Tryhard Season

Jenna Ramirez returns to the steamy shores of Elswick, where a charming tryhard and his college rival collide in a fiery enemies-to-lovers romance about ambition, reinvention, and second chances.

A summer fling was never part of the business plan.

Drew Petrelis is known for his flirty personality, but his charm can’t save him from layoffs at his fancy consulting job. With an empty summer ahead of him, he sets out to open a beachside brewery in Elswick, Rhode Island with his friend Danny. As they dive into strategy and wooing local investors, they realize they need support from the town’s richest residents–which means somehow getting into Elswick’s exclusive country club. Drew must turn to Della van Bergen, the daughter of the club’s president and his college academic rival.

Fresh off a soul-crushing stint in Big Law, Della’s back in her hometown to solve the mystery of her paternity and spend time with her little sister, not help her nemesis with his beer business. But when her overbearing mother tasks her with planning Elswick’s bicentennial festival, Drew’s dilemma becomes the answer to her jampacked summer: if he helps her with the celebration, she’ll use her club status to connect him with his target investors.

The quid pro quo agreement powers their feud, along with a reluctant friendship built on shared quarter-life crises: chronic overachiever Drew is at a crossroads, while people pleaser Della is drowning under her family name. As they navigate their partnership beneath the summer sun, a red-hot tension grows. With their stays in Elswick temporary, they try hard to ignore their burgeoning attraction. But just like in college, there’s always a tsunami risk with them together.

The perfect beach read, this charming and emotional novel blends sharp humor, swoony romance, and a heartfelt journey of finding yourself when life doesn't go according to plan.