Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Book Review
“I didn’t think you’d want to see me,” I finally manage. “We sold the cottage . . . there was nothing to come back to.” His eyes flash with hurt.
“I was here to come back to. Every holiday. Every summer. I was here.”
(pg. 283)
About
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: New Adult Romance
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Synopsis
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 look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To our forever best friends,
If you know me, I am the number one fan of Friends to Lovers, especially a childhood Friends to Lovers situation. So Every Summer After was RIGHT UP MY ALLEY of what I wanted in a book!
Before I get into the details of everything I swooned over and gushed about, I just wanted to shoutout Carley Fortune on an incredible debut novel because what a fun, enrapturing, nostalgic, complicated but wholesome, honest, and beautiful story about childhood friends that grew up together as neighbors on a lake and seeing their dynamic when they were older. I LOVE a then and now perspective and to me it will always be a superior way to tell a story because you get the backstory and the current storyline to see the full picture of where they are now and how they came to be. Then and now perspectives are top tier 👌🏼. Not many authors write in a then and now perspective because it’s complicated (I have tried to write in a then and now perspective and it’s difficult to balance just enough backstory with the now story without losing the plot), and I say this not to discredit any author or make them feel like they are doing something wrong by not doing a then and now perspective, but I say that this perspective is challenging because it is. I have seen it done a few times, one of them being All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover. Both books had such a nice balance where the storylines didn’t get lost, but it amplified the current story and built such a strong foundation where I connected to the characters because I felt like I grew up with them/knew them. I also liked this perspective choice for the story because it fit the storylines well, and it was different from the usual new adult books I have been reading, which was so refreshing. I just loved the change in pace and perspective!
Also, a then and now perspective has to have a certain balance to not be too much and not overpowering each other and, again, I believe Carley Fortune did such a fantastic job with balancing both storylines in a nice flow. I also applauded the mystery that Carley Fortune built up because gosh knows I wanted to devour the book because I just wanted to know what the HECK happened 😅. I literally could not function or stop reading because I just wanted to know where it all went wrong.
So I guess this is where I get into the details because I cannot contain my utter joy in wanting to talk about this book.
First, Every Summer After really gave summer vibes to the max. I didn’t grow up going to lake houses or swimming like Percy, Sam, and Charlie because I live somewhere where we don’t have a lot of lakes or cottages and swimming in a lake isn’t the summer thing—-more like swimming at the beach or staying at a beach house. So I could imagine that if you grew up going to cottages and swimming at a lake during the summer, Every Summer After would feel even more real to you. But I still loved the plot because I love the idea of having a cottage on a lake and being neighbors with two cute boys during the summer. I mean, what a fun time! I also have to say that Every Summer After gave me big The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes with the whole brothers thing and the water vibes. Also, I got big Second Chance Summer vibes with the dock, cabin, and lake. Gosh, I need to go tot a cabin or cottage on a lake and live my fictional girl summer 😂.
The only difference between those comp titles and Every Summer After, was that there was definitely a more mature and complex vibe to Every Summer After because it was a contemporary new adult and it discussed a bit more older dynamics. I loved that Every Summer After was an adult summer read because I grew up reading the titles above, so to be where I am now and read a book that gives me the same vibes but is more relatable to my phase in life, it’s wildly cool.
Okay, now we can get into the details.
I am going to discuss the past events first and then the now events to build up the what happened in the story.
Percy and her family owned a cottage on a lake next to a lovely family with Sue, Charlie, and Nick. Charlie and Nick were the summer boys that Percy met when she was thirteen and saw them pushing each other of a raft in the middle of the lake. I really loved how the moment felt cinematic in the way that Percy watched Charlie and Nick and described Charlie as being more confident and had these ivy eyes, where else Sam was all gangly with limbs everywhere and seemed a bit more reserved and shy than Charlie. The description was well done because I could feel the distinction between the brothers and the vibes Carley Fortune was going for—-like there was one cooler, hotter brother that Percy would like more and than there was the other brother who wasn’t really that hot but would be the one she would fall for.
I loved that we had a confident brother and another who was a bit awkward because as someone with a sister and a brother, I can thoroughly say that my sister was always the confident one compared to me. My sister would be the Charlie and I would be the Sam. Also, when you’re thirteen, you’re just awkward and there’s not ands, ifs, or btus about it. It’s like a rite of passage to be awkward at thirteen 😂, So I loved how Sam was described as all gangly like a noodle because boys are very noodley at that age because they are still growing into their body.
I loved loved loved how easily Percy and Sam became friends.
Percy and Sam’s friendship meant everything 💙.
I loved how they hung out that first night and had such an easy conversations. I also loved loved loved when Sam asked about the bracelet Percy made and how he asked her to make him one 🥺💙. And SHE DID. And then they had matching friendship bracelets. *SCREAMS INTERNALLY*
Where is my childhood best friend to lover with my matching friendship bracelet 😫.
HOW CUTE.
A friendship bracelet to commemorate their blooming friendship.
I FREAKING COULD NOT with how cute it was that whenever they were talking about something serious, they would hold each other’s friendship bracelets next to each other and swear on their promise 🥺💙.
Like when Percy talked about how she didn’t like to be out in the sun because it gave her freckles, and then Sam spewed some random fact about freckles and reassured her that he liked her with freckles. I mean, this guy was sooooo sweet to take something she was insecure about and make her feel confident and better about herself. And then he swore on it. What a cutie!!!
It was also incredibly sweet when Percy and her family went back for Thanksgiving that same year, Sam was still wearing his friendship bracelet 🥺. The fact that he was wearing it like he never took it off, spoke volumes!!! If he doesn’t wear your friendship bracelet like it doesn’t mean the world to him, I don’t want it 👏🏼!! And the fact that he also noticed Percy not wearing hers and wanted her to, I was like this guy is such a good one because he values their friendship so much.
I swear, I don’t know what hormones are in this lake, but GOSH DARN, they don’t make thirteen year olds with that much HEART these days. Or they didn’t make them in my middle school because I would have LOVED to known a Sam 😂. What a genuine gentleman. He was raised right—-good parenting.
PREACH ABOUT SAM
I had a feeling that later in the book that the friendship bracelet and swearing on their promises would be a big thing because if it wasn’t, then it would hav been a missed opportunity to read my heart out in cuteness. I mean, it had to be the move, you know?
I also loved how whenever they hung out they had easy banter and asked a lot of questions about each other. I really loved how Sam made Percy feel comfortable and validated whenever she would apologize for saying too much or for her lack of a filter because I think people like Percy feel the need to hold back what they say, but Sam telling her that it was okay made her feel comfortable being herself. And I felt like that meant a lot to her to know that someone didn’t mind her lack of a filter and accepted her for her—-that Sam created a safe place to say what she thought or felt. They also had very vulnerable and honest questions like about Sam’s dad and how he passed away, but it wasn’t a sad conversation but something that brought them closer. I loved how towards the end of that summer, they were both sad about the other leaving, and it was this gloomy day. They went to the dock to fish, and on the dock, Percy was like, “Tell me what he was like . . . when you’re ready” (pg. 42). I just loved that. That was such a great way to reassure Sam that he always had a friend in her and that she would listen when he was ready to share.
I was just a sucker for their friendship.
Can I have what they have?
Like I need to travel to a lake and go to a cottage and pretend I’m thirteen years old and find my Sam I am 😂. Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I could have a childhood best friends to lovers situation at this point because I don’t have a childhood best friend I had a crush on, but a girl can dream of being a friends to lovers situation still, right?
What I thought was so beautiful was how Carley Fortune really followed a beautiful sequence of building Percy and Sam’s relationship.
Percy and Sam didn’t like like each other (or not in Percy’s case) that first summer. They were friends first. But when the next year came, I loved how we began to see that physical attraction and crush form because they were both growing up and discovering those feelings that teenagers feel at that age. Percy began to notice that Sam was less gangly and was filling out or how his lips looked fuller and more interesting. I also liked how it was mentioned how Sam noticed how different she looked too—-like he was beginning to see her differently. I liked these descriptions from their perspectives because it showed how they were viewing each other as more than just friends—-the spark of something more.
“He grinned. ‘I pay attention to a lot of things about you, Percy Fraser.'”
(pg. 70)
EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK 😆!!!!!!
Not me literally gushing when Sam said that he noticed a lot of things about her after they went diving that summer! I mean, get you someone who notices the finer DETAILS 👏🏼!!!! I mean, get you someone who pays ATTENTION 👏🏼!!!!
I just loved loved loved the authenticity and realness of their relationship. I loved it 💙.
I just thought it was beautiful that they were friends first before they developed feelings for each other. I think of the saying how you should marry your best friend, and Percy and Sam’s relationship felt like that because they were friends before they were lovers. I agree that you should marry your best friend because it’s easy to talk to them, be yourself around, and to be truthful with. They see the best, silliest, and worst parts of you as a friend first before loving you as more than a friend because of those things, and I think that’s the purest and most honest form of love.
With the next summer, Delilah came to stay with Percy for a week at the cabin.
