Book Review: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

 

If The Summer I Turned Pretty grew up and went full-on nostalgic romance, you’d get Every Summer After. I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars and flew through it in a day, it’s the perfect blend of summer vibes, heartbreak, and healing.

 

The Premise:
Persephone Fraser (Percy) used to spend her summers at the lake, where everything was perfect: sunny afternoons, swimming off the dock, and Sam Florek, the boy next door, her best friend, and eventually, her first love. But one moment shattered it all.

Fast-forward ten years. Percy is living in the city, completely detached from the place and people she used to love. That is, until she gets a call that pulls her back to Barry’s Bay, and back to Sam.

As the story alternates between “then” and “now,” we get to relive Percy and Sam’s golden summers, slowly unravel the secret that tore them apart, and watch them navigate whether the past can be forgiven, or if it should stay buried.

 

My Thoughts:
This book hit all the emotional notes. The writing is nostalgic in the best way, evoking long weekends at the lake, shared ice cream cones, and all the what-ifs that come with growing up and growing apart.

I loved Percy and Sam as characters. They were both layered and flawed, and you can really feel how much they change and grow, both together and separately. They’re the kind of characters that stick with you.

That said, I hated the reason they broke up. I assumed that’s what it was going to be, and it still made me mad when it happened. But somehow, the story still pulled me back in.

Also, full disclosure: it made me miss having a lake house to escape to on the weekends.

 

Final Thoughts:
Every Summer After is a beautiful, bittersweet story about first love, mistakes, and whether it's ever too late to start again. It’s perfect if you’re into:

• Past/present storytelling

• Slow-burn romance

• Big emotional payoffs

• Main characters who are likeable and memorable, even when they mess up

 

The ending was satisfying, even if predictable, and the whole book has that breezy, emotional, summer-read feel. Highly recommend curling up with this one on a warm day, or anytime you want to be transported back to your favorite summer memory.