Unfortunately, Summer of Love just wasn’t for me. I really liked the premise and I’m usually all in when it comes to stories built around reality shows, but this one just didn’t hold my attention.

I found it difficult to get into. There were just too many characters introduced too quickly, and not enough momentum or action to keep me invested in what was happening. I can see how others might enjoy the concept and setting, but it just didn’t click for me.

That said, I’m still open to trying more from this author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

Just read this ARC in one sitting and omg it was so flipping cute!! It felt like being behind the scenes for an entire season of love island and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. This is the perfect beach read. And the guys love story was so sweet I would love a book 2.

I think that this book is PERFECT for fans of Love Island but alas I have never been interested in the program or seen an episode. I was hoping that the LGBTQ+ aspect of the book would have sold it to me. But it just fell short for me. There are some brilliant character in this and the writing was a breeze to read through. But it sadly wasn’t for me.

Thank you netgally, Canelo and Lily Easton for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I used to watch love island with my mom so this book gave me all the feels.

It started off with the dedication “for anyone who needs a queer love story with a happy ending”. When I first started reading queer romances it were mostly the tragic ones so it makes my heart so happy to read queer stories with happy endings.

When I started reading I was very curious how everything was going to play out. They were all coupled up with girls and I didn’t know how Declan and Oliver would fall for each other, especially with cameras on them 24/7. I was also worried that they would string along the girls to win but I’m very happy how everything played out. I’m also happy Oliver didn’t have a inner crisis when he found out he liked Oliver. I understand for some people it’s a very hard thing to realize but I personally like the chill “that makes sense” reactions way more.

I liked the “rivals to lovers” trope. The moment Oliver realized Declan was playing it up for the show and Oliver started going along with the act was fun. Especially when they got the best bromance on the show. Not to forget the romance between them, I had so much fun reading about them.

I liked the relationships everyone built with all the other contestants. Niall and Stella were to cute. I thought it was very interesting how the show was about “finding love” but of course drama is way better for viewer engagement so they were having a hard time in the villa with management.

One thing I liked a little less were the games they played for the show. I know they are part of the love island experience but they didn’t seem worked out enough. The game where the boys and girls were in separate villas and the first assignment was for a new girl to lick a condiment off of one of the boys bodies kinda gave me the ick.

What also kinda bothered me was adding James for the dramatic effect but most of the time I forgot Zoe and James were even in the villa. I also expected James to use the leverage he had on Declan so I was really surprised when he didn’t.

I did like that we got one chapter from Paige’s pov. Especially because of the realization she got when Oliver left. I think she was so focused on her job she completely forgot they were real people with lives outside of the villa.

All in all, it’s a very fun summer read. Especially if you like love island with a queer twist :)

declan is really cool and a great character, and most of the side characters are too, but ollie doesn't have much depth which leads to the romance never feeling fully convincing. 3.5, rounded up. tysm for the arc.

4 stars
gay love island I mean obviously this was gonna be a book I loved. The chemistry was great between the characters.

Declan and Oliver are the two main characters in Summer of Love. They are participating in a reality TV show where a boy and a girl are expected to match off and find love. I guess. That the two male leads find love is the real arc of the story and the dating game mostly window dressing. I would like to have seen the romance take off in another setting, as the dating show was boring for me.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

While I'm not a huge fan of watching reality TV dating shows like Love Island, I 100% LOVE reading fictionalised accounts. Especially if one or more of the love interests are queer and even MORE if it's a queer-awakening for a love interest. This books hit that mark!

I thought Declan and Oliver were great characters, flaws and weaknesses fully-fleshed out. Oliver's bisexual awakening felt a bit rushed and I was hoping for a big dramatic reconciliation that didn't happen but all-in-all this was a fantastic, highly entertaining read.

All the side contestants are in the show are great--perhaps a few too many to be able to totally keep track of, but I find that when I struggle to watch Love Island anyway. But I loved everyone's friendships and dynamics, especially when the show wraps.

It's a bit obvious is some places that the authors aren't British but not enough to pull me out of the story.

I would recommend, this is a great, cute read with very summer/beach feels.

Imagine Two Male Love Island Contestants Falling For Each Other..

When Declan King joins Summer of Love, he expects a boost for his halted boxing career - and for his biggest secret to remain just that. Oliver Wright, freshly single ballet dancer, on the other hand is looking to win the prize money - and maybe the girl. What neither of them considered was the way Paige, a junior producer on the show, is willing to risk everything in order to succeed and make the show The Event of the year!

