Carley Fortune

Lucy is vacationing with her best friend on Princess Edward Island. When her friend is delayed, she forms an instant electric attraction with a hunky guy shucking oysters at a local restaurant. This leads to a shocking discovery and Lucy trying to keep a promise to her best friend.

I enjoyed this book, it was a fun, romantic summer read. The friendships within the book were priceless. I felt more of a connection to the friendships than I did with the romantic relationship. Plot was fairly predictable, but still a perfect mental getaway. Writing was beautifully descriptive of PEI to the point I want to visit. I’ve read Every Summer After, but now need to read Meet Me at the Lake. If you are looking for a light summer read with a little heat, I recommend This Summer Will Be Different.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.… (más)

This is a dual timeline, second-chance romance that’s full of Dirty Dancing summer nostalgia mixed with Before Sunrise vibes since the meeting between Fern and Will involves one night touring a city that ends up life-changing. It was a little slow for me at the beginning but paid off in the end.

“Let me tell you something about me: I am extremely picky about people. Most of them, I don't particularly like. I have very high standards for the ones I let into my life these days. And you, Will Baxter, are my favorite of all of them.”… (más)

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.… (más)

I'm not much of a romance reader but when this book was chosen for Canada Reads 2024 I thought I would give it a try. The defender said that romance fiction is the most read genre in the world but I don't think I'll be reading many more. Since this was the first book kicked off Canada Reads this year, I imagine the other defenders were similarily unimpressed.

It's the old story line: boy meets girl, they fall in love, they part, then they meet again later and are still in love. The only interesting part of this book was that the girl/woman inherits a vacation lodge in Ontario's lake country and she has to work hard to make it profitable again. The boy/man is now a financial consultant (he was an artist when they met) and was hired by the mom before she was killed in a car accident. It surprised the daughter when he showed up at the lodge a few weeks after her mom's death but nothing after that was really a surprise.

If you want a light, fluffy read then this is probably the book for you. Otherwise, don't waste your time.… (más)