Cover of Problematic Summer Romance

Problematic Summer Romance

  • 2025 first published
  • 402 pages
  • ★ 3.5 (4 ratings)
  • 3 editions

Problematic Summer Romance is a 2025 novel by Ali Hazelwood. Much of the action takes place in Taormina, Italy. It features Eli Killgore, Maya Killgore and Conor Harkness. Readers will find themes of Summer and Adult.

Open Library readers give it an average of 3.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, and 42 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 3 editions.

It runs to roughly 402 pages — 7–8 hours of reading at an average pace.

About Problematic Summer Romance

What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End. Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.
Description from Open Library

Themes, setting & tropes

Tropes

Setting

  • Taormina, Italy

Characters

  • Eli Killgore
  • Maya Killgore
  • Conor Harkness

Subjects

  • Romance
  • Contemporary
  • Summer
  • Contemporary Romance
  • Adult
  • Friends to lovers romance
  • Contemporary romance

Publisher

Quick answers

Who wrote Problematic Summer Romance?

Problematic Summer Romance was written by Ali Hazelwood and first published in 2025.

How long is Problematic Summer Romance?

The median edition has 402 pages, about 7–8 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to Problematic Summer Romance?

Readers who like it often enjoy If We Ever Meet Again, Count Your Lucky Stars and First Time Caller.

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