Burnout Summer

by Jenna Ramirez

Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she's in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it's Danny Brennan —the lovable burnout from their college clique— who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life crisis: a summer by the beach.

Cam is whisked away to Elswick, Rhode Island, where former slacker Danny has taken over his uncle’s restaurant and turned it into a seaside hotspot. But while Danny has grown into a devoted boss and dog dad, his carpe diem life philosophy is still as fiery as ever. The hazy summer days start to blur between shifts at the restaurant, dips in the ocean, and a reignited passion for writing, all alongside Danny who makes her laugh like nobody else. Cam can't help but wonder —is it the salty waves that have her feeling so renewed, or is it the carefree friend she always overlooked? But summer can't last forever, and Cam's looming student debt reminds her at every turn that the frigid air of corporate office life is waiting.

As September approaches, Cam must decide between snuffing out the flames with Danny in order to keep her beloved friend group together and return to the corporate grind—or falling into his forbidden arms and setting her old life ablaze.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Adult, Rom Com

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication May 12, 2026

About the author

Jenna Ramirez was raised outside of Washington, D.C. in the Maryland suburbs until college brought her to California. After graduating, she remained in sunny Los Angeles, where she works in entertainment marketing. When she’s not writing, she spends her free time complaining about the lack of rain, ranking chai lattes in the city, and chasing her crazy rescue Chihuahua Fitzwilliam, named after the equally prickly Mr. Darcy.

Her debut novel, Burnout Summer, is available on May 12, 2026 from Saturday Books.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beachside romance? Check. Friends-to-lovers tension? Check. Quarter-life panic and a messy heroine trying to piece her life together? Absolutely.
This novel had all the ingredients I usually fall headfirst into, and to its credit, it delivers a breezy setup that’s incredibly easy to sink into. The Rhode Island setting alone feels like a long exhale — ocean air, late-night shifts at a buzzing restaurant, and that familiar “maybe this summer will fix everything” energy that hooks you from the first chapter.

Camille Luna’s life collapses in record time: job gone, confidence shattered, friendships strained, and debt weighing on every decision she makes. Cue Danny Brennan, longtime friend and golden-retriever-level sweetheart, who swoops in with a couch, a job, and an open door when she needs it most. Their history gives the book its warmest spark, and watching their dynamic shift from comfortable to complicated is the kind of slow burn I always appreciate.

But — and this is where my rating lands at a firm three stars — I just could not connect with Camille the way I wanted to. Her self-absorption didn’t just peek through; it took center stage. I completely understand a character spiraling under pressure, I understand fear of failure, I understand feeling left behind… but her tunnel vision often made it difficult to feel invested in her journey. Danny, in contrast, feels like a character pulled straight out of a comfort-read: steady, patient, perceptive, and far too forgiving. Their chemistry works, but I sometimes found myself wishing he demanded a little more from her — or that she saw beyond herself sooner.

Still, the novel shines in its atmosphere: the restaurant scenes are vibrant, the side characters add color and humor, and the sense of starting over — really starting over — rings authentic. Even when I was frustrated with Camille, I could see exactly why she was overwhelmed, and the story captures that post-college limbo with honesty. The romance is tender, the pacing has an easy rhythm, and the summer setting is pure escapism.
This is a book I wanted to adore, and while I enjoyed the ride, the emotional disconnect with the heroine kept it from hitting the level of swoon I hoped for. But if you love messy growth arcs, seaside romance, and a loyal hero who has been quietly in love for years, this is still a satisfying, feel-good read to pick up.

A warm thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this enjoyable friends-to-lovers romance digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[Amee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not gonna lie for the sake of NG, but I would have DNF’d Burnout Summer if it wasn’t for it being an ARC, and based on the description I believed this was totally up my alley. Glad I held on through the first 35% because once certain details were out the way, the electric tension and the will they, won’t they, I love so much could really begin. Now the over abundance of details is a very ME thing. Not the books. The details of this quaint East Coast town our FMC, Camille, finds herself staying with Danny, are enough to make me wanna move there. But for me, too much scenic detail or day to day mundane details stall a stories pacing. But for those who love and can get lost in the nuance of the details, you’ll be in heaven because author has a gift for it. Friends to lovers trope with a subplot of a quarter life crisis on page after page. Poor girl was not having a good year. All the secondary characters were fun to get to know, and I have a feeling we’ll be back here for another of the group. Yay! Definitely a recommend.

Thanks NetGalley. As always these opinions are my own.

[Angie Miale · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Are you lonely?” she asked quietly. “Aren’t we all a little lonely?”