I have to admit that I struggled with Summer of Love, the debut of two authors working under the pen name Lily Easton. I found Declan and Oliver to be great protagonists, their points of view unique and captivating. This made the latter half of the book a great read.
The first half however felt choppy. The scenes were too short, the setup felt wrong and drawn-out. Since the novel is meant to take place during the filming of a Reality TV show, the style of the scenes in the first half reminded me more of a prose script. It would probably make great TV - but great reading it does not make.
The behind-the-scenes aspect of the novel is well written, the production of a reality show just as scripted as most prime time dramas. The other contestants and production personnel are introduced too fast and are not fleshed out well enough (even Paige, a third POV character has nothing more going for her than her career). I simply wish the other characters got a little more time to become endearing to the reader, as I found myself not caring about the show and the contest at all.
There are also occasionally smaller issues such as adjectives not doing their adjectiving and jumps in POV that take too long to be established.
I think this novel would have made a good romcom screenplay (the first half) or a nice novella (the second half). As it is, it is unfortunately neither here nor there and the reader has to struggle through the majority of the book before it becomes what it is wanting to be - a very sweet M/M love story with complex characters and surprising turns of event.

This book was a dating show romance where both the MMC fall in love. I really loved the idea of the book and thought the plot was good. It is a different book that I would normally choose to read but I do love a romance so thought I would try it out. I adored both main characters and loved their story but just found it slow at times. Overall I would recommend this book if you love reality tv shows like love island and queer romance books.

No surprise to anyone who knows me, but I love reality television specifically romance shows. I also know, surprised, considering how many romance novels I read.

I don’t understand why this book is rated 3.2 stars, and I suspect it is because the people reading it are not fans of reality TV. Because this is such a well done written rendition of reality TV show, and it is an utter delight.

It is not spicy, but it is really intimate in a heartwarming way. I enjoy the behind-the-scenes of show making, I already knew a bit about how manufactured everything is, but now I can better understand just how emotional and messy those shows get considering the contestants are exhausted & have likely filmed repeats of any major non-candid scene.

It is rare that I read a romance novel where the couple faces struggles, and I am rooting for both of them. Go Declan. Go Oliver!

I can’t remember the last time I binged a book in one sitting—I was LOCKED IN. The plot of this book is so similar to one of my favourite fanfics that I just ate it up😅

Oliver and Declan had my heart. The stolen glances and moments between them had me kicking my feet. But I do wish we got more on page moments between them as their relationship developed. However, I did eat up every crumb the author provided👀

I really enjoyed the peak at the behind the scenes of the reality show, it really showed just how set up and fake everything is and reminded me why I don’t watch shows like love island😂 It was super fun to read though!

I requested and received an aARC of Summer of Love by Lily Easton via NetGalley. Declan King, a professional boxer, joins the cast of the UK's top reality show Summer of Love at his best friend Chloe's suggestion. When Chloe drops out of the competition, Declan's plan begins to crumble. And when he finds himself most attracted to fellow male contestant, Oliver Wright, the whole thing goes up in smoke. Oliver is a ballet dancer competing for the prize money so that he can move to New York to win back his ex-girlfriend. But when his on-screen friendship with Declan leads to a behind-the-scenes kiss, things become much more complicated than either man anticipated.

Love reality television, love romance, love when those worlds collide in such a fun way. I didn’t necessarily feel an immediate attachment to either Declan or Oliver, but I was able to see positive qualities in both men. What delighted me, however, was the novel’s premise and the interesting cast of characters on Summer of Love who I enjoyed getting to know while I read the novel. There’s a lot of humor in the book, making it the perfect sort of light, summer romance read. There were couples I rooted for and contestants I rooted again which really this book an exciting experience.

I really liked Oliver and Declan individually. Oliver is a very sweet character, and it was impossible not to pity him after learning the details of his breakup with Sophie prior to joining the cast of the show. I also really enjoyed Declan’s backstory, even if he was a bit more difficult to cheer on during the story due to his own self-destructive behavior. I enjoyed the way their relationship developed, but I couldn’t help but wish they spent more time connecting on the page.

3.5⭐️

I won’t lie’ the premise sounded so good and I love MM romances so I wanted to give this one a shot. I did enjoy the relationship between our two main characters (Declan and Oliver)! I also thought the setting was unique because I haven’t read many books about reality shows similar to this concept. That is pretty much where my enjoyable list of things end… The side characters didn’t have enough depth to them so I felt like I never truly connected with them. To some degree, the characters all seemed to blur together aside from our main couple. The writing was solid and the only bad thing about it was the singular quotation mark use (whatever it’s called) but that’s a more personal preference than anything.

Straight reality tv show but two male contestants fall in for each other. A perfect chance for a funny plot with a secret relationship but sadly this story was disappointing. Overall I was bored with the storyline and the premise of the reality tv show. All the side characters were basically the same person with no personality. The two main characters did have a bit more life about them but they still managed to be boring. I do adore the cover of this book but sadly I didn’t enjoy this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Canelo publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect reality dating romance novel. I loved all the characters and it reminded me so much of watching reality tv with my friends, but this time we got to see the behind the scenes drama!

What really stood out to me about this book is that it did reality tv right. It wasn’t just a secondary plot and it wasn’t smooth sailing. Like reality tv there was drama (both curated and real), high emotions, but also silly challenges and activities.

