Skip to content

Every Summer After

Every Summer After

RomanceContemporary Romance
Pages
313
Published
2022
Language
English

Synopsis

Persephone Fraser hasn't been back to Barry's Bay in over a decade. Now a Toronto magazine editor, Percy is pulled home to the small Ontario lake town by a phone call she never expected, and back into the orbit of Sam Florek, the boy who once knew her better than anyone. Over six teenage summers spent swimming in Kamaniskeg Lake and working in the Florek family's tavern, Percy and Sam grew from inseparable friends into something deeper, until a single choice tore them apart. Told across those six past summers and one present-day weekend, the novel traces how first love forms us and how the decisions we make at seventeen can echo for years. It is a nostalgic, emotionally charged story about the people and places that mark us permanently.

Prose complexity
1/10

Vibe

NostalgicRomanticEmotional
Second ChanceDual Timeline

Genres

Romance Contemporary Romance Small-Town Romance Contemporary Literature

About the author

C
Carley Fortune

Carley Fortune is a Canadian author and former journalist whose contemporary romances are set against Canada's lakes and coastlines. Before writing fiction she spent more than a decade in magazines, working as an editor at The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Toronto Life, and launching Refinery29 Canada, which she led as Executive Editor until leaving journalism in 2021. She holds a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her debut novel, Every Summer After (2022), became an inst...

Characters

Persephone FraserProtagonist

A Toronto magazine editor who spent six formative teenage summers at her family's cottage in Barry's Bay.

Sam FlorekProtagonist

Percy's childhood summer love, working at his family's tavern in Barry's Bay.

Sue FlorekSupporting

The warm matriarch of the Florek family and their lakeside tavern.

Charles FlorekSupporting
Delilah MasonSupporting
All characters in Every Summer After

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Every Summer After being made into a TV show?

    Yes. Prime Video adapted it as a series titled Every Year After, which premiered on June 10, 2026, with Sadie Soverall and Matt Cornett playing Percy and Sam.

  • Why is the TV adaptation called Every Year After instead of Every Summer After?

    The series was retitled Every Year After. Carley Fortune discussed the change in interviews around the show's premiere, noting it reflected the production's broader take on the story rather than a single season.

  • Is Barry's Bay a real place?

    Yes. Barry's Bay is a real town on Kamaniskeg Lake in Ontario, Canada, and Carley Fortune spent her childhood summers there. The setting is drawn directly from that real lake town.

  • Was Every Summer After Carley Fortune's first novel?

    Yes. It was her 2022 debut and became an instant bestseller, launching her career as a number-one New York Times bestselling author.

  • How is the story structured?

    It alternates between six summers in the past, when Percy and Sam were teenagers, and one weekend in the present day when Percy returns to Barry's Bay.

  • Do I need to read Every Summer After before One Golden Summer?

    No. One Golden Summer returns to Barry's Bay and centers on Charlie Florek, so reading Every Summer After first adds context, but each book works as a standalone.

Read all 12 reviews