A quarter-life-crisis leads to a second coming of age novel about a 25 year old Gen Z who finds herself fired because "her heart isn't in it" in her Corporate World job. Shortly thereafter she finds herself in jail for having a bit of a meltdown in the presence of a police officer. But Camille's Knight in Shining Armor comes in the form of her best friend Danny, who takes her back to her hometown and allows her the privilege of working at Beau's, his tavern, while she finds out what is next. Armed with a mountain of personal and student debt, Camille has done nearly everything right and is still not thriving.

“I’m not averse to seafood. It’s just . . . at the bottom of the list of food I want to eat.”

Camile, naturally, falls in love with Danny, who has some of the most romantic and gorgeous expressions of love. It is a best-friends-to-lovers trope with side characters who have a lot of potential. Her ex boyfriend Cory has found love and is getting married, but 2 other friends are about to have books of their own. I am sure this will be first in a series, and I can't wait to read the others. Ramirez absolutely captures the voice and the spirit of Gen Z, and brings the reader to the feeling of malaise we all feel at the point in which the government thinks we are an adult but the workforce very much treats us as a child. The characters are really quintessential 25 year olds and their voice and struggles are really authentic- Student loan debt and rent are 80% of her now non-existent income. Boomers and Millenials in the work force are very confused by Gen z not wanting to put work at the center of their world.

“Twenty-five is about figuring stuff out. It’s okay to be lost.”

I give this book an enthusiastic 4 stars- it is very well done as a debut and it is a romance that has some deeper themes. I look forward to what is coming next from this talented new voice in fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. Book to be published May 12, 2026.

[Brenda (jadore_2read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she's in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it's Danny Brennan —the lovable burnout from their college clique— who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life crisis: a summer by the beach.”
☀️
Camille is slowly burning out. If it’s not one things, it’s another. She’s lost her job, lost her boyfriend and was recently arrested. Yikes. And she’s also neck-deep in student loans.
Her friend from college (who also bailed her out), Danny has a solution. He’s offering Cam a summer break from her current routine. His family has a restaurant along the coast of Rhode Island. Danny suggests that Cam should work the summer to focus on paying off her student loans. With all the time spent together in and out of work, it’s hard deny this is won’t be a steamy friends to lovers.
🏖️ 🌊❤️‍🔥
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance. Out May 12, 2026 ☀️

[Karen Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advanced copy! Burnout Summer is a novel set in a small beach town where Cam, college graduate fired from her corporate job, is given the opportunity to take a break and focus on finding herself. Cam has a very relatable story to many, college degree with substantial student debt, college friend groups that have drifted apart, and the mid-20s existential crisis.

The FMC did get on my nerves sometimes, the MMC was almost too perfect. Cam stressed far too much thinking she would break up the friend group and permeated though her entire being. This is a story of finding oneself and learning how to power through the stressors in life. As for the writing, it did get a little sloggy for a few chapters, but it picked up again. It’s a simple (in a good way) read so if you are looking for a light read, I would give this one a go! Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to a lot of people I know.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read about new beginnings, changes, friends, and romance. Camille has been fired from her corporate job, and her best friend Danny says stay with me for the summer. She goes and he offers her a job at his bar/restaurant. During the summer they kiss once. A friend stops by and says send me your resume. A few weeks later Camille gets a job offer in another state. She and Danny have spent more time together. He tells her he’s always loved her. What?! What will she do? Stay or take the job because she has bills to bill?
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Emory McC · Rating 5 out of 5]

My reviews holds some bias because this is a friend of a friend’s debut novel!

But! I had a great time with this. Cam and Danny have chemistry that jumps off the page both with each other and their friend group.

Cam is incredibly frustrating and selfish a lot of the time (in that way that many 20somethings are) and yet you can’t help but root for her. I saw a lot of myself in her, both my 25yo self and even myself now (which okay, kind of depressing but we move!)

Currently longing to have a breakdown, get arrested and move to a beach town with a friend!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press/Saturday Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took way longer than necessary for me to finish which is completely my fault, a reading funk and being lazy.

net galley arc 3/5 -- at some points I loved this book and at others I hated it. I thought the friends were bad friends at some parts which maybe was the point? The message is to follow your passions which I liked. I liked that Cam made the choice with Danny easily and not like it was a tough decision bc I think that would have made it hard to sell the love to me. I also love how the epilogue sets up for a Drew book.

[Emily Truell · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I want to start by saying this book was not my culture, and other people may really enjoy it. As I was reading it, I was fairly confident the author was significantly younger than me (which the acknowledgments verified). I also live a rural life and this book was super caught up with big city business people pressure. I work in the hospitality industry which was consistently looked down on in valuation by the characters. I did really agree with much of the social commentary of the challenges of a 20 something in America that the author was illustrating. My issue was that these points were very overt and not elegantly laid out. I also struggled a lot with the fmc. She was not a very enjoyable human being to live inside the head of. While the author did spend some time showing the fmc thoughts and behaviors weren't ok, I really could have used a larger redemptive arc for her changing her behavior to make her more palatable. While college debt can absolutely be crippling, it's hard to feel sympathetic when her complaint is that she can't take a European vacation. The mmc was lovely, but honestly the dog takes the cake for the best character.

