Readers of Two Cities Podcast
We’re Niki & Sam, coming to you from two different cities, united by a love of books and real, unfiltered conversations. 📚✨ On Readers of Two Cities Podcast, we dive into stories across genres, talk craft, and share what reading actually feels like—no fluff, just honest takes from miles apart.
Sounds fun? Maybe give us a try? Join in to listen...
Readers of Two Cities Podcast
Problematic Summer Romance ft. fangirling
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Join us as Sam tells Nikki how much she loves Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood. It's a perfect summer read, with just enough problems and a lot of romance.
💬 Read the book? Tell us what you thought—did we miss something, or totally nail it? Drop a comment!
📲 Follow along on IG: @readersoftwocitiespodcast
🎧 Listen now on Apple Music & Spotify
Okay, so I am gonna pick a book from my shelf. Vicky, oh my god. Hear me out. This is my hear me out moment. I have the perfect book to problematic summer romance by Ali Hazelwood.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I love, I love, love, love this book so much.
SPEAKER_02You have no idea.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02That was me being very professional. I love this book so much. Truly. I love how I'm gonna cry.
SPEAKER_01So tell me why. In nothing but a heart ache, Tad.
SPEAKER_02Now, number five. Okay. My heart is beating so fast right now because I love this book so much. I need to calm down a little bit. I don't think I've found enough enthusiasts for this book to feel heard or feel seen. So I'm just gonna make you listen to me talk about why I love this book so much.
SPEAKER_01This sounds like my friends talking to me about why she likes this particular K-pop group because nobody she knows likes it. So she's like, I'm gonna get you interested in it. So I have somebody to yap about. I was like, okay.
SPEAKER_02Well, coming back, that's gonna be like one of the highlights of my summer is going to concerts. Talking about summer, coming back to the book. Let me give you a few disclaimers. The story of the book is exactly what the title says. It's a problematic summer romance. Now, if you have a problem with the premise, the author told you in the title that it's a problematic summer romance. So don't come at her, please. Okay? And don't come at people who like this book because nobody's generalizing and saying that this is okay all the time. But this story in this context, without generalizing or without making this a universal thing, this story I love. These characters, I love. So I have given you the disclaimer don't come like, oh, you're a real. This is fiction. And the author has done this in a way that it only makes sense for them, and it does make sense for them. So it's fiction. Calm down. Enjoy the book because it is such a good book. Such a fun read. I have read this a couple of times just because it's so fun.
SPEAKER_01Does it have the same vibe as people we met on vacation or completely different? That's a very good question.
SPEAKER_02Also, listen to episode 7, People We Meet on Vacation. Subtle plug. Not very subtle plug. I would say it is not, but in a way, it is also because so Maya is the female protagonist and Connor is the male protagonist. I think it is the same, it is different in the sense that Maya and Connor are 13 years apart.
SPEAKER_01Interesting. Okay. And age is just a number sometimes, but go on. Sometimes, you know, sometimes.
SPEAKER_02Not always. So let's not universalize things sometimes. In this context. So it's not like they are going on vacations together because he is her brother's best friend. But it's also like people we meet on vacation because when it's just them, away from their families, away from Maya's brother, away from the societal like box that they live in, they kind of are different people. So you meet that version of Connor, that relaxed, fun version of Connor, when they are together. So in a sense, it is kind of people you meet when you are away from your regular life. It is similar and dissimilar in that sense. So Maya is 23 and she's still figuring out life, what to do, what her next step in her career is. She's super smart. She's very funny actually. Maya is one of the female characters which I really adore. She's not um my god, I don't know what to do. Or she has her flaws and she kind of works through them. Sometimes doesn't, sometimes she's able to. I just think Maya's characteristic is very rare. Like she could be my friend. So this is one of the characters, she's not too self-deprecating. She's not like, doesn't give me the ike, or she's not, she's just like a regular person who thinks, oh, this could be like my friend, or this could be somebody I know. And she is very smart, super smart. And her older brother, Eli. Eli, right? Did I get his name wrong? Rue Eli, yes. Eli. So this is actually the second, like it's a continuation of Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood. You know how bride and mate are the same universe but different couple? Yes. So Not in Love and Problematic Summer Romance is the same universe, different couple. So the first book, Not in Love, is about Rue and Eli. And then Eli's younger sister, Maya. Um, that's who problematic summer romance is about.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02And she's like very hot-headed. They've grown up with a little bit of a fucked-up family situation. The way Eli's dad is to him, he treated Maya very differently, like with all his love. And Eli doesn't know that version of their dad. And then so it's all sort of like she has problems growing up. She fought Eli all the time, she felt like a burden. She's always running away, escaping, not knowing where she belongs. And then Connor is like a super rich dude, like a son of uh some business tycoon or something, and has like such a toxic family. He's like, I would rather just not associate myself with them.