Delilah was a complicated character who gave me mean girl vibes but later she wasn’t so bad. I don’t know if that was because she matured out of her mean girl phase and that’s why Percy and her continued to be friends. Either way, didn’t really like Delilah at first. Young Delilah reminded me of Alison from Pretty Little Liars in the way that she was popular and everyone wanted to be her friend to be popular or to be on the safe side/not the receiving end of her bullying. I think if you’re friends with someone out of fear or because they are popular, that’s not really a friendship but more of a way to guard yourself. So that’s why I didn’t like Percy being friends with Delilah, especially after Delilah bullied Percy the summer before. But again, it was a complicated relationship that wasn’t all that bad in the end.
Delilah also was very boy crazy 🤪 and an interesting person. But I felt like Delilah was very true to the “popular” girls at my school during middle school. You know, the types that had crushed on practically every person and they thought that every person wanted to be with them—-very flirtatious. Also, we loved how Delilah started to wear short shorts and more revealing outfits as one does in middle school 😂. You can’t tell me that middle school or high school isn’t the time that most people start to let go with their fashion because they get to have more control over what they wear. There’s nothing wrong with showing more skin or dressing how you want to dress, but I just found it funny that Carley Fortune thought of the little details like that in the transition from dressing like a kid and dressing like a teenager.
I really loved when Delilah, Charlie, Sam, and Percy went diving and swimming and Sam knew that Percy was scared of heights, so he reassured her they could climb back down so not to pressure her to jump off the rock. Sam was so sweet for being in tune with Percy’s feelings and knowing her, but also making her feel like she didn’t need to do anything she didn’t want to do just to impress everyone else. But I loved when he also offered to hold her hand and jump together 🥺💙. They did jump together, and I loved how it was another special moment between their friendship.
They also played a very awkward game of truth or dare and spin the bottle, which I could tell you from the moment they started playing that it wasn’t going to end well. Delilah dared Sam to kiss Percy, however Sam didn’t want to kiss Percy. Here’s the thing, I understood why Sam didn’t want to kiss Percy. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to or he was repulsed by the idea of doing so. I bet he absolutely a 1000% did, but he also knew that kissing Percy would probably be both of their first kiss and he didn’t want their first kiss to be 1) in front of an audience and 2) on a dare. Sam was more romantic and refined than that. I had the feeling that Sam knew that if he was going to kiss Percy he wanted to make it memorable and get it right, not something that he was dared/forced to do, which I respected. However, I also understood Percy’s perspective because she felt that Sam must have not really liked her in that way if he didn’t even want to kiss her on a dare. I mean, it wasn’t about not wanting to kiss her because he did, but Sam was just thinking if this truly was the right time and place to kiss his best friend who we all knew he loved. So she just got the wrong message because he gave off the wrong vibe. But they both liked each other and wanted the kiss to happen, but to be honest, I would have much rather them kissed later when it would be special than just because they were dared to do so. I don’t know, if I was Percy that would be what I wanted. But again, I understood how both were feeling.
Truth or dare is an awkward situation in general.
What I didn’t expect was for Charlie to plant on on Percy.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie.
The older brother.
Now let me tell you something, Charlie gave me confident, I-don’t-care-because-I’m-too-hot-and-cool vibes. However, deep down I felt like young Charlie was really hurting in some way and masked it with over confidence because he flirted way too much and had this f-boy reputation that was obviously there for some reason. I knew deep down that he really liked Percy as more than a friend ever since this summer or the previous summer, but he stepped back for his brother who was obviously closer in age to Percy and who was obviously better friends with her. I know what it’s like to be the person who steps back from your feelings because someone else likes someone that you like and that person has a better chance to be with that person; I can’t tel you all the best friends I had that had a crush on the same guy I did and I did nothing so they could have their chance. It’s not a fun feeling to sit on the sidelines and see someone you like fall in love with someone you also love and respect (your friend) because part of you wants them to be happy, but you also want to be happy. I got the sense that Charlie messed around or dated all these girls because no girl was right for him or made him feel the way Percy did by being kind of his friends or being a person close in his life. Because he couldn’t date her, he went elsewhere.
Charlie also flirted endlessly with Percy, and I didn’t find it in a friend way. He would look her growing body up and down or make comments about how hot she was. They never felt like a joke or something that just a friend would say. Also, there was the fact that Charlie kept saying things to Sam like “You snooze, you lose,” or how if he didn’t go after her, someone else will. Whenever he said those kinds of things, my gut feeling told me that Charlie undoubtedly liked Percy because he wanted to be with her but he wasn’t going to try anything because of his brother. However, if his brother was too slow or never tried himself, he couldn’t blame Charlie for also trying. So those were the vibes. I don’t know. Anyone else thought the same 🤔?
But kissing her that night was definitely another reason I thought he must have had some semblance of feelings for Percy. I mean, no one just randomly kisses their neighbor and their brothers best friend unless they were drunk off their rocker (which Charlie wasn’t, I mean he was drunk, but not that drunk) or he really wanted to kiss her and this was an opportunity that presented itself. So Charlie took it. If I was Percy, I would have been shook because that was not the brother I would have wanted to kiss, but at the same time I wouldn’t be that mad at it because a cute boy kissing me?? Not a bad deal 🙈.
Sam sure did get MAD at Charlie. Not just because he kissed Percy, but because he stole Percy’s first kiss from her.
I loved that Sam got made on her behalf because he really did want Percy’s first kiss to have been special.
I FREAKING also loved their whole honest conversation about periods and wet dreams 😂. I mean, they really went from first kiss to wet dreams in a snap. But I kind of loved it because those topics are things most people stray away from talking about with parents and friends, least of all the opposite sex. It was just oddly weird but cool that they were able to be so open and not awkward talking about something most people would deem off-limits. But Sam just spewed out this whole period wet dream conversation like nothing and like it wasn’t awkward for him, which I loved. Go Sam for beating around the bust to honest and real conversations. I laughed when Percy was like if you’re going to ask me about if I have my period, I’m going to ask you if you have wet dreams 😂. I also laughed with how they actually told each other about their periods and wet dreams. I loved Sam’s honesty though because what a refreshing quality. I freaking GUSHED when Percy asked who Sam had wet dream about and he said girls with brown hair 🤪!!!!!!! YOU MEAN PERCY!!!!!!!
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA. I am a CHILD.
We know what Sam be dreaming about 🤪.
Also, we love a feminist 💙; not future doctor Sam preaching about how periods weren’t gross but the “foundation of human life” (pg. 79). What a man 👏🏼!
I also loved how we saw other aspects of their friendship grow. One of my favorite favorite favorite things was how supportive they were of each other’s hobbies and passions.
Percy loved watching horror movies, and Sam and her would sit on the couch in his basement and watch all the horror movies together. I loved how watching horror movies became their thing because Percy loved it and Sam wanted to do something Percy loved and understand that part of her. Percy also was a impassioned writer—-mostly horror stories or thrillers. I loved loved loved how Percy shared all her stories with Sam, and how Sam read her stories with so much love, excitement, and dedication; he was always overjoyed to read her stories, knowing she trusted him with her words. As a writer, it is a huge deal to lend someone your manuscript because the words feel like an extension of your inner-most thoughts and feelings, so for someone else to have that and read them, it’s like walking into a room naked—the most vulnerable and bare feeling.
I also loved how he was her best critique partner with honest notes and feedback. I also loved how he used his medical knowledge from all his textbooks to help Percy with any bloody or anatomical scenes she was writing. I mean, what a beautiful partnership that she wrote and he could use his passions to support her writing. I could just imagine one day Percy dedicating a book to Sam or writing his name in the acknowledgments as her number one supporter and best friend 🥺.
Sam wanted to be a doctor when he grew up, and I loved how Percy got him an Operation game set that Christmas. I mean, how freaking cute. How freaking cute how Sam put the game board on his bookshelf and how it never left that shelf throughout all the years. That’s what you call dedication and love. It’s also what you call, I love this girl and this gift so much, I’m going to cherish it forever. Get you someone who is sentimental 👏🏼!!!!!
I also loved that he got her the cutest gift ever of a framed photo of them so she could always have their friendship close to her.
“‘So you can take the lake home with you,’ he said.”
(pg. 86)
How SWEET. How THOUGHTFUL.
Take the lake home with her!!!!! More like take him with her too!!!!
My heart got the warm and fuzzy feelings that FREAKING SAM had the exact same photo on his FREAKING NIGHTSTAND. SIS, if he keeps you on his nightstand, he must LOVE you because people put things on their nightstand if it is valuable or matters to them. SO obviously she mattered the world to him!!!!!!
Not my Heartstopper brain literally being reminded of how Charlie put Nick’s frame gift on his nightstand for the same reason.
I kid you not, the nightstand is the clue to everything 😂.
I was screaming for her!!!!
The next summer, I also loved how Percy tried to give running a chance because Sam had gotten into marathoning. I loved that she didn’t even like running, but she wanted to try because Sam, her best friend loved running now, and this was something she wanted to do with him 🥺. If that’s not true friendship—-trying new things because your best friend also loves them—-I don’t know what is.
I CANNOT tell you how HARD I SCREAMED for Sam and Percy when after they did their run that first day, Percy stripped down into her thong and sports bra to jump into the lake and Sam had a bodily reaction 😂.I laughed when Sam covered himself and was like, “Sorry, it’s my body’s reaction” (pg. 113). I mean, at least he’s honest 😆. That’s so funny though because, yea, they had been friends for such a long time that they’re used to seeing each other half naked but now that they were older and their bodies changed, it would feel different to see your girl best friend that much naked and not have a reaction to it. I mean, sis was in a thong. He was unprepared. At least, he wasn’t awkward or ashamed by it because it was Percy and he knew she wouldn’t judge him for it, which I liked.
