Long Past Summer: A Novel

by Noué Kirwan

Overview

“Kirwan’s excellent debut brings charm, complexity, and plenty of heat…This mature, steamy romance will have readers swooning.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Noué Kirwan’s exquisitely-written debut left me breathless.”—Farrah Rochon, USA Today bestselling author of The Dating Playbook

"Long Past Summer is powerful.”—Naima Simone, USA Today bestselling author

It's hard to move on from a broken heart—and harder to move on from a broken friendship.

Mikaela Marchand is living the polished life she always planned for: a successful New York lawyer, with a promotion in her sights and a devoted boyfriend by her side. She’s come a long way from the meek teen she was growing up in small town Georgia, but the memory of her adolescence isn’t far—in fact, it’s splashed across a massive billboard in Times Square. An old photograph of Mikaela and her former best friend, Julie, has landed on the cover of a high-profile fashion magazine advertised all over the city. And when Julie files a lawsuit, Mikaela is caught in the middle as defense lawyer for the magazine.

Not only will she have to face Julie for the first time in years, Mikaela’s forced to work closely with the photographer in question: the former love of her life—and Julie’s ex-husband—Cameron Murphy. Mikaela needs to win the case to get her promotion—and as a junior partner, she has no margin for error. But unresolved feelings still exist between Cam and Mikaela, and jealousy always made Julie play dirty…

With flashbacks to summers of first loves and fragile friendships, Long Past Summer looks at the delicate and powerful thread that binds and breaks friends and flames.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335448828
Publisher:	Harlequin
Publication date:	08/02/2022
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	495,522
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Noué Kirwan has wanted to be a writer since childhood. Growing up in part on the West Coast taught Noué to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors, while living in the heart of New York City for the past 20+ years taught her she can sleep through anything. She enjoys critiquing films, binge-watching TV shows, and cozying up with a good book from her ever-expanding TBR list. She is a nervous flier but an avid traveler who can have her passport ready and a bag packed in under an hour.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/02/2022

Kirwan’s excellent debut brings charm, complexity, and plenty of heat. Lawyer Mikaela Marchand is just one case away from being promoted to partner at the firm where she works. As a Black woman in the legal field, she’s had to be twice as good as her white colleagues to be considered qualified, and now that she’s steps away from her goal, the inveterate people-pleaser doesn’t need any distractions. Then she learns that her next case involves defending her ex-boyfriend, photographer Cameron Murphy, against his ex-wife and Mikaela’s childhood friend, Julie. Cameron sold a photo of Julie and Mikaela from one of the summers they spent together as teens to a fashion magazine, and Julie is suing. It should be a simple lawsuit, but old rivalries—and old feelings—soon resurface. Flashbacks to the tempestuous trio’s adolescent summers add texture, and Kirwan does an excellent job making all three characters flawed but empathetic. Even as they wade through some truly messy situations, it’s easy to root for Mikaela and Cameron’s happy ending. This mature, steamy romance will have readers swooning. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Kirwan’s excellent debut brings charm, complexity, and plenty of heat…This mature, steamy romance will have readers swooning.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This debut novel addresses what it's like to grow up with absent and deceased parents as well as the pressure on Black professionals to overperform while conforming to White norms. The harsh realities of Julie and Mikaela’s fractured friendship, Mikaela’s fraught relationship with her mother, and Mikaela’s inability to see Cameron for who he is are all developed with skill and empathy. Mikaela’s sister, Vanessa, pokes fun at her, providing pitch-perfect humor. Most of all, Mikaela travels a long road to stop hiding from her own emotions and needs....This fast-moving novel spotlights a smart woman's journey to find what she wants." —Kirkus Reviews

"In this deftly written and engaging novel, Mikaela and Cameron are well developed but flawed protagonists whose scenes together are filled with heated arguments and hotter sex. Flashbacks to their shared past provides glimpses of what they lost and why their present is so tumultuous. Secondary characters guide (and push) the couple through to their happily ever after. VERDICT Readers of angsty, drama-filled storylines will enjoy this love triangle, second-chance romance." —Library Journal

