Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Book Blurb:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: 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.

My Review: 4.5 stars – Guest Review

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Every Summer After is a spectacular debut from author Carley Fortune. This is one of my favorite romance novels, and I “felt” this book as opposed to just reading it. It is about the relationship between Sam and Persephone (Percy) who meet as teenagers at Percy’s family’s cottage on her vacation home in Barry’s Bay, Canada. The story spans 12 years and follows the endearing and sweet friendship of Sam and Percy from the time they meet until the present day. It alternates between the present and flashbacks of each of the six summers that Sam and Percy spent together, and chronicles how their friendship evolves into something much more. This story was an endearing “friends to lovers” story, while at the same time being a complex and emotional love story. 

I immediately fell in love with Percy and Sam. Their connection and relationship was entirely believable. All of the characters were deeply developed, came to life and were relatable. The story was filled with authentic dialogue and realistic situations. The author absolutely captured the angst and vulnerability of young love, developing identity, guilt, regret, resentment, and second chances. Issues with anxiety and grief were also sensitively explored. I loved the well-plotted storytelling and could not put the book down, wanting to find out what had driven apart this couple who once seemed fated for each other. The story was heart rending, and I came away feeling like I intimately knew the characters, (including Sam’s brother Charlie). 

The setting of the cottage by the water was vividly portrayed and would make any reader nostalgic for past summer days being spent by the lake or at camp. All of the chapters in the present took place over one weekend, and the majority of the book took place in flashbacks. There was a slow build-up to the end of the story, and I wished that more chapters had been devoted to the present day and focused on the characters as adults working through their conflicts. Although a lot of the book was spent on the characters as teenagers, I did not consider this YA (young adult) fiction. When the book ended, I wanted to start reading it again! I am still thinking about these characters and would love a sequel. 

I can’t believe that this is the author’s first book. It is a beautiful and emotionally satisfying debut and is the perfect summer beach read. It is deserving of all the current hype. This is a book that I won’t ever forget. I can’t imagine anyone not loving it. Review courtesy of Guest Fairy Ronna. 

Quotes I liked:

Betrayals don’t cancel each other out. They just hurt more.”