Every Summer After Review and Recap

Looking for your next jaw-dropping summer romance beach read to help you cope with the loss of The Summer I Turned Pretty? Every Summer After by Carley Fortune is the book for you. Every Summer After is Carley Fortune’s debut book, which took off and is now being adapted into a TV Show titled Every Year After on Amazon Prime. The show releases on Amazon Prime on June 10th, and I can’t wait. Every Summer After is heartbreakingly beautiful and truly gets me pumped for all my summer romance reads this year. So without further ado, let’s get into it!

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Non-SPoiler REview

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every Summer After follows a back-and-forth story between the characters Percy and Sam. Percy hasn’t been back to Barry’s Bay, the lake town of her childhood, in 12 years. But one phone call sends her running back. I adore this book. For Carley Fortune’s debut novel, it’s an absolute banger. If you enjoy a good childhood best friend trope, you’ve found your next great read. This book holds a place in my heart because I think it truly captures the essence and messiness of life and love. What it feels like to have butterflies. What it’s like to be uncertain of your relationship. And what it’s like to lose someone you love. One of my biggest issues with this book is the 12-year difference in the timelines. I can understand five years, but 12 seems a bit excessive. All in all, if you are a fan of TSITP, I think you’ll find this book an entertaining read.

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SPoiler ZOne

Fair warning, you are now entering the SPOILER ZONE. As this is a complete summary of Every Summer After, there will be spoiler for the entire book and plot ahead. You have been warned.

Persephone, or Percy, Fraser is stumbling home to her apartment after her best friend Chantal’s bridal shower, working to shake off her last breakup. Now that Percy is 30, she knows she needs to start taking relationships ‘seriously,’ but no relationship has ever felt as real to her as him. Sam Florek. However, her world gets shaken upside down when she receives a call from Charlie Florek, Sam’s older brother, informing Percy that his mom died. It’s been twelve years since Percy returned to Barry’s Bay, but with Sue’s funeral that weekend, Percy decided to make the trip. Sue was like a second mother to Percy, and when Charlie asks if she’ll come to the funeral, she can’t say no. 

The first time Percy and her parents traveled to Barry’s Bay was the summer she was 13, just after she finished 7th grade. Her parents, older folks who were both professors at a university in the city, wanted the best for their only child, and after Percy had a rough year socially, they thought a lakeside escape would do her some good. Ever since Percy had a scary movie night with her friends, causing queen bee Delilah to wet herself, Percy has been on the outs of the friend group. Delilah, the most popular girl at school, essentially blamed Percy and stopped talking to her, causing everyone else to do the same. 

That first night they met, Sam noticed the bracelet on Percy’s wrist and asked her to make him one to match. So, she made him a matching friendship bracelet, and Sam would never take it off. Percy loves horror films and horror stories. She enjoys writing stories in her free time and collecting old movies; it’s how she ended up watching a scary movie with Delilah and company in the first place. In the evenings, Percy would watch all her scary films with Sam in the Florek basement, and he enjoyed them with her, making her not feel crazy for her interest and passion. When summer ended, they were both sad and hesitant to leave. 

In the present, Percy immediately takes off work and calls her best friend Chantal, letting her know that she is heading off to Barry’s Bay. As an adult, Percy is extremely reserved and doesn’t let many people see the real her. She is closed off and doesn’t like talking about her past, and Chantal is the only one who knows the full extent of her history with Sam. Percy used to get panic attacks all the time, but after her breakdown one year on Thanksgiving, when she finally told Chantal the truth, she started going to therapy and has been working on implementing coping strategies ever since. 

On paper, Percy has it all figured out, secure job as a magazine editor, a nice apartment, a steady income, and therapy. But, she still feels empty inside, and can never stop herself from thinking about the past, the lake, and Sam. She hasn’t seen him since Thanksgiving 12 years ago, when her parents sold their cottage, and when (she claims) she messed everything up. 

Driving back into Barry’s Bay, Percy pulls up to the Tavern. The Tavern was the main popping restaurant in Barry’s Bay that the Florek’s owned, and that Percy used to work at. At the window, Percy noticed the sign announcing that the Tavern would be closed until August to allow the family time to mourn Sue. Since the Tavern was so popular, and since Sue was such a crucial member of Barry’s Bay, the whole community was grieving her. 

Percy saw what looked like movement inside the Tavern, so she went to investigate. She got in through the back door like she used to, and inside she found none other than Sam Florek doing the dishes. Spotting her, Sam immediately crushes Percy in a hug, welcoming her home. And she feels like it – feels like she’s home. Sam makes a face when he finds out that Charlie was the one who called her. Turns out, Sue died of cancer, a battle that she had been fighting for the past few years. Percy feels awful because she didn’t know, and she should have. 

