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Love in Hawaii #1

The Summer Between Us

Not yet published
Expected 1 Sep 26
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A broken surf champion. A driven single father. And one summer that forces them to choose between the lives they planned and the love they never saw coming in this romance by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Once a rising surf champion, Rowan Delaney now works at a Waikiki surf shack, her ocean view a constant reminder of the injury that ended her career. Then she meets Kelsey, a lonely young girl on vacation who has her eyes on the whitecaps and a hunger to ride them. Teaching her is the first thing that’s felt right in months. The only problem? Kelsey’s controlling, workaholic single father—who’s far too attractive for Rowan’s peace of mind.

Hawaii is strictly business to Everett Hale. Open a luxury hotel, secure his promotion, and return to New York with the moody daughter he’s struggling to reach. The last thing he needs is a stubborn free spirit like Rowan teaching Kelsey to chase waves instead of opportunities. But she’s showing his daughter how to be fearless—and making him fall for the one woman he can’t take home.

Like the perfect wave, one summer could change everything…and neither of them is ready for the fallout.

363 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 1, 2026

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About the author

Jennifer Probst

129 books10.3k followers
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She holds a masters in English Literature and lives in the beautiful Hudson Valley in upstate New York. Her family keeps her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. Her passions include horse racing, Scrabble, rescue dogs, Italian food, and wine—not necessarily in that order.

She is the NYT, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, spent 26 weeks on the NY Times. Her work has been translated in over a dozen countries, sold over a million copies, and was dubbed a "romance phenom" by Kirkus Reviews. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases at www.jenniferprobst.com. Sign up of her newsletter at www.jenniferprobst.com/newsletter for a free book.

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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
817 reviews23 followers
Review of advance copy
August 8, 2026
Who does not love a summer fling with set rules/single father love story? I absolutely loved The Summer Between Us by Jennifer Probst, the first book in her Love in Hawaii series! The Summer Between Us is an incredible opposites attract/single father/ love story, which filled me with a rollercoaster of emotions. I was hooked from the first page, and it was impossible to put it down. I loved every moment on every page of this page turner. It is my FAVORITE book that I have read recently. I love this incredible love story, the Hawaii setting, and the amazing characters that were introduced, they feel like family! The Summer Between Us is a love story between Rowan Delaney, former pro-surfer, who works at the Hale Nalu Surf Shop and Everett Hale, regional director of Purity Hotels and single father to thirteen-year-old daughter, Kelsey. Everett is in Hawaii leading a team on his company’s newest luxury hotel, Purity Waikiki, with his daughter, Kelsey. Everett is anticipating a promotion to the Senior VP of Global Expansion, following the opening of Purity Waikiki and his return to New York. Everett’s relationship with his father impacts the career choices he has made and his work ethic. Everett works long hours and has little time for his daughter. Rowan suffered a catastrophic injury during a surfing competition; it was her first competition following the death of her father. Rowan meets Kelsey on the beach and they strike up a conversation. Kelsey asks Rowan about surfing lessons, but Rowan informed her that she does not offer lessons. She returns the following day after the instructor near the resort where she is living with her father insulted her. Rowan agrees to teach Kelsey as long as she gets her father’s permission. One of my favorite parts of the story is Rowan’s relationship with Kelsey and how close their bond becomes, especially when Kelsey discovers everything that they have in common. Conversation between Everett and Rowan flows so easily, I love the chemistry between them and the easy banter and flirting, and everything that they do together. As Rowan and Everett spend more time together during Kelsey’s surfing lessons and beach parties, things change between them and they start a secret summer affair with set rules. Their affair will only last as long as Everett is in Hawaii. I love Rowan’s nickname for Everett, “Suit.” I love all the little things that Rowan does for and with Kelsey and everything that Everett does for Rowan. I love all changes that take place in Kelsey because of her surfing lessons. I love Rowan’s rabbit “Bagel” and his love relationship with Kelsey and his love/hate relationship with Everett. I love the heart-to-heart conversation that take place in The Summer Between Us, especially when Everett reveals the what happened with his ex-wife, and the conversations that they both have with Tino, the owner of the surf shop where Rowan works. The heartbreaking conversations regarding Kelsey’s bullying from the classmates at her new private school. A plot twist threatens their relationship and I love what Everett does to resolve it. I love the ending of Rowan and Everett’s love story, and the changes that take place so that they can have a life together. I love the changes that they are each willing to make to have a life with one another. My favorite parts of The Summer Between Us are the epilogue and the bonus epilogue that takes place ten months later, and all the surprises that it reveals. It perfectly wraps up their love story. The Summer Between Us was an amazing opposites attract/single father love story; I am so glad that Rowan and Everett admitted their feeling for each other and got their happy ever after. Jennifer Probst definitely does not disappoint her readers with all the feels in The Summer Between Us and has once again delivered an amazing story filled with everything that I have come to love about and expect from her books. Who does not love hot sexy men, strong, passionate females, big loving families, and caring friends, who always support each other? I love how Kelly develops her characters in such a way that you fall in love with them and care about them much like a good friend and how she always manages to create the "perfect" heroine, who is a strong, sassy woman on her own, to balance out the sexy, swoon worthy cowboy. Jennifer Probst continues to deliver all that and so much more. I love the storyline of The Summer Between Us, the romance, and the family dynamics, it was such an enjoyable book to read. Another favorite part of her book is how she incorporates the picture on the cover and the title of the book into the love story. I love that Jennifer Probst chooses dialogue that stays true to her characters. The Summer Between Us is filled with all the heartbreaking and heartwarming moments, plot twists, and surprises that I have come to love and expect in a Jennifer Probst love story as well as moments that make me laugh. Jennifer Probst continues to prove that she is an incredible storyteller. I love that she writes her stories from the perspective of the main characters. I love getting inside their minds and knowing their thoughts and how they really feel. I love all the characters in The Summer Between Us. They feel like family and friends. I enjoyed the relationships of the family that Rowan made in Waikiki, all the interactions between Rowan and her friends, it feels like real family love and makes me laugh at their teasing. I especially love Rowan’s friendship with Leilani (Lea) and Kelsey’s with Brie, and Chelsea I love the descriptions of Waikiki. Who does not love family and friends that always have each other’s backs? I loved every moment. Highly recommend this beautifully written love story.
Profile Image for January.
3,261 reviews132 followers
Review of advance copy
August 7, 2026
The Summer Between Us by Jennifer Probst (Sept. 2026) [reading in August]
Love in Hawaii #1
xiii+349-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-341

