4.5 stars rounded up

What makes this book 5⭐️ for me is that it engaged me from the first page, and there wasn’t a part I didn’t like. So many books take me 50-100 pages before I am invested, but this book had me from the first page or two. It’s just such an enjoyable summer read… the feeling of amazing summers growing up with a friend/boyfriend nextdoor.

Every Summer After alternates chapters between present day-ish and then going back to summers 17 years ago and then deducting a year until you get to year 12. These are the summers when the main character Persephone (Percy) and her family summered at Barry’s Bay, a little town by a lake in Canada, north of Toronto. It is here, she meets brothers Sam and Charlie Florek and their mother Sue (who owns the Tavern and makes the best pierogies). When Percy gets a call from Charlie that Sue has died (from cancer), she goes back for the funeral.

Spicy 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Definite summer vibes ☀️
Best friend / coming of age story 👭

I also loved the cover for this book. I read this book with Kellyhook.readsbooks on instagram and we got to chat with Carley Fortune last night. It was so fun; and one of my favorite parts was hearing about the cover. She liked the idea of the Group of Seven artists in Canada and their landscapes (https://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/group_of_7.php). This one was done by Toronto Artist Elizabeth Lennie https://www.elizabethlennie.com

I also loved posts for this book by @bookish.chels (she posts a movie cast that is 🙌🏻) and @_readwithanneliese (who visits Barry’s Bay and made a reel with footage from there which is amazing). Also, Carley Fortune’s page has her own playlist. So much to check out!

I thought it was perfect for a summer read, especially a debut novel. The only thing I got a little tired of, was hearing how gorgeous and perfect Sam (and Charlie) were and how gorgeous and amazing Percy’s body was. I am grateful for authors who have people who have great stories without perfect or amazing bodies.

This was my first selection from The Book Drop and I was thrilled!

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Every Summer After
AUTHOR: Carley Fortune
FORMAT: eBook
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
PUB DATE: 5/10/22
RATING: 10/10
5 stars

Thank you so much @berkleypub @berkleyromance @netgalley for my #gifted advanced copy of EVERY SUMMER AFTER, out now!

MY THOUGHTS

This book…rufkm… i can’t. Giving major LOVE AND OTHER WORDS vibes, this will be the book of the summer!! This IS the book of the summer. I’m making the announcement.

This book, this story, these CHARACTERS truly all took me in and wrapped me in one long big hug from start to finish. Every character was likable, but not in a mundane way. Each had their faults and flaws, but I was so whole-heartedly rooting for them all throughout the entire book. The setting really made this book what it was. Small town on a lake in Canada that’s a vacation destination for some, and a permanent residence for others. I feel like that piece of the book made me able to connect with the story, too. Second-chance romance AND friends-to-lovers is LITERALLY my dreamboat of a romance novel so it was bound to be a love for me, but I was absolutely blown away. The love story was so perfect, the timeline making so much sense & although the conflict hurt my soul and broke my heart, the execution was absolutely phenomenal!! I loved the little pieces of wisdom sprinkled throughout the dialogue towards the end of the book. It really added another layer to the relatability of the story. And that ending. it was perfect. I was weeping. It’s fine.

I do think I would have liked more regarding the twelve years that had passed and what each of our MC’s lives looked like in that time. But that also may be me being so obsessed with these characters and wanting to know absolutely everything about them. So @carleyfortune , if you want to chat through those 12 years, my dms are open and I am ready.

Could not recommend this book more!! Especially if you enjoyed LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren. Perfect read for summer.

I liked this book so much more than I was anticipating! I love any story about young summer love through the years. It just feels so nostalgic, even if you didn't experience it yourself. Just reflecting back on all the firsts you go through when growing up and how they affect you as an adult is always something I love to read.
Fortune shows how love can be messy and somehow easy at the same time. I was rooting for the characters the whole time but also understood how they were developing and growing and being cautious and scared, even though I just want to yell at them! Communication is key in any relationship so while it was frustrating to realize that if they had just made more of an effort to talk to each other instead of be in their heads, they could have been together the whole time, I like how it all worked out in the end.
I look forward to what's next from this author!

This has the exact same plot as Love and Other Words - another young/second chance romance. Literally everything the same happens. And that one was done better. This was “fine” but had nothing new and none of it blew my mind. The hype is way overdone on this one.

Delighted to single out this novel in my essay ‘In Praise of Summer Reading’ for Zoomer magazine’s Books section, highlighting guaranteed great beach pleasers and deconstructing the history of the 'beach reading' state of mind.

very Summer After is emotive and heartwarming contemporary romance that revolves around childhood friends, Percy and Sam, and their love story. The story is about family, love, friendship, teenage angst, coming of age, young love, innocence, mistakes, heartbreak, loss, second chances, and forgiveness.