[Mami · Rating 5 out of 5]

thanks to netgalley for the arc of burnout summer, a novel set in a small seaside town that feels like one of those summers you wish could last a little longer. it follows two best friends who are trying to put their lives back together while figuring out who they want to become.

tropes:
friends to lovers
slow burn
he falls first
grumpy/sunshine
forced proximity
quarter-life crisis

camille “cam” luna loses her job, ends up in debt that keeps her awake at night, and after one really bad day she even finds herself in a jail cell. the only person who comes to her side without thinking twice is danny, her best friend, who picks her up and takes her to elswick, where he runs a restaurant he inherited from his uncle. she needs to get away from everything, and he doesn’t ask anything in return: just that she stays with him for the summer. cam tries to sort out her thoughts, finds a job at danny’s place, and ends up facing a version of herself who tried too hard to please everyone and too little to understand what she really wants. around them, the old friend group tries to come together again after her breakup, and the summer becomes a chance to grow in a way that’s uncomfortable, imperfect, but necessary. it’s a story that moves slowly, but once you see where it’s going, it’s impossible not to follow it until the last page.

cam is a character that might divide because she’s written in a very realistic way: emotional, full of insecurities, often held back by the same fears she tries to ignore. she makes questionable choices, shuts down, and sometimes seems like she’s not learning fast enough, but that’s exactly what makes her believable. she’s a girl who falls often but still tries to get back up, even when she’d rather run away.
danny is the opposite: steady, patient, and always there. he’s the kind of character who doesn’t need big speeches to make you care about him, because he shows his affection through simple and constant gestures. it’s clear from the start that he’s been in love for years, even if he does everything he can not to put pressure on cam. his life is stable, with no open drama, and that’s why he becomes the steady point around which most of the story turns.

their relationship grows slowly and naturally, starting from a deep friendship that never really loses its weight, even when the attraction starts to show. they work because they talk, because they listen, and because their intimacy comes more from the small things they share than from big dramatic scenes. it’s a sweet romance that takes its time but offers some very tender moments.

jenna ramirez’s writing is simple, warm and very visual. you can feel that she wants to give space to the characters’ personal journeys more than to plot twists, and the summer setting is portrayed really well. in some parts she’s a bit too explicit when commenting on gen z and young adult struggles, and the third-person pov creates some distance, especially with a complicated character like cam, but overall the style flows and supports the emotions of the book. the story itself is quite predictable, but that doesn’t take away from the comfort it gives.

burnout summer is a novel about exhaustion, friendship, and second chances, without unnecessary drama or exaggeration. if you like a very slow friends to lovers with a summer that changes everything, it’s worth reading.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚Burnout Summer
✍🏻Jenna Ramirez
Blurb:
Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she's in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it's Danny Brennan —the lovable burnout from their college clique— who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life crisis: a summer by the beach.

Cam is whisked away to Elswick, Rhode Island, where former slacker Danny has taken over his uncle’s restaurant and turned it into a seaside hotspot. But while Danny has grown into a devoted boss and dog dad, his carpe diem life philosophy is still as fiery as ever. The hazy summer days start to blur between shifts at the restaurant, dips in the ocean, and a reignited passion for writing, all alongside Danny who makes her laugh like nobody else. Cam can't help but wonder —is it the salty waves that have her feeling so renewed, or is it the carefree friend she always overlooked? But summer can't last forever, and Cam's looming student debt reminds her at every turn that the frigid air of corporate office life is waiting.

As September approaches, Cam must decide between snuffing out the flames with Danny in order to keep her beloved friend group together and return to the corporate grind—or falling into his forbidden arms and setting her old life ablaze.
My Thoughts:
This novel may be just the book to give you a break from the cold temperatures outside with the slow burn romance, hot and spicy sex and the wonderful world building the author creates of a summer in a small town on the New England shore. The FMC did get on my nerves sometimes, the MMC was almost too perfect. Cam stressed far too much thinking she would break up the friend group and permeated though her entire being..When Camille Luna manages to get fired and arrested (a minor incident with a wayward lighter and a piece of trash) on the same day, it's her best friend Danny who comes to the rescue. He not only drives down to DC to pick her up but also offers to let her stay with him for the whole summer as she figures out what to do next. Once Cam gets to the picturesque town of Elswick, Rhode Island, where Danny owns and runs his deceased uncle's restaurant, she can finally relax and start to think about what she actually wants in her life.Burnout Summer perfectly captures the angst of being in your twenties, post college, when it feels like you're too old to be aimless but still too young to really know what you want in your life.
Thanks NetGalley, Saturday Books and Author Jenna Ramirez for the advanced copy of "Burnout Summer" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#SaturdayBooks
#JennaRamirez
#BurnoutSummer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[kailee culpepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Jenna Ramirez for the Burnout Summer ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Mid-twenties Camille is going through a corporate career crisis and is whisked away to a charming Rhode Island town to spend her summer working through her burnout with long-time college bestie Danny, who, to the rest of the close-knit friend group, never quite cared about a career like the rest of time. However, Cam quickly learns that Danny has a lot going for him back in his hometown as a booming restauranteur and has to learn if she can get out of her own head about her life not going quite how she thought it would be at 25…

