Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Every Summer After

“I loved you so much that the word ‘love’ didn’t seem big enough for how I felt.”

I read this surprisingly quick despite not really liking it. I didn’t mind the alternating chapters between present day and the past but I did find myself enjoying g the chapters in the past more. I feel like there was no difference in the narrative voice between the past where our main character was 13-17 and the present where she was 30. While I did enjoy the childhood to lovers and second chance romance aspects of this book the conflicts never really felt all that serious and the main conflict at the end was such a weird development. Percy and Sam were never gonna not end up together and it took so long for really no reason.

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vanessagrausam's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

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proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

When Persephone "Percy" Fraser is 13 her parents buy a cottage by the lake in Barry's Bay, a four-hour drive from their home in Toronto. Almost immidiately she meets the Florek brothers who live next door with their mom. Sam and Percy instantly become best friends and during five summers they're inseparable. Their friendship slowly turns into something more - until Percy makes the biggest mistake of her life. Twelve years later she's back in Barry's Bay for the first time since that last summer, and she's both anxious and terrified of meeting Sam again.

This is both a best friends-to-lovers and a second chance romance; two of my favorite tropes! It reminds me of "Love and Other Words" by Christina Lauren - which I loved - but although there are similarities I think that "Every Summer After" holds its own merit. Sam is truly a dream guy, caring and thoughtful, and knows from early on that he wants to become a doctor. Percy is also a wonderful character, but her low self esteem makes her misinterpret things and she makes some bad decisions. Pretty common teenager behaviour, but I still wish I could give her some self-confidence.

" 'I loved you', he whispers.

'I know', I say.

Hurt eyes move across my face. 'You broke my heart.'

'I know that, too.' "

The timeline changes between now and the past summers, which makes you want to read "just one more chapter". At the same time I enjoyed being in Percy's and Sam's company so much that I didn't want to book to end! However, we only get Percy's POV, and I would have liked to get at least some chapters from Sam's point of view.

It was fun to read the author's note in the end, and see how much of her own life she put into the story. There's a lot of nostalgia, and I'm impressed that this is Fortune's debut. Perfect summer reading!

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justovereherereading's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

This was a beautifully written story that didn't go the way that I expected or wanted- but I loved it anyway! I loved the look back over long summers at the lake, the teenage angst and drama and the way Persephone and Sam's lives played out...I couldn't put this down, I wanted to get to the happy ever after, but not in the way it actually played out, that bit broke my heart!!

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sefrahudman's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

3.75

This was a really sweet albeit spicy at times coming of age love story. It had the summer vibes and was a sweet book!

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plueschi77's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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mirandacheek's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

i absolutely loved this book! such a sweet summer story !!

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pageafter_paige's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This books was very addicted! I read it as an audio book and I really enjoyed the narrator. I love all the flash backs and found myself looking forward to learning about their past’s together! It gave me slight normal people vibes like childhood friends to lovers. Charlie is hot lol. I find the FMC very relatable and the MMC super charming! I love a lake house!!! Perfect summer read

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