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Chasing Summer: A Novel

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For fans of Carley Fortune, this is a funny, smart, complicated second-chance romance set in Prince Edward County

When down-on-love screenwriter Elise Hunter moves to idyllic Prince Edward County for the summer, the last thing she expects is to fall for not one but two attractive suitors. But will she find the kind of romance she’s so good at writing about? And if so, who will she choose?

Elise’s passion is making movies, but while she excels at writing romance, she’s not interested in dating losers just so she can be in a relationship—she has bigger plans.

Unfortunately, those plans fall through when she’s unexpectedly fired on set, right in front of Ben, the charming star. But a chance encounter with him during her sister’s bachelorette party presents an Ben offers to be her fake wedding date to appease her nightmare mother, if Elise will be the writing teacher at Ben’s family theatre camp in beautiful Prince Edward County. The deal is on!

She gives herself the summer to figure out who she wants to be, not to mention have some sexy experiences to fuel her writing. But on the day she moves into the idyllic lakefront summer cabin, she discovers that her neighbour is the first man she ever fell in love with. Dave is just as handsome as she remembers, but he also once ghosted her. Can she trust him again? Or is Ben the better choice?

As Elise tries to work through her unresolved feelings for Dave, her fake feelings for Ben start to feel real, leaving her torn between the love of her life and the opportunity to start over with someone new.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 26, 2026

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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah | Kerosene.Lit.
1,204 reviews686 followers
May 26, 2026
My grabby hands were completely out for this summery cover, the Prince Edward County setting, and the promise of a love triangle! And I think the love triangle was probably the strongest part for me. I definitely had a clear favourite, and I had a feeling he’d be the endgame choice, but I appreciate that it wasn’t painfully obvious from the start who Elise would end up with.

But overall, everything felt very underdeveloped, with a lot of telling versus showing. The story was juggling so many different things at once: fake dating Ben (the celebrity love interest), a second chance situation with David (the man who ghosted her ten years ago), the theatre camp, the family drama, and Elise’s career as a screenwriter for Christmas romances. There was a lot happening.

Even the setting itself wasn’t as immersive as I hoped for. With it compared to Carley Fortune, I really expected to FEEL those Canadian rural summer vibes, but it seemed like the story kept pulling away from Prince Edward County so Elise could deal with conflicts back in Toronto. Again, it was just a little all over the place. I never really settled in.

(spice level: 2 open-door scenes, mild details)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
459 reviews4 followers
May 26, 2026
2.75⭐️

I really wanted to love this romance set between Prince Edward County and Toronto, but unfortunately this one just didn’t fully land for me.

Elise gets fired from her screenwriter job and gets the opportunity to be a theatre summer camp counselor and teach kids about screenwriting for the summer. While there, she finds herself torn between Ben, the charming golden-boy actor whose family owns the camp, and David, the boy who broke her heart years ago as a teenager.

I absolutely loved all the Canadian references and settings and the light, summer-scape, breezy tone it had to it. The romance was set up with two potential love interests, but Ben seemed very underdeveloped compared to David, and his interactions with Elise stayed surface level, which really hinted at David being the endgame. Elise was a particularly frustrating character. She just seemed very confused and kept making what seemed like erratic decisions while looking to everyone else to take the lead. There were also a lot competing plot lines to follow: family drama, unhealed hurt, fake dating, and a love triangle. I ended up having trouble connecting to it all and felt like nothing ever got fully resolved.

I also struggled with the audiobook narration. I had a hard time distinguishing between the various characters’ voices, both male and female, to the point that I ended up switching to the physical book fairly early on because I couldn’t consistently follow who was speaking.

