the more difficult. It was something I refused to address with the adults in my life and one particular teacher was harsh about it. But it didn’t define me. I was less than or carried it as a weight holding me down. Like the MMC points out, my brain had to become hyperaware of my surroundings and I had to listen in school more than others. I had to study twice as long in college if not more. It came with its challenges but also its advantages. I’m very perceptive and can read body language very well. I can puzzle piece my way through most things with little details and draw accurate conclusions quicker because I had to. But what I’m not doing is bracing myself each time I meet someone to say “hey just in case you weren’t aware, I wear glasses, have comprehension issues, and struggle to read because of that… please don’t abandon me”. That’s ridiculous. And honestly it’s their loss. 👏🏼

Also, for those struggling with the narration, don’t DNF the book so quickly. Try 1.20 - 1.35 speed and see if that helps you get past the breathy inflection after sentences and specific words. After about 5 chapters it faded to the background and I wasn’t so alert to it.