4.5
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51,897 ratings
"A radiant debut."—Emily Henry,#1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Named One of the Hottest Reads of Summer 2022 by Today ∙ Parade ∙ PopSugar ∙ USA Today ∙ SheReads ∙ BuzzFeed ∙ BookBub ∙ Bustle ∙and more!
Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.
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 story of love and the people and choices that mark us forever.
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$10.99
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$32.99
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ISBN-10
0593438531
ISBN-13
978-0593438534
Print length
320 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date
May 09, 2022
Dimensions
5.4 x 0.9 x 8.1 inches
Item weight
9.8 ounces
Sometimes I felt sure he was—like there was an invisible, unbreakable string that ran between us, stretching vast distances and keeping us joined.
Highlighted by 2,931 Kindle readers
I loved you, he whispers. I know, I say. Hurt eyes move across my face. You broke my heart. I know that, too.
Highlighted by 2,854 Kindle readers
He grinned. I pay attention to a lot of things about you, Percy Fraser.
Highlighted by 2,222 Kindle readers
ASIN :
B09CD83VVG
File size :
4248 KB
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Enabled
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Supported
Enhanced typesetting :
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Enabled
"Fortune’s debut novel is filled with nostalgia and heart. Percy and Sam’s history is compelling and nuanced, making the story fly by faster than the summer months themselves. Although just like the places we spend our summers, and the people we meet along the way, Percy and Sam just might stay in your heart far beyond the last page.”—USA Today
“The magic and romance of summer is palpable."—Popsugar
"Every Summer After is a quintessential summer novel, full of longing and lost love, and hits on so many beloved tropes. You’ll want to gobble it up in one satisfying bite.”—BuzzFeed
“Any book that begins with a cocktail and a heartbreak-induced haircut has a strong likelihood of being just the book for me, but Every Summer After outshone even my highest hopes. Fortune’s wit is sharp, her prose is gorgeous, and her characters thrum with the rare kind of life and breath we readers are constantly on the lookout for. This is a radiant debut that packs an emotional wallop.” —Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation
“A sweet story about second chances, and how the future we imagine for ourselves is never quite what it turns out to be.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways and Wish You Were Here
“Carley Fortune perfects the nostalgia of young summer love and the choices that change us forever in Every Summer After, a smart and delightful novel that will tug on your heartstrings, and more than satisfy fans of Emily Henry. This is your next must-read beach-read from an exciting new voice. A total joy to devour!" —Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
“Just like summer, I didn’t want this epic, nostalgic tale of youthful romance all grown up to end. Set in Ontario's cottage country, one of my favourite places on earth, this tantalizing debut is a perfectly gorgeous summer love story fans of Jojo Moyes and Emily Henry should add to their wish lists immediately!”
—Marissa Stapley, bestselling author of Lucky
“Set in Ontario’s idyllic cottage country, Carley Fortune’s debut, Every Summer After, follows a couple—Persephone (Percy) and Sam—as they navigate loss, broken promises, and unrequited love. In a “then/now” narrative spanning nearly two decades, Fortune deftly explores the push and pull of a relationship burdened by past mistakes and misunderstandings, and how it’s as much about choice as it is fate. Evocative and nostalgic, this novel is perfect for those who covet steamy summer dock days and second-chance love stories. I devoured it!” —Karma Brown, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife
“In the mood for summertime nostalgia (cottage summers, young crushes, sandy nights)? Carley Fortune brings those lakeshore towns and emotional memories to life in Every Summer After about haunting past choices and second-chance love.”—Parade
“A spectacular debut…Alternating between the past and present, the story flawlessly conveys the lovers’ growth both together and apart, and the summery setting provides an idyllic backdrop to their path back to each other. Centered on redemption and forgiveness, this sweeping, heartfelt romance proves impossible to put down.”—Publishers Weekly(starred review)
“Readers who enjoy a steamy love story in the mold of Jill Shalvis won't be able to put this novel down.”—Booklist
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1
Now
The fourth cocktail had seemed like a good idea. So did the bangs, come to think of it. But now that I'm struggling to unlock my apartment door, I'm guessing I might regret that last spritz in the morning. Maybe the bangs, too. June told me breakup bangs were almost always a very bad choice when I sat in her chair for a cut today. But June wasn't going to her friend's engagement celebration, newly single, that night. Bangs were in order.
