Every Summer After

This book was absolute perfection. The characters, the setting, the romance, the writing. I usually find romance novels cheesy and super unrelatable, and often find myself rolling my eyes. I loved every character in this book and they all felt so real. Their flaws and emotions made them so loveable. It really reminded me of my childhood and vacationing to the lake. I loved the nostalgia. I want a movie to see it in action, but worried it won't live up to the movie in my head while reading. This will forever be such a cherished book to me. I cannot believe this is a debut novel, this is the next Emily Henry. Phenomenal. 

I wanted to like this book but for these reasons I could not:
- lowkey a rip off of TSITP — like the set up is all there
- the characters were all kind of bland, they needed more depth and I just felt no attachment to any of them
- the plot twist was so basic and everyone saw it coming so it wasn't actually a plot twist
- employed my least favorite trope: mis communication...BUT didn't even use it correctly. If you are gonna use it, make me want to bash my head into a wall like I was kinda disappointed that all my reactions were so mild
- half the characters were so irrelevant why include them

This book was going so well for me until the “you're beautiful and you don't even know it” trope reared its stupid head. Literally everything else was fantastic. I love Sam and Charlie and Delilah. Percy is ok. I love the slow build and flashbacks. I could picture Barry's Bay and the cottages and the lake. It was a good summer read.

All in all, not too bad. I liked the author's writing style, the way she described things made you really be able to visualize it “I felt light as popcorn”.

What I didn't like is that I figured out the big thing very early on, like around the second chapter. I also didn't like how it ended and all wrapped up. It was very expected and I would have much preferred a twist of some sort.

This was a quick and entertaining summer read that gave me some vibes of [b:Love and Other Words 36206591 Love and Other Words Christina Lauren https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519633303l/36206591.SY75.jpg 57837128] (which I much prefer to this one and recommend).The book follows Percy (Persephone) and Sam relationship among the years, until they stop communicating with each other. The story is told by interspacing the past (the six summers until they break apart) and the present (the weekend of Sam's mother funeral). What I liked about the book:- Childhood friends to lover's trope- The MC's and their romance is a mess, which is closer to real life than clear stories- Delilah had a good evolution throughout the story.What I think could have been done better:- I've found the story quite obvious and was expecting the ending almost as soon as the characters were introduced.- Persephone felt a bit too juvenile for a 30 year's old. I disliked the emphasis given to being a doctor or a lawyer as if those professions were above the others. - The story is based in several years if miscommunication- I would have liked to see more character's growth and interactions in the present to support the relationship.- The ending was quite abrupt considering the magnitude of the issues and insecurities to be solved, taking credibility of their HEA.Overall it was an entertaining coming of age story and a nice debut novel. TW: cheating, death of a parent

I think this book was a worthwhile read, but it certainly was more interesting to me personally at the start than at the beginning. At the start of the book I really enjoyed the nostalgic summery feel the author had sewn into the pages, and it was interesting to read the chapters that go back and forth in time of the main character's life. Percy, the protagonist, does make a couple decisions later on in the book that made me enjoy it less, but at least I understood the place she was coming from.
Definitely worth a lazy summer read, and will entertain you for a while!

Wowowowow. I was nervous to read this because of all the internet hype. I'm so glad I did. I rarely give out 5 stars and this is so deserving of them. The character development from when Percy and Sam were kids to their adult life was so well described. I was immediately absorbed into the story and even though I saw what happened between them coming from a mile away, it was handled extremely well and made the characters seem real. Obsessed.

(I had a perfectly worded review of this. Then went to publish it and then it said “oh it looks like you've stumbled upon a bad link”. I am annoyed lol)

A love like theirs was no typical summer love, although that was the setting for their romance over the course of 6 summers. It was a love for the ages, two best friends falling for one another lakeside, it was destined to be. But she messed it up. Badly. She left it dead 12 years ago, but will it resurrect? Returning home, she's forced to relive her memories, the bad, the good, the ugly, and the downright hot. In the present, she must learn if old habits just die hard or if their love transcends.

Persephone Fraser and Sam Florek were instant best friends when Percy moved into the cottage next door. Inseparable besides the school years between their fairytale: summer. Unsurprisingly, although a painstakingly long limbo of teenage hormones and indecision, the two finally dive in. Into each other, a love unbreakable. Or so they thought. 12 years after a fateful night that ended it all, we find a Percy who is not unhappy with life but she lives life coasting, thinking of what it could be. The memories are painful, she avoids them at all costs. Until she receives bad news that shakes her world, the life she's built away from Barry's Bay and away from him comes to a halt. She rushes home where she is reminded of what was and what could have been, a harsh reality. Will Percy's mistake cause Sam to shy away from her forever, as she did to him all these years? Or does their summer love transcend time?

This story is about mistakes, young love that never dies, and learning to forgive, whether it's yourself or the one you love the most.

Carley Fortune's debut novel is beautiful. I am not one for competing timelines most of the time, but the story's setting over 6 long summers and one fateful weekend, is perfect for the characters and their love story. We learn about why Percy is the way she is, and we see why she's so damaged without Sam. And in the present, we see her redeem herself and although there are minor setbacks, we see her conquer the world and Sam.

Something that I appreciated throughout this story is the portrayal of anxiety and its realness, its descriptions of how a panic attack feels, and how it was not just in passing or thrown around carelessly. As someone who struggles with mental health, I applaud Fortune for her work in bringing that to mainstream media.

Another aspect I appreciated was how the sex in this novel added to the chemistry and build-up of the characters. Rather than just adding sex in just for fun, Fortune uses it to enhance the love story, creating sweetness and sometimes even sadness within their encounters. It was tasteful while at the same time being sexy.

I loved this book. However, it wasn't a five-star for me. That's because what Percy did was completely out of character for her to do and I felt as if things were left unresolved at the end of the novel. Charlie's character seemed a little forgotten towards the end as well. that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend it!