Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Every Summer After

Girl meets boy next door romance told in dual timelines, their time together as teenagers and present day, about 12 years later. The coming of age plotline was sweet, but the present day plotline hinted at a past conflict that has kept them apart for over a decade. Once they are able to communicate, issues are resolved in a somewhat predictable manner, but it was an enjoyable, though poignant, read.

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ecris's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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strayedthoughts's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

2.5

“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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emthewordenthusiast'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? Yes

3.75

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proudtobeabookaholic's review

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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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