Overall, this is a fun, easy summer read with theatre/summer camp themes, charming Canadian settings, and romance at its core. I think former theatre kids, summer camp lovers, and readers looking for a distinctly Canadian romance will likely enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Canada Audio and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Jenna Unrau.
27 reviews1 follower
May 14, 2026
*Review of ARC audiobook from NetGalley*


Chasing Summer feels like a classic a made for TV movie, where the FMC being a screen writer for Christmas romance movies and then ends up living her own romance while in Prince Edward County, a small town getaway along Lake Ontario while teaching at a Film camp. I was really looking forward to reading this summer romance but felt like the entire arc was relatively superficial. The problems Elise was having in her life, like with her mom were never truly resolved. The book continued on as though we didn’t need further explanation, meanwhile at times there was more details. It sets up to be a why choose, but I felt that one of the men never stood a chance. It was very clear throughout who she would end up with. At the end he makes a grand gesture, as with all romances, but we never get into them talking more about it or working through more of the issues that were raised - it was just we’ll deal with it. Because of this lack of depth, I wasn’t able to sink my teeth into this one as much as I had hoped I would. While I was entertained enough to keep listening and hoping that somehow she wouldn’t chose the obviously wrong man, I can’t justify rating this more than 2.5/5⭐️ rounded up for GoodReads. It’s a fast paced romance, with subtle overarching themes of self growth, forced proximity, reconnection. Good way to dip my toes into the summer romances.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kate Wallace.
86 reviews1 follower
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 12, 2026
This book scratched an itch in my brain just right. It felt like comfort. There were so many nostalgia memories, 90s and 00s pop culture references and family dynamics that felt reminiscent of my own adolescence and adulthood. It felt perfectly crafted for me as a Canadian millennial.

None of the characters were as "good" (aka minimally flawed) as you'd expect in a romance novel, but also none of them were as bad as they seemed in certain moments. For me this book did what a lot of romance novels fail to do, which was make the storyline and main characters it feel genuine and a realistic representation of what off-page love looks like for most people. It felt like this could have been the (love) life of someone you knew. I just really appreciated the balance of the messiness and mundaneness and feeling the criticality of career choices during one's quarter-midlife years, that accompanied a romance that didn't feel over produced and made up of picture perfect characters.

The author also did a really good job of building out the peripheral relationships to felt natural and authentic, not forced for a trope or sub plot/conflict. I guess maybe some could say that was at the cost of the romance development. This actually felt a bit more like women's lit, Elyse had a lot to work through that summer and was building (and maintaining) relationships with her friends, family, coworkers and mentees while also juggling two love interests. So in some ways the romantic relationships felt slightly underdeveloped. But I don't mind that when I feel like the FMC has a fully developed personality and life and independence despite that's be shown in the story, regardless of the romantic outcome.

Some of my favourite moments/ references / lines:

- the obsession with float on by modest mouse (I had that song on repeat for months/ years)
- Elyse calling her sister "sissy" (same)
- Gilmore girls quotes
- the backhanded compliment about Taylor Sheridan shows hahaha
- "Ambition is not an identity"
- "what would it be like to have a parent you trusted to hold even your ugliest emotions? What a balm that would be"

I received this novel as an advanced listening copy (alc) through NetGalley. I enjoyed the narrators voice as a whole, but she didn't do any vocal shifts for different characters (male or female) so it could take a few seconds to calibrate and register who was saying what in a dialogue sequence.

All in all would recommend. Look forward to buying this for my shelf, and my sister's.


Profile Image for Victoria ✨.
10 reviews
May 26, 2026
Book Name: Chasing Summer
Author: Frankie Scott

***ALC Review***
⭐️Rating: (3.5/5)

Thank you @netgalley & @HarperCollins Canada Audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Chasing Summer is a Canadian summer romance set in Prince Edward County and Toronto, following Elise Hunter, a screenwriter who loses her job and ends up spending the season at a theatre camp, where she becomes caught in a love triangle between Ben, a charming actor, and David, her first love who reappears unexpectedly.

As a Canadian girlie, I really enjoyed this being my first book set in Canada, it made the reading experience feel extra familiar and fun. The Ontario summer setting, especially Prince Edward County, really gave it that warm, nostalgic, cottage-season feel.

I also appreciated Elise’s personal growth, particularly her decision to stand up to her boss despite the consequences, and her journey of figuring herself out while also trying to reconnect with her family. Those parts of her story felt more compelling than the romance at times.