First and foremost, I’d like to bring attention to the fact that Cam is pretty annoying like the majority of the time… but I think the whole point is that, as readers, we SHOULD be finding her self-absorbed and “woe is me.” That further comes to light whenever Danny calls her out for being oblivious to the fact that the rest of the friend group HAD kept the group updated on life changes, but Cam was so wrapped up in herself that she never took notice to it. While Cam definitely was getting on my nerves with her woe-is-me attitude, I thought she was a very well-rounded, complex character with a lot of depth, and I applaud the author for that. And… I hate to say it… but I can see myself in Cam too. As someone who was a go-getter in high school and college with big career expectations, I could 100% see myself crashing out if I got into my career and realized that I hated it and the culture but felt like I was stuck and would waste a degree if I changed paths.

I think Ramirez does a fabulous job at really giving a lot of voice to a real fear that many people in their mid-twenties have. Everyone in their friend groups are at different stages of life - marriage, babies, career focused, health focused, traveling, poor, richer than expected. No one is in the same place, and when you have a friend group that begins freshman year of college, going through those life changes will change the group dynamics, and it’s hard to grasp when you don’t want things to change.

I’d also like to show some appreciation for Danny. What a man! I loved to see how Ramirez handled his own career and gave a voice that being in the service industry is not a failure and, in fact, can be better than the corporate world, despite a common belief that corporate is superior.

This review is a bit scattered all over the place, but all of this to say is that I highly enjoyed this novel and Ramirez’s way of writing delicate, raw, and real characters that can translate into the real world and help those who relate to the characters realize that life isn’t stagnant and you can always find yourself in a coastal town with a hot man and a dog to bring you back down to earth.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a giveaway by the author and publisher. It will be available in bookstores in May 2026.

Anyone who has ever lived through their 20s and 30s in the U.S. in the past 30 years, in this country's ever-enshittifying economy and socio-political drama (and thanks to Cory Doctorow for that wonderful word, btw!), will relate to something in Jenna Ramirez's friends-to-lovers romantic dramedy "Burnout Summer".

If you took the cast of "Friends" and dumped them in the Real World with Real World problems like ridiculous student loan debt, a shitty job market, and little hope, then you'd get an idea where Ramirez is going with her debut novel.

The novel starts with the protagonist, Camille "Cam" Luna, having just lost her corporate job and immediately getting arrested in a ridiculous (but weirdly believable, in these times) smoking infraction. She is sitting in a jail cell in the book's opening. (This kind of sets the tone for the rest of the book.)

An old college friend, Danny, bails her out and takes her back to his small beach town where he owns a popular bar & grille. He gives her the option of living in a guest house and working in the restaurant for the summer, until she's ready and able to get back on her feet. Desperate, she takes it.

Thus begins a sweet, occasionally funny, and emotional friends-to-lovers story about finding love and acceptance in a harsh world where there is little time for love and where acceptance is more often than not based on how much money you have in a savings account and how good your credit score is.

Cam is a likable enough romantic heroine, but, like most romantic heroines, seems pretty stupid in the ways of love and romance. She clearly can't see---the way literally everyone else can see---that Danny has been in love with her forever. Then again, this is probably more relatable than most of us care to admit.

There is also a classist element to Cam's blindness to Danny: she has a hard time respecting Danny because he doesn't have a desire to make millions in a high-paying corporate job, the way she and all their other college friends have tried to do. Danny's question to her---"Does it make you happy?"---is utterly beyond her comprehension, at first. Like an earworm, though, it echoes throughout the rest of the story.

I don't read a lot of these types of romantic stories, and my fondness for the romance genre is limited, to say the least. That said, "Burnout Summer" is a likable and relatable love story that will resonate with the 20- to 30-something crowd.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advance copy for review thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It opens with a comparison of corporate life to prison that I honestly could not have related to more. SOLD. Then, it moved on to my not-so-secret dream of living out a lovely, simple life in a sweet east coast beach town. Extra sold!