It's not that I'm still in love with my ex; I'm not. I never was. Sebastian is kind of a snob. An up-and-coming corporate lawyer, he wouldn't have lasted one hour at Chantal's party without scoffing at her choice of signature drink and referencing some pretentious article he read in the New York Times that declared Aperol spritzes "over." Instead, he would pretend to study the wine list, ask the bartender annoying questions about terroir and acidity and, regardless of the answers, go with a glass of the most expensive red. It's not that he has exceptional taste or knows a lot about wine; he doesn't. He just buys expensive stuff to give the impression of being discerning.
Sebastian and I were together for seven months, giving our relationship the distinction of being my longest-lasting one yet. In the end, he said he didn't really know who I was. And he had a point.
Before Sebastian, the guys I picked were up for a good time and didn't seem to mind keeping things casual. By the time I met him, I figured being a serious adult meant I should find someone to get serious about. Sebastian fit the bill. He was attractive, well read, and successful, and despite being a bit pompous, he could talk to anyone about almost anything. But I still found it hard to share too many pieces of myself. I'd long ago learned to tamp down my tendency to let random thoughts spew unfiltered from my mouth. I thought I was doing a good job of giving the relationship a real chance, but in the end Sebastian recognized my indifference, and he was right. I didn't care about him. I didn't care about any of them.
There was only the one.
And that one is long gone.
So I enjoy spending time with men, and I appreciate how sex gives me an escape ladder out of my mind. I like making men laugh, I like having company, I like taking a break from my vibrator once in a while, but I don't get attached, and I don't go deep.
I'm still fumbling with my key-seriously, is something wrong with the lock?-when my phone buzzes in my purse. Which is weird. No one calls me this late. Actually, no one ever calls me, except for Chantal and my parents. But Chantal is still at her party and my parents are touring Prague and won't be awake yet. The buzzing stops just as I get the door open and stumble into my small bachelor apartment. I check the mirror by the entrance to find my lipstick mostly smudged off but my bangs looking pretty phenomenal. Suck it, June.
I begin to unfasten the strappy gold sandals I'm wearing, a dark sheet of hair falling over my face, when my phone starts up again. I dig it out of my purse and, one shoe off, make my way toward the couch, frowning at the "unknown name" message on the screen. Probably a wrong number.
"Hello?" I ask, bending to take off the second sandal.
"Is this Percy?"
I stand upright so fast I have to hold on to the arm of the couch to steady myself. Percy. It's a name nobody calls me anymore. These days I'm Persephone to almost everyone. Sometimes I'm P. But I'm never Percy. I haven't been Percy for years.
"Hello . . . Percy?" The voice is deep and soft. It's one I haven't heard in more than a decade, but so familiar I'm suddenly thirteen years old and slathered in SPF 45, reading paperbacks on the dock. I'm sixteen and peeling off my clothes to jump into the lake, naked and sticky after a shift at the Tavern. I'm seventeen and lying on Sam's bed in a damp bathing suit, watching his long fingers move across the anatomy textbook he's studying by my feet. Blood rushes hot to my face with a whoosh, and the steady, thick pumping of my heart invades my eardrums. I take a shaky breath and sit, stomach muscles seizing.
"Yes," I manage, and he lets out a long, relieved-sounding breath.
"It's Charlie."
Charlie.
Not Sam.
Charlie. The wrong brother.
"Charles Florek," Charlie clarifies, and begins explaining how he tracked down my number-something about a friend of a friend and a connection at the magazine where I work-but I'm barely listening.