The relationship was very compelling to me and was handled well and as realistically as a reality tv behind the scenes romance can be. I also loved the side friendships and other characters, they were all able to work well together to get the story moving.

This book was surprisingly emotional and in some cases deep, playing around with the idea if reality tv is exploitative, while still keeping a light tone, I applaud the author for handling this issue in a nuanced way.

The best summer read! I would highly recommend it.

An appealing cover and the prospect of lounging around with a summer romance was what initially drew me to this book. However not being a massive fan of “Love Island” I was a little unsure what to expect. A social commentary on the vacuousness of reality TV, or just another vehicle on which to hang another MM romance? Well it was a little bit of both.

Although this is badged as a romance I would probably say it’s more of a light touch romance… much like the show itself. It does however give you a glimpse into how orchestrated and rigged these types of shows are… less “reality TV” more overly produced “unreality drama”. And I’m guessing that if you are a fan of these programmes this may just be right up your street as it very much feels like the literary version of these shows. If you’re not, then I think you might struggle with this.

The premise is about a closeted gay boxer who, for some reason not adequately explained, decides to go on a reality TV show very similar to Love Island, where heterosexual couples act like eight-year-olds in a school yard, trying to figure out who fancies who. And much like eight-year-olds, conversations never stray too far from the school yard antics they get up to. Over the weeks the show is on air, the couples are whittled down one by one as the competition plays out against the public and the producers’ scrutinising eyes.

One of the problems when writing a book with so many contestants as main characters, is that you need to make them all distinct enough so the reader can easily follow them. Sadly they were all written in quite a bland way and their characters merged into one another. When they were first introduced we did get a tiny précis of each character but then the authors left us to our own devices so we had to work out who was who just from the insipid dialogue that followed. With very little wit or colour to their dialogue, it became a little dull to read after a while. Maybe this was intentional and really did reflect what the people on these shows are like. People who just love to talk about themselves so much you can’t get past their Instagram projections. But the end result made for quite a boring read. But that needn’t have been the case. You’ve only to read Alison Cochrun’s “The Charm Offensive” or Alexis Hall’s “Winner Bakes All” series to see how this can be done so much better, especially when writing a book that’s being marketed alongside books like these. And that is my big problem with this book. It really isn’t as entertaining as the Charm Offensive, or as intelligent as Red White and Royal Blue. It isn’t as clever as it could have been, nor does it offer anything more than you would get from watching the TV show itself. There’s very little new ground being broken here, which is a shame as this could have been so much more. There are small glimpses where the authors dig a little deeper into the characters minds or questions some of the less ethical practices involved in putting a show like this together, but not enough of note.

Now that’s not to say that you won’t enjoy this book. It’s very light, has very little real angst, and is quite easy to pick up and put down. It may be the perfect summer read for some. One that you can dip in and out of in between dipping in and out of the pool. And if you like TV shows similar to this, then you may be more forgiving of the shallowness of its emotional depth. In some respects I feel this might have been a better book had the two main characters been heterosexual. That would’ve made the secrecy of their relationship that bit more interesting than the one presented here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On a Love Island styled show, boxer Declan enter in the hope of increasing his followers of social media and have an easy time. All is thrown away however when ballet Oliver sits next to him on the plane to the villa. Playing to the cameras for the perfect shot will only satisfy the audience for so long, will they choose to stay honest to themselves? Or play to win.

I was searching for a quick and easy romance after my last read and this was the perfect book for that. Although the writing and plot it’s anything out of this world, it is still a really lovely story showing many different loves.

This book is stocked with all the perfect tropes, sharing a bed, secret romance, and also found family amongst some of the contestants. I would have wished for the ending to be a little different but still really enjoyed the book.

This would definitely work better for fans of reality TV than it did for me. I’ve never seen the shows this is clearly inspired by, and the book doesn’t really explain mechanics of coupling up, sharing beds, or anything.

The premise was really promising and appealing to me, but the execution just didn’t take it far enough. There were only a couple of scenes where the leads were off-camera and could be their real selves, which made it hard to invest in the romance or even understand what parts of their connection were genuine.

Don’t expect a fluffy bi awakening story, it was maybe half a sentence, practically nonexistent. It left me unsure of where the character even stood.

It’s not that this kind of story can’t go deep—The Charm Offensive is proof that a queer romance on a reality show can absolutely have weight and impact. This just didn’t hit that mark for me.

That said, it’s a super easy, breezy read. I got through it in just a couple of sittings, and if you’re into this type of tv show you might really enjoy it as a light beach read. But for me, it didn’t do anything meaningful with the setup, and I probably wouldn’t pick up anything else by this author.

I loved the premise of this one since I'm a big fan of love island and reality tv in general and have always hoped for a bromance turned secret romance. I really liked the chemistry between Declan and Oliver and wish we got to see more of them fall for each other on the page. The inevitable break up drama just came way too soon and would've loved to see them sneaking around on the show having more cute moments. I didn't really care about any of the side couples and didn't really bother trying to keep straight who was with who.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.