One Summer in Miami

by Amber Rose Gill

Preorder the new romantic comedy by Amber Rose Gill now!

Kya’s work is her life. She graduated from a rigorous engineering programme at MIT and landed a highly competitive job at one of the best tech firms in Silicon Valley. She even runs a whole online community empowering women in tech.

It’s not great, then, that she’s just been unceremoniously sacked mid-flight en route to a much-needed holiday in Miami.

So Kya heads straight to the trendiest bar in town in search of tequila shots and a spot of Destiny’s Child. What she finds instead is the extremely cool, extremely hot, might be an actual angel Jade Quinn – the hottest DJ on Miami’s nightlife scene. Quinn’s life couldn’t be further from Kya’s, but maybe a taste of something different is just what she needs…

Perfect for fans

Enemies to lovers

One bed

Opposites attract

Queer joy

Destination romance

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Lesbian Fiction, Summer

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2024

Reviews

[Abigail Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It follows Kya, a queer woman who gets fired from her job when visiting her brother in Miami. However, once in Miami she meets the beautiful Jade Quinn, a DJ who is attempting to make it big, and finds a holiday romance is just what she needs to take her mind off of things. However, the more Kya starts to fall, the more she wonders if she can deal with just a summer fling.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable, the book was well written, and it was a nice, easy read. Kya was an easy character to love and understand, especially after her struggles in a male dominated industry. Quinn too was also a fun character and the two brought an interesting dynamic. They were a cute couple and very much depicted the opposites attract trope.

However, my main gripe with the book is that I just didn’t personally feel like a lot happened in it. The book is over 350 pages, and yet plot wise there wasn’t much happening. There wasn’t any intense moment, nor a moment of the book that stood out as particularly memorable.

A good, quick read, but not one I’d likely revisit in the future.

[Kexx · Rating 1 out of 5]

To quote Hugh Grant in Notting Hill: “Can I just say No, and leave it as that.”

[Éamon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good thing about this book was that it was easy to read quickly. The writing was terrible and didnt seem to have been edited at all. The story didnt even make sense at parts as the protagonist flip flopped on what they had just said a few pages earlier. A good idea but it was handles badly...

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flug nach Miami irgendwer?
Habe nach dieser Sommerromanze extreme Lust auf Feiern gehen am Miami Beach.

[Kira Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

i don’t really leave reviews but this book genuinely had no plot 🫣 i tried to read it 3 times and was bored every time

[Justice Waul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yanno what? I can’t even be mad at this book. It was so simply written and literally just consists of partying BUT I too would love a summer in Miami where a fit girl falls for me and takes me to parties. It feels very shallow, quite choppy, things happen but nothing happens all at once. There’s not much depth to it and it feels like you don’t know the characters at all so it’s hard to see any chemistry but it’s a simple romance with no queer trauma. Sometimes just let the gays be happy I guess.

[Orla Macfarlane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea but gave it a go, was a very easy read and I liked the beginning but the plot kinda fell off. Not terrible but wouldn’t really recommend.

[Iris · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 25%

The prose in this book is very disjointed and confused. I can’t really believe this made it past an editor. Half the time what the characters say or think feels like a non sequitur, or it isn’t clear which character the thought or speech belongs to. The way the characters respond to each other often makes no sense, as if they’re not actually hearing each other or reacting to what is happening. Very weird reading experience and I couldn’t continue with it. Shame, as I was hoping for a nice lighthearted queer romance.

[Lauren McDougall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t have a massive amount to say about this one to be honest. I was hoping for a fun, light-hearted queer romance, and it felt like it missed the mark a fair few times on those counts. I often felt the characters lacked genuine chemistry and that the ‘drama’ was quite manufactured, while some portions were just really intense in terms of discussions of the tech world or networking etc. Basically, I had hoped for something more readable.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun easy beach read. Both Kya and Quinn are lovable and I was rooting for them. The third act breakup isn't overly drawn out and makes sense for the relationship. There are also some great side characters that add to the fun. I'm not sure what but it felt like it was missing something. It is a cute queer romance though.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley

[Tamara G · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not finish 😬

[Chloe Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Amber’s debut book and I was really looking forward to this one but it just didn’t quite have the same effect, unfortunately.

Kya has flown to Miami to visit her brother and his husband, when she is suddenly fired from her job a a tech giant. This is completely out of the blue and Kya is heartbroken to lose the job she has given so much to. At the same time, Quinn’s big break as one of Miami’s hottest female DJs is coming through the form of music week. When the two girls meet, their eyes immediately lock and they both feel something strange. Further chance, and not so chance, meetings occur and after not getting off to the best of starts initially, Kya and Quinn fall fast for each other.

