title: The Summer You Were Mine
author: Jill Francis
publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
publication date: July 1, 2025
pages: 352
peppers: 3 (on this scale)
warnings: parental death in distant past
summary: Just before Emmie will leave NYC for Italy to attend her grandmother's wedding, she accidentally tells the brutal truth on the air at her podcast. Even worse, her childhood friend turned first love Cris will be there, too. It turns out, that Cris is going through a work-related crisis of his own. They wonder if he makes an appearance on her podcast, could it help revive both of their images?
tropes:
- second-chance romance
- family friends
- professional athlete
- neurodivergence
- parents' marriage on the rocks
what I liked:
- the family scenes and scenes of Italy
- both main characters' professional ordeals
- Cris's water-polo-playing/ playboy/ reality tv star twin brothers
- Emmie's relationship with her brother
- representation of autism
what I didn’t like: too quick to believe the worst without talking
overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)