Thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary review copy.
Alexa, play “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas.
Now that we’ve set the tone…
New York City, summer 1999. Sawyer, a lowly publishing assistant and recent NYC transplant is staring down the barrel of a summer filled with long, lonely weekends as office buildings empty early on Fridays allowing white collar workers to escape the heat of the city by decamping to beachier destinations. While her fiance works nights and weekends with his too-close-for-comfort co-worker Kendra, Sawyer spends a lot of time alone in their apartment waiting for life to begin. A chance encounter with Kendra’s boyfriend, Nick, leads Sawyer to unexpected summer adventures and an opportunity to reexamine her choices and future.
Summer Fridays is a nostalgic romance that captures NYC at the turn of the millennium. Sawyer and Nick correspond a lot over email and AIM and, as someone who spent much time during formative years chatting online I can assure, the dialog is pitch perfect. The chats beg for a You’ve Got Mail comparison and I don’t think that’s far off, Summer Fridays definitely lives in the same universe as your favorite Nora Ephron rom-com.
Messy and gray and a little angsty this story won’t be for every reader, but I found a lot to appreciate and I expect this book will find its way to many a reader’s tote or beach bag this summer!
Recommended for fans of Renee Carlino.
That Bookish Life 