I think for me, it was a little bit tooooo fast. It felt like such a whirlwind, and there was so much arguing between them that I just couldn’t get on board with their relationship. I actually don’t think that they were good for each other 🤷🏼‍♀️ they were both incredibly stubborn and neither one was willing to back down. I just can’t see them working beyond the end of the book!! I liked the female power vibe that the book gave off, and Ivy and Amanda were strong side characters. I liked the friendship group scenes, and I also loved Kya’s relationship with Hugo. I also loved the Miami setting 😍

I think the main problem I found was that not a lot really happened. It was a cycle of Kya and Quinn arguing, Kya threatening to leave, Kya saying sorry, the two of them making up, and then the cycle starts again. It was an easy enough book to read, but I found myself bored at times, and I didn’t love the main characters. It’s a shame as like I say, I did really love Amber’s first book! This one just wasn’t on par with it I’m afraid.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

kya life was perfect until she read her email that she had fired from her job.....feeling so betrayed she fell apart with her brother and his husband and cried

quinn was the dj that everyone wanted to be close to....but it was kya that caught her eye....

and as soon as kya and quinn were seen together a troll outed them and made for interesting times for them both... kya wasnt happy about it ... but could the troll be someone close to them....

as quinn and kys got closer their worlds felt far apart... could they maintain something between them when they lived on different parts of the country and also their livelihoods were totally different... could they get past it all ....

an interesting beach read that kept me entertained by all the goings on with all the characters...

[Emily Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book
nice love story

[leafy! · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars - rounded up.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice easy read with great summer vibes. A bit too predictable but I still enjoyed the romance aspect.

[Shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

somehow her hetero book was better :/

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sweet, cute.

Quinn and Kya are easy to root for and their story, though slightly more dramatic than seemingly realistic, is a good one.

The perfect sit by the pool, devour in one sitting sort of read from my favorite Love Island UK winner.

[Paul Barrell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Miss Gill is a fraud. The publishers use her name to sell books. The books are written by an American author Nadine Gonzalez ( look her up on here , she even looks like Miss Gill)she gets little or no recognition for writing these novels. Its a con don't be fooled by the settings, socials and smiling face.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️✨
Two and a half stars rounded down to two.

One Summer in Miami by Amber Rose Gill is a contemporary queer romance novel about Kya, a woman recently fired from her tech job, who travels to Miami for a holiday and meets Jade Quinn, a famous Miami DJ. The story follows Kya's unexpected journey of romance and self-discovery with Quinn, a departure from her own life in the tech world, as they navigate their differing lifestyles and an initial tension that develops into a passionate relationship.

I wondered if I was somehow imagining the moments where this book was pretty bad. Upon finishing it and seeing the reviews, I now know I wasn’t. This book started pretty well. It was easy to read and seemed like it would be something I would enjoy. And then…The first problem I had was the complete lack of chemistry between the two main characters and love interests, Quinn and Kya. To begin with they were good friends, and they have that energy all the way through the story. Friend energy. Not a spark or sizzle or butterfly in sight. Kya’s brother Adrian and his husband Hugo had better chemistry. The second big problem I had was the editing problems. Sometimes it was spelling or punctuation mistakes, sometimes it was something as big as someone talking and then they say the wrong name (and if definitely took me awhile to figure out what was going on when that happened because I was wondering if I had missed something). Even worse, there were plot holes. The characters would be one place and then it seemed like a part of the story had been removed (perhaps they were supposed to be editing it and then forgot to put it back??!) and the reader is left trying to get their head around what the hell is happening. There were several times like this and I was left having to just move on and be confused. 😵‍💫

Then there was the toxicity of Kya and Quinn’s relationship. I know it was supposed to portray their emotional vulnerability and problems they are trying to work through from the past etc, but to me it was just toxic. Some of the ways that they treated each other was ridiculous. To add to this, they both acted like toddlers having a tantrum at different times throughout the story. Like get a grip guys. An example of this was when they were out one night and Quinn had just played a DJ set (that’s her job) and they were with friends. Good things were happening to all of them except Kya, and instead of celebrating and being genuinely happy for her friends and her “love” she goes into another room to sulk and plays a game of pool with a stranger because she hasn’t had anything good happen for her. WTF?!?! Then to top it all off, Kya calls Quinn “Quinn” throughout the entire book except for once when she calls her her first name “Jade” as a show of pushing her away. I mean this is a good example of the lunacy of their relationship. I know this is something that happens in other books too and I always hate it. To me it makes zero sense for people in an intimate relationship to call each other by their last names. So stupid. So overall this book was a disappointment, and I will not be revisiting the author by reading the other book that she has out.

