Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates

Cruel Summer

Kindle Edition

Maisey Yates

Harlequin · Ebook · June 24, 2025

There are no rules this cruel summer… “I think we should see other people…” That one sentence unravels Samantha Parker’s perfect life.

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Who it’s for
For when you want emotional friction, familiar stakes, and a clean summer read.
Genres
Contemporary Romance, Friends-to-Lovers Romance, Marriage & Divorce
Published
Harlequin, June 24, 2025

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About this book

There are no rules this cruel summer… “I think we should see other people…” That one sentence unravels Samantha Parker’s perfect life. She has a loving husband, three wonderful kids and a comfortable suburban lifestyle. But on the brink of their long-awaited empty-nest chapter, Will asks Samantha for something she never dreamed of: an open marriage. Desperate to keep her husband happy, Samantha proposes a summerlong separation with no contact.

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She knows she has to use the opportunity to find herself, but she also has no interest in being with anyone but Will. She’s confident when the season is over, they’ll get back together like this time never happened. Then Sam gets an offer of adventure from an unlikely source: Logan Martin, a classic-car restorer who happens to be Will’s best friend, asks Sam to help him drive across the country to make deliveries. Logan and Sam have never had an easy relationship. He’s prickly, aloof and a little too handsome. And as they traverse the winding roads and breathtaking backdrops of North America, her changing connection with Logan challenges everything she believed she wanted in life, love and passion. When her summer with Logan is up, will she go home to the familiar stability of her past…or choose the thrilling uncertainty of her future?

Summer Friction

For when you want emotional friction, familiar stakes, and a clean summer read.

Come here for

  • second-chance romance tensions
  • family, friendship, and summer heat

Expect

  • contemporary romance pace
  • marriage-and-divorce edge

Where it sits

Friends-to-Lovers Romance72%
Contemporary Romance47%
Marriage & Divorce35%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Romance
  • Contemporary Romance
  • New Adult Romance
  • Second-Chance Romance
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Coming-of-Age
  • Women's Fiction
  • Marriage & Divorce
  • Small-Town Fiction
Authors
Maisey Yates
Publisher
Harlequin
Published
June 24, 2025
Format
Ebook
Reading lane
Romance