Audiobook review: Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
Problematic Summer Romance is a standalone story that follows characters introduced in Hazelwood’s Not in Love. Main characters Maya and Conor are the younger sister and best friend of Eli in that title. This book centers on the Italian destination wedding of Eli and Rue. We find out that Maya’s crush on Conor is actually something much deeper, and that the pair has a recent history of being best friends.
The story opens with the guests’ arrivals in Italy. Since the story is shared solely via Maya’s POV, we know she’s nervous to see Conor since they haven’t spoken in ten months. While she tries to be congenial, she perceives Conor’s actions as cold and aloof, so she starts pushing him for a reaction. She questions his love life and feelings to provoke him. This leads to his rebuke and condemnation of her acting like a child. At first, it seems like a decent tactic for the heartbroken Maya; however, it becomes clear over the course of the story and its flashbacks that Maya is always giving Conor ultimatums, and I found it to be annoying after a while.
I’ll admit, at first I didn’t get it the connection between the pair. But Hazelwood drew me in with the flashbacks, slowly building the connection and relationship. This method of storytelling helped me understand and experience how close Maya and Conor had become, and then feel the crushing blow of losing it all when he thinks pulling away is the best course of action. It retroactively justifies her behavior and made me care so much.
Maya is brilliant, funny, and kind, and she is about 15 years younger than her brother and his friends, many of whom she also considers her friends. She was raised by Eli and acted out a lot, which led her to assume that he doesn’t want her around. In recent years, the pair has grown closer, yet insecurities still shape Maya’s thoughts and actions. The pair share a beautifully emotional scene later in the book that had me tearing up.
Conor is Conor. He insists that the age difference is too great for them to have a relationship. He gives detailed reasons each time she presses him, most of which are validated in his mind because of his familial history. He does not want to be his dad and take advantage of others. He thinks he’s doing her favors, but it’s wrecking Maya the way he gives of himself, yet holds back is heart.
Narration: The story is shared via Maya’s first person POV, with Lamont performing as narrator. The dialogue is performed with duet narration, so Nolan speaks all of the male dialogue and Lamont the female. Lamont is perky and youthful sounding (age appropriate). She successfully infuses her performance with emotion from nonchalance to heartbreak. Nolan’s voice is deep and often comes across robotic, especially with short dialogue. Both characters do a great job altering dialogue based on regional background, but are less successful distinguishing characters of similar age and background. Once the dialogue between Maya and Conor picks up, Nolan’s Irish accented performance for Conor is well-suited and enjoyable.
In the end, Problematic Summer Romance is a wonderful romance, filled with intense emotions. While there are a few things that weren’t perfect, I loved the story and was so invested in seeing it work out. I also want to give props to Hazelwood for transporting me to Italy via her lovely descriptions of the scenery and food.
My Ratings
Story: A-/B+
Narration: B+
Jen
About the Book:
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.
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Narrators: Elizabeth Lamont, Eric Nolan
Series: Not in Love #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Audiobook Release Date: May 27, 2025
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
Length: 11 hours and 34 minutes
Source: Publisher
Audio Speed: 1.2x