I also thought it was super cute though how she kept on trying to run with him even if she didn’t enjoy it. But then Percy switched to swimming after Charlie called Sam and Percy out for how Percy obviously didn’t like running and how she looked like more of a swimmer. So Sam started training Percy to swim across the lake. I liked how he had his own thing with running and then helped her afterwards—-a supportive team. They really said fit person summer.
I also loved how Sue, the mom told Percy that Sam was lifting weights so he could carry Percy out of the water if she couldn’t swim across the lake. He lifted weights for her so he could go to her rescue! The day of Percy swimming across the lake was so cute because I could tell how nervous Sam was for Percy because he didn’t want her to drown, however, he was going to be there for her. But he was worried about not being able to save her and that being on him. But Percy did so well swimming across the ales with her best friend spotting and supporting her from literally by her side. I just loved that he was there for her through it all and helped her work towards accomplishing a goal she wanted to achieve. She did the same for him too. I mean, best friends should be there for each other and challenge and encourage each other to be their best selves, and they both did that for each other. I loved how happy and proud Sam was for Percy 💙.
“Sam only seemed to get better and better looking, like he was grown into himself, and when he smiled like that, it was completely disarming.”
(pg. 119)
Between running, lifting weights, and puberty, I could only imagine that Sam was becoming quite a looker over the years. And not Percy also saying earlier how his butt wasn’t flat as a frisbee 😂. I don’t know what it is about books these days where the main character notices the guy’s butt, but I’ve read some interesting things. Anyway, puberty does hit like a truck. I loved how we could see the attraction building even more and how much Percy really wanted to be with Sam a different way, but Sam wasn’t showing her a clear sign that he liked her like that. I mean, the bodily reaction did 🤪, but you know, that could have been taken from her as just a guy reaction.
But Sam was missing his shot because there was this Mason dude back home that Delilah set Percy up with.
Mason was a good guy. Decent. Kind. Good looking. But not as good looking or kind as SAM!!!!!!
The only reason Percy was remotely into Mason was obviously because he was cute and kind and that’s the minimum you need to be, but also he gave clear messages that he actually wanted to be with Percy in a romantic way—-he gave Percy the attention and want that she needed. However, we all knew Percy was holding out for Sam. Sis even asked Sam for his opinion because she wanted him to tell her absolutely gosh darn no to go out with this guy because he wanted to go out with her, but bro didn’t get the hint!!!! Sam was such a good guy though and didn’t tell her that, and told her to follow what she felt if she liked this other guy more. Bro, she’s talking about YOU!!!! Let’s stop playing coy and cryptic because we all know they were talking both each other and we all know Sam is jealous and doesn’t want her to date “Buckley.” They needed to beat around the bush and just admit that they were in love with each other.
I mean, a ant could see how much Percy and Sam loved each other.
A freaking stick could.
It wasn’t until next summer that something actually—-FINALLY—-happened.
I love the scary night, one bed, comfort-me trope. Get’s me every time.
I freaking loved how Sam literally walked over with an umbrella on a dark and stormy night just to go get Percy who was home alone and didn’t want to stay that way. I mean, what a gentleman.
But he really said, sleep in my ROOM, and on my BED 🙈! I was like, OOOOOKAAYYY.
I laughed when Sam wore a shirt and sweatpants to bed as a barrier between them, but then later took off his pants because it was too hot. I mean, it was getting warm up in this hizz house 😂.
I let loose a VOLCRA SCREE when they were in the bed talking all hot and steamy and everything.
“‘I’d rather make out with someone else,’ I blurted, immediately wanting to suck the words back into my throat.
‘Who?’ Sam asked.
. . . ‘Don’t make me tell you,’ I said so quietly, I wasn’t sure if I’d said it out loud, but then I felt Sam’s hot breath on my face and the press of his nose and forehead against mine.
‘Please tell me,’ he pleased softly.
. . . I swallowed thickly, then whispered. ‘I think you know.’
‘I want to be sure,’ he murmured.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let the words fall from me.
‘I’d rather kiss you.'”
(pg. 160-1)
YEA SHE DOES 😆👏🏼!!!!!
I could not contain my excitement when they finally kissed!!!!!! And how sweet and tender Sam was to make sure she was okay. Or when Sam whispered to her “I’d rather kiss you, too,” after they stopped kissing to go to sleep. Honestly, who the heck were they kidding if they could sleep after that. I couldn’t.
I could not when Sam literally came out the next day with Percy in his clothes, and told his mom that Percy slept over and slept in his bed 😂. *Face palms* You dummy, you don’t tell your mother that. I appreciated the honesty, but my gosh Sam, no one taught you to lie for one second????
No duh Sue was going to hound down on their butts now!!!!!
I freaking love love love Sue. What a great woman. The first parent from a book that I read in a long time that was actually a decent parent and did good parenting. I loved how Sue cooked for those around her and how that was her way of showing love. I also loved that she was a boss a** b**** who owned and ran the Tavern, and that she had all these people who loved and respected her. She was just an all around fabulous woman and I think it said a lot that she was amazing by those who reciprocated that love. She was also a fantastic mother, raising two summer boys.
What I loved about Sue the most was how she treated Percy like her own too—-that Percy was practically family.
“I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to do with any boy, no matter how nice he is.
‘Don’t take c**** from any boy—not even my own sons, okay?'”
(pg. 165)
Such great advice, but I loved how she also knew that her boys weren’t someone who she wanted Percy to think they can ever take advantage of her as well. But also I liked how she advised Sam too because she saw this new dynamic between them and wanted them to be careful. The only thing that I didn’t like about her advice was that what she told Sam made it sound like the love Percy and Sam had wasn’t valid or real because they were so young and had hopefully more years to figure things out.
I understood where Sue was coming from because they were both sixteen, and not everyone stays with their partner from when they were sixteen—relationships grow and change. However, I just didn’t like the narrative that just because you’re young and in love, it doesn’t make that relationship as real. I believe no matter what you’re age, the relationship and love is real and no one can make anyone feel wrong or invalidated for that. Age does not validate love. If someone feels something that they know in their heart is true and right for them, then I say believe that feeling and believe in that feeling for others because maybe they did find their person. Who’s to say? If anyone had found their person, I really did believe it was Sam and Percy.
They were just perfect for each other.
However, I believe Sue’s talk got into Sam’s head and it made him scared to start something with Percy.
I will give Sam props for having a mature as heck conversation with Percy about how he didn’t want to start something with her because he wanted to focus on his future and for her to focus on her goals. He also stressed how he didn’t want to ruin their friendship by being together because he didn’t know if he or they were ready to take that step from friendship to lovers yet. Again, very mature of him to have an open conversation with her about how he felt. But also very mature to recognize that maybe he wasn’t ready to be something more to her, which was an honest feeling. I just think Sam was scared because it is scary to love your best friend and fear that going from friends to lovers will not work out and that ruin the friendship and what they had. I understand that. That’s a fear all friends to lovers face.
But Percy was his best friend and he didn’t want to lose her or screw this up because he did want to be with her, just not right now.
Right person, wrong time. And I felt like this sentiment was the mantra for Percy and Sam.
I also understood that Sam wanted them both to focus on school because he wanted to be a doctor and that takes a lot of focus/was important to him. He also wanted Percy to focus on her school too to achieve her writing dreams. It’s natural that Sam wanted to focus on himself and his future because he was just sixteen. So, a future relationship seemed like what he was hinting at. Underneath all his reasons though was this fear Sam felt in heeding his mother’s words because they were young and they didn’t know what was going to happen in terms of their relationship until they lived it.
Through Percy’s eyes, I felt her anger and disappointment with feeling like Sam didn’t want to be with her. She really wanted to be with Sam and knew she was ready to take that step. I also felt like Sam was ready because he was a great guy, but again, the fear was holding him back. And also, I mean, are we every ready for a relationship or what life throws at us.
I’m glad that Percy didn’t wait around for Sam to want to be in a relationship with her and actually took Mason up on being his girlfriend. Percy and Mason’s relationship was very one-note compared to the chemistry between Sam and Percy, and we all knew she actually wanted to be with Sam, but Mason was the next best thing because he showed interest in her. I don’t blame her. Sis, shouldn’t wait around to be with a guy if he didn’t want to be with her and there was a perfectly nice guy who did. At that age, I also understand just wanting to be with someone who wants to be with you because everyone is in a relationship and you want to find that too. There’s nothing wrong with waiting, but there’s nothing wrong with dating around and learning from each relationship you’re in.
The next summer after they kissed was kind of awkward because they knew each other’s feelings but they were trying to act like friends. Also, there was the Mason tension.
“So other than the fact that he’s nice, what do you like about him?”
“He likes me back,” I said truthfully, and Sam didn’t ask any more questions after that.”
(pg. 193)
OUCH 🤪.
I mean, she’s not WRoooooong.
But also, Sam did like her, but he wasn’t at the point where he was giving her signs that he wanted to be with her like that. I also found it funny and sad how the only reason Percy liked Mason because he was nice and liked her. I mean, your partner should be nice, but you would think if she really liked Mason, she could muster up a more than he’s nice. Also, if a sis really did like her boyfriend she would probably have remembered him more and wanted to actually talk to him rather than think it was a chore.
