"There’s only one person on this planet whose productivity rivals Taylor Swift’s. Ali Hazelwood, best-selling author of The Love Hypothesis, Deep End, and more, released her second of three (!!!) books in 2025, Problematic Summer Romance. Known for her series of STEM novels, Hazelwood’s Problematic Summer Romance drew attention after its announcement unceremoniously leaked earlier this year. Most of the fanfare from readers centered around the fact that we were getting yet another romance from Ali this year, but other discourse swirled as it became clear this novel would center a love story with a 15-year age gap.
That age gap and its details are prominently listed among the book’s content warnings (along with a “men in finance” disclaimer). Hazelwood makes it clear in both the warning and throughout the story that while the main characters knew of each other prior to when the main female character, who is 23 at the start of the book, turned 18, their meaningful relationship began only when they reconnected when she was 20. Still, when the characters ultimately begin their relationship, she is 23, and he is 38, leading readers to wonder whether Hazelwood went too far with this one.
I’ve never met an Ali Hazelwood book I didn’t love, but I also side-eye pretty much any age-gap relationship I come across. With this in mind, I dove headfirst into Problematic Summer Romance to sus out just how problematic it actually is. My review ahead:
Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.
What Problematic Summer Romance is about
If you’re not new to the world of Ali Hazelwood, you might remember Maya Killgore from Not in Love. In that book, she’s the main male character Eli Killgore’s spunky younger sister. We don’t get to know her too much, but we do learn that she loves to get under her older brother’s best friend’s skin by obnoxiously flirting with him. From those little interactions, readers had a feeling that something was brewing between the two.
Fast-forward several years, and Eli and Rue, the main characters from Not in Love, are getting married on the coast of Sicily. Hark and Maya have orbited each other for years but will finally be in the same place, face-to-face, after months of no contact. Maya, at 23, has developed real feelings for Hark and is planning to use this trip to get her answer once and for all: does Hark feel the same way? Or does he really think their age gap is as insurmountable as it seems from the outside looking in? Told through a series of flashbacks and in the week counting down to the wedding, there’s a lot more to Hark and Maya’s problematic relationship than just their age difference. Note: you don’t need to read Not in Love before jumping into Problematic Summer Romance, but I did love that book and wholeheartedly recommend it.
My review of Problematic Summer Romance
There is a very nuanced discussion to be had about age-gap relationships. Whether they can work and under what circumstances they’re appropriate. But when it comes to romance tropes in media, age-gap relationships are a pretty common one. Sometimes, they expose the power imbalance that can come with them (we all remember Babygirl), and other times, they’re an obstacle the couple can overcome. Problematic Summer Romance isn’t the first age gap romance book, and certainly won’t be the last, so when people started having opinions about Hark and Maya before the book even came out, I was thoroughly confused. This isn’t even Ali Hazelwood’s first age gap. In The Love Hypothesis, the main characters have an 8-year age difference, and the male main character is in a position of direct power over the female main character. Maybe this raised a few eyebrows back when that book originally came out, but this is far from new territory for Hazelwood to explore.
Here are the facts: Maya is 15 years younger than her older brother, Eli, and Eli’s best friend, Hark. When Maya was still young, Eli took full custody of Maya. That’s when Hark first came into her orbit. However, they hardly interacted and had no meaningful relationship until Maya turned 20. When they reconnected, Maya pursued Hark. For his part, Hark, having been exposed to relationships with power imbalances, tries desperately not to cross that line. Yes, Hark is 15 years older than Maya. Yes, Hark has buttloads of money. But Maya is an adult in her own right, and she objects to the constant infantilization Hark, Eli, and his friends subject her to. She does not work for Hark and, in fact, has several prestigious offers of her own lined up after the wedding. In short, she doesn’t need Hark or his money, she wants him in her life.
“Truly, the only problematic thing I found in Problematic Summer Romance is that it ended before I was done spending time in Sicily at Eli and Rue’s wedding.”
After spending most of the book fighting for her agency and working through Hark’s very reasonable and valid concerns, the two see past their age gap and realize that a relationship between them could actually work. This isn’t handled in a frivolous “age is just a number” way. Throughout the book, we are constantly reminded of the relationship’s “problematic” nature, but I would argue the real discourse we should be having is how we often rob young women of their voice simply because we deem them too young or too inexperienced or too anything.
That’s where the real magic of this book lies. In true Ali Hazelwood fashion, Problematic Summer Romance is fun, full of passion and yearning, and has several laugh-out-loud moments. But it also features an important message, one that weaves through all of Hazelwood’s STEM novels. Women, no matter their age, the field they work in, their experience, or whatever, should be taken seriously. Our words, wants, needs, and feelings matter, and if people won’t listen, we can make them.
This wasn’t my favorite of Ali Hazelwood’s books (that honor goes to Deep End), but I still greatly enjoyed it and appreciated the commentary on age and agency it provided. The setting was gloriously beautiful (I can’t go to Sicily this summer, but this book really is the next best thing), I loved the full cast of characters (special shoutout to Kaede and Tiny), and the romance was well done and provided all of the giggling, kicking-your-feet moments I’ve come to expect from Ali. Truly, the only problematic thing I found in Problematic Summer Romance is that it ended before I was done spending time in Sicily at Eli and Rue’s wedding.
Should you read Problematic Summer Romance?
That depends. Do you wish you could go to the Italian coast this summer, but your bank account currently stares daggers at you whenever you pull out your card? Have you previously read and loved any of Ali Hazelwood’s books? Are you simply looking for something fun to read on your next long weekend? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then I definitely recommend Problematic Summer Romance. For fans of the rom-com genre, this exploration of the age gap trope isn’t new, but it is handled, in my opinion, responsibly (and even in funny ways throughout the story). For newcomers who aren’t sure if they can see past the 15 years that separate the characters, remember that this is a fictional story made up of fictional characters who are never in any real danger. It’s OK for books, movies, and shows to explore taboo topics we wouldn’t necessarily endorse in real life. If you’re able to shed that skepticism, then I recommend this book for you, too.
The only people I wouldn’t recommend this book to are those who have personal triggers that appear in the content warnings. Otherwise, grab a Negroni, find a lounge chair, and enjoy this romantic jaunt down to the southern coast of Italy.
Garri Chaverst, Senior Managing Editor
As Senior Managing Editor of The Everygirl, Garri oversees the pitching, planning, and creation of all content. You might also find her name pop up as a contributor throughout the site, though she mostly works behind the scenes, leading the team in their creative efforts and ensuring they have everything they need to create top-quality content for our audience.