SPEAKER_01Why is it almost every book that has a guy character that's from like a really big family or like a tycoon family that hates it? And they're like, I don't want anything to do with this. I want to just live a simple life. I'm like, give me the book where the guy actually likes it. Hmm, let's see. There's not a lot. Could be. Because like they could, like, whether it's fantasy or whatever, they could be like, I get to play off because I'm the prince, and you know, I have the backing of the kingdom behind me because of my title. But at the same time, you see the struggle between I'm not good enough for my father, I'm not good enough for this. He thinks I'm weak. Oh, I want to do XYZ. Whereas I haven't seen, but also because I don't really read a lot of fantasy or contemporary or like romance novels or anything to an extent, where he likes that his dad has lots of money, where he likes that he gets to be like reckless because daddy's gonna take care of it, or he doesn't have daddy issues or mommy issues. He's just like living his best life. We don't get books like that. But at the same time, I get it because there's no character flaw if we get that, and there's no like redemption, there's no character arc. So I get it, but I feel like it would be very interesting if he was like that, and then he meets someone who sees the world differently and he gets influenced by it.
SPEAKER_02I think I've seen K-drama with a similar where like he loves daddy's money and then he meets like a random poor girl and he's like, Oh, all these material things, no, I just need to be loved. I think a lot of K-dramas that I've seen are a similar vibe. Also, Nikki, guys who do that, we treat them as villains in books. People who have too much money and who are unapologetic.
SPEAKER_01They're usually running over people with their cards or you know. But I need a villain who's not a villain. Does that make sense? I get it. I get it. I'll write one for you, don't worry. Thanks.
SPEAKER_02I'll take the contemporary, which has like a rich dude with like no daddy issues. Yes. You've given me a plot, now I just need to write it down. Exactly. There you go. Connor, he doesn't like very like toxic family and stupid siblings, younger siblings who are just like who enjoy daddy's money and are reckless. So he hates them. And he's also very smart, he's good at what he does, um, and there's all sorts of like backgrounds and stuff. So obviously, he lives his life a certain way and does not anticipate falling in love with his best friend. He does not anticipate falling in love with his best friend's younger sister who is 13 years younger than him. So you see, there's a constant struggle in the book. Maya trying to prove to him that she knows what she's doing. Treat me like an adult who has her own brain, and Connor who's trying to constantly feel like I don't, this is like a power imbalance, and I don't want this dynamic to hurt her ever. So you'll see a constant struggle, and the book kind of goes back and forth. From book one, Eli and Rue, they're getting married in Italy, in Sicily, and now they have been Connor and Maya have been avoiding each other for the past 10 months, but now it's her brother's wedding, so she has to be there. This sounds like people we met on vacation. Starts off like that, people are making it like ends on that note that she has like they are at the wedding. So, for somebody who hasn't read, you pretty much remember a lot from people we meet on vacations. I'm impressed.
