Problematic summer romance - Ali Hazelwood

What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the Sunday Times and 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 clich, 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 clichs 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.

It's officially Problematic Summer - and readers can't get enough:

'Ali Hazelwood's books do it for me EVERY TIME. I simply devoured every page of this...I just didn't want it to end! So many things in this just checked every box for me. The setting? GORGEOUS! The angst and tension? FINGER LICKING! The characters? I love them all, your honour...Conor and Maya? Down so bad for them I'm probably ten feet underground...I can't wait for everyone to read this!' Real Reader Review

'VIVA ITALIA!!!! I could feel Ali's love for Sicily through this book. The setting was just absolutely romantic and idyllic, perfect for two people whose orbits can't escape each other. It is the perfect summer book' Real Reader Review

'My moral compass might just be spinning because I loved this book so much' Real Reader Review

'Nothing could have prepared me for how much this book would end up consuming my entire being...Ali Hazelwood demonstrates yet again that she can do no wrong in creating the most perfect love story...the tension in this book is palpable... like, my face was red hot from the level of ANGST AND YEARNING between Maya and Conor...this was the most delicious will they/won't they tug of war that ached so good in my chest' Real Reader Review

'I couldn't put this book down. The pining, the banter, the chemistry, the spice. Perfection...With Problematic Summer Romance and Deep End, Ali Hazelwood has written two of my favorite books this year' Real Reader Review

'I dare say that this is now my new favorite Ali Hazelwood book?!..I loved every single minute! Between the laugh-out-loud dialogue, the yearning between Maya and Conor, and the moments that had me holding my breath, this book is a work of art!...I really need a follow up book to this one. Like, on my knees begging for crumbs because this book altered my DNA' Real Reader Review

*Ali Hazelwood's Deep End was a Sunday Times bestseller w/e 23 February 2025