Jealousy works wonders, I kid you not. Works every time.
When Mason went to the cabin, I was like, “Let’s work some MAGIC.” I felt like Sam was obviously going to be jealous and that would knock some sense into him to stop playing around with Percy and his feelings and actually act on it. Seeing Mason and Percy together was hard for Sam because he didn’t want anyone looking or touching her the way Mason was. Mason was also being very territorial after Sam said that Percy let him read her writing because he trusted her, which was a blow to Masons’ ego. But truly, if Percy liked Mason, she would have trusted him with that vulnerable part of her. However, it said a lot that she didn’t and that Sam was her guy. When Mason kissed Percy in front of Sam, I CRINGED for Sam because it was probably like watching someone else get the dog you always wanted. But also, I felt ELATED because jealousy was working it’s magic 🤪. Not Sam, literally complementing Percy the next day, telling her that she was beautiful, smart, funny, and that any guy would fall for her. If any guy would fall for her, why aren’t we falling faster Sam I am?????
You know what was kind of hot, but kind of funny at the same time?
The whole anatomy thing.
How kinky.
I LAUGHED when he was like “ankle,” and then “shin” like he was basically listing body parts. But then he started touching her and getting all handsy and doctorish and that’s when it become kind of hot 🙈🔥.
Paging Doctor Sam I Am.
He could talk latin and doctor to me any day. We love a hot doctor.
Sam really should have worked that doctor magic sooner. But it lead to them actually realizing that they wanted to do this—-be in a real realtionship because they couldn’t stand the thought of not being together.
Now here’s the thing. I can preach all the reasons (and I have) why I love love love Sam, but when I say Sam is such a good guy, I mean that in the best way. I mean, I literally thought he was so perfect because he just seemed so perfect. But over time, I started to pick up on the complexities of Sam’s character and I loved that he was someone most people would think was perfect but he really wasn’t. And that’s not a bad thing because as Hannah Montana says, no body’s perfect.
The thing about Sam was that he let his fear and insecurities get in the way of being with someone he knew he loved but just didn’t want to mess up or ruin what they had. Again, understandable but also it wasn’t fair for Percy who loved him and continuously showed him signs of wanting to be with him, for him to string her along and say all these kind things and being flirty without actually wanting to be with her. Because that made her feel like he liked her but he didn’t want to try be with her because he didn’t like her as much as she did him. I liked that Percy was always respectful of Sam’s wishes of not starting something yet, but he couldn’t get mad (and he didn’t) when she moved on or had new relationships. If I was Percy, I would also feel confused and frustrated because Sam would be giving all these signals and then turning around and doing something else. Percy just wanted to feel wanted by Sam and he never made her feel that way.
And boy did he really screw up in my eyes when he literally said they were going to do this—take a chance on their relationship—-and he DROPPED and GHOSTED her like a hot potato!!!!! 🤨
I mean, they had a few cutesy months and moments of kissing and sneaking around, but bro really said let’s be in a relationship but let me get as far away from you as possible and not talk to you for weeks on end and then let me set these dumba** boundaries with you LIKE WHAT!?!?!?!?!? I would have been CONFUSED to the nines.
Sam, what were you doing.
Sam got an internship the next summer (when they were seventeen) for college, something to do with doctor things. The first thing he did wrong was fail to tell Percy, his girlfriend about said internship until a week when he was going and that was only because Charlie gave him a weird look and Percy picked up on it. Heck, I picked up on. I understood why he didn’t tell her at first because truly if he didn’t get the internship it wasn’t worth telling her about it because no harm, no foul. But still, I think he should have told her because they tell each other everything, and even if he didn’t get into the internship, at least she would have known and psyched herself up for what the summer would look like. But bro just dropped it on her like it was nothing that last week. How did he think that made her feel?
She thought they finally were in a relationship and he was leaving because he didn’t want to actually be with her. I would feel sucky; if I thought I was spending my summer with my boyfriend only for him to go to college at the last minute without telling me about it. Honesty is the best policy. But Sam was scared to tell her because I felt like part of him wanted to leave because if he left that meant that their relationship couldn’t change all that much without him there. Also, I felt like he wanted to leave so he could have time to figure out how to be a boyfriend to her. But at the same time, I knew he also went to the internship for him. I mean, it was a great opportunity for him to learn, but my gosh, he just really left her without a real warning. Las minute too.
It was one thing to leave her the whole summer after finally getting together, but for me it was another thing that he said he would text and call her, but then straight up didn’t. He ignored her emails and calls and messages and when he did reply it was clipped responses. And then some random girl kept answering his phone, like what the literal heck. A college chick answering his phone??? If I was Percy I would feel insecure and worried about what Sam was doing. And the fact that Sam had his interest and everything set up and still didn’t reach out to her was beyond me. If I put myself in Percy’s shoes I would have felt worried, upset, frustrated, lost, and hurt. Bro was not showing that he loved her or valued their relationship at all.
OOOOOOOOOH, I love love love Sam, but MY GOSH when he emailed her that long a** email about his boundaries!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? 😟
I was like NO no no no no no no, You best BET take those boundaries back and shove them up your bulls*** because what the heck.
Sam?!??!?!?! What are you doing.
You are messing up your relationship.
I mean, how much more distance did you want from Percy?
And how dare he after they just got together???? The AUDACITY he had to not only leave the town but to say don’t talk to me—no constant communication because it’s distracting. And his buffer of I want to be the right person for you and for me and build a future. Butthole, I understand you are doing this for you, but bro, pushing people away is not it. And also, if you push her away even more, I don’t know what kind of future you’re looking at, but I don’t see Percy in it if you treat her like that 👏🏼.
I was so mad on behalf of her.
Right person, wrong time I tell you.
Deep down, I know, I know Sam loves Percy and he doesn’t see his boundaries and hurting her, however he had never mad it apparent to her that he actually wanted to be with her with how many times he turned her down and pushed her away physically and now verbally. I mean, it didn’t even feel like he wanted to be with ehr. I would have felt the same way. And not this Jo chick answering his phone again and Sam partying his butt off because he was of busy “focusing on his future.” It sounded like he was focusing on a future without Percy because one, he didn’t tell her about it and two, he wasn’t talking to her. He should have always made it clear that his future involved her and that he loved her. He never reassured her that he did. I understood that maybe that this whole mysterious thing about what happened twelve years ago wasn’t just what Percy did, but also what Sam did. Because it felt like so many thousand cuts or pieces that lead to this mysterious fall out twelve years before the now persecutive—-the rejection, the internship, pushing her away. That whatever happened between them that caused them to split monumentally wasn’t just because Percy did something, but because all these parts lead her to doing something. I mean, how could they not when Sam never made it clear how much he loved her. How was Percy supposed to feel?
Sam was a more acts of services and kidneys dude, but the way Percy received love was words of affirmation. Not me trying to psychoanalyze their relationship 🤪
I would have been thoroughly confused. Like what the heck Sam?
Despite how pezzed I was at Sam, I really really truly understood why he pushed Percy away too.
Maybe out of fear, but I know what the first year of college loneliness feels like and how it makes you feel like you have to figure it out by yourself. It’s not easy. And it can make good people do dumb things because they aren’t thinking clearly to see how their actions effect others. I did the same thing. I was depressed my first year of college.
I was irritable towards everyone because I guess deep down I was angry at how all my friends stayed close to home for college and it was much easier for them to make friends because they knew each other. And they were also close to home so they didn’t need to adjust to living away and what that means. This was the first time I was living by myself and was away from home. I lived with a stranger and we barley talked because we both didn’t have anything in common and we were a bit awkward to talk to each other. So I felt like I didn’t have anyone. I didn’t really have many friends who I felt close with, so it made me sad knowing how my other friends had friends and here I was lonely and didn’t really know what to do with all this independence I’ve been given. I also came from a small town where everyone knew everyone, so leaving my town it felt like a whole new world was open up to me because I was so used to one town that I forgot there was all these other places with all these other people. I realized how small my view of the world was. I felt that was how Sam felt because he grew up in this small town by a lake and had a close knit group of friends—-a whole community he knew and loved—-so to be planted somewhere else where he didn’t know anyone, had to be overwhelming. A huge culture shock I could impinge. I mean, Sam thought he was the smartest person around, and he was, but that was only in his town. There were other incredibly intelligent people in this new school, so I bet he felt intimidated and like he had imposter-syndrome because here were all these other people who were just as smart, if not smarter.
It made him feel like he didn’t belong. And when you’re already in a new place with people you don’t know, doing something you don’t really know about and you start to feel like you don’t belong, it makes all the senses go on overdrive to the point where you feel like the only way to navigate it is to lessen the people in your life.
That’s what Sam and I did. We cut people off or we stopped talking to them because we let the overwhelming fear and loneliness drive us. However, driving people away only magnifies that loneliness. I know because I went through it. I don’t say any of this to judge Sam because, again, I knew where he was coming from. I say this as someone who related to him and understood his sorrow and fear. The first year of college can be the most isolating and sorrowful time in a persons’ life, but not many talk about it because it’s not an easy conversation. Most people think the first year of college is partying, dating, all these movie-like moments, and I guess, it can be. But there’s also this intense loneliness and sadness that comes with being on your own for the first time, meeting new people who are just as scared to be there, seeing the world open up, and not really knowing what you’re doing but trying to figuring it out as you go. The first year is tough.
I wanted to tell Sam to not shut people out, let alone Percy because that’s not what he needed. I think he just needed to tell Percy how he felt lonely and scared—-to be vulnerable about those fears—-because I think Percy would have been understanding. But dude just told her he wanted boundaries and that she was basically a distraction so let’s cut our communication. And he also told her how he felt even more alone when he talked to her. Like what. The. HECK. That’s like a stab in the heart!!! You don’t tell a person you love that they make you feel even more alone because that doesn’t tell them you love them, but you are falling out of love with them. It’s no wonder Percy balled her eyes out because it felt like she was causing Sam all this loneliness and pain when she wasn’t. He just really wasn’t clear with his feelings and it messed with her.
So it didn’t surprise me that her and Charlie got close that summer.
You know for my whole spiel about Charlie being a playboy and flirtatious, he was honestly a really decent person 😅. I mean that. When he wasn’t trying to make comments about her looks or body and he just tried to be there and help Percy, he was actually pretty nice. I just think that when he wasn’t around Sam,Charlie wasn’t putting on a show to be the cooler older brother, he was just the brother.
I really loved how he stepped up and was there for Percy. He noticed how down and glum she was, so he hung out with her to take her mind off the fact that Sam wasn’t with them that summer. I liked how he went swimming and fishing with her. I also liked that conversation where Charlie said Percy’s stories were good and that she should keep writing. Charlie doesn’t do something he doesn’t want to do, so it meant a lot that he went out of his way to read Percy’s stories and that he gave her a genuine compliment.
I also thought it was cute that he went to see a scary movie with her and they made it this whole thing where they bought snacks and sat in the car to watch. They also chatted about the movie, which was fun. I understood how Percy felt weird seeing the movie with Charlie because watching scary movies was her and Sam’s thing, but Sam wasn’t around and to heck she should just watch the movie with Charlie who was there.
Now now NOW 👏🏼, when I say that when olderPercy kept alluding to this mysterious event that happened twelve years ago that ruined her friendship with Sam and Delilah and why she sold the cabin, I kept thinking he had to do something with the brother 🙈. I swear on it. That’s where my first thought went. Because it seems like the most obvious choice and also the most painful 😂. You know authors, they like to curse us readers pain. So I had a high hunch that she would either kiss or sleep with Charlie because that would WRECK Sam’s heart and be the ultimate betrayal. And also, the low-key crush vibes I got from Charlie early on was another hint that made me believe that Charlie would act on his crush later on.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO…….
It didn’t surprise me when they started to KISS 😥!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, they sure were leading up to that DANG KISS!!!! I felt it coming this summer. I was like, they were getting close and she was lonely and Charlie was there and giving her attention and they watched a movie together and were alone, WHAT ELSE WAS IT SUPPOSED TO LEAD UP TO!!!!!
“I blinked once and then threw myself at him, slinging my arms around his neck and bringing his mouth down to mine. I wanted to be wanted so badly.”
(pg. 272)
Not me literally having to pause and shriek, “OOOOOP THERE IT IS!” 😂
First, because they kissed and I felt that coming since the beginning, and second because I knew she was only kissing Charlie because he was there for her and he reminded her of Sam. She also wanted to be wanted because Sam didn’t make her feel wanted or loved even if he had before, but not in a clear way. I honestly, don’t blame Percy for kissing Charlie and I don’t think she was a bad person. She didn’t have clear signs from Sam and he literally cut her off. Here was a nice boy who was there for her and showed her he liked her. If I was her at her age, heck yea I would kiss the boy 🤪. She was hurt too from Sam, so that probably also clouded her judgment. But there’s not judgment within me that said what she did was wrong.
The only part that made me question if the whole situation was right was Charlie’s intention. Did he actually like like her and always wanted to be with her and knew that this was his chance to kiss her and be with her? Or was there an ulterior motive on his part where he knew Percy was lonely and sad and he used her vulnerability to get to her? If it’s the later, now I blame Charlie because that’s not okay to take advantage of a person who is emotionally going through a lot. Either way, Charlie was the older person in this situation and he needed to be clear and respectful.
I give him props through for being respectful and safe with Percy.
MY GOSH. When they went on the bed and brought out the box?????????
I WAS SCREAMING.
BRO!!!!!
They said they are sleeping on REGRET 🤪.
I could not.
Again, no judgement.
I was just worried about what would happen after because hot darn.
YIKES.
Isn’t it kind of funny how Percy’s first kiss was Charlie and her first time (I think) was him too?
DOUBLE YIKES.
Sam really needed to fight fo this woman!!!!
Not Percy regretting it the next day 😅. My gosh, I wanted to hug her because I could just feel her absolute remorse, guilt, and regret. Her shame. She was technically still with Sam, but not really. But my gosh, knowing she slept with the brother instead of him???????? I don’t even know how I would feel if I were her. That’s so hard. Not because what she did was shameful, but what Sam would feel would hurt him a lot. That is where her panic attacks started because she felt like she betrayed Sam and she felt wrong and ridden with guilt. She didn’t need to be because she did nothing that was wrong based on what was going on, but I could only imagine the other part of me that wouldn’t have felt like I could live with myself knowing I loved the other brother but made love to the other brother. It was complicated.
“He shifted his weight over me and kissed my forehead, nose, then my lips, until I opened my eyes and stared up into a pair of green eyes.
The wrong eyes.
The wrong brother.”
(pg. 274)
That Thanksgiving, it was already known that Percy’s family was selling the cottage because they couldn’t afford it. I thought that they sold the cottage because of what happened, so it was nice that they didn’t give up their cottage because of something that went down but because of external issues.
I really really would have not known what to say if I was Percy that Thanksgiving.
Sam really said let me drop on one knee and ask her to marry me 🥺🙈.
On one hand, the way Sam lead up to the proposal by saying his three updates and then
“You’re my best friend, Percy. Please be my family.”
(pg. 278)
I was like SAM 🥺💙!!!!!!
First you push her away and leave her for the entire summer and then you tell her you love her and want o marry her!!!?!?!??!?!
I mean, I know that they were meant to be together because they were each other’s people, but I just could not with the proposal because I felt like it wasn’t the time. And Sam really needed to build up their relationship or they needed to communicate better because obviously Percy didn’t feel assured in his feelings or this relationship. I felt like the proposal was rushed on his part, but I respected that he wanted to propose because he knew that he loved Percy and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
But my dude, *sigh*. Not the right time.
Also, she slept with the brother and she literally could not tell him that at the time because it was not the time to also be like, “Sorry, I can’t I spelt with your brother. I thought her response to Sam was very mature and kind because she tried to let him down easy and she put some truth in her words about how Sam pushed her away and she can’t trust that he won’t do that again, which I mean, she can’t. They really needed to work on that. But the “we’re too young” part felt like a kind excuse because she knew that Sam was the one, just not the time.
It broke my heart for Sam when his eyes started to water like he genuinely couldn’t understand where Percy was coming from or why she said no. it’s not like she wanted to say no, but she also couldn’t marry him knowing this huge secret between them and also that Sam might change his feelings. I think that was fair of her. I mean, it seemed like he didn’t even fight for her and just expected her to know that he loved her without saying or doing much to make her feel that love.
But what probably made him upset the most besides getting rejected was the fact that after he tried to propose, they friendship bracelet promised that she would come back and that they would take a break for a while.
But then she didn’t come back after that Thanksgiving.
She left—disapeared.
For twelve years.
Knowing what happened in their past made me understand their now perspectives so much more because it had a richness that I could connect to. I also must say that Percy leaving without talking to Sam was her way of hiding so she couldn’t tell Sam the truth and hurt him even more. But I believed at one point she did need to confront those feelings to move on or to be with him because truly, no other guy was like Sam for her and she knew it—-Sam was her person. I’ve said this too many times now, but they were the right people, but wrong time. And I think they did need all this time and space to grow up and focus on themselves to achieve their goals before finding each other again. Because that’s what seemed to come between them—-their goals and ideas for the future. But now they were all grown up and that couldn’t be something they could argue about because they had time apart to be themselves and achieve what they wanted. I also felt like time was good for them because when you spend so much time with a person when you are younger, sometimes you might become so dependent on them or intertwined with who they are that you don’t get time to be by yourself to figure out who you are or grow into who you are mean to be. So time helped them become better people to be better for each other.
Also, there’s the saying that if you love them set them free and if it’s meant to be, they’ll come back to you.
Life has a wild way of working like that.
Charlie called her twelve years later with the news that Sue had recently passed away.
That made my heart sad when we heard the new, but it hurt more as the story continued because we began to understand Percy’s relationship with Sue and what kind of person Sue was. Sue was literally the sweetest, most wholesome person that everyone loved and respected because she treated everyone like her own or their friend. I loved how Charlie asked Percy to be there after all these years because Percy was still family and Sue wanted her there.
You know the part that really made me want to cry my heart out????????
While I’m on the topic, I might as well mention it 😭.
It was at the end where Charlie was talking to Percy after the funeral and after she blacked out, and he was like . . .
“‘She told me to call you,’ he says, serious again. I stop breathing. ‘Before she died. She said he’d need you after.’
I hug him again. ‘Thank you,’ I whisper.”
(pg. 293)
Someone call me a torrential downpour because that was what my eyes were doing 😭!!!!!!!
I mean, my heart.
I just could not.
Because even after all this time passed and knowing the hurt, tension, loss, pain, and heartache that surrounded Percy, Charlie, and Sam, they still had so much love between them, and that was what made me truly feel the magic of this book. Absolutely. Because life is absolutely like that. We can be going through the most heart-wrenching thing and it can bring us so much pain, but from it or through it, we also find so much love and support and sometimes healing from what we are going through. And I could feel that between Percy, Charlie, and Sam.
Also, even though they hadn’t spoken in so many years—-their dynamic naturally changing—-I loved how Sue still knew that Sam needed his best friend and the person he still loved with him when she passed away 🥺. The dad passed away when they were younger and the mom passed away when she was young too, so she knew that it would not be emotionally easy on either of the brothers, but especially Sam who felt every emotion in the most profound way. He didn’t get to know his dad as much and he was still processing the hurt from Percy leaving that the mom—-someone else he loved, leaving—would break him. So she wanted Percy there. There is so much love.
I also loved how we learned that Sue knew the whole time what happened between Charlie and Percy and Percy and Sam—-you know, mother’s intuition. I loved though how there was no judgment or animosity on Sue’s part towards Sam and that she was more angry at Charlie. To be honest, like I said, he was the older one in the situation and I don’t know what his intentions were. But I could understand how Percy could have felt ashamed to also face Sue because she slept with one of her sons—-the wrong song—and broke the other’s son’s heart. I would have felt terrified to face Sue because she was a mother-figure to Percy and Percy knew that it would hurt her to know how Sue felt. She didn’t want Sue to be disappointed in her or look at her differently. But again, there was more love there than anger.
Even after a decade, there was so much love between Sam and Percy than there was hate and anger.
The now perspective of going back and Charlie calling her because of Sue
“‘Did your mom hate me?’ I turn to Sam and watch him puzzle out how to answer. He’s silent for a long moment.
‘No, she didn’t hate you Percy,’ he says finally . . . And, I don’t know, I think she was hurt, too.’ HIs blue eyes fix on me. ‘She loved you. You were family.’ I press my lips together, hard, and tilt my face skyward.
. . .But then Sam speaks again. ‘I don’t, either, by the way.’
‘You don’t what?’ I ask, looking at him.
‘I don’t hate you,’ He says simply.”
(pg. 141)
I appreciated that Sam reassured her about not hating her after all these years because that was one of her big fears coming back. The thing was he could have meant not hating her for not coming back or for anything—-a very cryptic I don’t hate you—-but she needed to hear it so that she knew there wasn’t any animosity between them—-that they both had time to process and somewhat heal. I do think later on this moment means a lot more, but I’ll talk about it later.
But I do think both of them were still very hurt—-wounds that never fully healed and when they saw each other, it started to bleed again.
One of the hard parts was probably seeing each other after all this time and knowing how much they missed out on.
“I hate that he did this alone. Without me.”
(pg. 132)
I loved the perspective and mention of how weird it feels to see someone or a place again after a long time and feel like it’s the same person or place, but have it be this entirely different thing. It’s also weird to think about how much you have grown too and it feels like you have outgrown that place or person until you’re back there. It’s also weird to think about how much time you’ve spent with someone or how well you know them growing up, to feel like you don’t know them anymore even though some part of you instinctively does. It’s such a weird feeling.
As best friends, I feel like it’s more complicated because you naturally always thought you would be part of your best friends big moments—-to grow up and do things together—-but because they had this time apart, they accomplished all these things without each other, and it felt off-putting for Percy to see the person Sam was, knowing it was the person that they always talked about him being—-the person come to fruition. All I could think about when I read this part was how If this were me and my best friend, how off-put I would feel in having missed all those special moments with someone who mattered to me. In some ways, my best friend and I are not as close as we used to be because we both went to different colleges and had different paths. We saw each other less and less, but always had the sporadic text chats, calls, or hang outs. But we tried to keep each other in each other’s lives, but we just didn’t know how when our lives were so different and we were also different. So I did miss some of her accomplishments and her mine, and I’ll be honest it was hard to think about how we were so close for us to feel like we weren’t close at all. I guess growing up just does that though because you focus so much on yourself that it feels like that’s the only thing you have time for that you don’t realize how everyone else is growing around you until you really stop to notice it or make time to be there. Be there for your friends because you really will reflect on all those moments you wished you could have been there to celebrate life with them.
I could o only imagine that Sam felt the same to see Percy all grown up without him having witnessed her growth—probably also wanting to have been there for her the way Percy wished she could have seen Sam grow into the man he was now.
Because Sam was a man now.
A man with a six pack of abs because, of course 😂.
I have to say, Sam as a man felt more confident and assured. Like he knew how hot he was or amazing and that he owned it, which I loved. He just seems to grow into himself.
“‘Living in Barry’s Bay. Driving a truck. You’ve changed, Sam Florek.’ I say solemnly.
‘You’d be surprised by how little I’ve changed, Persephone Fraser,’ he replies with a lopsided grin that sends heat where it should not.”
(pg. 107)
Even if many things change, who they were deep down didn’t. Also, their dynamic didn’t change.
There are just certain people in life who you can spend all this time apart from them and then it feels like no time has passed when you see each other.
The time passed for them because of their tension, but they easily found conversation and affability when reuniting—-a testament to their friendship and love for each other. I loved how they did their three updates game and ate ice cream together like old times. I loved how Sam still licked her ice cream and ordered Moose Tracks and Percy cotton candy. It just felt like good times, nostalgic times, and it reminded me of how adults are just older kids who still have that magic and childish love within them. I could feel it between them. I also loved hearing how Sam did accomplish his dream of becoming a doctor 🥰.
I was SO so SO proud of Sam.
It’s not easy becoming a doctor and knowing that he stayed on his path since he was eighteen was amazing. That’s not to say that everyone needs to stay on the same path since they were eighteen because paths change because people change. I just was proud and happy fro Sam because he was incredibly passionate about becoming a doctor since he was young and that passion still lived within him. I liked hearing how Percy felt proud of Sam, but I also understood what she meant by how it stung that Sam managed to follow his original path. Her path changed since high school, as it does, but I think it was hard to see how Sam had this passion he accomplished and to feel like she didn’t get to see him actually do it because she was there the whole time until she wasn’t. I felt it was also hard for her to feel like her whole life was all these ups and downs of not knowing what she was doing, but Sam had a clear passion and direction that her life wasn’t taking yet.
I freaking COULD NOT when they were on that park bench laughing to themself saying it, “hey, isn’t this easy.” HAHAHA I’m JOKING 😂. I did get big Taylor Swift energy from this book though, not going to lie 😂. Anyway, they were laughing like old times on that bench when freaking Taylor, SAM’S GIRLFRIEND saw them and acted all possessive!!!!!!
BRO, I knew the minute Sam started ignoring these messages on his phone that it was a girlfriend because of course it had to be.
Honestly, my first that thought when Taylor was like “I’lm his girlfriend,” was NOT FOR LONG 🤪.
I mean, she didn’t have a CHANCE 😂.
Not when Percy was here.
Taylor out and Percy in.
And not me LITERALLY LAUGHING TO MYSLEF when Sam told Percy later that he broke up with Taylor that day in the car after they dropped Percy home 😂.
I TOLD YOU.
She was dropped faster than a hot potato.
But darn, she was a lawyer, which I respected. A doctor and a lawyer, ultimate power couple for sure. But also, I didn’t even need a sentence to know that Taylor and Sam had as much chemistry as a wall and a breeze. They had absolutely nothing. It was just a comfortable relationship because Sam wanted to move on, but we all knew he wasn’t going to ever move on from his first true love Percy. I also loved how Sam felt the need to explain how Taylor and him have had an on-and-off relationship, which meant DUH they weren’t actually in love with each other and needed to pull an Elsa and Let It GO.
But I didn’t dislike Taylor because she seemed like a good, kind person, just not the right person.
I loved that scene where Percy and Sam were at the lake again like old times. It must have felt surreal for both of them to be aback there knowing how much had changed. Cue the Lakes and Everything Has Changed 🎶. I freaking loved their banter though and how Sam teased Percy about being too old and out of shape to swim across the lake like old times. But I lived for when Percy got all cramped up and DOCTOR SAM took care of her and basically felt her up 🙈. I mean, DOCTOR SAM came through saving her!!!!
But not Sam actually shaking when he was touching her because he was so enamored and infatuated with how much he loved her and feared loving her this strongly again. I just could not with Sam shaking because a dude doesn’t shake like that unless he has very intense feelings for someone. I bet he didn’t shake for Taylor 😂.
I also loved how Sam was still honest and vulnerable with her because he felt comfortable with Percy.
“It’s a lot having you here. It kind of feels like I’ve been punched in the heart.”
(pg. 90)
I mean gosh darn. No one wants to hear that they leave another person feeling punched in the heart when they see them, but I kept asking myself what the heck happened between them because he still loved her but it just hurt to love her, you know? It made my heart melt with how Sam talked about how he still thought of about Percy over the years. Especially whenever he saw the horror movies, he always wanted to watch them or reach out to her because horror movies were their thing, but it felt wrong to watch horror movies without Percy. It also felt too late or weird to reach out to her. But it was just incredibly sweet how this one thing—-horror movies—-reminded Sam of Percy and their love for each other. It was also sweet how Percy hadn’t watched horror movies without him. because it felt wrong to her too.
What I loved was how Sam collected the horror movies as though he was hoping he would see Percy again and they could watch them together 🥺💙. Like bro really said I’m going to buy these movies for one day!!!!! Or he bought them to feel closer to Percy, either way, I just loved the sentiment. It reminds of the saying how sometimes everyday things can remind you of someone or a memory and it can take you back to that time. Who would have though horror movies? But I loved loved loved the bond they still had.
They watched a horror movie together like old times too and it made my heart want to cry when Sam fell asleep 🥺. That sounds like the dumbest sentence I have ever wrote—-I wanted to cry because he fell asleep 😂—-but I wanted to cry because Sam hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully since probably Percy left, and especially after his mom passed away, so to know he was with Percy and he allowed himself to fall asleep because he felt safe and protected and at peace, had me GUSHING.
I love the part where Character A can’t sleep and then Character B comes and it makes Character A feel more at ease to sleep because they feel safe and at peace. A superior trope I tell you.
I also loved how we also saw Percy start to feel inspired to write again. She hadn’t been writing for the past decade, only editing. But Sam was her muse, her soundboard, but most importantly her inspiration. When she left Sam, she lost her inspiration or her light to write, but seeing him and feeling all these emotions, made her inspired again—-she had her light back. I loved that for her 💙.
I know how difficult it can feel to miss this part of you that you desperately want back but don’t know how to find it again until you do.
” . . .how sometimes I long to write, but I can’t seem to find the courage, or how lonely I feel sometimes.”
(pg. 22)
Sis, sure didn’t feel lonely in that hot and steamy car ride 🤪.
The emotions were for sure on a complete high and after seeing each other after all these years, of course, there was also all this sexual and emotional tension between them. They were in the car on the way to Sue’s funeral, and My GOSH, when Sam started to full body sob, I wanted to full body sob 😭. Someone hold this man!!!!!!
And when Sam started talking about how both his parents passed away when they were young and how he was scared of the same thing because he “hadn’t even started to live yet” (pg. 183), I WAS SOBBING. I wanted to hug Sam because I could understand how he felt, and also how much it meant for him to say those words aloud to someone he trusted and cared about—-like he was living with this fear for the past however many months and needed to release them. What got me too was how he said he hadn’t even started to live yet because I felt like he was referring to Percy in how he never got to make amends with the person he really loved and to live and grow up with her. I loved how Percy was just there for Sam and comforted him just like the way Sue knew Sam would need.
But they went from balling his eyes out to steaming up that car 🙈.
I can’t even imagine how that must have felt for them to do it when they were older, also with all this unsaid conversations still between them. But I think they both needed some sort of release in what they felt, and this was that. I wasn’t mad at it, but they sure went from 0 to a 1000%. So much for Taylor 😂.
But the line that had me chocking was:
“‘I love you,’ he whispers.
‘I know,’ I say.
Hurt eyes move across my face. ‘You broke my heart.’
‘I know that, too.'”
(pg. 186)
SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED 😆.
Dang, Sam really had to go in with that one.
Make her feel real guilty why don’t you, Sam I am 😅. I’m joking.
I know what Sam meant and felt. But my gosh, it hurt to know how hurt he still was.
If I was Percy I would have thrown up and cried in the church bathroom too if I just had sex with my man best friend twelve years on the day of their mom’s funeral and who I left and who’s brother I slept with.
That’s quite a sentence, but I wanted to hug Percy because she was a grown woman and Sam was a grown man and they both wanted to do what they did, and it didn’t make her a bad person. I really liked how her friend Chantal was there for her. I quite wanted to know more about Chantal because we only knew she was Percy’s best friend back home, but I liked how Chantal knew Percy’s past and never judged her for it. She wanted to be there for Percy. Chantal kept Percy grounded, and we all need those people. However, seeing Charlie and Sam at the church was a lot. And hearing Sam talking to older Finn and Jordie (oh my gosh, I loved that we got to see them grow up too!) was the cherry on the anxiety cake. It was wild to overhear how protective Finn and Jordie were of Sam because they knew how much Percy broke his heart and they didn’t want him to fall into a dark place again if he pursued something with her. From a friend point of view, I knew Finn and Jordie were just looking out for Sam and I respected that. But my gosh, I don’t like people talking about me behind my back, so I could only imagine how much more Percy probably didn’t like it. Also, hearing how she was the source of so much darkness for Sam felt like a weight on her chest—-like she was the cause. Percy had a panic attack—-the first in a long time. With everything that had happened in the last few days, I could imagine how overwhelming that had been for her—how terrifyingly constricting on her nerves.
Of course, Sam talked her through her panic attack because he was a doctor, but I loved how even though there was that tension there, he still cared about her well-being.
After the funeral party, they went back to the lake house where Charlie and Sam had a heated conversation. To be honest, this whole weekend, Charlie and Sam had been given each other looks and I kept wondering what kind of silent a** conversation they were having 😆! Like they were definitely hiding something or keeping something in because it seemed like Charlie was always angry at Sam for something or being the same person.
“‘Are you f***ing kidding me, Sam?’ Charlie growls, and I jerk my arm back, knowing a half-full beer onto my lap.
“Sh**.’
‘It’s none of your business, Charlie,’ Sam snaps as I stand, trying to brush the liquid off my dress. But it’s as though they’ve forgotten I’m here.
‘I can’t believe you!’ Charlie bellows. ‘You’re doing the same thing all over again. You’re a [goshdarn] coward.”
(pg. 245)
I mean, why was Charlie so heated?
I felt tension. But here’s the thing, I knew where Charlie was coming from from all the things that happened in the past—-how Sam never appreciated what he had until it was too late and he always ran away when things got hard rather than work through them. Because Sam never appreciated Percy when they were tighter and he took her for granted rather than showing her exactly how much he loved her. And when things got hard, he pushed her away and didn’t fight for her the way Charlie fought for her because he kind of liked her deep down.
I don’t know if Charlie was angry at Sam because Sam had another chance to be with Percy the way Charlie couldn’t’ be and that was where some of his anger came from, or if he was so angry on behalf of Percy because he knew what an amazing person she was and didn’t want her to get hurt again either. Maybe a bit of both.
It was so complicated, but I loved it.
“You drive me crazy, you know that? You always have. . . . And I never laughed with anyone like I laughed with you. I’ve never been friends with anyone like I was with you . . . I tried to forget about you for more than ten years, but I don’t want to try anymore.”
(pg. 249)
Bro, couldn’t have told her that ten years ago?????
They were having another steamy time until Percy stopped them to admit that she slept with the brother—-the ultimate betrayal.
When Sam responded with, “You f***ed Charlie. I apse you how it was.” I WANTED TO SCREAMAMAMAMMAMAMAMAM 😫. Obviously I knew Sam would be furious and muderous, but I felt like Sam was a silent angry person and would have walked away and slammed a door and then hit a wall or something. But the fact that he CUSSED and he asked her how it was like a bitter a** bi***, I was like, OOOOH I didn’t know Sam had it in him 😂!!! I don’t judge or blame his anger because he was going to have a reaction to Percy sleeping with his brother either way, I just didn’t know he would swear or ask her how it was.
What I didn’t expect was that Sam knew all these years and yet he wasn’t angry at her confession to him now, but how Percy never came back sooner. If he knew all these years ago that Charlie and her slept together and he wanted to be with her, I think he should have also tried to reach out to her and made her feel like she could come back because she didn’t know if she could with the tension that was between them when she rejected his proposal and then slept with Charlie (without him knowing). I mean, Percy could have also amended things sooner, but it should have been a mutual effort thing. I understood why Sam was furious Percy left and never came back because he was going to marry her and thought he had a chance when she promised she would come back but didn’t.
So he thought he did something wrong and it hurt more for her to cut him off with no explanation and reason, until Charlie told him. But I mean, if he thought about it from Percy’s perspective, she didn’t go back because she was scared of his reaction and how much it could have ruined them beyond repair so it was easier to just leave and let what they had be rather than it be nothing. But in a sense it did turn to nothing because they let all this time pass. There was hurt there.
But this whole confession also mean that Sam didn’t hate her.
Just like he said earlier.
He didn’t hate her for what she and Charlie did. He still loved her and always loved her, he was hurt, sure from the betrayal and departure. because it broke his heart to watch the woman he loved leave him but he loved her. All these years.
It was never about her sleeping with the brother.
But every summer she didn’t go back.
Every summer after.
I really felt awful for Percy because she tried to run out of that house—-everything was overwhelming and like the walls were pressing in on her from her confession and revelation—-that I really was like who took her car??? A sis was trying to drive the getaway car and didn’t even have an out.
When Percy came to, she told Chantal she still loved Sam, which we all knew. She was settling for shizzy guys in the past because she didn’t believe that she deserved anything good or happiness. But her admission meant that something could work again between them because the love was there.
Through so much anger, loss, and heartache was so much love—-the fact that all of that can coincide and coexist in the same breadth and depth was astounding.
I liked how she had a conversation with Charlie about how that night twelve years ago was his fault and that the mom was more angry at him. He did say he had ulterior motives, which made me feel angry at Charlie because I don’t know if he wanted to hurt Sam because he was jealous of what he had. Or if he was really that messed up to take advantage of Percy in such a way. I wonder if that’s why Charlie had bags under his eyes. Not only from the loss of his mom, but knowing the pain he caused to Sam and Percy’s life—-like he too carried that burden.