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Movie Rating Equivalent: NC-17

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🏄🏼‍♀️🌺🏨🗽🐇🥯🍍

Featuring: Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; Surf Champion, Single Father, Teen, Resort Launch, New York City, New York; Here For the Summer Trope, Surfing, Workaholic, Pet Bunny Rabbit, Bullying, Sex - Detailed, Spiritual Healing, Self-Actualization, Easter Egg Characters, Work Life Balance, Found Family, Link to Rowan & Everett's Bonus Story, Author’s Note, Acknowledgments, Author's Links

I had hard choices this month but chose The Summer Between Us as my Amazon First Read. This is my first Jennifer Probst story but it won't be my last. Rowan is a surfer champion still mourning the loss of her father and career years afterwards. Everett is a workaholic single father from New York residing in Waikiki for a summer project, whilst looking to occupy his daughter Kelsey so he can secure the promotion he needs to pay for the prestigious private school that will make up for her mother's abandonment. This plot had the potential to go deep but it decided to remain lighthearted and play it safe as summer fling or more trope. Missing the belly laughs of a romantic comedy despite a few humorous moments and the depth of a dramatic heartfelt romance, ultimately (another word) you get a basic beach read that doesn't get heavy on the emotions or extra spicy although it definitely is too spicy for an R-rated movie as is] focuses on trying making you forget you're chilling in your living room with beachy scenes and seafood descriptions. all in all it was a fairly entertaining read but nothing to write home about (another way of saying okay besides this phrase) or so I thought. somehow after several chapters probes managed to lean into a emotional romance without the use of heartache or sappy moments. she made me feel like I was on vacation, I've actually been to Hawaii, without throwing it at my face and somehow make this into a touching story that manages to have a lot of substance without going into deep Waters pretty much the perfect Beach read that creeps up on you with the feels.

Recommend to others: Yes. I'd read it again if I was limited to my library and looking for something light and summery. But I'm not calling anyone up to give them a juicy detail or recap.


