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

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This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

59 reviews

hilary89's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.5

This was my first contemporary romance in a long while and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lucy and Felix's relationship was fabulous to watch unfold. But the real highlight was Lucy and Bridget's adorable friendship.

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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

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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

4.0

I enjoyed a lot about this book. The love story is of course amazingly written. I didn’t like how much it focused on dimples and oyster shucking.

Over all, this book made me fall in love with PEI and made me really want to visit one day.

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katherina_lei's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book was so cozy, it felt like being wrapped in a blanket in front of a fire of a crisp autumn day. Or like walking along an empty coastline with the wind in your hair. So cozy! Lucy is a lovely heroine, and Felix and Bridget are such sweet, perfect supporting characters. The characters and their life felt charming in a slightly unrealistic and romanticized way (I too, want to escape to an island and be a florist and build my dream home on a coastal property), but I didn't even mind because of the coziness! There was enough conflict to be engaging and make the book feel real, but with no dramatic last act breakups or scathing fights.
I now want to visit Prince Edward Island and have the urge to re-read Anne of Green Gables. 10/10 would recommend this book, but you may want a northeastern vacation after reading it!

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sunshinekmp's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

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lenklink's review against another edition

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No actual romance or relationship, just summer hookups

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lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

This is everything I was hoping Every Summer After would be: a sweet, summery, second-chance romance. There was a lot to love in Every Summer After, but I felt there was too much emphasis on the past and the relationship in the present felt rushed and underdeveloped. I am so happy this wasn’t the case here. The relationship development and emphasis on self-growth were impeccable.

And as an Atlantic Canadian (though not an Islander) and a huge Anne of Green Gables fan? I couldn’t ask for anything more!

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

Carley Fortune writes the literary equivalent of Hallmark films, and I have no complaints. Give me a hot man who quotes Anne of Green Gables and shucks oysters any day.

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soobooksalot's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Ahhh PEI!
I vacationed on the island as a moody teen, though I loved all the Anne of Green Gables-related tourism, and of course the seafood!
This Summer Will Be Different is not only the love story of Lucy and Felix, but a love letter to the island as well.
The deep friendship between Lucy and Bridget (Felix's sister - see where this is headed?) is just as important to the plot as the romance element, if not more. Summer Winds, the Carter family residence in PEI, feels more like a home to Lucy than hers in Toronto ever did.
Author Carley Fortune has recaptured the magic of her debut, Every Summer After, and I loved This Summer Will Be Different nearly as much.
Perfect summer read - recommended!

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lmm0's review

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emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

Lucy "Bee" Ashby finds herself waiting for her best friend, Bridget Clark, on Prince Edward Island (PEI) - as soon as Bridget lands, a much needed girls trip to the Clark family island home will commence. In the meantime, she meets Felix, a charming local who sweeps her off her feet. Little do they know, Felix is actually Bridget's younger brother, who their family and friends lovingly call 'Wolf.' Despite their unforgettable night together, they recognize the complications and promise to avoid each other after the fact. However, each year, Lucy seeks refuge on PEI - where, of course, she ends up feeling that same pull towards Felix. As they navigate their growing feelings and the way they develop as individuals, Lucy and Felix must repeatedly decide whether to follow their hearts or honor their vows to stay apart. Until the year of Bridget's wedding brings on a last minute, unplanned trip to PEI - one that will be enlightening for all involved.
***
Damn, did this book work for me. It started off with a bang (hehe), and it just went from there. The chemistry between them was so palpable, it made me keep turning the pages to see where ALL of the characters in this story ended up. You become invested in everyone, not just Felix and Lucy. Really enjoyed, and once you get into it, it turns into a quick read.

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bookish_leslie's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Happy sigh. I loved this book! It wasn’t perfect, of course (what book is?), but oh, those characters and that setting 😍 For me, this book was the perfect slow burn summer romance, and it gave me allllll the happy, fuzzy, heartwarming feels.

I adored Bridget and Lucy's friendship and how this book was as much a love letter to platonic love as it was to romantic love. The sense of found family these girls had with each other was so wholesome, and the way they shared the best parts of themselves without shying away from the hard, messy stuff was honestly goals, although I didn't understand the big secrets they kept from each other for most of the book, which didn’t seem right in a friendship that was otherwise as close as theirs was.

"Our friendship is how I learned that the families we make are as significant as the ones we're born into. It's how I learned that the greatest loves are not always romances."

Speaking of romance, Felix and Lucy had electric chemistry and shared quite a few steamy scenes, but what I loved the most about their romance was the slow burn. Sure, they had their sexy hook-ups, but they also flirted and got to know each other in layers over years, which was such a refreshing change from the insta-love trope that I absolutely hate and that’s so common to this genre. I’m sorry, but you cannot fall in love with someone in a week or two. You just can’t. Lust, yes. Love, no. So I, for one, really appreciated that Felix and Lucy’s romance was a slow build that felt much more authentic and natural.

With that being said, the repetition of how hot Felix’s body temperature ran was overdone (we get it already! He’s an oven!), and Lucy’s “More. Felix.” yearning throughout the book was also heavy-handed. It did help to convey her pining for Felix, though, and while it got old pretty quickly, it was admittedly a perfect set-up for the last couple of lines of the book:

“Fingers laced, we climb up to our bedroom in the home we've built together. A house full of books. A field full of flowers. Our own special island. At last Felix. At last mine.”

I also thought the 3rd act drama between these characters felt a bit odd and contrived. Still, I shipped Lucy and Felix so hard - for their physical connection, yes, but especially for their sweetness with each other. It just made my heart so, so happy.

Finally, the primary setting of Prince Edward Island was the cherry on top of it all. I loved the sense of place Fortune created and how beautifully and authentically she wrote about PEI throughout the entire book. I would so love to visit this island to experience the soaring gulls, red dirt roads, caves, beaches, woolen blankets, swishing grasses, wildflowers, and red sandstone cliffs for myself.

“I cupped my hands over my eyes so I could gulp down the view. A sun-drenched bay. Water glittering like sapphires beneath rust-colored cliffs. Seaweed lying in knotty nests on a strip of sandy shoreline. A wood-sided restaurant. Stacks of lobster traps. A man in hip waders.

Spice: 3🌶️
Several open door / steamy scenes with detailed descriptions and explicit language, but not the central focus of the book

Themes:

Friendship
Different types of love
Home / belonging
Identity and self-discovery
Following your dreams
Change, growth, and the evolution of people
Escape & adventure

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