I really loved this book. at the end of Every Summer After, Carley Fortune writes: “Writing Every Summer After was an escape for me. I hope reading it was for you as well.” And that’s exactly what it was for me—an escape. I read it every day on my way to what my MBA classmates jokingly call “the prison yard” (school), and it became a comforting companion. I’d sneak in pages during breaks and in between classes, and it truly made those moments lighter.
The pacing was strong, and I enjoyed how the flashbacks wove seamlessly into the present-day storyline. The characters felt real and fleshed out, and the storytelling was beautifully done. While the plot was somewhat predictable, it still managed to stay captivating from start to finish.
I rarely re-read books, but this one feels like an exception. I can already see myself picking it up again in a few months just to relive the same emotions. Reading it made me feel young again, swept up in the nostalgia of first love and long, endless summers.
Told over the course of six summers and one fateful weekend, Every Summer After is a warm, nostalgic love story that’s easy to fall into and even easier to keep turning the pages. It’s a story of memory, mistakes, and the kind of love that lingers long after summer ends.
Told over the course of six years and one week in Barry’s Bay – the quintessential lake town – Every Summer After is a romantic, nostalgic story of first loves and the people and choices that mark us forever.
The novel centers on Persephone “Percy” Fraser’s return to Barry’s Bay, the lake town where she spent her childhood summers with Sam Florek. As the tagline puts it: “Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.”
For six summers, Percy and Sam were inseparable, long afternoons on the water, warm nights working at his family’s restaurant, and quiet evenings spent curled up with books (medical textbooks for him, work-in-progress horror stories for her). That friendship grew into something breathtakingly more—until it all fell spectacularly apart.
When she returns for Sam’s mother’s funeral, the connection between them is undeniable. But until Percy confronts the choices that drove them apart, she’ll never know if their love can be bigger than their mistakes.
This book is very easy to consume—fast-paced, heartfelt, and nostalgic. Every Summer After is a quick, sweet, and emotional read. It isn’t utterly heart-wrenching, but it carries a deep sense of nostalgia that may stir a few tears along the way. Gentle yet moving, it’s a delightful debut that captures the warmth of summer, the ache of mistakes, and the beauty of second chances.
I especially enjoyed Carley Fortune’s writing style—it feels laid-back, easy to read, and perfectly suited to the story. This book left me feeling both comforted and reflective, and I already look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
Extra News
On July 18, Prime Video announced an upcoming television series inspired by Every Summer After. If you’re a friends-to-lovers fanatic, this is one to keep an eye on.
Every Summer After Blurb
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.
Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.
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