Summer Setlist

by Holly Hayes

230 pages, Paperback

Published June 16, 2026

Reviews

[Becka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, cutie little romance. Perfect for a 24 hour, low stakes beach read. This was super cool because the plot surrounds iconic music venues and indie bookstores across the country - made me want to visit all of those places!! I give it more stars for actually making me want to take action, rarely does a book do that. The romance is a slow, slow burn, but I liked it the more I read. Has some sweet and funny one-liners. I liked that the whole tone of the prose matched the personality of MFC.

[Meg Rosenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning debut from Holly Hayes! A sweet and sentimental love story that is honest as it is vulnerable. I loved Lizzie and Luke's characters and relationship. The concept and format of the book is fresh and unique (no chapters, sections divided by music venue). Lot's of history embedded in the romance! Can't wait for Holly's next book!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Setlist is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. While I enjoyed the slow burn, forced proximity, forbidden workplace romance, will-they-won’t-they, more than that, I enjoyed the love story of music.

Holly’s writing transports you so you really feel like you’re at iconic music venues. The way she can describe a concert eleven times in completely different ways and bring out the unique experience of both the venue and the artist is incredible.

As a music lover, I enjoyed being back at the Gorge, remembering when I saw Blink-182 there. I was brought back to a Zach Bryan show. Then there was jazz, which I’ve never seen before but is now a bucket list experience.

The amount of research Holly must have done to make this book immersive is amazing, and of course I didn’t mind the hot musician with a man bun pining for the dedicated writer.

A fantastic story all the way around. Highly recommend.

[David Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Summer Setlist! It was such a fun and interesting approach to learning about epic music venues across the US, the musicians that played there, all while diving deep into a relationship between two coworkers who were taking us on this summer journey across the US. Highly recommend this read. Beautifully written by Holly Hayes.

[Lacey Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a breath of fresh air. Hayes wrote a romance that lyrically captured a love story between Lizzie and Luke that expertly balanced the tension, tenderness, timing, and trust it takes to build a relationship that lasts! I loved that the characters acknowledged their faults and shortcomings before jumping in so the story rang truer than most romances. This was a refreshing read more realistic and raw than a lot of other books no coming out in this genre and I am here for it!

[Theresa Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Summer Setlist. I loved reading about the different music venues and musicians, and thought Holly Hayes did a great job developing the main characters and weaving their relationship throughout the story. I’d definitely recommend this book - and it even inspired me to want to visit some of the venues too!