Writing is fabulous, beautiful, cozy, and steady to fast paced. it is written in first person narrative from Percy’s POV with alternative chapters of ‘Now’ and ‘Before’ that takes back to every summer they spent together from 17 yrs ago till their break up 12 yrs ago. Dual timeline worked really well here.

Plot is interesting and engaging. I loved the beginning. It started with Percy getting a phone call from her childhood friend, Charlie, brother of her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend – Sam, informing her about funeral of his mother that take her back to memory lane of her first summer in Berry’s Bay, how she met Sam and Charlie, how Sam became her best friend and eventually boyfriend, how Berry’s Bay became her best place in the world until everything fell apart 12 yrs ago.

It was interesting to know what happened all those years ago, why it was so terrible for her to move on, what happened that is giving her panic attacks, and how their reunion will be after 12 yrs when Percy will attend the funeral.

This is character driven story and I loved all characters. They all are realistic and relatable. Characters of any age can find connection with these characters. They made the story nostalgic making me think back to my own childhood, first love, and mistakes we make.

It feels hard to seperate Percy and Sam even in review. I feel like I can’t talk about one charcter leaving other one out of the discription. Percy is my favorite though, even with her mistake. She is lovely, kind, fun, and smart. In the beginning we see her vulnerabilty as she was being bullied by her best friend but her first summer at Berry’s Bay meeting Sam changed things. She is forgiving person as she let go of how her best friend treated her at the end of the summer and continued being best friend again.

I could understand her feelings and dilemma as her crush towards Sam grew to be love while Sam didn’t give any clue about his own feelings, keeping her hanging. I liked her for being true to her feelings and knowing what her heart really wants and still trying to move on when she realised Sam isn’t reciprcating her feelings and then making right decisions when he did.

I get her reaction and behaviour to Sam’s decision about college. When I think about it I don’t think Percy was that wrong making that mistake. Sam has been equally responsible but of course we don’t see that until it was revealed in climax. I felt for Percy suffering for that mistake for so long. I loved how determined she was to come clean about it when they finally met.

Sam is smart who wanted to be doctor ever since he lost his father to heart attack. He is kind, lovely, but not forgiving type. He keeps close lid on his emotions, he is resposible for his age and even more developed but he is clueless how to keep a realtionship and because of that he makes many mistakes that makes Percy feel unloved and insecure. He unknowingly was cruel for wanting her and at the same time pushing her away. You see why I said it’s not only Percy who is resposible for her mistake.

I liked him for being true to his life goal, thinking they have all the time and he wasn’t wrong but he wasn’t good at expressing it right. He is perfect and also not perfect at the same time. It was sad to see him suffering as well, going through hard time like Percy and it is amazing he still focused on studies and became doctor. I was surprised he was so calm when they first met in present and kept things lighthearted and even showed he still loved her. His reaction in the climax is shocking. This guy is hard to understand.

I also liked secondary characters. Charlie made story fun and light-hearted. It was interesting to know him more and finding his hidden talents. He looked irresponsible, total flirt, and playboy but he was actually smart and unlike Sam, he knew how to keep a relatioship. I liked him for pointing out Sam’s mistakes and trying to make him see where he is wrong. There is jealousy and teasing between brothers but they liked each other in their own way. Sue, their mother is amazing. I liked Percy’s parents too but they mostly stayed out of pciture. Delilah– Percy’s best friend, the same who bullied her, is also amazing. I wish I could see her more.

Percy and Sam’s childhood friendship, their first love, and relationship and how they grew up in present how their past affected them… the whole journey is best part of the book. It truly showed how silly and innocent first loves are. All those overreaction, high expectations, disappointments, and insecurity is totlly age apropriate, so realistic and realtable.

There are so many lovely moments. Like every readers who enjoyed this book, I loved those friendship bracelets, their movie nights, horror stories Percy loved and wrote, Percy’s swim training and her yearly challenge and how Sam helped her with it, their shifts at tavern… It was all beautifully written.

Their friends to lovers romance is another best part and it made me sad to see how that changed them, distaracted them from life they wanted and unltimately broke them apart. I wanted to kick them both for taking so long to make things right.

Climax is what I was waiting for whole book. I feel so smart for figuring it out or maybe not because I could see the hints even before I reached the middle of the book. I just wanted to see if I’m right or not and I went along the story to enjoy it more and I really did. Funeral, panic attacks, taking back in time for revelations, admitting it in present, and reactions to it made everything from climax to end most interesting. I wasn’t expecting this to become all steamy in last 20% of the book as for most of the story it was partially clean romance. End is pefect, lovely, and feel good but I still wanted to kick them for taking so long.

Why 4.5 stars-

Like I said I could figure out that mistake and what happened 12 yrs ago. It’s not hard to figure out and yup I have seen that happening before but it can be overlooked as I still enjoyed the story.

Overall, Every Summer After is emotive, touching, nostalgic, second chance romance about first love, young innocent mistakes and forgiveness.

I highly recommend this if you like,
Second chance romance
Childhood friends to lovers
First young love
Nostalgic story
Perfect summer read
Realistic and relatable characters
coming of age stories
Dual timeline
emotive and touching story

This is a lovely, heartbreaking story of growing and loving and hurting. I loved it at some parts and HATED it at others! I wanted to scream at the characters and then hug them for their ability to forgive. Sheesh. It is one rollercoaster ride of a story!

This book is exactly what summer needs! Romance, tragedy, the water, the heat of summer... everything. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have passed it along to patrons and friends!

Sometimes books that jump in timelines or POVs are so hard to read but this was perfectly done. I loved Sam, and was half in love with him myself by the end. Really enjoyed this one.

Everyone seems to be loving this book and I can see why. I read it in a few hours, really liked the easy read. However, I didnt love it as much as others seem to do. I still like it but something about this couple and the main character really bothered me.

How much did I love Every Summer After by Carley Fortune? To the moon and back. This book was SO good! It gave first love chills, brought back sweet memories of growing up, and special summers spent by the water. For me it was the ocean, for our heroine it was the lake.

At age 13, Persephone (Percy) and her family get a cottage and spend every summer by the lake. Next door is Sam and his brother Charlie, who live there year-round. Their mom runs a family restaurant and their dad died years ago. Sam and Percy get to be the best of friends. They grow up together and fall in love. They swim, play, watch movies, play games and every summer are able to pick up just where they left off. Meanwhile, Charlie is a player. He’s always with a new girl, very flirtatious, and teases Sam about Percy. It’s meant to be light-hearted, brotherly joking around. But, you can sense that this won’t end well.

After graduation, they all go to different colleges but Sam and Percy decide to try the long distance relationship. Sam is studying to be a doctor, he has a lot of pressure, he’s nervous about how he’ll do, and that manifests in his behavior being standoff-ish with Percy. He doesn’t call her back. Percy gets upset, and doubts his love. She calls him one time and a girl answers his phone. When Sam does get on the line, he’s clearly drunk. She’s devastated. And Sam eventually tells her he can’t do well in school and juggle their relationship.

It’s heartbreaking. Sam, Percy, and Charlie are all such rich characters. I felt each one deeply. Sam broke Percy. At that moment, feeling so much pain, Percy makes a choice that will tear all three apart.

Fast forward twelve years. Percy hasn’t spoken to Sam. Her parents sold the cottage a long time ago. Sam is a doctor. Percy is trying to make it in her own career. She returns back to the lake to attend Sam and Charlie’s mom’s funeral.

The book alternates between past and present, and kept me agonizing over how they’d find each other again. It’s a very emotional read. Percy wants Sam back. It’s not that easy. Things were said. Things were done.

Every Summer After is a terrific coming-of-age story. The cover even gives me all the feels. This is one of my top books so far this year. Such a beautiful story!!

Unputabledown!! Loved every single chapter and the two different timelines. I’m team Sam forever & always but he was a little frustrating at time (not saying how he really felt). I absolutely loved the cottage / summer vibes! I was expecting a bit more of the ending but she wrapped it up nicely I guess. I related to Percy on so many levels - her summer freckles love/hate relationship, cotton candy ice cream really is the best, the panic attacks and feelings of never being good enough. She became like a sister to me and one of my fave characters. I highly recommend adding this book to your summer TBR!

Thank you Sweet Reads Box for this #gifted book included in your May 2022 box. And thank you to Berkley publishing and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

what a joy of a summer book! very similar to THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY, Carley takes that premise and gives it an adult twist, filled with first love and first heartbreak. One of my favorite reads so far this year!!

Book of the summer! This is everything I love in a summer romance paired with the perfect setting! It has all the nostalgia, the tension, and the coziest writing.

This book has my favorite combination of tropes: second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers, and it’s always been you! 🥹

I loved the alternating timelines between past and present, and seeing Sam and Percy’s relationship develop throughout the book and over time.

I am so impressed this is a debut book, because to me it is near perfect!

Would recommend for fans of Love and Other Words and The Summer I Turned Pretty series!

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Every summer Percy and her parents escaped the heat of the city, Toronto, and spent summers at a lakefront cottage. Percy becomes attached to her summer neighbors, Sam, a boy her age, his older brother, Charlie and their mother, Sue, the owner of a local restaurant. For Sam and Percy, a close friendship develops into more as each summer they grow older. A series of events leads to their estrangement until thirteen years later when Charlie calls to tell Percy Sue has died. Returning to the place where she broke her and Sam’s heart forces Percy to confront the past. Recommended as a good summer vacation read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

THE romance book of summer!

Carley Fortune
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Goodreads rating: 4.40

I was NERVOUS to read this one. It’s been all over booksta, & sometimes super hyped romances aren't my cup of tea. But THIS one, did NOT disappoint. I read it in like 4 HOURS. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. It’s now one of my favorite books I have ever read, & def a top romance.

It. is. EVERYTHING.

SWEAR IT.😭🥹

READ IF YOU LIKE:
💕 SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE
❗️COLLEEN HOOVER
❗️CHRISTINA LAUREN
❗️EMILY HENRY
🏡Small town settings
🛶Lake living
🌼Cottages
👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻Friendship bracelets
✨LEGENDARY DEBUTS
⏰Alternating timelines(past & present)

First of all, I am so glad that I saw @book_club_at_kelseys casting when I was starting- the Hemsworth brothers were PERFECT for Sam & Charlie. For some reason, I was picturing Minka Kelly (Lyla Garity from Friday Night Lights) as Percy from the get-go, & I just loved that whooollee vibe!

SECOND... HOW IS THIS A DEBUT?! Literally, this is legendary. Best debut I have ever read in my entire life.

✨Percy hasn't seen her first love in 12 years. It's been over a decade of heartache stemming from Percy making the biggest mistake of her life. Fast forward to present day, when she gets a call from his brother.. she's immediately sent back to Barry's Bay, where she left her heart all those years ago.

This book recaps the last 6 years & what went down b/t Percy & Sam. We see how their captivating love begins, as well as their absolutely gut-wrenching end.

I adored it from page ONE.. but the last 25%ish was PHENOMENAL. I love books that make me emotional (although I am v emo- doesn't take much). I was wiping alligator tears at the end of this one. 😭🥹🫶🏼

I related to Percy in many ways. Loved her.

Lastly & most importantly.. Sam Florek. What a guy. My heart absolutely broke for him; it made me take a step back & ask myself what I would do in his situation (trying to keep it spoiler-free). The love he has for Percy was unmatched & just made my heart feel like it was going to explode.

I cannot wait to re-read this one (EVERY SUMMER AFTER this one) 😉😩

You NEED to read this.. SO worth the hype! 🙌🏼

If you are looking for a sweet summery book to read by the beach this summer, look no further! When Percy's parents buy a lake house in a tiny town on Lake Ontario to get her out of Toronto for the summers, she didn't expect to meet anyone else her age, let alone her neighbour, Sam. This story follows Percy and Sam through alternating time periods, flipping between summers past and the present day as adults. It is about friendship, enduring love, mistakes, grief, and forgiveness. I really enjoyed the writing and was excited reading a book set in Canada!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and #NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my opinion!!

The present-day storyline lost some momentum for me toward the end, and I didn't find some of the two main characters' adult actions and opinions realistic or believable. But this book's world is a beautiful one, and the author handles the transition between the characters' past and present seamlessly.

This is the perfect summer read, it's emotional,sweet and captivating! read it in one day! I loved Sam & Percy so much, they will have a special place in my heart even though there were moments they both annoyed me.Sam was so so sweet I adored him.

This is a coming-of-age type of romance novel, it gave me Emily Henry's and Renee Carlino's vibes . I love both authors so you can imagine this one goes to my top.

Every Summer After takes the reader to an emotional ride.There are parts that were too heavy and omg I wanted to cry.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

***SPOILERS***

What a cute summer romance!! There was so much I absolutely loved about this book and not a lot of negatives (if any???)

I loved the back and forth timeline. I felt like it really helped to know why things happened or were the way there were in the future because if their past. I think I was more invested in the "past" part of the timeline for a majority of the book but eventually became really attached to their future and "present" timeline.

I really liked Percy as our MC. She was the image of confidence, growth, and then struggle in her adult years. Carley Fortune did a great job writing Percy as a pre-teen, teenager, and adult. Showing the different phases of growth and development for a female who's in and out of love with her childhood best friend.

I found that at any moment that I pondered this book while it was in progress and Sid "I wish the reader got more info on this or that" that my questions were answered by the end of the book. I really rooted for Sam and Percy and definitely wasn't expecting any of the twists at the end.