Love in Hawaii
1. The Summer Between Us (2026)
2. The Long Way Back to You (2027)

Songs for the Soundtrack: "Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett, "You’re On Your Own, Kid" by Taylor Swift

Books and Authors Mentioned: The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery, Lauren Layne, Monica Murphy, Lori Wilde, Soul Surfer by Sean McNamara, Deborah Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz, and Michael Berk [based on] Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamiltonn̈ Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh; Moana by Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, and Jordan Kandell; The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst, Searching for Beautiful by Jennifer Probst, Marriage to a Billionaire series by Jennifer Probst

Memorable Quotes: “I actually stood up the whole time—like, for real, not that flailing thing I was doing before. Rowan said I finally ‘found my stance.’” He paused mid-bite to stare. “Your stance?” “Yeah!” She grabbed a fry and stuffed it into her mouth. “So, okay, you know how I kept wiping out? Rowan said it’s because I was trying to muscle the board instead of ‘feeling the line of the wave.’ Which sounds super mystical, right? But it’s real! She made me practice popping up on the sand, like a hundred times, until my arms felt like noodles.” He smiled. “Sounds intense.” “It was! But then I caught this tiny inside wave, and I stayed up the whole time! Well, almost. She said I held my rail—wait, no, my weight—on the stringer? Something like that. But she said it was ‘clean form.’” Her hands mimed the motion—crouching, balancing, eyes on the imaginary horizon. “It felt like flying. I didn’t even think about falling. I just did it.” Everett watched the way her whole body seemed to be still riding that wave. He imagined all that fire and joy being shared with Rowan. Not him. “You’re getting good,” he said quietly.

The beach behind the shop glowed under strings of bulbs. Someone had dragged out the speakers. Slack-key guitar hummed low, mixed with talk and laughter. A grill threw up sweet smoke. Paper plates bent under kalbi ribs, macaroni salad, pineapple that dripped down wrists. Kids ran in crooked lines, sandy feet slapping. Dogs made slow loops, noses down. The air tasted like salt and soy.

Everett looked around the Purity lobby and released a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Everett let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
1,368 reviews9 followers
August 6, 2026
Great Hawaiian vibe and super summer read.

Love in Hawaii brought back fond memories of my vacation in Hawaii. I visited the Dole Plantation and did some of the other stuff mentioned, except it was with my 85-year-old Gramma. It was a wonderful trip! I loved seeing Everett work his magic on the resort he was building. Rowan was a competitive surfer until a wipe out shortly after her father died. Now she works in a surfboard shop. Enter teenaged Kelsey who is in Hawaii for the summer with her dad Everett. Kelsey wants to learn to surf but had a bad first experience with a surf instructor. Rowan has not been back in the water in a year, but Kelsey works her way under Rowan's armor. Everett tracks down Kelsey and insults Rowan for her life choices. He is on the corporate fast track and doesn't understand Rowan's life choices. But somehow, seeing Rowan teaching Kelsey is breaking through his resistance. And the sparks between them are smoldering. But what happens when the resort is built and Everett and Kelsey return to New York City? Read this to find out!

The pace is engrossing and the tone is uncertain yet hopeful with a character centered storyline that has some steamy scenes. The characters are vivid and engaging. The character development is so fun to watch for all 3 of them. This is my fist book by Jennifer Probst, but it won't be may last. Enjoy the Hawaiian vibes in this enemies to lovers romance!
Profile Image for Stacie Christensen.
782 reviews23 followers
August 7, 2026

Loved Rowan & Everett’s story!

I was hooked within the first few pages and completely swept away by this book. Rowan, a former rising surf champion still healing from the injury that ended her career, is just trying to keep her head above water working at a Waikiki surf shack—until she meets lonely young Kelsey, who’s desperate to ride the waves. The only complication? Kelsey’s controlling, workaholic single dad, Everett, who’s in Hawaii strictly for business and wants nothing to do with a free-spirited surf instructor teaching his daughter to chase the ocean instead of opportunities.
Their chemistry is instant and electric. Watching Rowan help Kelsey find her courage while slowly cracking Everett’s rigid, career-focused shell was pure magic. The Hawaii setting is gorgeous, the banter is sharp, and the emotional layers—grief, single parenthood, rediscovering joy—hit all the right notes. This story has all the feels and delivers that perfect “I don’t want summer to end” ache.

