Are Annabel Monaghan’s Books Worth the Hype? Our Honest Review

I love a good spicy romance, but I’m also incredibly obsessed with the classic beach read. There’s just something about a cozy, coastal town where a confident woman is happily living her life, only to find her entire world gets turned upside down by the man she never expected to meet. Maybe they hate each other at first, there’s forced proximity, or it’s a second-chance romance. Whatever the trope is, I’m locked in. I know they’ll banter, they’ll fall in love, they’ll break up, they’ll cry, I’ll cry, and ultimately, they’ll end up together in a storybook ending.

I found Annabel Monaghan a few summers ago, visiting a small bookstore on vacation, looking for the perfect beach read. Summer Romance. I mean, come on. I didn’t even have to read the back. By the time I left the beach, I was already halfway through and completely obsessed. I’ve read everything she’s written since and haven’t looked back. With summer right around the corner and her brand new book, Dolly All the Time, releasing May 26th, there has never been a better time to add her entire catalog to your TBR. 

Who is Annabel Monaghan?

Annabel Monaghan is a New York Times bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author. Known for her ability to craft a heartfelt romance novel that has you swooning and giggling, she’s captured readers’ hearts across the globe. You may recognize some of her beloved titles: It’s A Love Story, Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer, and Nora Goes Off Script.

What are Annabel Monaghan’s books about?

Monaghan writes about real women, the kind with complicated lives, jobs they might not love, households to run, and kids to take care of. But despite all of it, her heroines are open to love and tend to stumble into it in the most unexpected, unglamorous ways. These books are witty, funny, and heart-squeezing, and they will probably leave you in tears. 

If you’re a fan of Elin Hilderbrand, Emily Henry, or Katherine Center, you’ll feel right at home, but Monaghan has her own vibe. Her books are closed-door romances, a little cozier and more grounded. They’re a bit more interested in the messiness of everyday life than in grand dramatic gestures. They’re about reinvention, self-worth, and figuring out what you actually want once you stop performing the version of your life that you thought you needed to live. And they always, always end with a happily ever after.

Do you have to read Annabel Monaghan’s books in order?

There is no specific order in which you need to read Annabel Monaghan’s books! All of her fabulous romances are standalone novels, so you don’t need to worry about missing any back stories or character references. So feel free to pick up whichever premise calls to you most first, but be warned, you’ll want to race through her entire catalog the second you finish.

Are Annabel Monaghan’s books spicy?

If you love an emotional romance that focuses far more on love than lust, Annabel Monaghan is the author for you. Her books aren’t completely closed-door, but they are only around one, maybe two chili peppers on the spice-o-meter. There are mentions of sex and definitely romantic moments, but no explicit scenes.

Our review of every Annabel Monaghan book

1. Nora Goes Off Script 

Goodreads Rating: 4.04 out of 5

Annabel Monaghan

Nora Goes Off Script

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to-work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than she is when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old home. The morning after filming wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo Vance, the man cast as her husband in the movie, on her porch with a proposition. He’ll pay $1,000 a day to stay for a week. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.

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This is the best kind of love story. It focuses on all the real, unsexy moments in life, like taking care of the kids, going through a divorce, and choosing between Whole Foods and the closer bargain shop. But it also captures the overwhelming feeling that true love can bring, like the first date jitters, the first kisses, and the tension that makes you hold your breath. Nora is a woman who has been through it, quietly rebuilt herself, and genuinely stopped expecting anything magical to happen to her. And then it does. I love this book because it doesn’t ask you to suspend reality; it just asks you to believe that even the most ordinary day can be the beginning of something extraordinary. Which, honestly, is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.

Nora is a single mom of two and a screenwriter who turns her failed marriage into a movie filmed at her actual house, starring Hollywood’s hottest actor. When the crew packs up and leaves, the dreamiest man alive decides to stay, essentially moving himself into her life uninvited. It’s forced proximity at its coziest, with a slow burn that takes its time and a dash of enemies-to-lovers that makes it even more fun. Plus, who can resist a celebrity-normal-person romance? I mean, it’s every fangirl’s dream. 

2. Same Time Next Summer 

Goodreads Rating: 3.73 out of 5

Annabel Monaghan

Same Time Next Summer

Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack, a great job in Manhattan, and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here—her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a 34-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was 17. Yet, being back at this beach, Sam’s memories come flooding back. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life, their connection is as undeniable as ever.

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This book will have you thinking back to your first love, and I mean really thinking about it. The modern-day love triangle among Sam, her fiancé Jack, and her childhood love Wyatt is completely captivating, especially in the flashback chapters where you get to fall for Wyatt right alongside teenage Sam. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost yourself somewhere along the way, or said yes to a life that looked right on paper but felt a little hollow in your chest, this book will hit you somewhere deep. It’s the perfect summer read. It’s nostalgic, sunny, full of family and true love, and I promise you won’t be able to read the treehouse chapters without feeling every single thing.

