Summer in the City

Summer in the City

By:

Alex Aster

Spice Scale
Number of books
1 Published
KU
❌
Audiobook
✅
Series Status
Complete
Interconnected
N/A
Overall Rating
Coming Soon

'A book that truly encapsulates the warmth and joy of summer' Stylist

'Hotter than the rest of your TBR' Cosmo

'Pure, steamy fun, and the perfect summer read' Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love Hypothesis

'A fun, stay-up-late-to-finish read!' Abby Jimenez, author of Just for the Summer

Readers love Summer in the City...
'All I have to say is WOW' *****
'I absolutely adored this book' *****
'I'm in love with Parker Warren' *****
'This will surely be a favourite of 2025' *****
'I cannot recommend this book enough' *****

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Lightlark Saga, this is Alex Aster's debut romance novel.

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 by the end of the summer.

Desperate for inspiration, Elle returns to NYC - the city she hates - and tries to throw herself into her writing. But then she meets her new neighbour: Parker Warren. He's the city's favourite handsome tech billionaire and he's also the guy Elle hooked up with in a stairwell two years ago. When seeing him again turns into a night of hate-fuelled writing, Elle realises Parker might just be her twisted muse.

So, when Parker needs to fake a steady relationship during his company's precarious acquisition and Elle needs to research a list of classic date spots in the city for her screenplay, they suddenly find they might just be exactly what each other needs.

Summers always end, and so will this agreement.
It's all pretend.
Until it isn't.

If you like...
Billionaire
Forced proximity
Neighbours
Fake dating
Enemies-to-lovers
Slow burn
Spice
...you'll love Summer in the City

Summer in the City ranked no. 10 on the Sunday Times bestseller chart and no. 2 on the New York Times bestseller chart week ending 29/03/25.

Jamie’s review

Yikes. Elle has been holding a grudge against tech Billionaire Parker for YEARS because he assumed she was a gold digger when they first met then they end up being neighbors years later. I don't know which characters I despise more - Elle for being truly insufferable. Or Parker for pining after her anyway to the point of desperation.

I appreciate the backstories and reasons why both of them have strained relationships with money. But, it was borderline toxic how much Parker was giving while Elle gave back literally nothing in return. HAVE SOME SELF RESPECT PARKER HOLY SHIT.

The only thing I really liked was the ode to NYC 🍎 and Elle's friend Penelope for telling her she's a dumb B.

I could not get on board with these two. And the comedy was too cheesy. Sadly, I didn't like the rom or the com in this romcom.

The only thing I really liked was the ode to NYC 🍎 and Elle's friend Penelope for telling her she's a dumb B.

I could not get on board with these two. And the comedy was too cheesy. Sadly, I didn't like the rom or the com in this romcom.