After the first summer, Percy and her parents went up to visit the Florek’s for Thanksgiving. Sam was sad when he noticed she had forgotten to wear her friendship bracelet, so Percy promised she would wear it next time. And since then, she would never take it off. The second summer at the lake, when Percy was fourteen, Delilah came up with her for the first week. Delilah and Percy reconciled once they went back to school. Percy felt better about her relationship with Delilah now that she had Sam. She didn’t have to worry as much about pleasing people when she knew she had someone in her corner

Delilah was a girly girl, more interested in catching Charlie’s eye and gossiping about cute boys than anything else. Percy couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable she felt that Delilah was also looking at Sam in that lens. The Florek brothers took the girls on a boat ride to the jumping rock/cliff. Naturally, Delilah was all over chasing Charlie and flinging herself over the ledge, but Percy was more nervous. So, Sam offered to hold her hand, and they made the high jump into the lake together (awwww). 

On Delilah’s last day at the lake, they were all in the Florek’s basement, and Delilah begged them to play truth or dare. They ultimately caved, and after a lot of random truths, Delilah dared Sam to kiss Percy. Sam instantly turned all red, and then Charlie swooped in at that exact moment, teased Sam, and kissed Percy on the lips before she knew what was happening. 

Following that summer, Percy and Sam continued to keep in touch via email. Percy began pursuing her interest in creative writing and, with her teachers’ encouragement, entered a writing competition. Sam helped her brainstorm all sorts of ideas and would edit, revise, and provide thoughtful feedback on all her work. When Percy found out she had won the competition, she sent Sam a special bound copy of the story, with a dedication to him. 

When Percy met Sam’s girlfriend, Taylor, she was mortified. Not only because Sam had a longtime girlfriend, but also because she mistook her for his cousin. Taylor and Sam dropped Percy off back at her motel that night, where she fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about making things right with Sam. But then she woke up and remembered that he’s moved on with Taylor. They’re a perfect pair. Hot doctor. Hot lawyer. The dream team. 

When present Sam dared Percy to make the swim again, she tore off her shirt, jumped into the lake, and went for it. Less than halfway through the swim, Percy got a horrible muscle cramp, and Sam had to pull her out of the water. She tried not to focus on how good it felt for them to be together. How good it felt for him to be touching her, to be near her. She tried to remember that he had a girlfriend. But nothing could calm the butterflies in her stomach and the fire in her blood.

In high school, on a double date with Delilah and her boyfriend Patel, Percy went out with Delilah’s cousin, Mason Buckley. When Percy emailed Sam and mentioned her date, he seemed very interested. Percy insisted that they weren’t boyfriend-girlfriend or anything, and that she didn’t think any guy saw her in that way. Sam, however, suspected that Mason wanted to kiss Percy. And sure enough, at his birthday party, Mason snuck in a few kisses and asked Percy to be his girlfriend. But when Mason kissed her, all Percy could think about was Sam, and what it would be like to kiss him. On their email chain, when Sam asks if she likes Mason, Percy admits that he is nice, but that there’s someone else she likes more.

Summer rolls around, and Percy still has a bit of a thing going with Mason. This is also her first summer working at the Tavern with Sam, Charlie, and Sue, now that she’s old enough. Mason calls the cottage phone once a week to catch up, and Percy remarks that if he didn’t call, she would probably forget he exists. Sam helps her train again for a swim across the lake, something that has now become an annual tradition. Sam admits that he’s had his first kiss, and Percy finds out that he has been on a few dates with other girls, and finds herself very jealous. She likes Sam but is convinced he doesn’t like her back.

One day, when her parents are out of town, Percy decides to watch one of her horror movies at the cottage and freaks herself out. In her freak out, she heads next door to the Florek’s to crash with them. Sam welcomes her immediately, and she ultimately ends up lying beside him as they are trying to drift off to sleep. Sam questions her about her relationship with Mason, and in return, Percy questions Sam about the other girls he’s seen until Percy finally admits her feelings, and they kiss for a bit until they eventually fall asleep.

The next morning, they head downstairs to find Sue sitting at the table expectantly, and Sam explains the situation. He doesn’t lie and straight up tells his mom that Percy got scared watching a horror movie and slept in his room. Now that they’re 16, Sue has a mom chat and tells them that there is no need to rush into a relationship. That real love is worth waiting for. She also instills the whole concept of ‘you are not comfortable, don’t do it.’ Oh, Sue Florek. What a woman.

Charlie pulls up to the house in the present timeline, and Percy overhears him yelling some random side comments at Sam. When they are all in the same room, Percy makes a note on how strange it is that they are all back under one roof, but now they’re all grown up. Apparently, Charlie lives in the same city as Percy, but he’s never reached out to her. Eventually, Charlie leaves to run another errand, so Percy and Sam head to the basement to watch a movie. 

