Summer in the City: A Novel

Written by Alex Aster

Narrated by Diane Guerrero

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

“This was a fun, stay-up-late-to-finish read! Elle and Parker have chemistry from the jump, but a combination of forced proximity and her hatred of him is fuel for witty banter, a long, slow burn and plenty of steam! I loved how Elle's true enemies-to-lovers journey is with New York City itself. Aster pays tribute to so many special NYC landmarks and experiences making the setting every bit a living character as the people in it.” — Abby Jimenez, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster comes her adult debut novel Summer in the City—a swoony, fast-paced rom-com set in New York City in which a screenwriter and a sexy tech CEO go from lovers to enemies and back to lovers again…

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 at the end of the summer. 

In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since. 

When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay... if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius. 

One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.  

Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise. 

Until it isn’t.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 25, 2025
• ISBN: 9780063411692

Alex Aster

Alex Aster is a #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies and have been translated into over twenty languages. She studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, lives in New York, and is never too far from a coffee shop.

Reviews for Summer in the City

[eusaybiap · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. It’s the type you don’t want to end. It wasn’t that long but I tried to stretch out this read. Something about it was just so cozy. I know technically it was a summer book but something about reading it in fall just felt like closing that chapter with the characters and walking into a new season of life.

[Lilia Velvid · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love Alex Aster but this book was not it! The FL annoyed me a lot, she thinks herself morally superior than anyone else and treats the ML awful. She is insufferable, 'I'm not like other girls' type. This is not enemies to lovers, she's just immature and it's really annoying that she doesn't grow or change throughout the book as the ML does.
Also, I did not loved the narrator, it felt like a robot.

[katelin.pierce · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The narrator really killed me on this. It felt like someone just reading it, no inflections, no change in tone… I feel I would have liked it more if I had read it. Bummer!

[b.gohlinghorst · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

SPOILER ALERT!!

It was cute! Wish she didn’t keep hating on him so dang much lol. But I enjoyed the characters!

[Emma Esposito · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall story was cute but the usual romance story. There was nothing that stood out to me but it was fun. The narrator fell kinda flat for me but didn’t make me want to stop listening.

[Leah Picazo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it. Yes, I did want to punch Elle many, many times, but I get where she is coming from. She is a complicated female character that many romance books lack. Coming from a Hispanic household, Elle really spoke to me, my mindset, my upbringing, and even my fears. The narrator was perfect - she had this rasp, seriousness, and slight indifference that I saw in Elle.

[Brooke Richey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the book itself. OK, even though I kind of had a love-hate relationship with the FMC but I kind of hated the audio performance. I’ve never heard anything from this narrator before, but I found the performance to be super monotone and boring.

[Alexa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Swoony, so cute, and also by the end I was YELLING at the mfc! Cmon Elle!!

[kourtnijones · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Elle was a total jerk; Parker deserved better. I regret reading this.

[anbpowers · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was frustrating. The best part about it was Parker. We saw him grow, become more understanding, learn that money doesn’t buy happiness and love Elle unconditionally. What I didn’t like was Elle, she had so many hangups, especially about being controlled, but all she did throughout the whole book was control Parker, try and control other people, and situations all the time. She could not believe he had a jet because how it hurts the environment so he got rid of it. She was angry about him buying the townhouse for them just to turn around and use a ton of money to buy it for herself from him. What was the difference? I’m sorry, but it’s stupid. He wasn’t buying her the townhouse just for her, he saw that as their future. Then the part with him giving up millions of his dollars to charity and that wasn’t even satisfactory to her instead she just said something like, oh he’ll always be almost a millionaire. This story could’ve been so much more even with the angst, with the uncertainty, and with her needing to work on herself, but I could not get past how she had not changed, oh wait she runs now, she was still controlling, she gave up nothing to be with Parker but he gave up anything so he could be with her.

[whatsjesreading · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

1 star for the MMC.

This started out promising but the FMC is insufferable and then chapter 30 absolutely tanked this book.

[brooklynfalkenberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was alright, cute romance but not my usual flavor of book. Main character was kinda like “I’m not like the other girls” type vibe. Again it wasn’t awful but not my fave