I'll back up. The main character Cam (Corporate Camille), spends the summer with one of her best friends Danny, writing and waiting tables at his restaurant (inherited from his uncle) in a small beach town in the northeast. She's recovering from a layoff from a job she hated, as well as figuring out how to survive the huge student loans and credit card debt she has from the college where she found her best friends (yay!) and got a degree to prepare her for said hated job (boo). She realizes that she's burned out and that getting a similar job will just start the cycle over again, but of course, drama ensues as she navigates what she could do instead, a budding romance, and the evolution of her friend group after college.

This book was particularly timely for me because I, too, recently left corporate for what I hope will be the last time, and understand Cam's desire never to return. The description of the beach life was lovely, and Danny's restaurant filled with quirky characters sounds like so much fun.

I love the message in this book. The idea of leaving corporate and not doing the typical college to corporate to retirement thing IS getting more accepted, but not enough. The idea of this being ok and normal needs to be out there and this book does a great job of doing that.

Is Cam self-centered sometimes in the book? Yes, and she acknowledges this and works to change it. I'd say this is pretty typical mid-20s-in-crisis behavior. Did I know what was going to happen for much of the book? Yes. Did that bother me? No! The fun is in seeing the unfolding.

Great book. It's both an enjoyable read and an important message. Read it!

[Apryl Breitbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez
Pub Date May 12, 2026 by St. Martin's Press / Saturday Books

I enjoyed this best friends to lovers trope with fun side characters. 
This book is about mid 20 somethings trying to figure out what they want from life. As a 50 something, I am asking myself these same questions and could surprisingly relate.
It also kind of took me back to my mid 20's when I was trying to figure out life, working resort and restaurant jobs just trying to get by and pay bills, and my coworkers were my new friends/family.

Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez is a story about Camille (Cam), who is going through a life crisis.  She gets fired from her job and must figure out what's next for her but struggles to know what to do.  Her college friend Danny comes to pick her up and offers her the chance to stay with him for the summer and sort things out.
She spends the Summer working and reflecting on her life and taking a break from the corporate world.
Cam wasn't my favorite, often times frustrating, but the friends that she felt like she was losing or had lost were always at the center of her thoughts and many of the decisions she was making were to please others.
The author did a nice job of building the problem and then unraveling everything until you see what Cam finally comes to realize about herself, what kind of person she wants to be, who she wants to be in her life and who she wants in her life.  Danny was my favorite.  He was charming, playful, and caring to the people in his life. One of my favorite parts of this book is the transformation of how each character viewed themselves and the friends viewed each other. 

I would recommend for those that love slow burns and friends to lovers.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eArc 

[Heidi C · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for review.

Burnout Summer follows Cam and her group of friends as they navigate life after college and those first few years trying to get a career off the ground. Cam has had the worst day of her life at the beginning of the book, culminating with Cam sitting in a jail cell. Luckily for Cam, her friend Danny comes to her rescue and offers her the chance to take the summer to find herself, join him at his restaurant Beau's in Rhode Island, and regroup after a job loss. It's an offer Cam can't refuse.

Over the course of the summer, we get to know Cam, Drew, Danny, Cory and Morgan, with flashbacks to their college years sprinkled in. Cam is struggling both financially and personally, and finds herself comparing her life to her friends and coming up short. Cam sees her every choice as less than her friends, who are all successful, and can't help but feel adrift. She spends her summer hoping to find her passion and maybe get her life back on track, while waiting tables at Beau's. Along the way, she finds herself growing closer to Danny and wondering if there might be a future for her in Rhode Island beyond the summer.

I enjoyed the book, but there were parts that I found a bit repetitive and thought could have been trimmed down. Cam's financial issues were discussed at length, and while they provided needed context, it did get a bit overdone. And while I did enjoy the dynamics between the friends, I did find the "well, you kept a secret from me, and even though I did the same thing, it's different" trope a bit tired and trite.

The relationship between Danny and Cam was a high point for me, and I was pulling for them the whole book. The resolution of their story was very satisfying and overall the steamy scenes were quite hot.

This book has beach read written all over it and I found it to be a good story with some minor flaws. Three stars.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝙃𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩, 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

Burnout Summer explores how happiness doesn’t always coincide with the path you are supposed to take. The FMC, Camille, gets fired from her first post college corporate job. With crippling student loan and credit card debt, she decides to spend the summer living and working with her college friend Danny to reset the burnout she’s experienced. Throughout the summer, she begins to enjoy life, and she picks up writing again. She has to navigate complicated feelings of her ex Cory being a member of their college friend group and having an upcoming wedding. Camille starts to develop feelings for Danny and has to navigate how that will affect her friend group. When another one of her college friends, Drew, helps her get another corporate job, will Camille risk another burnout or will she stay in Rhode Island with the life she spent all summer romanticizing about?