SPEAKER_01Watch the movie or half of it. 10 minutes. I watched half the movie, Sam. That was more than 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_02You suffered for more than 10 minutes, I'll give you that. Yes, thank you. See? So yeah, now they have to face each other, and now they are like unpacking why they stop talking because Connor will not admit for the life of him that he's in love with this girl. Because they feel that the moment he admits that, it's like a bottomless pit. Like he's gonna keep falling, you know? And then Maya is like, she's like, dude, like I am an adult. I am a very smart individual, know what I'm doing. Like, can you like trust me for one second? I'm not some like breakable glass piece that you have to like protect in bubble wrap, you know? So there's this constant push and pull in the book, which Ali Hazelwood did it so beautifully. You see them on this journey of will they won't they, but genuinely not just for the sake of will they won't they, but you j you see the struggle genuinely from both sides is when you love the person so much you also don't want to be the one hurting them, right? And because Connor has like seen more of the world, he kind of feels like he doesn't want to exploit, you know, he doesn't want to be that person who exploits his power and money and all the control that he has, like and affect somebody else's life in a negative way and then never take it back. Like he's he won't be able to fix that. So it's a lot of fun, lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01It sounds fun in the sense of like it's that question as to will they, won't they, why? And then at the end, will they like will they actually sit there and talk to each other as to why there was a a a downfall, or like why they stopped talking or whatever? What made you want to read this like duology, like the first book and the second book?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so I have just at the time I was just on a streak of reading all Ali Hazelwood books because they I think they're genuinely fun to read, and she you can see that she's improving with her characters, her writing style with each book, which is so hard to see in an author that it grows so fast. So I do admire her writing style, it's fun, and sometimes there have been books where I have a problem with that you're trying to sound fun, but it's like it's almost a little cringe. But I feel like Ali has genuinely grown out of it and she does write good stories, good characters you want to root for, like people you want you care about. So I was on the streak and I started reading Not in Love. Again, the man's down bad, and Rue is like very, very socially awkward. So without making himself, without shrinking himself, but he kind of like adapts and wants to be the one kind of understanding and being there for Rue and kind of make it work because she like has certain things that she's been through that she won't do, and he's like, that's fine with me. Even if like people think that's weird, I think that's adorable. And and in that book, Connor and Maya were introduced. I actually did not finish Not in Love. The last few chapters, I don't think the the characters were that interesting in that one. They are they are, they are really good. I just thought it became too repetitive of a conflict. Lost interest in that, but I will finish it. Like I do, I do like that story. And then I saw Problematic Summer Romance, and and I in even just in the first book, I knew Maya is going to be an interesting character to read about. So the moment I knew it was Maya and Connor, I immediately picked up the book and I finished it in no time. Also, she talks a lot about Sicily and their culture and beautiful places, this island, that thing. And genuinely, I have bookmarked that place on my Google map for a vacation. At least once in my life, visit that place. So I don't know, there's something about this book that made me just fall in love with that world, that set of characters, and like I found myself caring about them. And I was like, oh, this is so cute.
SPEAKER_01I know in like people we met on vacation and some of her other books that you relate to Poppy or like any of the other characters in the other books, did you relate to is the main character in this one at all? Maya Maya.
SPEAKER_02It's hard to do it's hard to relate to Connor because I just don't have that much money to know what the people's problems are. Maya, I actually did. I really, really, really did. Because there is this one scene or this one characteristic of hers where she sometimes gets so angry, sometimes loses her temple temple? Temper, not temple. She's not losing her temple. She gets so angry at a situation or a person and she lashes out. And because she's hurt, she lashes out in a way that she wants the other person to also feel hurt. Or sometimes she, even without wanting them to feel hurt, sometimes she just ends up hurting someone because she couldn't control her anger in that moment, and she instantly regrets it. And after they have been through this journey, there's a scene where Eli is confronting Maya about something and she says something really hurtful. Why is my mouth? She says something really hurtful, and Connor just like physically like stops her and makes her turn and she's like, take five deep breaths, continue the conversation, and then leave. Like you are not storming out by saying something hurtful, which you are going to regret later. And that moment I was like, Connor is a solid one. But I could relate to her in that moment and just like in that problem of her being so because there are instances where I feel so angry, like, and I have been obviously trying my best not to lash out at people because that's what that's what a nice thing to do. But sometimes I get so angry at something that I've I'm scared of myself that I will say something so hurtful and never take it, and I never will be able to take it back.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you angry though.
SPEAKER_02I'm like the hulk.
SPEAKER_01I know. And like there are times where you're like, you know, you talk about some certain people and you're like, oh, I don't like them, or you know, you kind of get testy. But I've never seen you like angry. I don't think you've ever seen me angry either.