“Noué Kirwan deftly traverses decades to tell the story of New York City attorney Mikaela Marchand’s intertwined relationships with her best friend and her first love….a sizzling love story you won’t want to put down.” —ESSENCE

“Noué Kirwan’s debut novel Long Past Summer is more than a beautiful, scrappy and hard-won second chance romance. It’s a story of the real, tangled and sometimes painful relationships of family, lovers and friendships. It also captures the empowering, healing relationship of a woman with herself. In a word? Long Past Summer is powerful.” —Naima Simone, USA Today bestselling author

"A whip-smart, electrifying debut that marks Noué Kirwan as an author to watch." —Yaffa S. Santos, author of A Taste of Sage

"Noué Kirwan is a welcome, smart new voice in romantic women’s fiction. Long Past Summer delves into family, friendships, and romantic love, deftly examining how our childhood influences our perceptions, and how discrimination impacts women trying to strike a balance between their own ambitions and their personal relationships. Not only that, but every reader will swoon over the eminently lovable hero, Cam. A winning debut from an author to watch." —Jamie Beck, WSJ and USA Today bestselling author

“It is rare to find a romance that spans decades, yet still leaves you craving more. Long Past Summer is that romance. Noué Kirwan’s exquisitely-written debut left me breathless.” —Farrah Rochon, USA Today bestselling author of The Dating Playbook

“An emotionally charged novel in the vein of The Mothers and An American Marriage.” —Bustle

"This book is an emotional whirlwind and is the perfect next read for fans of Seven Days in June." —BuzzFeed, Best Books of August 2022

From the Publisher

06/01/2022

DEBUT Mikaela hasn't seen Cameron since he knocked up and married her best friend, Julie. Heartbroken, she threw herself into her education, then into the long climb toward partner in a New York City law firm. Now, almost two decades later, a divorced Cameron is staring at her across a boardroom table. Mikaela's firm is representing Glamazon, a fashion magazine, in a lawsuit filed by Julie who claims she never gave consent for her image to be used on their cover. Mikaela never wanted to see Cameron again, but now he seems to be everywhere. With more to lose than ever, can Mikaela trust Cameron with her heart again? In this deftly written and engaging novel, Mikaela and Cameron are well developed but flawed protagonists whose scenes together are filled with heated arguments and hotter sex. Flashbacks to their shared past provides glimpses of what they lost and why their present is so tumultuous. Secondary characters guide (and push) the couple through to their happily ever after. VERDICT Readers of angsty, drama-filled storylines will enjoy this love triangle, second-chance romance. Librarians might be interested in the publishing backstory: Kirwan submitted this decades-spanning debut novel via HQN's open call for un-agented Black authors.—Heather Miller Cover

Library Journal

2022-05-25
A woman with clear focus and ambitious career aspirations has a tough struggle to acknowledge the man she really loves.

Mikaela Marchand was a Black girl—now Black woman—with lofty goals. She’d been planning her departure from small-town Georgia all her life. She and her friend Julie Robertson, who’s White, went through grade school as besties; Julie, “bubbly, wholesome, ridiculously pretty,” and Mikaela with her “witheringly incisive gaze.” A senior prank in which they streaked across their high school football field landed them in the slammer just long enough for Mikaela to be booked by Cameron, a tall, lanky, impossibly good-looking White boy working his way through school. A romance ensues with this budding photographer, but Mikaela leaves Cameron for college and law school in the Big Apple. She’s just short of making partner in a fancy New York law firm and living with Rashad, a handsome Black pediatric resident, when her past comes back with the ferocity of a windstorm. This debut novel addresses what it's like to grow up with absent and deceased parents as well as the pressure on Black professionals to overperform while conforming to White norms. The harsh realities of Julie and Mikaela’s fractured friendship, Mikaela’s fraught relationship with her mother, and Mikaela’s inability to see Cameron for who he is are all developed with skill and empathy. Mikaela’s sister, Vanessa, pokes fun at her, providing pitch-perfect humor. Most of all, Mikaela travels a long road to stop hiding from her own emotions and needs. If the novel feels like it could have been shorter, with multiple moments that could have been stopping points, the payoff is the steamy sex, saved for the end.

This fast-moving novel spotlights a smart woman's journey to find what she wants.

Kirkus Reviews