(Not in Love #2)
by Ali Hazelwood
May 27, 2025
Goodreads Summary:
What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End.
Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.
Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.
It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.
But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.
When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.
Review
Even though Problematic Summer Romance did not top Deep End as my favourite Ali Hazelwood book, it still contained her signature humour and spice. I laughed so hard and had so much fun reading this one.
What I Liked:
- the cover is perfect for the book
- the endless amount of mostly harmless bad luck
- Maya’s maturity despite her younger age
- Maya knowing exactly what she wanted (and going for it)
- thoughtful Conor although he was just too serious sometimes
- the back-and-forth quips between Maya and Conor was endlessly entertaining
- surprisingly relatable doubts and fears
- sweet Rue and Eli
- best friend group
- Nyota!!
- no unnecessary drama
- unexpected cameo (Scarlett and Lukas)
The Not So Much:
- the romance was going in circles for a bit
- the ending felt a little rushed
“This ability of
his to bullshit at the drop of a hat should definitely be categorized under red
flags, but I can’t say I mind.” (p. 252)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts!