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kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: May 10, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Nostalgic • Messy • Tender
📖 S Y N O P S I S
They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of spending summers in cottage country, on the glittering lakeshore of her childhood, she stays in a stylish apartment in Toronto, keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart.
Until Percy receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.
For six summers during their youth, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm nights working in his family’s restaurant, Percy and Sam had been inseparable. And when Percy returns to the lake, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until she can confront the decisions she made, they’ll never know whether their love is bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Carley Fortune's debut novel Every Summer After was all over Bookstagram, and one of the summer's hottest recommendations. It was hard to avoid the hype and spoilers, yet I knew I wanted to save it for my disconnected time away at the cottage, which just felt like the perfect place to read it.
Told over six summers in the past and one weekend in the present, this coming-of-age, friends to lovers, second chance romance is tender and passionate. The alternating timelines allows for a slow burn, messy and realistic relationship. The characters are deeply flawed. They make mistakes. They weren't brought to life. Given Sam and Percy are teenagers when they first meet, it does read young - the angst and longing are certainly real.
It was the setting that truly made this a winner for me. I absolutely loved the idyllic cottage country setting. And as I mentioned above, I saved reading this until I was able to read it on a dock in Ontario's cottage country. Sometimes there is just a time and a place for certain books and this was it for me with this one. I might have even treated myself to some Kawartha ice cream to enhance the experience. Doing all of this really made the vibe of the story come to life. I loved all of the little sprinkles of Canadian cottage country.
Somewhat surprisingly, this second-chance romance worked on so many levels for me. What I really loved was the theme of finding the person that gets you unlike anyone else, the one that makes you feel seen and safe. It was the perfect example of the choices that change the entire trajectory of our lives. Every Summer After introduces a fresh, new voice into the Canadian romance realm, and I will be eagerly awaiting the release of her next novel Meet Me At the Lake next year.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a summer read
• second chance romance trope lovers
• K.A. Tucker fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Betrayals don't cancel each other out. They just hurt more."
"And not for the first time it feels like someone stole the whole script to my life story and wrote it all wrong."
"I can only keep trying to breathe."
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Bullying, and Vomit
kshertz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcohol, Sexual content, Death, and Infidelity
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Persephone “Percy” Fraser and Sam Florek spend almost every summer of their teens together as best friends (and briefly more) before a series of events tear them apart. Twelve years later, Percy is back in town—but can time really heal all wounds and put back together something she has long believed is permanently broken?
I’m 90% sure I was the last person left who hadn’t read this one (shoutout to my book club for getting me to finally dive in!) and I’ve heard such good things from so many people, so I went in with pretty high expectations. There was definitely a lot to love about this book—the setting is atmospheric and nostalgic (wish I could head off to a lakeside vacation right now, thanks) and the writing is beautiful and engaging.
That said, I ultimately had a bunch of problems with the ending of this book (and the choices of one of the characters—but probably *not* the one you think, if you’ve read this!) that kept me from rounding up to the full 4 or even 4.5 stars I initially anticipated. I also saw the twist coming from the first chapter, and while that’s usually fine with me for a romance novel, I eventually found myself wishing for a bit more from the plot.
Still, is a really cute and fun summer and/or vacation read, and I know a *lot* of people have loved it, so give it a try if it sounds good to you! And, since I doubt this is the last we’ve heard from Carley Fortune—I’ll still definitely give a try to whatever she writes next.
Recommended, especially if you like: friends-to-lovers; second chance romance; nostalgic dual timeline settings.
CW: Death of parent; grief; panic attacks/anxiety; some mentions of childhood bullying.
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying
whatripsusapart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Bullying and Cancer
hopefulromanticreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s a summer-themed romance that allows you to revisit the magical feeling you got as a kid when you made a new friend on vacation or holiday, the excitement of a first crush, and the crushing heartbreak many of us have experience for various reasons.
This would’ve been a five star book for me, but I had an issue with the main conflict between our 2 MCs (which I’ll detail below behind a spoiler tag).
When I finished this book, I was left thinking about the fact that love is about choices, and sometimes about timing too. It’s about being imperfect and finding someone who loves and accepts your imperfections. Someone who fits perfectly with you. It also had me thinking about betrayal, guilt, and what I personally could or could not forgive. And above all, it left me with the warm embrace of nostalgia.
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Bullying and Cancer
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Alcohol
riella_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Bullying, Death of parent, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
cepbreed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was really shocked when she became friends with Delilah again, though girls friendships do kind of work that way. I was shocked further by how much I came to love her character, her genuine advice and well timed quips. The final shock was the fact that they never rekindled their friendship in the book, I'd like to think they do after the ending. Percy was hurt, but that is never an excuse to treat someone who had done nothing wrong that poorly.
Songs:
- august - Taylor Swift
- 21 - Gracie Abrams
- WYD Now? - Sadie Jean
- seven - Taylor Swift
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Grief
Minor: Medical content
mallory10100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Bullying
Minor: Sexual harassment
nina_readsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying and Grief