Every Summer After By Carley Fortune

This book was sooooooo good, I loved it so much. I absolutely FLEW through it and truly couldn’t get enough. I just loved the story and thought she did such a good job of going back and forth between the past and present and tying the story all together. This book is heartwarming and will absolutely have you in your feels. So so good. 5 stars easily!!!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune is a touching and beautifully woven tale of love, loss, and the power of second chances. This novel captures the essence of summer, evoking nostalgia with its vivid descriptions and deeply relatable characters.

The story revolves around Persephone Fraser, affectionately known as Percy, who has avoided her hometown for years after making a life-altering mistake. Fortune skillfully takes readers through a dual timeline, alternating between Percy’s childhood summers and her present-day confrontation with past decisions. This structure not only keeps the narrative engaging but also allows for a deeper connection with the characters.

Percy’s journey back to Barry’s Bay is prompted by the passing of a loved one, forcing her to face Sam Florek, her childhood friend and first love. Their chemistry is palpable, and their shared history is rich with moments that range from heartwarming to heart-wrenching. The author’s depiction of their relationship is authentic, showcasing the complexities of love and friendship.

One of the novel’s strengths is its setting. The lakeside town of Barry’s Bay is almost a character in itself, with Fortune’s descriptive prose bringing its charm to life. Readers will find themselves transported to lazy summer days filled with swimming, boating, and the smell of pine trees.

Fortune’s writing is both poetic and accessible, making this book an enjoyable read for a wide audience. Her background as a journalist shines through in her attention to detail and the emotional depth she brings to her storytelling.

For those who appreciate character-driven narratives with a strong emotional core, Every Summer After is a must-read. It is a testament to the enduring nature of love and the importance of forgiveness, both of oneself and others. Whether you’re lounging by the beach or curled up on a rainy day, this book promises to be a companion that stays with you long after the final page is turned.

As other reviews have already pointed out, it’s a love story. A brilliant written and heart-warming love story, which gripped me right from the very beginning, when Percy tells us about the dangers of a hair cut right after a break up. The writing is elegant and agile. The story is timeless and warm, but never getting cheap. I felt I was right there, by the lake in those hot summer months with the adorable characters.
I gave it four stars because of the long sex scenes, a little boring for my liking, and the cliché line “white girl privilege”, which I think is a very simplistic view of the world and human relations and, in the book, is thrown aleatory, without any relation to the story whatsoever.

**spoilers ahead**

I read this book a couple of years ago and it never really stuck. One thing I did remember was how I found it immensely similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty. In fact, it kind of seemed like I was reading the same book twice: falling in love with someone who had a brother, accidentally going out with/kissing/being with the wrong brother, the beloved mother of the love interest dying of illness… I understand that there are definitely differences, but all the similarities was kind of off-putting. On the plus side, though, if I ignore all of that, I have to say that characters are quite well-developed. They’re flawed and 3-dimensional and real, which I think is kind of hard to find now in YA romance. This book is quite angsty as well, and I felt that it was quite well-written and emotional at some parts. Imo, worth a read, but only if you haven’t read TSITP/are in love with this kind of trope.

This was hands-down a fabulous summer read for me, and I knew it would be based on the premise and location alone. After about halfway down the second page, I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down. Reading it was like coming home. I love stories that pull on the heartstrings and let me tell you… this one did not disappoint. I’m an Ontario gal and this story takes place in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, not too far from me or from where I grew up camping and cottaging in the summers on gorgeous lakes in the Canadian Shield area. There’s just something about driving up north on your way to these beautiful places that sets your mind at ease. That certain place where the highway turns from a ridiculously busy six lanes north of Toronto to a double lane, twinned highway. The landscape changes drastically from hydro towers and pavement to trees and rivers. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic to smooth sailing in no time at all. The air is cleaner, the sky is bluer, the lakes are shimmering, and all your troubles just melt away. It’s such a precise spot that this happens, it’s as though you cross an invisible line, and your chest gets a little lighter when you cross it.

When Fortune writes about what it’s like in Barry’s Bay, living the summers on the lake, there’s so much nostalgia on the pages for me! Between that and the one-that-got-away-that-you-never-truly-get-over vibes, I was absolutely hooked. There were so many lines in the book that resonated so deeply with me for so many reasons. There were several “pause pebbles” in the story for me, which Cece Lyra (P.S. Literary agent) will know all about; those “wow” lines that make you stop reading to reflect; the ones that hit you in the feels and blow your mind a little bit (or a lot!). (And as a writer, these are the only times you want your reader to stop reading!) It was like Fortune peered inside all my most precious personal memories, fears, hopes, and wishes and wrote them on the page in the most perfect way. Reading this story was like opening a memory box, and I want to read it again and again.

I had some travelling to do, so I read half the book on the planes and in the airports. The only reason I put it down was that I was forced to by boarding/de-boarding, having to walk from gate to gate, and driving home at 3am! I couldn’t wait to keep reading, and by the second day, I’d finished it. I love the way the author holds the tension, keeps us guessing at what happened in the past that affects the present so much, and leads us down memory lane. Even if you didn’t grow up going to a cottage every summer, there’s still so much about childhood and growing up, finding yourself and building relationships, that can resonate with you. It’s a little bit women’s fiction, a little bit coming-of-age, a little bit romance (with a few steamy scenes!), and all incredibly written from start to finish.

This was an excellent, 5-star debut, and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I love books with this kind of layout but this is definitely one of my favorites. slightly predictable but i was still surprised. The relationship between Percy and Sam was so real and I liked that actually showed their flaws:)