Cam wasn’t always the most likable character, but you do root for her to figure her life out. Danny is basically too perfect. I found myself laughing at some of their awkward situations, one in particular - IYKYK. This book held my attention and was an easy read! It definitely would be a great beach/summer read. The end sets up another book with the friend group, and I would definitely continue reading more about the other characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advanced copy!

[Abena · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! ***

This is such an excellent debut novel! I really loved how relatable and realistic it felt from start to finish.

The story follows Camille, who is navigating her mid-twenties while feeling completely burned out. She’s drained by working in corporate America, struggling with student loan and credit card debt, and reeling from losing her job while trying to figure out what direction her life is supposed to take next. You really feel her panic and stress, because of this.

When Camille eventually leaves her life in DC and moves to a small town in Rhode Island where one of her male best friends from college lives, you can easily guess where parts of the story are headed, but I still was hooked. At times the book dragged a tiny bit but the slow-burn romance between Camille and Danny was worth the journey. Danny is genuinely so sweet, supportive, and patient.

One of my favorite parts of the book was how the author handled conflict. Camille and Danny have different worldviews and philosophies, the story shows them confronting those differences and also addressing times where Camille took him for granted over the course of their friendship.

In general, the friend group dynamics were another highlight. Because they all went to college together — including Camille’s ex— there’s a complicated emotional history that creates moments of tension. The way the story explores evolving friendships, changing life paths and that fear of being left behind felt incredibly authentic.

Overall, this is a book I wouldn’t hesitate recommending, and I can’t wait to read whatever the author writes next.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC for an honest review.

Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez is a story about a young woman, Camille Luna, who is going through a life crisis.  She gets fired from her job and must figure out what's next for her but struggles to know what to do.  Her college friend Danny comes to pick her up and offers her the chance to stay with him for the summer and sort things out in his Rhode Island beach home.

Camille was not my favorite character, she was often times frustrating because she just couldn't get out of her own way.  However, the friends that she felt like she was losing or had lost were always at the center of her thoughts and many of the decisions she was making were to please others which ultimately never works out well for people.  Ramirez did a nice job of building the problem and then unraveling everything until you see what Cam finally comes to realize about herself, what kind of person she wants to be, who she wants to be in her life and who she wants in her life.  Danny was my favorite character.  He was charming, playful, and caring to the people in his life.  I loved how she developed his character.  One of my favorite parts of this book is the transformation of how each character viewed themselves and the friends viewed each other. 

I gave it a 4.5/5* I would have given it a 5* if I liked Cam and little bit more. I would recommend for those that love slow burns and friends to lover.

#BurnoutSummer #JennaRamirez #netgalley #StMartinsPress

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

When Camille Luna manages to get fired and arrested (a minor incident with a wayward lighter and a piece of trash) on the same day, it's her best friend Danny who comes to the rescue. He not only drives down to DC to pick her up but also offers to let her stay with him for the whole summer as she figures out what to do next. Once Cam gets to the picturesque town of Elswick, Rhode Island, where Danny owns and runs his deceased uncle's restaurant, she can finally relax and start to think about what she actually wants in her life. Unfortunately, one of those things might be a relationship with Danny--amidst Cam's core group of college friends, when she and her ex, Cory, broke up, it fractured the group in ways that they are only just starting to come out of. Will Cam risk the bonds of friendship again if it means possibly being with the love of her life?

BURNOUT SUMMER perfectly captures the angst of being in your twenties, post college, when it feels like you're too old to be aimless but still too young to really know what you want in your life. Ramirez also did an excellent job of showcasing how misunderstandings happen between friends, even in the world of easy access (cell phones). Cam and Danny's relationship was really nuanced in a way that enhanced the reading. This will be a great summer read for those who like romances with:
-friends to lovers
-he falls first
-getting the band back together
-forced proximity

Burnout Summer is out May 12, 2026

[Alana Majewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sometimes, the best love stories are the slow-burning fires. Not the ones that ignite the quickest."
Burnout Summer is about a college graduate who is struggling with what her life is supposed to look like as an adult. With crippling student loan debt, a recent termination of employment, and a new arrest record, she has some actual evaluating in front of her. What is her life going to look like moving forward? How is she going to dig herself out of this hole? Is she even happy with her life anymore?
And how will the dynamic of her friendships change with recent revelations?
As an adult, I can genuinely say that I remember going through this evaluation myself. Everyone in their 20s has some existential crisis, and it's a bear trying to work through. I empathized with Camille's character and the realization that she was a self-absorbed friend who focused only on the negatives in her life.
"It's okay to be unsure about what you want. Because maybe the more valuable question is What do you need?"
Once I reached the 30% mark in this book, I had to put down all my other books and just devour the rest. The angst, the heartache, the... hope! We are all constantly growing individuals, and while we had a tidal wave of growth and discovery in our 20s, now we have the opportunity to bloom. Camille bloomed in Elswick, Rhode Island,
Never let your dreams die, hold onto hope, and demand your dreams to breathe.

