Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠

⁠

This is a very late review, I’m still getting caught up on all my 2022 reads! If you read/watched The Summer I Turned Pretty or Love & Other Words than this book is right up your alley.⁠

⁠

“𝐀 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨, 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧.” ⁠

⁠

This book was heartfelt and genuine. I think from the very beginning I had the feeling as if I read someone’s actual love story. I don’t normally read young adult books, I need spice in my books! Percy and Sam are 13 years old when they meet and the book is told over the course of six summers. The majority of the book is set in the past, only a few chapters, or two days exactly, are set in the present.⁠

⁠

“𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞.”⁠

⁠

For all the contemporary romance I read, when it comes to these kind of books, that jump from past to present, I love the young adult part the most. I adore the falling in love part. First love. The exploring of hearts. The sexual awakening and tension. It’s such an emotional and eye opening moment. Which makes it kind of messy too – but in a good way.⁠

⁠

“𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 '𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞' 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭.”⁠

⁠

And of course there is always a fallout, otherwise there wouldn’t be such a timeline. Let’s just say the fallout was my least favorite part of the book – not surprisingly. But besides that, the characters were just wonderful. I adored all three, Percy, Sam and Charlie. I found the chemistry between Sam and Percy sweet, endearing. The growth of childhood love into adulthood felt seamless.⁠

⁠

Overall this was a great read! Read this now if you want to escape from the cold or save for a hot day laying by the pool! ☀️