Sam admits that he would walk by this old thrift shop when he was in university because it reminded him of Percy. He bought a bunch of the old scary movies and DVDs they used to watch together. So, he pulls out his hoarder collection and the two end up on the couch, watching a movie just like they used to, popcorn and all. Percy still hasn’t reached out to Chantal and is beginning to feel guilty about it. But she doesn’t know what to say, how to explain it, and she doesn’t want to talk about it. 

While they are in the basement, Sam tells Percy that he broke things off with Taylor the previous night after they dropped her off. Taylor and Sam were together for two and a half years, but were apart for six months of that time period. They got back together a month ago, but it hadn’t been working. That’s why Charlie was getting upset with Sam. Because Percy made a comment about Taylor being Sam’s girlfriend, and Sam didn’t correct her and tell her the truth. He says that she’ll still be at the funeral the next day, but that wanted to be honest with her. Then, they both fall asleep watching the movie.

The morning of Sue’s funeral, Sam drives Percy back to the motel so she can change. Sam has an emotional crying moment as he reflects on the fact that he is around the same age his dad was when he died. In his feels, Sam admits that he’s so scared of dying young and not having the chance to live his life, especially since his mom also passed pretty young. Percy listens and quickly reassures him that HE WON’T. The tension between them builds and builds until it snaps like a twig, and they are making out and hooking up in Sam’s truck a few hours before his mother’s funeral.

Back in the past, Delilah assured Percy that Sam is an idiot for not being with her, and she encouraged Percy to let loose and have fun with Mason, her now official boyfriend. Percy wears a silver bracelet Mason got her, along with her friendship bracelet with Sam. She has been with Mason since she got back that summer, deciding to make it official rather than break it off. Also, after her summer of distance swimming at the lake, Percy decided to sign up for the swim team, which has kept her busy alongside her writing and Mason. While Mason is nice and she enjoys hanging out with him, Percy doesn’t show him all sides of her, and Sam knows it, too.

Mason comes up for the weekend with Delilah and her boyfriend, Patel, and they invite Sam to come to the house and hang out with them and Percy after they get off work. Sam comes over to find Mason, Delilah, and Patel a bit tipsy, and Mason being extremely physically affectionate with Percy. Percy is aware of this and is very stiff the whole time because she doesn’t want to make anything awkward with Sam present. Sam mentions something about Percy’s story writing, and Mason asks about it, causing Sam to hit him with a ‘you didn’t know?’ At this point, Mason is finally picking up more on the vibe between Sam and Percy, and he pulls Percy down to his lap and kisses her. In response, Sam runs out the door. 

After that evening, Sam was really reserved towards Percy, and she realized that she needed to break up with Mason, which she finally did. She knew she still had feelings for Sam and was tired of ignoring them. At the end of the summer, Percy and Sam were hanging out in his room, post-Mason breakup. Sam is reading a medical textbook on human anatomy, studying a diagram of the muscular system (okay, future doctor). Percy gets flirty, and then it becomes two teens deciding to stop ignoring the tension between them and make out. 

And now here we are at Sue’s funeral, Percy feeling all awkward and sad and distressed because she is an emotional wreck who might have just made things worse for Sam on the day of his mother’s funeral. At the wake, Percy overhears some of Sam’s friends talking to him about how big a wreck he was when they broke up and if he really wants to go down that road again. Hearing those words spurs Percy into a panic attack. Sam and Charlie find her on the floor, and Sam helps her calm her breathing. 

Following her breakup with Mason, Percy got together together with Sam. On the weekends Percy wasn’t at a swim meet, she drove up to Barry’s Bay to spend time with him. They spent New Year’s Eve together and exchanged ‘I love yous’ in the dark. But college was fast approaching, and Percy planned to attend the University of Toronto, where her parents were professors, while both Sam and Delilah were planning on going to Kingston, a three-hour train ride away.

At the end of the school year, Sam asked Percy to come with him to a graduation party in the field. Essentially, the Barry’s Bay version of prom, but put on by the kids, where they managed to get alcohol. Percy giddily accepts, and after they both graduate and Sam becomes valedictorian and gives his fancy speech, Charlie drives them out to the field. But at the party, Percy makes a small joke about what secrets Sam’s keeping from her, and the conversation quickly turns serious as Sam reveals that he does have a secret. He got accepted into a summer workshop at Kingston for pre-med students, and he is leaving in three weeks. Sam won’t be there for the summer. And he kept it from Percy. 

Sam promised that they’d talk all the time. So after he leaves, Percy texts and emails him constantly, and when she doesn’t get any responses in over a week, her paranoia takes off. Charlie, home for the summer from college, tells Percy to calm down and that it’s probably a misunderstanding. But she feels abandoned by Sam’s lack of contact and his lack of enthusiasm for her or his workshop when she eventually manages to get him on the phone.