There’s first love, a second chance, and a love triangle, all rolled into one emotionally devastating package. The story jumps between past and present with teenage Sam and Wyatt falling for each other during Long Island summers, and adult Sam trying very hard not to fall for him all over again while being engaged to someone else. The beach town setting gives it a dreamy, nostalgic feel that will remind you of The Summer I Turned Pretty, except you’ll be even more emotionally unprepared.

3. Summer Romance 

Goodreads Rating: 4.01 out of 5

Annabel Monaghan

Summer Romance

There aren’t enough labeled glass containers to contain the mess that is Ali Morris’s life. Her mom died two years ago and then her husband left. No one is more surprised than Ali when, for the first time, she takes off her wedding ring and meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her by peeing on him. Ethan smiles at Ali, and looks at her like he likes what he sees. The last thing Ali needs is to make her life messier, but there’s no harm in a little summer romance. Is there?

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This one is a fresh-start romance with a surprise twist. The meet-cute involves her dog peeing on a gorgeous stranger, who later turns out to be someone who apparently has had a crush on her since high school and is very determined to be taken seriously. Add in an age gap, a single mom heroine doing her best, a small-town summer setting, and a younger man who looks at her like she’s the most interesting woman he’s ever met, and you have a book that is genuinely impossible to put down.

I read this book on my summer vacation in 2024, and as if the title wasn’t enough to lock me in, the storyline captured my heart. I picked it up at a local bookstore, started it on the beach, and finished it while crying in my Airbnb. This is a romantic story, but it’s also about a woman remembering who she is, what she likes, what she deserves, and falling in love along the way. Ali isn’t looking for anyone, but the fact that love finds her anyway, in the most unglamorous, dog-pee-related way possible, is exactly why I love this book. Once you start, you won’t be able to put it down. Just make sure you have tissues close by, because the tears will come. 

4. It’s a Love Story 

Goodreads Rating: 3.84 out of 5

Annabel Monaghan

It’s a Love Story

Jane Jackson knows that true love is a lie. She spent her adolescence as the punchline on America’s fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios. Desperate to get her first project greenlit, she claimed that pop star Jack Quinlan has promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. Jack may have been her first kiss and greatest source of shame, but she hasn’t spoken to him in 20 years. Now, Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan while facing down her past is Jane’s idea of hell, but Dan just might surprise her.

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This book has classic enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes, but they’re executed so well that none of it feels like you’ve read it before. Jane can’t stand Dan, and she’s only spending a week with him on Long Island because she needs something from him. Of course, the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to remember why she was so annoyed in the first place. Beachy, funny, and absolutely perfect for your next beach day. 

If you love staying up way too late waiting for the enemies to finally become lovers, this book was made for you. The banter between Jane and Dan is sharp and genuinely funny, and the tension builds at exactly the right pace. We can’t forget about Dan’s big, loud, warm Long Island family, who immediately make you wish you’d been invited to spend the summer with them, too. I finished this book in two days and still think about it. 

5. Dolly All the Time 

Goodreads Rating: 4.49 out of 5

Annabel Monaghan

Dolly All the Time

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was 12, and not at 39 when she moved with her son back to Rhode Island for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home. So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield, the annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family, with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and swinging on the porch, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful.

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Dolly All the Time is fake dating meets billionaire romance in the most charming, sun-soaked way possible. Dolly agrees to pretend to date the wealthiest man in town in exchange for enough money to save her family’s home. A purely business arrangement that neither of them manages to stick to for very long. There’s also what feels like a full rom-com makeover montage, shopping spree, and all, set against a gorgeous Rhode Island seaside town. There’s a slow burn, a single mom heroine, and a hero who is completely worthy of her.

All of these books get five stars, but Dolly All the Time might be Annabel Monaghan’s best yet. I absolutely devoured it and felt a real, genuine connection to Dolly from the very first page. She’s the kind of woman who has spent her whole life holding everything together for everyone else, and watching her slowly, reluctantly let someone in is one of the most satisfying reading experiences I’ve had in a long time. If you’re looking for a book where you feel everything the main character feels—the joy, the hurt, the hope—and where you get to watch a woman discover her own strength in real time, this is the one. 

Verdict: Are Annabel Monaghan’s books worth the hype?

Yes, Annabel Monaghan’s books are definitely worth all of the internet love. Whether you strictly read romance or only occasionally dabble with the genre, her books will charm you from the first page to the very last. With the perfect mix of relatability and emotional moments, while still always giving her characters the happily ever after we love so much with romances, Annabel Monaghan is a must-read romance author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Wise, Contributing Writer

Emily Wise is a Virginia-based content creator with over five years of experience creating content strategies for SaaS companies. Although she spends her days in the tech world, she has spent many years as a lifestyle writer for her personal site, as well as for several publications across the web.

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