SPEAKER_02No, just like we say, like when somebody annoys you, like, uh, but it's very I used to be a very, very angry child up until I was like mid-teens. Very and I think I still do get angry. I just have gotten better at managing it. Which is just not nice to lash out at people. And raising my voice, I don't like raising my voice, but I do like internally I'm like screaming. Like I want to scream and cry and like throw stuff at the wall. So it's very much there, but obviously you can't do that. So, like when I saw that characteristic in Maya, I was like, Damn, that is that is very real. Like, that's such a real tangible like emotion, like a flaw to have, right? I've never not really seen that in a lot of some like in fantasy three, there are some female characters who are just like angry and mad and annoyed at no and was like, Why are you so angry, dude? Can you like calm the fuck down? Wear the fucking pretty dress and like go about it, you know? So Mayas was like, I could see myself in those shoes and have felt that those exact words that she says, and then I'm like, I think I understand where she's coming from. You're young and you're frustrated and you're scared and you don't know what you're doing, but you also you're like scrambling for an ounce of just like self-reassurance. And when somebody kind of questions that you attack, and then you're like, shit, that wasn't that wasn't nice. You shouldn't have done that. So I do see that desperation of somebody wanting to understand you and then feeling cornered and lashing out, which I thought was a very, very real thing to have in the protagonist. I loved that. That was like one of her flaws.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it is a relatable flaw, like you said, especially for you, and with you explaining it for me as well. I mean, I have a very short fuse, very short. And so there are times where I just want to go off, but I'm like, the setting that we're in, people that's around, maybe it's not a good idea, but if you and I were separate in an area, I would have slammed you against the wall with words, not physically. Gosh, is it like, is it because like she, you know, people take her kindness for granted and they like push the bar? Or is it more of like people are just going about their lives and something that they do bothers her?
SPEAKER_02I think with Maya, it's that she's had I think her mom bosses away or something, or something happens with her family. I forget the exact details. But what what happened because of that is like Eli suddenly becomes her guardian. And Eli himself is like a teenager or something, or he's very young. So he is trying to like parent her, but she's also hurt, and he's trying to like be responsible. So there's like a miscommunication that happens where she feels suffocated, but also guilty about fighting with Eli because he's also young and he's trying his best. So her leaving was like a solution where it puts some space between them and kind of process that. So she has a lot of guilt of how she was troublesome when she was younger with Eli and her not fitting in with people around like her friends. Even when she goes to study in Europe to just like take a break from Eli and just like find her own footing. Her ex-boyfriend like cheats with her best friend and they are acting as if she is unreasonable for being mad at them. It's as if like you should have been more understanding, and she's like, What the fuck? Like, why why should like where is why am I not allowed to get angry for this? I felt so hurt. So then when she gets really, really, really hurt at the time, she calls Eli and he's busy with something. So because Connor is in Europe, he's visiting. Where is Connor from? Let me quickly check that I don't want to be wrong about this because people get offended if you Where is where is Irish? People get like, you know, you have to be careful. So he's Irish, so he's like there on that part of the continent, right? So he reaches Maya first and he's like he cheers her up, he spends a day with her, he acts like her boyfriend to like make the other person jealous because he kind of creates the situation, and he's like sending her gifts and making sure that they see that he's treating her so nicely, like, oh my god, Maya has this hot boyfriend who sends her gifts, and damn Connor. I know, and then he's like talking to her, making sure she's safe because Eli is busy somewhere, and then Maya just wants, she's embarrassed of this like breakdown and she feels silly, so she's like, Can you not tell this to Eli? He's like, I can't hide this from my best friend. Because he's like, Aren't we friends? So that's when they start talking and they kind of grow a connection of like this talking almost every day. Connor feels very free and just like very relaxed with her, but because she's so smart and she's so quippy, and she's like just she brings out a side of him which he didn't know he was allowed to have to like have his guard solo, talk about stuff, talk about family, talk about you know, just like fun random stuff. What was the point of this again? What was I talking about?
SPEAKER_01I don't remember.
SPEAKER_02I know I was just like praising Connor. I was like, I forgot what the point was.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no idea. I remember it's okay, you can praise Connor, keep going.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so he then, you know, that's how they start talking, and Maya kind of challenges him at every step of the way that he wants to like close up and like avoid stuff. She kind of confronts and like challenges him, and she's like there. She was like, I want to know this. What is your problem? Just like say it out loud.
SPEAKER_01I think the question that I asked was, is it situations around her that gets her angry or is she just annoyed with everything?
SPEAKER_02No, she's not like I wouldn't, I don't think she's like an unreasonable person where she's just like annoyed by everything. She just feels, she feels deeply about stuff. And when she's hurt, she she feels hurt. She's not someone who can just like pass it off. So she does feel everything intensely. I will not hear a bad word about Maya.
SPEAKER_01That's what you said about Poppy. I feel like this is the theme with you that any female character Allie Hazelwood writes, you're like, I defend them with my life and my honor. Do not come after them.
SPEAKER_02Nikki, honey, people we meet on vacation is Emily Hendry. Problematic summer romance is Allie Hazelwood, which is fine. You don't read a lot of romance. I'm here for you. And no, there are some Allie Hazelwood girls, I'm like, I cannot with this one. Like, I cannot with this one. So trust me. But the thing is, like, once I like someone, I like them a lot. Yeah. Yeah, that's but that is a pattern, yes.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, no, we're very set in our ways. If like we like something and it works, you know, we're gonna stick to it.
