Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Summary

Every Summer After is a contemporary romance novel that follows a story of love, loss, and second chances set in a lakeside town in rural Ontario. The book uses alternating timelines between past and present, exploring a deeply emotional summer romance and its lasting impact years later. Carley Fortune's debut novel combines nostalgia, heartbreak, and the bittersweet feeling of first love against the backdrop of cottage country summers.

Carley Fortune is a Canadian author and former award-winning journalist who spent 15 years working as an editor at major publications including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Toronto Life. She left her position as Executive Editor at Refinery29 Canada in 2021 to pursue fiction writing full-time. Her debut novel Every Summer After launched her as a #1 New York Times bestselling author, with her books now selling over three million copies worldwide.

Every Summer After is perfect for readers who love contemporary romance with emotional depth, slow-burn relationships, and nostalgic summer settings. Fans of dual timeline narratives, second-chance romances, and stories that explore the complexity of first love will find this book compelling. BookTok enthusiasts, beach read lovers, and those seeking heartfelt character-driven fiction with authentic Canadian settings will particularly enjoy Fortune's debut.

Every Summer After is widely considered worth reading, having stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 13 weeks and becoming a word-of-mouth sensation. The novel offers genuine emotional depth beyond typical beach reads, combining beautiful prose with complex characters and a poignant exploration of lasting love. Readers praise Fortune's ability to capture the bittersweet nostalgia of summer romance while delivering an engaging, heart-wrenching story that resonates long after the final page.

Every Summer After is set in Barry's Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario where Carley Fortune herself spent her childhood summers. The authentic cottage country setting provides a cozy, nostalgic backdrop that feels both intimate and immersive. Fortune's personal connection to this location infuses the novel with genuine warmth and detailed descriptions of lakeside life that transport readers to the heart of Canadian cottage country.

Every Summer After employs alternating "now and then" timelines to tell its story, similar to the structure Fortune later used in her second novel Meet Me at the Lake. This narrative technique allows readers to experience both the passionate summer romance of the past and its complicated present-day reunion. The dual timeline structure creates tension and emotional depth as the story reveals how past events shaped the characters' present circumstances.

Every Summer After became a bestseller through organic word-of-mouth rather than immediate debut success, which is rare in publishing. The book exploded after six weeks of steady reader recommendations, climbing onto the New York Times bestseller list and remaining there for 13 weeks. Its success on BookTok, authentic emotional resonance, and Fortune's background as a skilled journalist who had studied contemporary romance for two years contributed to its widespread appeal.

Every Summer After distinguishes itself through Carley Fortune's journalistic background and her intentional study of contemporary romance before writing her debut. Fortune read over 90 romance novels in 2020 with an "editor's brain," analyzing what made the genre work before crafting her own story. The result combines professional storytelling craft with genuine emotional authenticity, avoiding formulaic plots while honoring romance conventions. Her use of a real, personally meaningful Canadian setting adds distinctive regional flavor often missing in the genre.

Carley Fortune left her executive editor position at Refinery29 Canada in 2021 after 15 years in journalism, following a distressing work phone call that pushed her to her breaking point. Burnt out and frustrated, she decided to channel her creative energy into her own project rather than working for employers. Having immersed herself in young adult and contemporary romance novels, reading over 90 books in 2020, Fortune felt naturally prepared to write Every Summer After.

After Every Summer After, Carley Fortune published Meet Me at the Lake in 2023, which became a #1 bestseller and was optioned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's production company for Netflix. She followed with This Summer Will Be Different in 2024, set in Prince Edward Island, which led Canadian fiction bestseller lists. Her fourth novel, One Golden Summer, was published in 2025, returning to the Barry's Bay setting of her debut. Fortune maintains a prolific pace of one book per year.

Every Summer After is an adult contemporary romance novel that contains mature themes and romantic content typical of the genre. While not explicitly detailed in available information, Carley Fortune's work is characterized as "sexy" beach reads with emotional depth, suggesting content more suitable for adult readers. The novel explores complex adult relationships, second chances, and the lasting impact of first love, themes that resonate most with mature audiences seeking substantive romantic fiction.

Every Summer After shares thematic similarities with Fortune's later works, including nostalgic summer settings, emotionally complex romances, and dual timeline structures. While Every Summer After and One Golden Summer both return to Barry's Bay, her other novels explore different Canadian locations—Meet Me at the Lake is set partially in Toronto, and This Summer Will Be Different takes place in Prince Edward Island. All her books maintain Fortune's signature blend of heartfelt romance, genuine emotion, and the warm nostalgia of summer settings that made her debut successful.