A Summer of Stars
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Author: Liana Cincotti
Published: 2026
Genre: Romance
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IBC Editorial Rating: 4/5
This book is handpicked by the IBC Editorial Team. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to have a book reviewed by IBC, you may reach us at editorial@indianbookclub.com — we’ll be happy to review it.
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Editorial Review:
Fake relationship terms and one non-negotiable rule: do not fall in love. After a messy breakup leaves her reputation in ruins, tennis superstar Luna Aldridge has one option left to save her career: a very public fake romance with Hollywood's golden boy, Kieran Alexander. The only complication is that she cannot stand him. Kieran feels the same way, but with his own career on the line ahead of a major film role, his team is convinced the world needs to see him in love, and Luna is the only person believable enough to sell it. As the two spend the summer trading red carpets for tennis courts and posing for cameras neither of them trusts, the performance starts to feel uncomfortably real. Liana Cincotti delivers a sun-drenched, achingly sweet romance about two guarded hearts learning to want something they never planned for.
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Book Summary:
Luna Aldridge has spent her career being defined by her talent on the court, but a messy, very public breakup threatens to undo all of it, leaving her reputation in tatters and her sponsors uneasy. Her team's solution is as unconventional as it is necessary: a very visible fake relationship with Kieran Alexander, an actor whose own reputation needs exactly the kind of stability Luna can supposedly offer. There is just one obstacle neither of their publicists accounted for: the two genuinely cannot stand each other. Forced together for the sake of both their careers, Luna and Kieran spend the summer performing a relationship for cameras, attending premieres, red carpets, and tennis tournaments as a couple neither of them believes in. What begins as a strictly professional arrangement slowly shifts as the two spend more unguarded time together, away from the flashbulbs, discovering unexpected tenderness in the quiet moments between performances. As the summer stretches on, both Luna and Kieran find themselves confronting old wounds from previous relationships that left them wary of trusting anyone again. Cincotti lets their connection build gradually, through small, specific gestures of care rather than grand declarations, allowing the reader to watch two guarded people slowly let each other in. With their careers, and now their hearts, increasingly tangled together, and the whole world still watching, Luna and Kieran must decide whether what started as a performance has become something neither of them is willing to walk away from.
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Key Takeaways:
- “Love as an act of courage after heartbreak”: Both Luna and Kieran arrive at their fake relationship guarded by previous disappointments, having each put love aside out of fear of being hurt again. Cincotti treats their gradual willingness to trust one another as a genuine act of bravery, framing vulnerability as something earned rather than easy. - “Public performance versus private truth”: The novel is thoughtful about the gap between the relationship Luna and Kieran perform for cameras and the one quietly developing between them when no one is watching. That contrast gives the story real emotional stakes, as neither character can fully tell anymore where the act ends, and the feeling begins. - “Mutual belief as the foundation of partnership”: Throughout the novel, Luna and Kieran consistently push each other toward self-belief, Kieran encouraging Luna to trust her own competitive strength, and Luna reminding Kieran that his artistic work deserves the same respect as her athletic achievement. Their relationship is built as much on mutual encouragement as on romance. - “Resilience in the public eye”: Luna's determination not to let a painful personal breakup derail her athletic career speaks to a broader theme about resilience under scrutiny. Cincotti handles this with real care, showing how much strength it takes to keep performing at the highest level while your personal life is picked apart publicly.
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Iconic Lines, Scenes & Characters:
- Luna Aldridge. Confident, determined, and quietly rebuilding her sense of self after a difficult breakup, Luna's arc as both an athlete and a woman learning to trust again gives the novel much of its emotional grounding. Her strength on the court mirrors her gradual courage in opening her heart. - Kieran Alexander. Charming and unexpectedly vulnerable beneath his golden-boy image, Kieran's own history of being made to feel insecure about his work adds real depth to his character. His attentiveness toward Luna, even in small, unglamorous moments, makes their connection feel genuine. - The tennis circuit backdrop. Cincotti's immersive depiction of tournaments, training, and the highs and lows of competitive tennis gives the novel a vivid, kinetic energy. Readers are pulled into the thrill of the matches themselves, not just the romance unfolding around them. - The unguarded moments away from cameras. The small, private instances between Luna and Kieran, away from the performance they are contractually obligated to put on, stand out as the novel's most tender beats. These quiet scenes do the real work of building the emotional core of their relationship.
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Who Should Read This:
Readers who love fake dating tropes done with real emotional depth will find this a satisfying, well-paced entry in the genre, with a slow-building connection that feels earned rather than rushed. Anyone drawn to sports romance, particularly stories that immerse readers in the atmosphere and stakes of competitive athletics, will appreciate how vividly the tennis circuit is woven throughout the novel alongside the central relationship. Fans of glamorous, celebrity-adjacent romances full of red carpets, premieres, and public scrutiny will enjoy the novel's polished, cinematic backdrop, which adds real texture to Luna and Kieran's story. A note for readers: the novel is told in dual first-person perspective without chapter headings indicating whose point of view is being followed, which may require a sentence or two to orient at each switch. Readers who prefer clearly marked perspective shifts should keep this in mind going in.
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IBC Editorial Note:
This review is part of the Indian Book Club’s editorial initiative to spotlight books that inspire, inform, and leave a lasting impact on readers. Every title featured is carefully handpicked and reviewed by the IBC Editorial Team to maintain quality, authenticity, and literary value. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to submit a book for review, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please write to us at: editorial@indianbookclub.com Our team personally evaluates each submission, and selected books are featured as official IBC Editorial Reviews on our platform.