Like a political campaign that starts off strong but stumbles with an October surprise, The Summer We Ran sputters in the second half when politics find their way into romance. Keep reading below for my The Summer We Ran review!
The Summer We Ran Review
I read the first half of The Summer We Ran in a romance reading frenzy. I was flipping pages, flying through the book. Wow, I thought–this author has done something really special. My favorite type of romance–a second chance romance with both passion and drama. The lovers in question–Tess and Grant–may be politicians. But Audrey Ingram had smartly kept the romance to the characters. A book set in politics but not about politics. I was loving it.
And then, like an unwanted October surprise, came the twists in the second half of the book. Without giving anything away, the apolitical all of a sudden became very political. And rather than feel like we were seeing all sides of an issue, it felt like specific POVs were coming through. Bringing politics into the bedroom is never a good idea. And it unfortunately killed the mood.
The Summer We Ran is a dual timeline second chance romance. In 2021, we meet Tess, a married Democrat with no kids running for Governor of Virginia. She’s at her first debate and we learn very quickly that this is not the first time Tess has met her Republican opponent, Grant. So much so not the first time they’ve met–they secretly knew each other as teenagers and had a torrid affair over the course of one unforgettable summer. In 1996, Tess’s mother has a private chef job at an affluent estate. Tess quickly meets the neighbor, a strange and beautiful woman who would like help tending the garden on her equally affluent estate. There, Tess meets the owner’s teenage son Grant, and they quickly have an attraction to one another. But we know that the romance didn’t last because in the present day Tess and Grant are both trying desperately to keep their pasts a secret from voters, their own campaign workers, and their families. Like Tess, Grant is in a crumbling marriage and is the father of two boys. But with such an intense spotlight on both of them, can their secrets survive?
I love the set up of this book. Although it seems a little far fetched that Tess and Grant would end up as opposing candidates and that both had kept each other a secret from their families, I kind of just went with it. It’s hard to find a new way in to a romance, and this felt like a different perspective. For the first part, we’re only in Tess’s POV, so not knowing what Grant would do with his piece of the information was engaging and gave the story drive. And there’s also an exploration of some of the differences of their secret coming out for both Tess and Grant–Tess fears that voters will forgive Grant but will never forgive Tess their secrets.
The story in the past is equally engaging. There are stakes to Tess and Grant’s secret romance–Tess’s mother needs to keep her job and doesn’t want Tess to do anything that might jeopardize it like dating her boss’s best friend’s son. And Grant knows his father will never approve of him dating Tess and wants to keep the relationship secret. Yes, the beats in this storyline feel a bit more YA and yes, they also feel heavily troped. But as a supporting story to what we’re seeing in the present, it worked for me.
All of these elements came together swimmingly until we start turning over cards. The revelations of some of the things that happened in the past felt obvious and like they would have been obvious to the characters as well. And when we get to the big reveal of what really broke Tess and Grant up, the book starts getting increasingly problematic. Given the charged political landscape, it feels like the only way to tell a story set in politics and be appealing to a majority of readers is to actually not discuss politics at all. Keep it to the characters, their drive and ambitions, and their relationships. This is a battle you see on television all the time–if it’s a show set in politics, the show may never tell you what party the President is a member of. What would be the point of turning off half the audience from the outset?
The Summer We Ran crosses that line of bringing politics into the bedroom, and it never really recovers from it. It’s so unfortunate! The politics here rub off badly on both main characters but particularly on Grant. Tarnishing your MMC is never a good thing. His appeal literally flatlines while some of the choices Tess makes in the aftermath rub off negatively on her as well. All of this creates a set up where I didn’t know what or who I was rooting for by the end of the novel. I was so disappointed coming off the high of the first half.
There’s a reason, particularly in 2025, that they say never to discuss religion or politics at the dinner table. Unless everyone agrees on the stances (and when has that ever happened), everyone will just end up fighting and no one will be satisfied. This book is like the personification of that idea. I’ve found myself thinking about this one a lot because as much potential as it had at the beginning, it really felt like an election campaign where you’re sick and tired of every candidate by the time Election Day arrives. The Summer We Ran unfortunately lost my vote, and for that I am truly bummed.
My Rating for The Summer We Ran
3.5 out of 5 stars. I honestly felt the first half of the book was going to be a 5 out of 5. This is the kind of book that the more I think about it, it will end up with no stars. So I’m going to give it 3.5 stars for its premise and promise and keep myself from spiraling.
My Romance Recipe Pairing
Try my Raspberry Caramel French Toast Casserole with The Summer We Ran! Like Tess and Grant, this dish is a fun high-low mashup. A no frills French Toast gets the high-life treatment with the addition of caramel sauce, raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries throughout. A fancy brunch dish with minimal effort!
Synopsis for The Summer We Ran
Synopsis (from Amazon)
Does your past define your destiny? Told through multiple perspectives, rich with emotion and immersive dual timelines, The Summer We Ran weaves together a story of lost love, devastating secrets, shocking sabotage, and the painstaking decision two people must make in order to fulfill the futures they each desire.
In the summer of 1996, Tess Murphy’s mom gave her two rules to abide by: keep quiet and stay out of trouble. Her mother landed a new job as a cook at an affluent Virginia estate and didn’t want anything to risk the opportunity, least of all her outspoken teenage daughter. What no one saw coming was Tess falling deeply in love with the boy next door, high-society Grant Alexander.
Over a few wondrous and heat-filled months, Tess and Grant’s love blooms so ferociously it feels utterly impossible that anything can keep them apart, until tragedy strikes.
Now, more than two decades after their epic teenage romance, Tess and Grant are both running for governor of Virginia, and secrets from that summer threaten to shatter their families, their political futures, and the memory of the first love that shaped their lives.
Buy The Summer We Ran for Kindle here.