SPEAKER_02That's true. Like, there are so many places in Sensi that I just like went and people just like it also feels so nice to be known, right? Would they know you by name or would they just know what your order is? Oh no, they would know me by name. I yap way too much. Like the the person at the coffee shop in my building knows not only knows my order, he also knows about the song, and then he was just like randomly playing it in the coffee shop, and it was like, This is my song, it's playing in coffee.
SPEAKER_01I know that's the extent of you know me yapping, is just that's like a level of stardom though, for you having your song play in a coffee shop. I felt so cool. I was like, I can't believe this. It's like this song is good. What song is this? It's my song exactly, and it sounded so nice in like that echoey room. I was like, do the video. I don't know why it didn't clock to me that people we met on vacation and this book are from two different authors. Though because the way that like the story went or like the plot was sounded very similar. So I was like, oh, it's like the same author, it's like whatever, you know. And then you're like, it's actually two different authors. I was like, fucking hell.
SPEAKER_02Okay, that's okay. So it's the the thing is the way she has so about the setting, right? The way Ali Hazenwood has set this book, it makes you want to go to Sicily, it makes you want to have that ice cream that she's talking about. It makes you want to go to the market street and get that weird ass magnet, like a weird there's like a thing in this book. You want to get that, you wanna see the Isola Bella or something like that. It's like an island which when the tide is low, you can walk to it, but then when the tide goes up, you know the road off like that. So the way she's described stuff, the way she has the weather, the air, you almost feel like you're Transported to that place. Also, the reason why I love rereading problematic summer romance is I just love that setting so much. Italy has been always one of my favorite places. Like, is that my top destination to go and like experience? So this was a different part of Italy, which I didn't know about. And the way she's written it, you want to be there. You just want to live there. And at least Sicily sounds so nice. It is, it is. Sounds very nice. So the setting is incredibly well done. The character development, you sometimes feel okay. Here's the thing about character development that I think I agree with. Like you see Connor going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. But there's a reason why people go back and forth. Because you have not done it. And force on what? There's a moment where he feels like he can be close to her and then he's scared. And then he's like, You share something vulnerable, and then he's scared again. And then he feels unsure of himself. He feels like he oh protects her. And he kind of feels like, Oh, I should never be. But that's not true. When you are in a relationship, you sometimes tend to hurt each other. It's it's impossible, even as a friend, even as anything, it's impossible to like not by mistake hurt the other person. And then you just talk it out, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02It's the reason why comment goes back and forth. And honestly, there's no you can never have a linear development. You said no, suddenly you said yes after this insurance. It doesn't happen. You doubt yourself, you feel confident for a moment, and then you're like, no, I might hurt her. No, no, no. And then you're like, no, but like I love her so much. It's so insane not to be with with without like it's so insane not to be with her. And then he's like, but no, maybe this is like not acceptable. People are gonna judge, hate, it's gonna be problematic. And it's so you see him going back and forth, cracking a little bit every time that happens. So you see him like crack a little bit more, push it a little bit more the next time, and then a little bit more next time. But he keeps going back and forth, and Maya's like, you know, but she's also like challenging him each time. She's also like trying to be an adult and being there and kind of trying to solve this because she also she's never had a person who understood her so deeply, whom she's so comfortable with, whom she can be angry in front of, whom she can like show, be her like flawed self and still kind of be understood. So even the character development is I thought it was very believable because you kind of do go back and forth of gaining that confidence and then doubting yourself again and then trying it again a little bit more. So even the characters did grow with each other as they kept fighting more, and um, yeah, I think it made sense for me. I think my favorite part of the book is when more than them being together, I feel like their phone conversations is, I think, were very, very sweet. Those are my favorite parts. When you go in the flashback a little bit, they'll have these like phone conversations, and as you read more, you genuinely feel like they are so perfect for each other.
SPEAKER_01Like, Connor, stop doing this. Was it written in first person or third person? That's a good question. And then was it dual POV or just was it Maya's story? I should have I should have known you were gonna ask me this question.
SPEAKER_02So it's definitely first person because she keeps saying my I I uh yeah. First person.
