I always find it so absurd when a book stirs up a storm of online controversy months before anyone has actually read it. Keyboard warriors took great issue with the age gap in Ali Hazelwood’s Problematic Summer Romance, and frankly, the whole thing just made me more determined to devour every page of this book. When I did, it was crystal clear that the controversy was nonsense.
Maya Killgore is going to Italy for her older brother’s wedding. For most people, a free trip to Europe would be a dream, but she’s filled with dread, thanks to Conor Harkness. Her brother’s closest friend is going to be at his wedding, and there is no way Maya will be able to avoid him.
Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover the dynamics at play during this wedding week. No one knows that Maya and Conor know each other a little better than they’ve let on, or that she’s been in love with him for three years. It’s problematic, he loves to remind her. The power imbalance. The age difference. He wants her out of his life.
Emotions run high and things quickly spin out of control on this gorgeous Italian coast side. Its the perfect place for a summer fling, even if its a problematic one.
Maya and Conor have a fifteen-year age gap, hence the controversy. I might be a little desensitized to this. My dad and stepmom have a twenty-one-year age difference and have a wonderful, happy marriage so I see no issue with the whole thing. She’s a fully grown adult. Who cares.
Conor and Maya’s relationship, despite their present day animosity at the wedding, is founded on a deep and touching friendship. Conor is working so hard to deny his feelings, deny himself what he wants more than anything because of a misguided belief that its wrong, and the tension it creates is delectable.
That said, my heart breaks for Maya over and over again. I don’t know how she manages to keep it together so well, even though she thinks she doesn’t. She’s incredible. I loved her. I can’t wait for her happy ending.
See, you can tell how well-written these characters are because I’m talking about them as if they’re real.
Ali Hazelwood’s writing style is so engaging. It’s easy to just tear into without sacrificing depth and feeling. Problematic Summer Romance has beautiful, sumptuous descriptions of this Sicilian Villa and its surroundings.
The story is told from Maya’s perspective, with perfectly placed flashbacks to give the reader the history between her and Conor.
The wedding is the perfect scene and setting, as romantic comedies have been proving for years. It’s chaotic, dramatic, and the perfect place for emotions to run high.
Problematic Summer Romance is a serious slow burn, with lots of awkward tension and misunderstanding in that Shakespearean way that makes a romance really sparkle. These two so obviously want each other, but it takes them many pages and a full, well-described week (okay, and many past years) to figure it all out.
On balance, thanks to the slow burn, there are not actually a ton of spicy scenes in this book, but it’s the exact right amount for this story.
When Conor and Maya finally give in to each other, it’s a volcanic eruption. The sex between them is so well-written, and so passionate, and the reader can feel the shattering of years of tension through the page.
Problematic Summer Romance is another book on my shelf that establishes Ali Hazelwood as one of my favorite romance authors of all time. It’s the perfect balance of emotionally powerful, spicy, and fun. I give this book all the stars.
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