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.
PJ's Thoughts:
This book. What an absolute delight. Aster takes her characters on a lovers (Okay, not really lovers. More of an instant connection make-out session with the lovers potential that goes south when he says something incredibly insulting) - to enemies - to forced proximity - to fake relationship - to (actual) lovers journey that dialed me in and kept me engaged every step of the way.
I couldn't put this book down. No, really. I read it in one day with a smile on my face the entire time. It's incredibly immersive. The chemistry, the sparkling banter, the swoony, slow-burn romance. How could I not root for these two? I was with Elle and Parker every step of the way. These two complex, fully-dimensional characters had me experiencing all the emotions. I don't want to give away spoilers because this journey deserves to be experienced as it unfolds across the pages so I'll just say that I love Elle's layers and the emotional evolution she undergoes, how she finds her voice and the courage to use it. Parker's evolution is equally enjoyable. I love how he nudges - okay, drags - Elle out of her comfort corner, his unexpected confession, and the decisions he makes when he finally begins to understand what really matters. And I love, love, love that the author took her time with them, gifting readers with this gem of a story that is one of my favorites this year.
While Elle and Parker are the lead characters of this book, there's another one that is just as important: New York City. In many ways, Aster has not only written a romance between Parker and Elle but also a love letter to this vividly and vibrantly depicted city that brings them together. It even made me, a person who craves wide open spaces, want to buy an airline ticket, rent an apartment, and experience all the pleasures of summer in the city. Except running. I draw the line at running.
If you're looking for a fun, steamy, can't-put-it-down story that keeps you flipping pages late into the night while dreaming of New York City pizza, champagne galas, early mornings in Central Park, found friendships, heroes who cook (yay!), cozy coffee shops, and hard-won happy endings, go no further than Alex Aster's Summer in the City. It has my highest, joyful recommendation.
Have you visited New York City?
If money were no object, where would you choose to spend a summer in the city?
One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, April 3 will receive a beautiful hardcover copy of Alex Aster's Summer in the City.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
