Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Problematic Summer Romance — Ali Hazelwood (Rewrite)

Maya Killgore is 23 and still building her life one messy, hopeful step at a time. Conor Harkness is 38, a polished biotech success story… and the one person Maya absolutely should not be thinking about at 2 a.m. Because he’s her brother’s best friend. Because he’s made it clear he wants distance. And because, as Conor loves to point out, the power dynamic is “a walking red flag” in about a thousand different ways.

Then a destination wedding in Taormina changes the rules. Suddenly Maya and Conor are stuck in the same romantic Sicilian villa for over a week—surrounded by sun, ruins, caves, and the kind of food that makes you believe in fate (or at least bad decisions). The more time they spend together, the more Maya realizes Conor’s keeping something from her… and the more tempting it becomes to stop being responsible for five minutes and say yes to a summer fling that feels wrong on paper—but so right in real life.

Perfect for readers of:

• Age-gap romance with high tension
• Brother’s best friend / “we shouldn’t” chemistry
• Forced proximity in a dreamy destination
• Slow-burn longing + a secret he won’t say out loud
• Wedding-week chaos and big feelings