Book Review: Problematic Summer Romance

I started reading Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood while I was away on vacation in Outer Banks last week and finished it when I got home. I always love Ali Hazelwood’s books and think it’s so amazing the range of her books!

Problematic Summer Romance is a spin-off of her novel Not in Love, which I read and loved last year. It follows Maya Killgore and Conor Harness. Maya is Eli’s younger sister and Conor is his best friend and business partner. In this novel Eli and Rue are getting married and it’s a destination wedding in Sicily, Italy. What no one knows is that 3 years ago Maya and Eli became close after he helped her out during a personal crisis she was going through. After that the two talked all the time and really got to know one another to the point of beginning to fall for one another. The problem was that Maya is Eli’s best friend’s little sister and although she’s an adult, he was uncomfortable with the age gap. She’s in her 20s and he’s in his 30s. After 3 years of secretly talking all the time, Conor decides it’s best if they keep their distance from one another and move on with their lives. Hurt, Maya stops talking to him altogether. But now they’re going to be staying at an Italian villa for a week together. Will they both be able to move on with their lives or will the week bring them back together?

I really liked this novel, though it was not my favorite Ali Hazelwood book. I loved Maya and Conor, but felt that their whole tense relationship and trying to avoid each other, but not wanting to avoid each other thing went on for too long in the book. They’re basically fighting their feelings for each other for probably 3/4 of the book. So while I loved the storyline, characters, and setting I thought the conflict dragged on for too long and I would’ve liked if more time was spent on them after they decided to make a go of it.

Overall, I did like the book and loved the characters. It was nice to be reunited with Eli and Rue again too!

Read this if you want a spicy romance with women/characters in STEM, age gap, and brother’s best friend tropes.

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