Problematic Summer Romance - Ali Hazelwood

Problematic Summer Romance

By Ali Hazelwood

  • Release Date: 2025-05-27
  • Genre: Contemporary Romance
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 300 Ratings

Description

The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!

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.

Reviews

  • Nice love story but

    3
    By ReaderEllas
    I enjoyed the love story but the author introduces way too many characters. Very hard to follow. Takes a few chapters to figure out what’s going on. And hard to remember details from the beginning of the book because you are so focused on trying to keep all the characters straight. And the flashbacks feel out of context in the beginning
  • Problematic Summer Read

    3
    By Galligirl
    Oof. I love Ali Hazelwood but this book tried so hard to be cool. The overuse of millennial/gen y/gen z vernacular throughout was so disruptive to the storyline. I loathed Maya’s character especially. The only redeeming factor for me was the setting and getting excited about our visit to Sicily this September.
  • This is like really bad…

    1
    By Mih_Hall
    This is my first Ali book and it will be my last. This storyline is AWFUL, not because of the age gap, but the plot and the book are just so poorly written. All these flashback quotes in the middle of present day dialogue. But then also having whole chapters devoted to flashing back to the past? So why do I need the random memory quotes in the present day story? I guess she’s trying REALLY hard to paint this picture of their bond and do some character development, but all it does is detract from the storyline. There’s also a million names to keep up with for no reason. I couldn’t even finish. I found myself flipping through the pages trying to get to something that was actually well written and coherent. Boooo! A waste of $10. I’m going to go read a Christina Lauren book (authors who can actually develop plot). Like this book is shamefully bad. Ugh.
  • She Did Again!

    5
    By Ari-Reads
    Ali Hazelwood is now Officially my go-to romance author for a great romantic read. Her writing just clicks for me and is always a guaranteed fun time. I have yet to read a book from AH that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. 5/5⭐️ 10/10: Recommend 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 Possibly my favorite book so far this year!
  • Loved it 😍

    5
    By JazzySUV
    Loved it, she really never misses with the men she writes about 🫶🏼 the story is beautifully portrayed
  • Loved it!

    5
    By mellymac0069
    Loved the story and the clear way the timeline was presented. Sicily was more like a character than a setting.