SPEAKER_01I don't think this is dual POV. Okay. So at the beginning of every chapter, it doesn't say it's Connor or it's Maya. Okay, it's also from Maya side. Got it. Okay. First person, POV. Does she write it in present tense or past tense? Or is it a mix of the two? Because there's flashbacks.
SPEAKER_02So so it will be like three years, two months, three weeks earlier, then present. Like you have transported there, and then I have been doing this. Connor called it this time. So you go back, but then you are in the present of the back. Got it. Okay, interesting. The reason why I like that it's not dual POE is because you get Maya's frustration. Like, because you only know as much as she knows. So you are frustrated with her. I'm like, dude, what is wrong with you? Can you like not see how perfect you are for each other? And the more you I think the phone conversations are the best part of like I love the flashbacks more than the present. They're together, they're great, they're together, great, you know. Good for you. But I do love the intimacy, the nuances, the him sharing something each time, Maya like getting, you know, she's growing each time, her being like herself, and you see like these different shades of them. And that was beautifully done in that going back and forth on phones. What he does for her, he is like the busiest person she knows. And every time she calls, he picks up. And it was like in the middle of the night, and he was sleeping. She's like, Are you sleeping? He's like, Yeah, whatever. She's like, Why did you pick up? She's like, Because it was you. And uh, she's like, um, you could have like put your phone on silent. I don't know if older people are aware of. So she makes a lot of like this old people jokes. So I love like her absolutely rage-baiting him. This like 36-year-old like business tycoon or whatever, like he is. And she's like, So there's a red button that you can cut the call with, or like, you know. So it's their the flashback conversations are so filled with life, it makes you happy to read them. Um, so I would say read it for the genuinely fun, well-written book it is. Read it for getting to know Sicily, read it for Maya and Connor. They are so great. So great. You are on your either, you're on your toes. Like, what's gonna happen? What's gonna happen? With Drew and Era, it was pretty obvious. I think that's why I stopped reading it because it was just so obvious. But with Connor and Maya, it was like, because they were still revealing stuff, it was interesting to see, okay, why this? Like, and then when you get to see all the flashback, it makes sense why Maya is so hung up on him. If you felt that deep of a connection with another person, like you it's obvious that you fell in love, and like it's so difficult for you to move on from such a real thing. And then you also see all of Connor's insecurities of why, you know, why he's the way he is. And then when he's getting to be free with Maya, you truly root for him to, you know, be happy. So I would one, I don't know if you if it was a giveaway from all my excitement, but just like, I highly recommend this book.
SPEAKER_01Really? If it didn't You don't say! I love this book so much, Nikki. You have no idea. Every time you said that or like said that your heart was still beating, take a shot. I don't think you explained why it was problematic. Because of the age.
SPEAKER_02That was it. That was it. Because of the age, and that she is younger, she's starting her career, and he has all this money and power, the power imbalance, the age dynamic, and the fact that she is his best friend's younger sister, and they all have like common friend groups, so she kind of like, you know, like he would my god, I have to tell you this. I think you would appreciate it. So there Maya goes on for some for some like camp or like for some studying stuff. She's very smart. And she I think moves back in with Eli to spend time with him because she's like, I appreciate my brother now. And when she comes back from the camp, she has this like a floor, ceiling height, whatever that, like a bookshelf, what that she wanted. And it's like all the carpentry is done, it's like all settled in her room. And she thinks Eli did that, obviously. Like, who else? And then years later, she finds out that was actually Connor who came in and did all of that. And then when Eli gets to know about them and she thinks Eli thinks she's breaking his heart because he's his best friend, right?
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02He's like, You better not play with him. You know how much he likes is into it. And she's like, You're worried about him breaking, like me breaking his heart. He's like, Yeah, when you went to camp, you know who did all that stuff? Like, he went in and like did all that bookshelf for you. And she's like, That wasn't you.
SPEAKER_01She's probably like, no, why would I do something for my little sister like that? Final thoughts is I love this book so much. Yeah, read the book, man. It's fun. It's the title of this should be I love this book so much. Problematic Sam's no. Sam's Problematic Summer Vacation or whatever the title is.
SPEAKER_02Sam's Problematic Summer Read. There we go. Yes. I love this book so much.
SPEAKER_01I think I'm gonna stop talking. Well, this is Nikki. Breathe. Like Connor said, take five deep breaths and get through this. Oh my god. This is Nikki.
SPEAKER_02This is Sam, and thank you for listening to our problematic little episode. And tune in to wherever you're sitting and listening from. Keep reading!