In the aftermath of her panic attack at the wake, Percy finally calls Chantal and gives her the full update. Chantal gives Percy some much-needed support and points out the obvious, that Percy is clearly still in love with Sam. Feeling slightly more settled, Percy reenters and stays for the rest of the wake and into the evening, helping Julien clean up in the kitchen at the end of the night.

The summer Sam left for his workshop, he wasn’t good at communicating with Percy. He wouldn’t call very often, barely text, and his updates were always super vague, making Percy feel like crap. She was supposed to be celebrating summer, but her Sam wasn’t there to celebrate it with her. Charlie, seeing Percy in her struggle, convinced her to keep swimming. When Sam was around, he would always pick up Percy for a swim after his morning run. Now, Charlie has taken up the cause, giving Percy hope when she had none and encouraging her to complete her swim across the lake. He helped her set a goal and stick to it. Even when her world felt off its axis.

Sam and Percy’s communication continued to suck until Sam sent her a long email detailing that he felt extremely behind in school. He said he couldn’t focus because he was too busy thinking about her and about disappointing her. Sam proposed limiting contact to once a week because he is struggling to adjust and needs all focus, no distractions. Reading this, Percy calls him to discuss the matter (and argue about it), but some random girl answers the phone instead. Sam, a slurring, drunk mess, takes the phone then and tries to explain that it’s just one of the girls in class with him from the workshop. But when he hangs up to throw up, Percy is already breaking in two. 

Percy is going with Charlie to the drive-in in the next town over because they are playing one of her favorite movies, and he wants to help cheer her up. But Charlie notices her red-rimmed eyes, and she tells him about the situation between her and Sam, causing a muscle in his jaw to twitch before she quickly changes the subject. After the drive-in, Percy invites Charlie in for a beer, and when he gives her one of his signature Charlie compliments, with a reverence of sincerity, she throws herself at him, and they end up in her bed.

Delilah knew the full story and was helping Percy work through it the best she could, and supporting Percy the best way she knew how. Sam and Delilah attended the same college, and Delilah promised to tell Percy if she ever ran into Sam, and she did. Delilah tells Percy that she saw Sam drunk out of his mind at a party, and he tried to hit on her, but Delilah told him to back off. Yet, Percy, in her feels, instantly blamed Delilah and said she must have done something to provoke it because Sam would never. Understandably, Delilah called Percy out, saying she’s not allowed to insult her like that and that she can call again when she’s ready to apologize. Thus leaving Percy well and truly alone.

And so we return to the present, where Sam says, “I love you,” at the same time Percy says, “I slept with Charlie.” OOF. Sam, unsurprisingly, gets quite angry, and Percy is overwhelmed by the whole situation. Percy is in tears trying to explain herself, but at Sam’s anger, she gets up and rushes out the door, needing air. He calls her out, saying she is just running away again. Percy tries to explain that she thought he didn’t want to see her since he never responded to any of her messages.

Percy thought Sam didn’t respond because she turned down his proposal. But she realizes he has known about Charlie this whole time. Percy then has another panic attack and passes out. When she comes to, she wakes up, tucked in neatly in Sam’s bed. She is determined not to push anyone else away, so she calls Chantal and gets support. Side note: Chantal is the best character in this whole book, btw.

Post hype talk, Percy sees that Sam is out on the dock, and she runs into Charlie on her way outside. Percy and Charlie have a quick reconciliation where she says that Sam hates her and Charlie puffs that it’s actually the opposite. Charlie asks if she hates him because he was the one who told Sam. Percy says, of course not, she takes the blame for it all, claiming that night was her fault. With one Florek conversation down, Percy marches out to the dock to confront Sam. 

Percy processes last night, Sam confessed that he still loves her. He broke up with Taylor, spent time with Percy, and loves her even after everything. He knew the whole time, and he still loves her. When Percy asks for forgiveness, Sam says that he forgave her a long time ago.

Flash to one year later, Percy, Sam, and Charlie are taking out the banana boat over the lake to spread Sue’s ashes. Percy and Sam have been together for the past year. There have been ups and downs, but they have stuck together and worked through the mess. They love each other and are determined to make it and work through their past and insecurities. Percy even reached out and rekindled her friendship with Delilah. So they are all back that following summer: Percy, Sam, Delilah, Charlie, and even Chantal came along. The book ends with Percy hyping herself up in the back of her mind for when she proposes to Sam later that night.

Thus ends our journey through Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. I hope you’re as excited as I am for Every Year After to come out. Stayed tuned for next week where I’ll dive into One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune. The sequel book covering Charlie’s story.

Much love!