Publication Date: March 25, 2025
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster comes her adult debut novel Summer in the City—a swoony, fast-paced rom-com set in New York City in which a screenwriter and a sexy tech CEO go from lovers to enemies and back to lovers again…
Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.
In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.
When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay… if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.
One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.
Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.
Until it isn’t.
As a screenwriter, Elle finally has the chance at making it big. The only problem is her writer’s block may destroy her opportunity.
Author Alex Aster brings to life the concept of “desperate times call for desperate measures” in Summer in the City.
To get the creative juices flowing, Elle relocates to New York City, where she ends up running into Parker Warren. There’s an interesting lovers-to-enemies attraction that creates plenty of attention, especially since being with Parker inspires Elle’s writing.
They both need each other for different reasons, so they opt for a summer together. Once it is over, they plan to walk away from their fake arrangement. However, the temperature isn’t the only thing heating up in the city.
Summer in the City serves up a light, refreshing romance perfect for the beach.
Alex Aster is a #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author. She studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, lives in New York, and is never too far from a coffee shop.