That said, I struggled a bit with the romance overall. Ben felt quite underdeveloped, which made it hard to fully invest in that side of the love triangle, and some of Elise’s decisions felt a little frustrating or unclear because of that.

I also had occasional trouble distinguishing between characters in the audiobook narration, which made some dialogue scenes harder to follow.

Overall, it’s a light, easy summer read with strong Canadian vibes and self-discovery elements, but the romance and character depth didn’t fully land for me.
Profile Image for Sandrine.
218 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 29, 2026
I was very excited to read this book because I love summer romances. This one takes place in Prince Edward County, a region I have visited before so I was expecting to feel the summer vibes and a cute romance. Unfortunately, it did not deliver for me. I felt like the story was always surface level. All the conflicts that the characters might have were resolved without deep conversations or without any conversations at all which bothered me.
Elise’s relationship with her mom is a big part of the story, but the ending was very disappointing. Once again, no real conversations about their issues took place between the two.
As for the romance, it was not my favourite. I hate miscommunication and there was a lot in this story. While the characters had conversations, once again, they didn’t go deep and try to really understand what the issue might be.
My favourites stories are when the characters undergo a lot of character growth. This story did not have that. While Elise might feel like she had a transformative summer at the Camp, she still hadn’t address the real issues with her mom and with her dad. As for the man she chooses, to raise that many issues before dating for real and then just ending without us knowing how they worked through that left me really disappointed and unconvinced by the romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book, opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Justyna.
460 reviews9 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
April 25, 2026
As a local, seeing Toronto and Prince Edward County rendered so vividly was a total highlight. The setting truly felt like a character of its own.

The core themes—healing from the past and self-discovery—are wonderful. I enjoyed the cast and found the characters distinct and loving in their own ways, even the difficult ones. It starts off with a very strong hook and a great premise.

My frustration was, while the ideas are solid, the execution felt a bit messy, especially in the second half. The story became weighed down by too many competing plot lines (family drama, past hurts, fake dating, and a love triangle). Conflict often felt manufactured, with communication issues arising where they didn't seem natural. I found myself frustrated with the protagonist’s circular growth; she would solve a problem only to be conflicted by the exact same issue a chapter later.

The chapters are quite long, which made the pacing feel slow. The ending felt a bit rushed and left some of the deeper issues without a truly satisfying resolution.

Great ideas and a beautiful local setting, truly set the summertime vibe, but the execution and pacing struggled to keep up.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the arc. 
Profile Image for Jess Amelia.
50 reviews12 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 13, 2026
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this in advance. The opinions in this review are my own.

I love that this book takes place in Canada and it has a light, summery feel to it. The main character has a lot of conflicts to navigate - a difficult boss, family drama, unhealed hurt, and romance struggles. I liked that the FMC stands up to her boss despite the backlash she knows she'll probably face. I liked watching her journey to understand herself while also trying to reconnect with her family.

However, there was a lot going on, and so I felt a bit lost through it all, and I couldn't connect with it as much. I enjoy when a character is explored at deeper levels and some layers are pulled back so that you feel like you know them better as they discover themselves. I think this was done to a certain degree, but just not quite enough for me.

The pacing also felt slow, which disconnected me further from the story. That said, it was a light, summer read, and I loved the local setting.
13 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 9, 2026
✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

This book completely captured the feeling of a nostalgic summer romance. 🌊☀️ From the small-town Prince Edward County setting to the emotional pull of first love, Chasing Summer had me hooked trying to figure out who Elise would choose in the end.

Elise’s journey felt so real — caught between the comfort of a first love that never fully faded and the possibility of something new. The story really leans into the idea that first love never truly dies, and I loved how emotional and layered that felt throughout the book.

The detailed writing made the setting come alive so vividly that I felt like I was spending the summer lakeside with the characters. The tension between Dave and Ben kept me invested the entire time, and I genuinely went back and forth trying to decide who I wanted Elise to end up with. 👀

☀️ Summer romance
💌 Fake dating
🏡 Small-town vibes
❤️ First love / second chance romance
🎭 Love triangles that actually keep you guessing

34 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 17, 2026
3.5⭐️

It’s always fun when a story is set in a place you know. Prince Edward County is a beautiful backdrop for this lovingly Canadian romance.

