DRC Review: Star-Crossed Summer by Devon Daniels
- Story Eater
- May 27
- 3 min read
Release date: 7 July 2026
Rating: 4.5/5
Synopsis: When a Hollywood starlet is unexpectedly reunited with the costar who broke her heart, their chemistry has her questioning what’s reel and what’s real in this heartfelt summer romance about first loves and second chances.
It’s been ten years since the fateful summer Scarlett Everhart filmed The Lost Letter, the tearjerking romantic drama that catapulted her to worldwide fame and set her on a collision course with Ryder Perry, the movie’s intense, irresistible leading man. The pair’s fiery onscreen chemistry captured audiences' hearts—while their whirlwind affair offscreen shattered Scarlett’s into a million pieces. Determined to move on, she made a vow: to focus on her career, leave Ryder in her past, and never, ever look back.
A decade later, Scarlett’s kept that promise. She’s become one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading ladies and is on the cusp of the biggest role of her career. And if she’s been unlucky in love, at least she’s managed to put her ill-fated relationship with her former costar—and the public’s obsession with the pair’s star-crossed romance—behind her. That is, until a sudden twist of fate thrusts her and Ryder back together in the seaside South Carolina town where they first fell in love, then fell dramatically apart.
As old sparks reignite, Scarlett is swept back into the love story that once defined her life, forcing her to reckon with the choice that tore them apart…and the devastating secret she’s been keeping since their breakup all those years ago.
Review
If I had paid attention to the author's social media, which I have intentionally been avoiding for many reasons (social media in general, not the author's account in particular), I would have known Star-Crossed Summer was a fanfic for The Notebook and the stars of it. For many reasons, the absolute marathon of Project Hail Mary I'm being forced through at my house right now being one of them, I may not have been in the right frame of mind for this one when I picked it up. I did not like The Notebook (I don't like Nicholas Sparks' books, or any sappy books with sad endings in general), and the rehash potentially marred this experience. I like to fly by the seat of my pants and dive into books headfirst without even glancing at the synopses, so it's par for the course, really.
With those prior experiences/biases/preferences/whatever established, it must be also said that this is a Devon Daniels book, and I will genre jump from SFF in a second for a Daniels book. I tore through Meet You in the Middle and loved it, so I picked this one up because of the author anyway. After a (briefly) slow start, I tore through this one, too.
Equal parts heartwarming, romantic, and funny, Daniels' newest romance surprised me in a way I haven't been surprised before. I started the book optimistic, pitched downward a bit in disappointment, and finished the book impressed. I ended up loving Scarlett and Ryder despite the (delightfully surface-level) resemblances to their on-screen counterparts. The two start the book doe-eyed and in love and weather tragedy and heartbreak while coming through it in a hopefulness that takes readers seriously while giving them happiness to salve the literary wounds. I didn't think I'd love this book, but I do.
I had my doubts, I'll admit; many of the narrative elements do not feature on my list of favorite things in books. For the most part, I don't like second-chance romances or miscommunication tropes. Purposefully included tropes make plots feel forced to me, but the aforementioned irk me more than most simply because they are usually not written well. Daniels does a great job with both here by using believable scenarios within a dual timeline narrative structure that propels the plot forward, piquing curiosity and that insatiable need to know what happens. In the end, the pages turned themselves.
My thanks to Berkley and Penguin Random House for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion. I also nearly fell off my chair in shock after getting the approval email.
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