Summer in the City

A Novel

By: Alex Aster

Narrated by: Diane Guerrero

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster comes her adult debut novel Summer in the City—a swoony, fast-paced rom-com set in New York City in which a screenwriter and a sexy tech CEO go from lovers to enemies and back to lovers again…

Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.

In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.

When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay... if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.

One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.

Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.

Until it isn’t.

©2025 Alex Aster (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

A top beach read!

This book will easily be a top summer read. Romance, intrigue, relationships, NYC…it’s all there. So amazing. The audio book was fantastic.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy. I also purchased the audio book and print book too.

Main character is so hard to relate to

Listen…. I am all for women empowerment. I’m a feminist. But seriously…. I could NOT relate with this girl! No spoilers, but you’ll understand.

The love story

This is the first romance book I’ve read and first book I’ve read by Alex Aster and can’t wait to read more!! This book was amazing and by far my favorite.

Almost there

The idea of it is great, and so is a lot of the descriptive writing. The “problem” and her hating him so quickly doesn’t make sense. The narrator was not for me. It sounds like she’s reading, instead of creating a scene.

Plot!

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED! I enjoyed every single second. Adding this to my top 2025 books.

The cutest!

I was impatient and listened to the audio versus waiting for the book and it was a good decision! Narrator did a great job! Would’ve loved a duet but this was good!

The story was so cute! Like a little breath of fresh air. Very relatable. Very well written!

Enjoyed the storyline!

All in all I really enjoyed this book. I do wish that I actually read the book instead of listened to it. I think a lot was lost because of one person performing both lead characters. Two separate voices, one female and one male, would have made this listen THAT much better.

Super Cute and Surprisingly Deep

I loved the story; the characters felt real and complex, and the issues raised were equally significant. There were some similarities with Pride and Prejudice. Overall, it is a cute read with a strong message.

The perfect summer book!

Feeling in a reading slump, this book brought me right out of it. It is so good! Never felt slow or to be repetitive. It gave the perfect amount of steaminess without feeling raunchy. Loved it!

Too many troupes, and too many pieces of stories thrown into 1.

I had to fight to not DNF this. Elle was really annoying honestly. The book was like a hodge podge of every romance into 1. If she used the word center one more time…