[Erica Ridenour · Rating 4 out of 5]

## The Story

The story is both a love story, and a sort of finding your true self story. It focuses equally on Cam’s development and the development of the love story between Danny and Cam. Really, the stories coincide with eachother, and it works.

The story also pays a lot of attention to the dynamics of the friend group, and Cam’s coming to grips with both her place in the group and the inevitability of change as they all get older and go to different places in their lives.

## Tropes

Friends to lovers

Corporate Girl + Laid Back Guy

## What I Thought

I really loved this book. The central romance is a beautiful slow burn, friends to lovers romance, that feels realistic while still aspirational. I mean, who wouldn’t want a hot best guy friend who secretly loved you for years to whisk you off your feet to his beautiful hometown where he runs a super cool, successful business? As cheesy as that sounds, it was still totally realistic.

But really what I loved about this book as it touched on so many of the struggles one might face in their mid twenties. Questions of fading friendships, missed opportunities, dreams, second chances.

By the time I was 25, I already had one kid, so you’d think I wouldn’t relate much at all. But the story is so universal, so relatable, I couldn’t help. I saw myself in Cam even if we were worlds apart.

I happily give this book 4 stars and would grab up anything else written by Jenna Ramirez.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has that perfect blend of waning friendships, lost love, and a sprinkle of self-loathing, all wrapped up in a warm, salty, seaside summer. It somehow manages to feel heavy and breezy at the same time, which is honestly my favorite flavor of chaos.

I won’t lie here... it took me a minute to warm up to Camille. She is deeply in her own way at the beginning, and I found myself begging her to just… breathe. But once it became clear that she was going to get a grip (eventually), I actually started rooting for her. The messy 20-something spiral was painfully real.

Danny, on the other hand, is the softest golden retriever MMC I’ve read all year. I adore him. He deserves good things only. He’s steady and patient and quietly in love in that way that just gets you.

I will say that the side characters stole the show for me. The friend group and the restaurant crew were all so fleshed out and full of personality even though they’re only orbiting the main story. They added so much heart and nuance to Cam’s whole unraveling and rebuilding process.

A messy FMC, a sunshiney MMC, beach town healing vibes, and a whole lot of quarter life turmoil were all things I thoroughly enjoyed about this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jenna Ramirez, and Saturday Books for the eARC of this book.

[Stephanie Toedter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burnout Summer hit all of the sweet, fun easy reading romance check marks for me! Cam hits a low point in her life and one of her best friends, Danny, comes in to help her start over. He brings her back to his place in a beautiful beach town in Rhode Island, and helps her find happiness again. While reading, I find myself wanting to go sit on the beach and lounge while enjoying the story of Cam and Danny’s change from best friends to more!
Cam’s thoughts are often selfish and self pitying, and as a reader you get frustrated with her. However, I think many of us that have had low points, whether work, health or family, and have been selfish. The story reminds us how our selfish thoughts can affect others and how we miss out on life when focused of the self pitying thoughts.
Then there is Danny in the story who brings our thoughts back to loving and caring for others, and living our best life. Danny’s image in my mind is adorable, and made this book hard to put down because I was anxious to see the next sweet moment from him!
I recommend this book to anyone wanting a rom-com read. I will not give a spoiler, but there is a scene in the book that will have you laughing out loud and then enjoying the change when the scene’s conflict is resolved!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️ and 3 🌶️

I was given a digital ARC of this book by NetGalley but all opinions about it are my own.

This is a friends to lovers, she is a mess and he gives her a safe place to land, forced proximity, and golden retriever MMC.

I really wanted to love this book and for the first 1/3 of the book I did. But somewhere along the way the FMC just started to bug me. She just will not stop with the self pity. She also can’t see that Danny is in love with her. Danny started to bug me too at some point because he just would not tell her that he had feelings for her. She was just did so much wallowing in the first 2/3rds of the book.

There was also the scene with the vibrator….If you know, you know. It was just weird and then the ay after they just went back to acting like it didn’t happen…I mean I almost DNFed it right there.

I will say that I loved the last 1/3 of the book. The relationship she built, her relationship with Danny and with her other college friends are all just so well written int he page at this point. I just wish I had enjoyed the middle of the book as much as I did the last bit.