"Charlie?" I interrupt. My voice is high-pitched and tight, one part spritz and two parts shock. Or maybe all parts total disappointment. Because this voice does not belong to Sam.
But of course it doesn't.
"I know, I know. It's been a long time. God, I don't even know how long," he says, and it sounds like an apology.
But I do. I know exactly how long. I keep count.
It's been twelve years since I've seen Charlie. Twelve years since that catastrophic Thanksgiving weekend when everything between Sam and me fell apart. When I tore everything apart.
I used to count the number of days until my family would head up to the cottage so I could see Sam again. Now he's a painful memory I keep hidden deep beneath my ribs.
I also know I've gone more years without Sam than I spent with him. I had a panic attack, my first in ages, then drank my way through a bottle and a half of rosé the Thanksgiving that marked seven years since I'd spoken to him. It felt monumental: I'd officially been without him for more years than we'd had together at the lake. I'd cried in ugly, heaving sobs on the bathroom tiles until I passed out. Chantal came over the next day with greasy takeout and held my hair back as I puked, tears streaming down my face, and I told her everything.
"It's been forever," I tell Charlie.
"I know. And I'm sorry to call you so late," he says. He sounds so much like Sam it hurts, as if there's a lump of dough lodged in my throat. I remember when we were fourteen and it was almost impossible to tell him apart from Charlie on the phone. I remember noticing other things about Sam that summer, too.
"Listen, Pers. I'm calling with some news," he says, using the name he used to call me but sounding much more serious than the Charlie I once knew. I hear him breathe in through his nose. "Mom passed away a few days ago, and I . . . well, I thought you'd want to know."
His words slam into me like a tsunami, and I struggle to fully understand them. Sue's dead? Sue was young.
All I can get out is a ragged-sounding "What?"
Charlie sounds exhausted when he replies. "Cancer. She'd been fighting it for a couple of years. We're devastated, of course, but she was sick of being sick, you know?"
And not for the first time, it feels like someone stole the script to my life story and wrote it all wrong. It seems impossible that Sue was sick. Sue, with her big smile and her denim cutoffs and her white-blond ponytail. Sue, who made the best pierogies in the universe. Sue, who treated me like a daughter. Sue, who I dreamed one day might be a mother-in-law to me. Sue, who was sick for years without me knowing. I should have known. I should have been there.
"I'm so, so sorry," I begin. "I . . . I don't know what to say. Your mom was . . . she was . . ." I sound panicked, I can hear it.
Hold it together, I tell myself. You lost rights to Sue a long time ago. You are not allowed to fall apart right now.
I think about how Sue raised two boys on her own while running the Tavern, and about the first time I met her, when she came over to the cottage to assure my much older parents that Sam was a good kid and that she would keep an eye on us. I remember when she taught me how to hold three plates at once and the time she told me not to take crap from any boy, including her own two sons.
"She was . . . everything," I say. "She was such a good mom."
"She was. And I know she meant a lot to you when we were kids. That's sort of why I'm calling," says Charlie, tentative. "Her funeral is on Sunday. I know it's been a long time, but I think you should be there. Will you come?"
A long time? It's been twelve years. Twelve years since I've made the drive north to the place that was more like home to me than anywhere else has been. Twelve years since I dove, headfirst, into the lake. Twelve years since my life crashed spectacularly off course. Twelve years since I've seen Sam.
But there's only one answer.
"Of course I will."
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Carley Fortune
Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of THIS SUMMER WILL BE DIFFERENT, MEET ME AT THE LAKE, and EVERY SUMMER AFTER. Before becoming an author, Carley was an award-winning journalist and worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.
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Customer reviews
4.5 out of 5
51,897 global ratings
YallJacket
5
Immersive and Heartfelt Journey through Time
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune is a touching and beautifully woven tale of love, loss, and the power of second chances. This novel captures the essence of summer, evoking nostalgia with its vivid descriptions and deeply relatable characters.
