Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - This Summer Will Be Different

~~Bring~~ | ✨Borrow✨ | ~~Bypass~~

Thank you to Edelweiss, Berkley, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

Review: Look. I don't know if anything will ever hit the magic that was Every Summer After (gah I LOVED), but I liked this one a lot more than Meet Me at the Lake and I know I'll want to read Carley Fortune's next book, so I'm taking that as a win.

The chemistry between Lucy and Felix was 🔥🔥 and I particularly loved the parts of the book that dealt specifically with them, and I think the thing that was missing (for me) was more of an emphasis on their relationship. I did appreciate the attempt to also highlight the importance of Lucy's friendship with Bridget (Felix's sister, hello best friend's brother trope), but it was almost like trying to place the importance on both of these relationships ensured that neither one took center stage. (Maybe that was the point?)

Overall it's still recommended, and can we just get a shoutout for whoever is designing these covers because they are SO BEAUTIFUL together?!?!?

Overall Rating: ★★★ / 3.38

Rating each element of the book out of 5★

Characters ★★★

Atmosphere ★★★

Writing ★★★

Plot ★★★

Intrigue ★★★

Logic ★★★

Enjoyment ★★★

Pacing ★★★

Dialogue ★★★

★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it

Content Warnings

kelseyfontaine's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.25

I’ve read all of Carley Fortune’s books, and once again, this is a great summer read! It was a bit of a struggle for me to get into at the beginning, especially since the time switches between chapters could be a bit confusing at times, but it turned a curve about halfway in. Once Lucy and Felix really started to grow into one another, I was hooked. While some storylines were forgettable, I fell in love with Lucy and Felix’s. Once I was able to get past the “fiction” of it all (AKA Felix and his whole situation seeming a bit unreal), their characters came to life for me. Also, as a quick mention, this book is SPICY! Overall, a solid feel-good summer novel.

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theinstabookworm's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

After being disappointed with MEET ME AT THE LAKE last year, I went into this book with lower expectations. But, Carley Fortune has redeemed herself! I absolutely loved this!

I saw some reviews claiming Lucy and Felix's relationship was insta-love/insta-lust, but I disagree. I think they meant for their hookup to be a one-time thing until they learned who the other was. If you know you're going to be seeing more of someone whose company you enjoyed than you thought, it makes sense that the chemistry would increase as time went on.

Fortune's writing is descriptive and creates such clear imagery for the reader. I loved Lucy and Bridget's friendship, the banter between Lucy and Felix, the strong friendship theme and showing the importance of friendship, the found family. I love that this is a Canadian book set in Canada, and the readers know it is by the landmarks and well-known places mentioned in the book. One of the things I didn't like about the Chestnut Springs series was that it was only mentioned briefly that that series was set in Canada, and I wanted more of the setting in the books. This will be one of my favourite books of the year!

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