Also, can we get authors to stop setting up the next book in the epilogue. If you are doing an epilogue do one about the MCs from this book and then give us the first chapter of your next book, don’t ruin an epilogue by making it about someone else.

I would read the next book in this series…assuming there is one because while I didn’t love the FMC, I did like the writing.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnout Summer earns its four stars because it balances heart, realism, and escapism beautifully. While the pacing may feel slow for readers who prefer faster romantic momentum, I think that slowness is exactly what allows the emotional beats to land. A few moments felt repetitive in Cam’s internal spiral, but even that felt true to the burnout experience rather than a flaw in execution.

Danny is the emotional anchor of the story. Danny is steady, patient, and quietly supportive, a contrast to Cam’s internal chaos without feeling like a fantasy fix-it man.

This is a book about giving yourself permission to pause, reroute, and redefine what success looks like wrapped in a tender, summer-soaked romance that never loses sight of emotional authenticity.

The kind of book I’d recommend when you want something comforting but not shallow a story that feels like a deep breath rather than an escape hatch. It’s romantic, reflective, and grounded in the messy reality of figuring yourself out when life doesn’t go according to plan.

If you’ve ever felt behind, burned out, or unsure whether you’re chasing the right version of success, this one might hit a little closer to home than expected.

[Luv2TrvlLuvBks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Self-absorbed, Camille, and he's too good for her, Danny, is not a summer lovin' this reader celebrated.

Camille's single minded trajectory post college is not unusual. Be a part of similarly driven group of college friends and vigilantly follow the rules, success would seem to follow. With an unforeseen termination, Camille's career path abruptly comes to a halt. Her living situation and bills affect her options. This is one that makes her untenable situation one readers could relate to.

To further pull her down, her group of friends have discovered their own versions of success. The outlier in this fictional group of friends is seemingly Danny. Initially, the reader 'thinks' that his off the beaten path led him to his own version of success. It didn't. Familial circumstances helped him along the way. And, so feel the message the author attempted to impart, a 'see, look what I did, tried etc' to poor Camille just didn't deliver the message believe the author was trying to achieve.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lily Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez follows Camille Luna, a young woman in the midst of a life crisis. Fired from her job and unsure what comes next, Camille accepts an offer from her college friend, Danny, to stay with him for the summer in his Rhode Island beach home.

Camille was often frustrating, and her self-absorption and indecision made it hard for me to connect with her. Ramirez does a decent job of showing her gradual realization of who she wants to be and the kind of people she wants in her life. Danny, on the other hand, completely stole my heart: charming, playful, patient, and quietly steadfast, the kind of friend-turned-sweetheart you can’t help rooting for. Their slow-burn dynamic, from comfortable to complicated, is the highlight of the story.

The romance is tender, the pacing easy, and the themes of messy growth and starting over feel authentic. The emotional disconnect with Camille kept this from being a swoon-worthy favorite, so I’m landing on three and a half stars.

[Tammy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Camille has just been fired from a job she hates, arrested and sent to jail, and then picked up and whisked away to her college friend, Danny’s, seaside home.

Danny(who, along with Cam, makes up a group of 5 college besties) gives Camille a place to live and a job in his restaurant while she figures out what she wants to do with her debt-ridden and lonely life.

Unfortunately, I could never connect with or really care about Camille as she was so wrapped up in herself and her problems she just irritated me. I also got impatient with her constant worry about growing apart from her old friends and feeling like it was all her fault. I can understand it to a point but it got tedious with Cam. Danny was a very lovable guy who deserved better than he got with Camille in my opinion. I never felt a real connection/heat between them.

This is evidently going to be a series featuring all the core group of friends so we shall see where it leads. Maybe Drew, Cory, and Morgan will prove to be more interesting and realistic.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Anna Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnout Summer captured the feeling of when you're on vacation and life is bliss, then you think about returning to "real life" and feel bummed about it, but THEN you think "why can't regular life be more like this vacation?" and you make your real life happier and more fun. And I appreciate that about this book.

There are several secondary themes beyond the romance, some don't hit as hard for me personally, but I know they will really resonate with many readers and I'm excited for this book to publish so I can hear everyone else's takeaways. The one that really got me was Danny's feelings towards his Uncle Beau and all discussion surrounding his legacy. That hit hard.

One critique I have is that the conflict plays out in a way where I wholeheartedly believe our FMC does not deserve our MMC and Danny is settling. Sorry. I like him too much for him to end up with Cam, but I still enjoyed so many moments through the plot.

Pick up Burnout Summer if you're feeling like your 9-5 is too much, if you're craving a small Rhode Island beach town, or if you're looking for a sweet (and sometimes frustrating) friends-to-lovers.

Thank you, Net Galley for the eARC!