The story revolves around Persephone Fraser, affectionately known as Percy, who has avoided her hometown for years after making a life-altering mistake. Fortune skillfully takes readers through a dual timeline, alternating between Percy's childhood summers and her present-day confrontation with past decisions. This structure not only keeps the narrative engaging but also allows for a deeper connection with the characters.
Percy’s journey back to Barry’s Bay is prompted by the passing of a loved one, forcing her to face Sam Florek, her childhood friend and first love. Their chemistry is palpable, and their shared history is rich with moments that range from heartwarming to heart-wrenching. The author's depiction of their relationship is authentic, showcasing the complexities of love and friendship.
One of the novel's strengths is its setting. The lakeside town of Barry’s Bay is almost a character in itself, with Fortune's descriptive prose bringing its charm to life. Readers will find themselves transported to lazy summer days filled with swimming, boating, and the smell of pine trees.
Fortune's writing is both poetic and accessible, making this book an enjoyable read for a wide audience. Her background as a journalist shines through in her attention to detail and the emotional depth she brings to her storytelling.
For those who appreciate character-driven narratives with a strong emotional core, Every Summer After is a must-read. It is a testament to the enduring nature of love and the importance of forgiveness, both of oneself and others. Whether you’re lounging by the beach or curled up on a rainy day, this book promises to be a companion that stays with you long after the final page is turned.
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6 people found this helpful
A. Moonen
5
Perfect read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
I devoured this book. I loved how nostalgic it was. I was transported back to 2001 where my summers were endless and my only care in the world was going back to school. This book brought back so many feelings that you forgot about: first love, first loss of love, and just learning about life. I loved the story of Percy & Sam!
Grace Sexton
5
MUST READ
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024
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I just finished this book and I am a puddle. I don’t read a lot of love and romance books, but I needed a break from mystery/thriller books while I was at the beach. This book deals with the impact that first love has on you and it had me hooked from the start. One of the best novels I have ever read. It is a must read. A book that you’ll finish and immediately be sad that it’s over.
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joycelyn
5
a perfect summer romance
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023
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this book was phenomenal!! i loved every page and i fell in love with the story and characters. it’s told in past and present timelines over the course of six summers and one weekend 12 years later. you get small town, second chance romance, childhood best friends to lovers to strangers to lovers, and more! some of my fav tropes in one book <3 i love the parallel events between the past and present chapters, seeing how percy and sam grown and matured but also stay the same throughout the years (iykyk - the friendship bracelets, “swear on it”, ice cream). their attraction and connection are undeniable! the book perfectly captures friendship, teenage angst, first love, loss, mistakes, and forgiveness. it’s also about finding your person, someone who understands you like no other. the writing was spectacular - it was so magical and enchanting as it encapsulated summer nostalgia at a lakeside cottage. i felt like i experienced every summer with percy and sam. i love how real and relatable the characters are. percy and sam are two flawed characters that let their fears get in their way, but they try their best to repair what they broke. i adore sam so so much, he’s the sweetest and kindest guy who loves really hard. the sarcasm and banter between the two were soo good too, i loved how we get a glimpse of what they were like at 13 and then at 30.
this is the PERFECT summer read, i highly recommend it!! i promise you’ll love this if you love ‘love and other words’ by christina lauren! i didn’t think i’d find a book like laow that hits the same, but reading this book made my lil laow heart so happy 💞 i’m blown away by the fact that this is carley fortune’s debut novel and i hope there is more to come!
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21 people found this helpful
warbler
5
Missed Opportunity Consequences
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2024
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I loved the setting (in remote northern Ontario) because it reminded me of our childhood vacations up there when we lived in Rochester. This is a coming of age story, of course, and a realistic one. But it is also a kind of warning about what can happen when you miss the opportunity of a lifetime. They had the opportunity to marry, or at least stay together, at 18. Their powerful love for one another was certainly there. Instead , "too young," they separated, fell apart emotionally, and spent the next twelve years apart in emotional misery. To be sure, some are indeed "Too young" but "too young" can also mean a missed opportunity of a kind that only rarely happens in life.
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