Sam and Percy talked on the dock that day.
I smiled to myself reading their conversation, knowing they met on a dock and here they were reconciling and forgiving on a dock.
I loved how Sam talked about how he wasn’t perfect like everyone thought he was. He felt so much expectation to be perfect all the time and it did overwhelm him to have his world expand and to not feel like he was Mr. Perfect anymore, but just any other guy. I also loved how he opened up about how lonely and scared he was during the internship because, like I said, I felt like that was how Sam felt and he just shut everyone out in fear. Because he said his part, Percy did understand now. But I think he also should have said what he just said to her twelve years ago when he was actually going through it, but then again, it’s hard to open up about something you don’t even completely understand when you’re going through it. I know I didn’t.
I also appreciated how he admitted his wrong—-how he knew that he wasn’t clear about his feelings towards Percy and her role in his life. It was big of him to know that part of the reason she didn’t accept his proposal was his own doing.
After Percy left, it really pained me to hear how Sam fell into a really dark place with drinking, partying, and sleeping around because he thought ti was a way to get Percy out of his system or to get back at her for sleeping with his brother. I don’t blame Sam for going through a dark phase because he just got rejected, he was still adjusting to school, and he heard some life-changing news. How else was he supposed to react? He wanted to forget. He was angry. He was hurt. He didn’t know a healthy way to move on. No one teaches you how to move on from a heartbreak. You just have to go through it and survive it.
Then Sam opened up about the part about Delilah.
All these years ago, after Percy left, Delilah called Percy to tell her Sam hit on her, and Percy reacted harshly to Delilah to the point even I was surprised at what she said—she called her the s word. I understood how Percy also lost her other best friend that year. They never talked after that because Delilah knew she didn’t deserve to be called that, and heck no she didn’t.
So hearing Sam talk about that moment with Delilah, made Percy feel even more guilty for the shameful way she reacted to Delilah when Delilah was actually looking out for her and being a good friend. Sam wanted to sleep with Delilah as revenge—like that would make him feel better about what happened. Honestly, it was pretty low of him to hit on Delilah, but I knew where it came from. I also liked how Percy didn’t judge him harshly for it because she knew he was hurting and that was her fault.
“Betrayals don’t cancel each other out. They just hurt more.”
(pg. 298)
True that 👏🏼.
Because trying to hurt someone the way they hurt you, doesn’t hurt them. It only hurts you.
I mean, it does hurt them, but it will hurt you to do what you did and hurt you to see the reaction it received.
It doesn’t make things better.
Sam also talked about how he saw all the emails and messages Percy sent afterwards to try make things better, but he never replied. Then the emails stopped and he felt like she didn’t care anymore. Btu the thing was, she probably did, she just didn’t want to keep trying to the point it felt desperate or like she was bothering him. They both wanted to reach out and say something but didn’t know how.
The fact that they loved each other all this time and had this chance at love again, broke and healed my heart.
Their love was stronger than their hate and anger, and that’s how you. know it’s a 10000000% true love.
I loved how they also found so much forgiveness in the beautiful mess of life.
“I fell in love with you when I was thirteen, and I never stopped. You’re it for me. ” Sam closes his eyes for three long seconds, and when he opens them, they are glittering pools under a starry sky.
“Swear on it?” he asks.
. . . “You can forgive me?” I whisper.
“I forgave you years ago, Percy.”
(pg. 299)
Who’s that sobbing????
Oh, yea ME 😭.
AND THEN THE BRACELET 😭😭.
Someone needs to check me into a crying hospital because my tear ducts be broken 😭.
Not going to lie, I was kind of waiting THE WHOLE NOW PERSPECTIVE for any mention of Sam still wearing the friendship bracelet 🙈.
And holding the bracelet out to the end????????????
What A FANTASTIC MOVE Carley Fortune. I see you.
Break my sentimental heart 😂.
WHY DON’T YOU!!!???
UGH, the friendship bracelet. I love.
The fact that he kept it all these years 🥺💙. Because it meant the world to him. Also, I loved that he kept the Operation game on his bookshelf in his room, and how he still had all of Percy’s writing in a box somewhere, even the autographed version. Keeping all the things Percy gave him, was a sure sign that he valued everything that came from her because he valued her. I LOVE SAM.
Where can I find a person like Sam? Asking for a friend.
And then when they said they wanted to try again and start over, my heart nearly burst with love. I really wanted that for them to—–to navigate their love since they were younger to form into a new love now that they have both grown and worked on themselves.
I loved how they went for a swim just like old times. I am a NOSTALGIC QUEEN. What a moment.
The epilogue was honestly not what I expected, but I loved it 💙.
They spread Sue’s ashes on the lake a year later. I loved how it was the perfect day, the perfect hour, just the way Sue would have wanted. Percy, Charlie, and Sam were there. I love how we learned how Charlie and Sam were still navigating their relationship after the hurt and betrayal, which was very honest because I couldn’t imagine things being easy between them after what happened. But I also hope they they do get to a place of forgiveness and healing because I think that’s what Sue would want for her summer boys. I also liked learning how Sam and Percy were navigating their newfound relatisonhip, which wasn’t easy. Also, such a very authentic feel because being younger and having all this time apart meant relearning who they were now and their dynamic. There was obviously going to be bumps in the road, but I liked that they worked through it.
“We’ve snapped at each other, we’ve flung accusations around, and we’ve yelled, but we’ve both stuck around and cleaned up the mess. We’ve also been friends.”
(pg. 303)
Because they were best friends before they were lovers.
A strong foundation for anything. Marry your best friend.
I teared up when Sam asked if Charlie was ready and Charlie honestly said no. His honesty was refreshing. But they had to be ready and to let go. I felt that pouring the mom’s ashes on the lake was fitting for how much the lake meant to them. I also saw it as a metaphor for all of them letting go of whatever burdens or darkness they had and to start fresh and to lead with love as Sue would have wanted 💙.
I loved how back at the cabin, everyone was there, even Delilah who Percy had called and they fell back into place again. I loved how all this time passed between them too and there was no anger or hate, but love because they both missed each other. Percy was scared to reach out all those years ago, but I think the biggest thing that we can all take away from Every Summer After is to reach out to the people we love even when it’s hard and uncomfortable because sometimes things need to be said in order for you to heal and move on, and sometimes it mends a relationship that was never as broken as you thought it was. It only takes reaching out to know. And that if someone truly loves you, they will find a place to forgive you because that love wins out. I know for me, there were people in my life it was so hard for me to forgive them because of how much they hurt me. But it took years—time—for me to genuinely forgive them and move on. Not forget, but to forgive because that protected my peace. I did so because I felt at the end of the day, I had more love in my heart for them than hurt. And sometimes it’s not alway like that and you feel more hurt but you still forgive them, and that’s okay. You’re feelings are valid. But if a relationship is meant to be, it will find it’s way back to you and feel like no time has passed at all. I also thought Every Summer After was a good reminder that not everyone is perfect. We all have complicated pasts that shape our future and how we move forward despite what happened. Because all the characters had their flaws—not in a negative way—but a human way. I loved that all the characters seemed more real because of their flaws because it made for a wholesome, authentic story with characters who fought for their happiness.
Life is like that too.
Another thing I really valued about Every Summer After was how love can coexist with so much loss and heartache. But that’s the beauty of love and what makes it worth every second.
I got ahead of myself there, but I really loved the ending where Percy planned to propose to Sam.
” . . . There will be popcorn and a movie playing in the background and a ring in an old wooden box with my initials carved on top. It will be made from twisted threads of embroidery floss that match the faded bracelet on my wrist. And I will get down on one knee and ask Sam Florek to be with me. To be my family. Forever.”
(pg. 304)
A perfect set-up for them 💙.
Just like old times.
And she also kept her bracelet 🥺💙.
But she made a friendship RING?!?!?!?!!?? I LOVE 💙.
Friends forever. But also now family forever too.
I kid you not, friends to lovers is the best trope and you can’t tell me I’m wrong.
I mean, what enemy to lover will make you a friendship bracelet and ring!!!!?!?? NONE.
I have literally no comments to make this book better. It was perfection in words. The only thing I would have wanted though was to see more of Percy and Sam’s dynamic in the future because we know they got together, but I wanted to see how they bantered or how they got through those tough moments they talked about. I would read about their life for days to be honest.
Such a perfect summer read, a perfect read in general.
Honestly, what do I do with my life now? 😂
I don’t know.
I’m about to go buy me a cabin in Canada and go sit on the dock and hope a pair of brothers come out of the house next door 😂. I’m joking. I can’t afford that.
I can dream or live vicariously through Percy.
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book?
Have you ever fell in love with your best friend? I would love to hear about it because I am a romantic at heart.
What was your ideal summer as a kid?
Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.
And as always, with love,
Rating
5 Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: Perfectly imperfect with so much heart, joy, history, and depth that it was hard not to understand and love each one of them
Plot: A phenomenal childhood friends-to-lovers of finding a way back to each other after all the hurt, but with all the love still alive between them 💙
Writing: Carley Fortune wrote a stunning debut novel that captured young love and how that love evolved as Percy and Sam grew older. I also loved the Then and Now perspectives as it gave depth to the characters that helped me connect and love their story more. Such a strong, captivating read that will forever have me wishing I had a summer boy that I grew up loving
Romance: Beautifully messy, sweet, but all around real
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