Sometimes it feels the world just throws you in the right place at the right time. Elise is given an opportunity that allows her to heal parts of her past, while building towards the future.

Although I understand the role Ben plays in the story, I just never felt like I actually knew him as a character, no real depth to him. So the decision points with him never truly felt real to me. At time Elise’s decision points were frustrating and seemed based in very little.

That said, I enjoyed this little romp through PEC and getting to meet all the fun and loving people who surround Elise, she has an amazing support system with an eclectic group of characters. If they learn some lessons along the way, they only become stronger for it.
Profile Image for Sara Gaudet.
140 reviews8 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 20, 2026
2.5⭐️Rounded up

I really loved reading a romcom set in my own backyard in Ontario. ❤️🇨🇦 The references and locations throughout had me feeling giddy and relating to the story in a really cute way.

Beyond that, I wanted to love this story but it fell flat for me. I wanted yearning and tension but our FMC just seemed to be confused and looking to follow everyone else’s lead but her own, and no one was really taking the lead so I didn’t connect with the romance at all.

I think theatre kids turned elder millennials will probably enjoy the plot and environment of a playwright turned acting camp teacher but unfortunately this one didn’t land for me.

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for the ARC.
Profile Image for Shannon.
9,016 reviews445 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 21, 2026
I enjoyed this women's lit/summer second chance romance set in Prince Edward County, Ontario quite a lot. While the love triangle aspect of the story wasn't my favorites -- I couldn't get enough of they Canadian setting, summer camp nostalgia and all the Millennial pop culture references. Full of emotional depth, family drama, career growth/ambitions and the perfect touch of romantic shenanigans. It was okay on audio (the narrator wasn't my fav and they misprounced some places/cultural Canadianisms) but I'd still recommend this one for fans of Hallmark movies and authors like Carley Fortune. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Lisa Roppel.
310 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2026
Chasing Summer had me from the cover art! This is a second chance romance set in Prince Edward County in Ontario Canada and it is a place I have always wanted to visit. Hopefully I will visit soon as I live in Ontario. The setting is perfect and return to camp is a perfect way to reconnect your first love. The plot centering around the film industry and the writers was a new connection for me. I enjoyed the plot and the characters in this perfect summer read. The narration was well done and easy to listen to.

Thank you Net Galley, Frankie Scott and Harper Collins Audio for the opportunity to preview this audiobook. The opinions shared are my own.
Happy Pub Day Frankie Scott!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
Profile Image for Linda Shantz.
Author 17 books56 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 8, 2026
I loved the premise of this one, and was drawn to the familiar setting - living just a stone’s throw from the County made it a fun read! The writing was quite spare for the genre, but I found that refreshing. I loved the layers beyond the romance element, with ride-or-die friendships, a complex mother-daughter relationship, and career ambition. And let’s not forget the cat! I don’t consider myself a cat person per se, but all the stars for Okanagan!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.
Profile Image for Kimmie.
161 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 11, 2026
This was my first fake dating romance and now I totally get the hype 😂 The Canadian setting in Prince Edward County was honestly one of my favourite parts. Cozy lake vibes, summer romance, complicated feelings, and a love triangle that actually kept me invested the whole time.

I loved watching Elise try to figure out what she really wanted while balancing her past with the possibility of something new 💛
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ☆Amanda☆.
175 reviews7 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
May 12, 2026
This story is delightful, its like being in a hallmark movie. Its a feel good story about a woman who is going through a bump in the road and ends up teaching writing to some theater summer camp kids. Here she is faced with her first love and a new live interest.
Its fun watching her navigate her past while exploring the new her. Add in some family drama/trauma?, some farm animals, and christmas movie references and you have the perfect summer love story.
Profile Image for Karli.
74 reviews
Review of advance copy
May 21, 2026
2.5 ⭐

I wanted to love this but the first chunk of this made me so annoyed I threw it and started complaining to all my friends. It did eventually win me over a little bit, but not enough to make up for the rough start.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews