Title: Every Summer After
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Publishes On: May 10, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 320
Synopsis:
Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.
They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart.
Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.
For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart.
When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.
Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune has been one of my most-anticipated reads of the year and I felt confident it would be a novel I would love in all its angsty glory. Readers, I wasn’t wrong. While it’s a plot that isn’t unfamiliar—it’s even one I’ve read many variations of before—I greedily devoured every word. I’m still not sure with what magic Carley Fortune has wrought this second chance summery goodness, but she made the best-friends-to-lovers story new again!
Reading Every Summer After was a menagerie of emotions. My heart warmed, broke, and soared multiple times while reading this love story. It’s my favorite kind of love story: simple but with complicated outcomes. Friends who fall in love may seem like a simple plot, but as Shakespeare told us, “the course of true love never did run smooth”. Our characters are dealing with big emotions they’re not sure what to do with, pasts that complicate things, and hurts that haven’t been healed.
Persephone (Percy) and Sam are the best of friends and have spent their summers inseparable at their neighboring lakeside cottages since they were young. Not only did I fall in love with this story, the setting of Barry’s Bay, Ontario in Canada (the author’s very real hometown) had me dreaming of warm, sunny days lounging by the water, quick-moving thunderstorms, and the carefree days of youth when we had hours of time with our friends.
Fortune does such a good job immersing me into the tale, I could smell the lake, hear the water lapping, and feel the sun on my skin. She transported me back to my youth when love was new and full of possibilities and the heartbreak was all-consuming.
“Sam always kept a snug-fitting seal on his feelings, but I spent six years figuring out how to pry it off. I devoted hours to studying the subtle movement of emotions across his features. They were like rain that traveled from the far shore and across the water, unassuming until it was right there, pelting the cottage windows. I memorized his shimmers of mischief, the distant thunder of his jealousy, and the whitecaps of his ecstasy. I knew Sam Florek.”
Carley Fortune, Every Summer After
Every Summer After is told from Percy’s point of view, alternating from the past to the present, slowly revealing what has lead to our characters’ rift. Usually I like having both points of view, but I didn’t miss it in this one. It added to the building tension and mystery of their story.
Percy and Sam are compelling characters, as are all the side characters, each one adding to the story, well-rounded and believable. From Sam’s brother Charlie, to Percy’s best friends—Delilah in the past and Chantal in the present. I so wanted to hang out with Sam and Charlie’s easy-going mom Sue, a young single parent running the family’s local restaurant after the death of their father. I particularly wanted to try the pierogies she was known for. It was especially hard falling for a character when I knew it was her death that has brought Percy back to Barry’s Bay.
All the characters are flawed, and Every Summer After does a great job examining those flaws, reminding us that no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and forgiving each other—as well as ourselves—is what it takes to live life to its fullest.
There’s so much more I could say about this one, so many plot aspects I’d love to discuss, but it’s impossible without giving away spoilers. And everyone should go into it the way I did, not knowing anything except it’s a love story about friends in the summer at the lake.
Pick this one up when you won’t be distracted, because it’s hard to put down. I especially recommend reading it outside, which only enhances the experience. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of Every Summer After to add to my shelf for rereading. Preferably to take on vacation at a lake.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Shelf Awareness, Berkley, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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About the Author
Carley Fortune is an award-winning journalist and author. Most recently, she was the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada and has worked at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe & Mail, Toronto Life and Chatelaine. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. EVERY SUMMER AFTER is her first novel. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.
A Song For A Book
I was thrilled to discover Every Summer After has a Book Club Kit which includes: A Conversation with Carley Fortune–where she discusses her inspiration for the novel, Percy’s and Sam’s Movie and Reading Lists, Discussion Questions, and most importantly to me, a book Playlist created by the author! When I couldn’t find the author curated playlist on Spotify, I had to make it myself, of course. I’ll share that below. I’ve decided to highlight “Old Memories” by Alicia Keys, which I thought had the right amount of both sweet and sad just like Every Summer After.
…Look at me, lost in yesterday (I see you)
Thought that I was over you (too bad)
But you haunt me in every way (too bad)
My heart is with you (yeah)
The secret is out (yeah)
And it only gets stronger with age
Old memories (uh-huh)
Of you and me they don’t go away
Have you read Every Summer After? Did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
WHOO HOO! I agree with everything you said. It’s funny that you brought up Sue because I mourned the fact that this special lady was gone.
Right?! She was such an enigmatic character. And such a different experience enjoying Sue’s vitality knowing she’s the one to die. 😭
Wonderful review, Dedra. This sounds like a beautifully written story with so much emotion. It is not a book I have seen around, but I will be looking for it.
I adored it! I hope you get to pick it up. I would love to read your review of it!
This sounds amazing. This is just the kind of book I enjoy. I’ll add this one to my TBR right now!
Yay!! I hope you can read it soon and you share your thoughts. 🙂
Wow, such a great review, Dedra! I’m not usually one for angsty reads and this one does sound quite angsty BUT your review has just convinced me to add it to my wish list. Looking forward to reading it once it comes out 😊
I’m a sucker for angsty. Haha! I love the slow build up of tension. But I think you’ll enjoy this one. I would love to hear what you think of it. <3
Beautiful review, Dedra!
Thank you Kal! <3
Looks like a cute read!
Ash @ Essentially Ash
I absolutely adored it! <3
Awesome review! What age would you consider this appropriate for?
Hmm, I never feel qualified to make that call since it’s such a personal choice. If I’m recalling correctly, I think this was an open-door so the sex scenes were on the page, but I don’t remember them being super explicit. Hope that helps!