[Sara Oxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a summery and sweet five-star read. I have enjoyed this author before and I did enjoy this story, but not as much as previous works, I honestly think it was maybe as I overidentified with Kya a little too much, as I work a full-time job, a part time study placement and also part time study, and I read like it’s a professional job, so I am constantly busy, I don’t know how to stop. So the anxiety I felt on Kya’s behalf at life suddenly stopping meant I was busy thinking about what next at every page, that being said once the story started and Kya and Quinn start bumping into each other and apologising on purpose I was able to relax and was happy to see what next. There were a couple of moments that seemed over done to me, but I am likely 20 years older that the ideal audience, so that’s also likely me, but overall this was a joyful read, and made me so desperate to get out in the sunshine and have the sand beneath my toes and some music in my head that I actually took a break, it did exactly what I need it to. Do not miss this story if you need joy in your life!!

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ★

¿?? Es increíble cómo hay drama cada dos capítulos y, a la vez, no pasa NADA en la trama. Son más de 380 páginas en las que todo se siente estancado

No sentí conexión entre las protas (y yo siento conexión con todo, así que es raro). Los pequeños dramas innecesarios se resolvían por arte de magia ¿? Incluso hasta el último capítulo todo se solucionó por "la magia del amor" o algo así. No tuvo sentido

Quinn me pareció insoportable, como si todos tuvieran que entenderla a ella, pero ella jamás se ponía en el lugar de nadie, ni siquiera de su novia!!

Lo único que me gustó del libro fue Kya. Me pareció un personaje coherente y lógico, me gustó cómo se desarrolla y aprende que no todo es trabajo, que también tiene que vivir y relajarse un poco. Es lo único que puedo rescatar🤝🏻

[Jordon Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Summer in Miami by Amber Rose Gill, and I have to say, it was an incredible experience, especially since it was my first sapphic read! The story beautifully captures the essence of love and self-discovery against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making their journey feel authentic and engaging.

Amber Rose Gill does a fantastic job of weaving together themes of friendship, romance, and the challenges of embracing one's true self. The chemistry between the main characters is palpable, and their emotional growth throughout the story resonated with me on many levels. I found myself invested in their journey, cheering for them as they navigated their feelings and the complexities of their relationship.

[lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was genuinely maybe one of the worst books I’ve ever read? There was no plot, the characters were annoying and avoidant of their feelings. There was also this funky thing going on where it constantly felt like chunks of info were left out or like the timelines of events were just all over the place. Like everything was happening at once but also nothing because the writing is confusing and just straight up not good. I wouldn’t even be able to tell you how the MC’s even got together in the first place because it seems like they just jumped into things suddenly, I really don’t know lol. I had to force myself to finish this because I hate leaving books unread but in another world I never would have finished reading this.

[Latesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Summer in Miami by Amber Rose Gill is a smart, sassy tale of unexpected connection and desire. Kya attempts to reinvent herself after her life unexpectedly implodes. Jade is on the fast track to stardom but still has doubts about her worth. Together, they embark on a journey to discover who they are meant to be individually and together. Kya was a bit wishy-washy in the beginning, but as the story went on, she began to mature and grow. I liked watching her character evolve. Jade was a strong woman who continually strove to be her best. She was no nonsense and blunt and I loved that about her. The secondary characters were great and provided the perfect complement to Kya and Jade.

[Courts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just felt like it had no plot if I’m honest. Kya and Quinn didn’t have any chemistry in my opinion, I just wasn’t feeling it at all in their interactions. I also thought there were a few too many side characters - I kept forgetting who they all were??

I do think this book was better than Amber’s first one as it had more of her voice and personality in, but sadly there are way better sapphic romances out there to read. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this one.

[Nicole Bagniefski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The grammar wasn't as terrible as the reviews led me to believe, but the writing did leave something to be desired. This definitely could've used some more planning of both the characters and the plot--the only conflict here was the main characters' opinions flip-flopping every other page, and that really doesn't make a compelling 300+ page novel. Having said this, the author has potential and I hope she keeps writing as she has a vested interest in diverse representation in romance.

[Lara Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the premise and blurb of this book but overall I just didn’t love it. With most books I can’t wait to pick them up and continue the story, but with this one I didn’t. I found the storyline too predictable and a little difficult to follow at parts. However I do think it could make a good poolside holiday book.

[abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly i dnf’d this book after the first three chapters. it is truly unreadable trash. the writing is so incredibly difficult to get into, the characters are annoying and stereotypical and i still managed to flick through til about chapter 19 and it was still trash. their love story made no sense and all their interactions were just awkward and annoying. will not revisit

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised to see many people give negative/not great reviews. I guess I’m fairly easy when it comes to romance and love stories, so I actually quite enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and the characters were likeable.
Two people fall in love. That’s my favourite part of any story!
(3.5/5)