If you’re looking for a heartfelt, forced-proximity romance with strong character growth, beautiful island vibes, and a hero and heroine who challenge everything they thought they wanted, this is it. A great summer read.
Profile Image for Luv2TrvlLuvBks.
881 reviews6 followers
Review of advance copy
August 8, 2026
"Even if you love him. Because if you do this, he needs to know the true you. Not the one he wants you to be".

Just one of the many lines so beautifully written, this Reader, can't help but trumpet about. There's so many wonderful moments in this book. From Rowan's relationship with her father, her Hawaiian community, Kelsey and, of course, the 'Suit'.

The Author addresses grief and losses. There's the loss of professional dreams and family but, conversely, there's the recalibration we need to do and how we are that much better for having done so.

Readers who enjoy Lori Foster, Jill Shalvis, and Lauren Layne will adore this one ! It's a perfect one to round out the summer of 2026! And, you will never think of Bagels the same way again after this read.
Profile Image for Jessica Goodman.
258 reviews
Review of advance copy
August 7, 2026
I got this book from Amazon First Reads as a free book with prime membership. Solid fluffy rom-com beach read. I read it between war novels as a palate cleanser. It was entertaining and the peek into surf culture was cool. Not for young-mid teens as there it was a bit gratuitous with some of the adult scenes. Good book to fly through on vacation but won't win any medals for outstanding plot or writing - that's not always what we're looking for though :) There is definitely a place in the world for Hallmark movie-style books.
346 reviews2 followers
Read
August 5, 2026
This was a fun read. Basically a romance novel with a happy ending which I always like. Surfer girl had stopped surfing after she wrecked during a competition and after her dad died. Then this guy and his daughter come to her Hawaiian island because he is building a hotel. It takes a while but they eventually hook up.
Profile Image for Luisa Rivas.
2,253 reviews42 followers
Review of advance copy
August 7, 2026
Great read, enjoyed that it happens in Hawaii and portrays the surfing culture. I liked the characters’ arc as they overcome their issues but found it took them too much time due to sheer stubbornness.

Kelsey was adorable, Tino, Lea and Cousin Howie were awesome support characters for Rowan. And of course, Bagel the bunny, who commanded every scene.
Profile Image for Tracy Burttschell.
2 reviews
Review of advance copy
August 8, 2026
I absolutely LOVED this book!! Such a great summer/beach read! Or if you just want to feel like you’re at the beach! I went into this thinking it would be just another basic summer romance book, but it had much more depth than I was expecting. One of my favorite reads this year for sure. I’m going to go check out other books by this author now!
Profile Image for Celina Rangel.
97 reviews1 follower
August 8, 2026
4.75⭐️ The most perfect summer romance read! It’s takes place in Hawaii which I just came back from and the descriptions of surfing, the island, and the people were perfection! Loved the story from start to finish! ❤️❤️❤️
Profile Image for TheGood ByeGirl.
594 reviews4 followers
Review of advance copy
August 8, 2026
A first reads purchase from Amazon.

A wonderful story, I really enjoyed the interactions of Rowan, Kelsey & Everitt.

Hawaii is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, I've seen documentaries on the surfing there.
Profile Image for Jo.
1,962 reviews18 followers
August 2, 2026
okok, it’s simple, u just choose what u want

wolfe and gen? from the previous books?
Profile Image for Penny Hollingsworth.
94 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2026
good read

It was a good read. I Picked the book for my first reads for the month. It is Worth reading.
115 reviews
Review of advance copy
August 4, 2026
Read this through Amazon First Reads and now I wanna move to Hawaii. This is the first book I've read from this author and I want to read more! Fast read with everything I love in a book!
Profile Image for Chris.
282 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2026
Just a great romance.
No drama no miscommunication just plain greatness
450 reviews
August 7, 2026
A good book in context of what it is: a nice simple love tome.
2 reviews
Review of advance copy
August 8, 2026
Major “Blue Crush” vibes (my fav movie from my teens!) but I think that’s the only reason I kept reading.
104 reviews1 follower
August 8, 2026
The Summer Between Us

A great read! Great characters! Kept me entertained with the love/ hate relationship. Ramona was a very good mentor. Loved the storyline!
145 reviews
August 8, 2026
a very good book

It could have been a bit shorter, but it is a really nice love story. And now I’m semi-educated on surfing! Bonus!!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews