After seeing Every Summer After on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks and weeks, I finally decided to see what the fuss was about. This is a sweet story about growing up, first love and big mistakes in a summer lakeside setting. It’s no wonder it appealed so much in 2022 as most of the world was reawakening to travel and going out as COVID-19 restrictions lifted.

The story is about Persephone, a stressed-out editor in Canada whose life changes when she’s called by an old friend Charlie that his mother has died. Growing up, Percy spent many summers in the small lakeside town of Barry’s Bay and became close to Charlie, his mother Sue and brother Sam. The story then goes back and forth in time, telling the story of her growing friendship with Sam over the summers. In the current time, Percy goes back to Barry’s Bay for Sue’s funeral and sees Sam again since the betrayal that forced them apart. It’s a strong ride of emotions balanced out by the sweetness of the friendship and later love of their younger selves. The plot is simple – the history of Percy and Sam’s relationship, and the healing of old wounds as they find their way back to each other as adults. It is incredibly engaging and sweet.

Those who are fans of friends to lovers in romance stories will see a couple of similarities to Christina Lauren’s Love and Other Words – the summer holiday house setting and the growing up as friends, then lovers. For me, that’s where it stopped. Love and Other Words is seriously angsty, while Every Summer After doesn’t have you on the edge of your seat in that way. It’s overall more pleasant and nostalgic even for holidays where nothing more matters than having fun with your friends. I also liked that it was set in Canada, a setting that I’m much less familiar with as a reader so it was refreshing. Small details, like Sue making endless pierogi (aka varenyky) despite not even liking them, have stuck with me as has the depth of Sam and Percy’s relationship.

Sam and Percy are two very different people, both driven in their own ways although Percy is much less rigid about achieving those things. Between their teenage and adult selves, it was fascinating to see how they are compromised (or not) to live their lives as they chose. Sam’s rigidity gets his younger self in trouble, while Percy is more lax, which gets her in bigger trouble. The twist was however unexpected for me, and I think needed time and perspective for the two main characters to hash it out. The happy ending is still there, but it’s a bit bumpier towards the end after the sweet beginning.

I did enjoy the style of writing, it feels laid back and easy to read. I’m looking forward to reading more of Fortune’s work.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

Really enjoyed this one! ( )

If you’re looking for a nostalgic summer story about young love and second chances, read this book on the dock by your favorite lake. While you’re there with toes skimming the placid water, you’ll meet Sam and Percy—summer friends who grow into more than friends until they’re not. Then, you’ll watch adult Sam and Percy reunite after more than a decade separated, more than a relationship severed, where they’ll be forced into more turbulent waters, confronting a past they’ve spent so long avoiding.

My favorite coming-of-age stories are those that have dual time perspectives between youth and adulthood. I love seeing how milestone moments or crossroad choices impact an adult life, and Every Summer After captures that ebb and flow perfectly. In the same vein as Christina Lauren’s Love and Other Words, this story highlights the best and worst parts of the bildungsroman summer romance, anchoring you in both nostalgia and relief: longing for summers past and thanking your lucky, summer stars that you don’t have to relive it. ( )

Every Summer After tells the story of Percy and Sam, neighbors at Percy’s parents’ lake house, who develop a romantic relationship over several shared summers and whose eventual love is undone by a horrible secret that forces the couple to go their separate ways. When Sam’s mother dies, Percy returns to Barry’s Bay to pay her respects and maybe right the most terrible wrong of her life—if it isn’t too late.

The author compellingly conveys the magic and uncertainty of young and budding love with characters the reader can’t help falling for. The then-and-now format reveals clues at more or less the right speed, though the secret was telegraphed. A cute summer love story bordering on YA/NA, it makes me wonder if off-page sex would have been more appropriate for the tone of the novel. The sex scenes came off as forced and repetitive with lip biting ala Fifty Shades.

Still, I had a good time reading this straightforward story, sure to appeal to anyone who has experienced a childhood crush. Recommended.

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This was good, didn't quite live up to the hype for me. ( )