Yes, before you ask, I did time this read to be posted on a Friday at the tail-end of the New Zealand summer. What did you expect from me, it’s in the book’s title. Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell came up as a one-off recommendation somewhere – I don’t remember where, likely Bookstagram – so I wasn’t expecting much going into it. Boy, was I wrong. If books had arms, Summer Fridays had me in a chokehold from start to finish.

Summer 1999: Sawyer is striving to make it in New York. Between her assistant job in publishing, her secret dreams of becoming a writer, and her upcoming wedding to her college boyfriend, her is plate full. Only one problem: She is facing an incredibly lonely summer as her fiancé has been spending longer and longer hours at work . . . with an all-too-close female colleague, Kendra. When Kendra’s boyfriend, Nick, invites Sawyer to meet up and compare notes about their suspicions, the meeting goes awry. She finds Nick cocky and cynical, and he finds her stuck in her own head. But then Nick seeks out Sawyer online to apologise, and a friendship develops. Soon, Sawyer’s lonely summer takes an unexpected turn. She and Nick begin an unofficial ritual—exploring New York City together every summer Friday. From hot dogs on the Staten Island Ferry and Sea Breezes in a muggy East Village bar to swimming at Coney Island, Sawyer feels seen by Nick in a way that surprises her. He pushes her to be braver. To ask for what she wants. Meanwhile, Sawyer draws Nick out of his hard shell, revealing a surprisingly vulnerable side. They both begin living for their Friday afternoons together. But what happens when the summer is over?

The plot sound simple, one that we’ve all ready before, and sure, maybe you have. But when I say I was given a story I feel like I haven’t read before, I’m sure that makes some sense. The elements are the same, maybe even the setting and character backgrounds, but it all came together in a unique, authentic and gut-wrenching way. I know there are cliches and overused details here, but it felt right for the book and right for the romance developing. The fact that I became invested should be persuasive enough on this matter.

The setting is New York, yes, but its New York flashback to 1999 with the present day in 2001. That alone should give you some understanding of the tones of the book and perhaps a warning for those who need it. There is something nostalgic in the fact this is a romance set at the turn of the century, even for me and I wasn’t even born yet. A time where things were simpler and easier to navigate. The jobs all sound the same and the locations wouldn’t have changed all that much, but thinking about how technology has advanced so rapidly in the last 25 years makes this books feel like a precious, refreshing change of pace.

We love flawed heroes when we see them, and Sawyer and Nick are as flawed as they come. I love the character development, both on an individual basis and together through their friendship-turned-relationship. Adultery is a hard no for me on a cross the board, but this book shares a grey version of that reality which is heartbreaking, but I don’t know if I would call it an exception. I had my thoughts and feelings about it, but I won’t deny the book had my interest from start to finish regardless. There were so many things that I loved about these characters and how they acted and reacted and there were things I didn’t like. That’s what makes them flawed and interesting characters. A book like this isn’t going to have paragons of morality or adulthood, but it doesn’t have to because no adult is perfect. No human is perfect. Sometimes a romance doesn’t gel with me because if feels too staged or inauthentic, but in Summer Fridays I felt i was reading a true story and there was no element of it that felt fictitious.

As established earlier, there is a heavy theme to the book introduced from the beginning. This doesn’t carry through in the flashbacks given the time difference, but it certainly is something you keep in mind throughout the read. Moreover, it ties in with the other themes at play here: self love, illusions of love, expectations vs reality, complex relationships, and so on. While I can’t answer to all of them, Summer Fridays did feel like a read where the themes felt balanced, fitting for the plot, and deeply personal for the characters. They supported the message of the novel and the intentions of the author, making for a brilliant read.

You need to read Summer Fridays if you are a romance reader. It is well worth it, giving many emotional reactions and palpable feelings throughout the read. Pick it up, add it to your tbr, request it from the library – whatever you need to do to ensure it is on a list, do it! Summer Fridays is a must-read romance and will give more audlt readersa blast from the past.