This was a perfect and addictive summer romcom that I couldn't put it down. I read it all in 24 hours as I couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved the island setting and it transported me out of gloomy February. I loved the romance and the chemistry between them.

After loving every summer after I had super high expectations for this one; that I’m not sure were 100% met unfortunately.

Parts of this were fantastic. I loved the friendship and the setting. The meet cute was also lovely. But they were definitely a few things that needed more attention.

My main issue was this had next to no real focal point. The ‘wedding’ storyline goes nowhere until almost 80% into the book, so everything up until this point is about their relatively mundane day-to-day lives.

I also really wish the timeline was written differently as having some chapters start with ‘six days before the wedding’, some as ‘two years earlier’ and some as ‘now’ was really hard to keep up with! I think this would’ve maybe worked better as a ‘June 2018, six years ago’ type format.

I think plenty of readers will adore this, but I couldn’t help but wish for slightly more from it.

Also note to the publisher / Ed’s there’s what I believe is a mistake at the 45% mark. It tells the story of Lucy’s cousin who passed away at the age of 35 then says ‘Lucy’s marriage to a minister was a challenging one, there’s debate over whether she took her own life’ when it’s definitely still talking about Lucy’s cousin!

This is hands down my favourite Carley Fortune book! I’m a sucker for the best friend’s brother trope and this was just perfect.

Lucy (Bee) arrives at Prince Edward Island and meets Felix. Their chemistry is undeniable and they end up spending the night together. It’s pretty hot and the spice is immediate (smut lovers will not be disappointed) but things get a little awkward when she learns Felix is actually her best friend Bridget’s brother, who was warned to stay away from. Despite their promise to keep things friendly, their relationship continues over the next few summers.

This was more than just a romance story, it was a story about friendship and the deep connections we have with people that aren’t family and how sometimes the ‘greatest loves are not always romances’.

I’m such a huge fan of Carley’s writing style, particularly the dual timelines and just how beautifully she describes everything, I felt like I was with Lucy on the Island! Definitely a must read!

Thanks NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with this digital arc.

I absolutely loved Every Summer After, it is still one of my favourite romances of all time, and I also enjoyed Meet Me At The Lake, but - and I feel bad saying it, because I don't want to feel this way - I just didn't connect with the characters in This Summer Will Be Different. I also felt the plot was too dragged out and contrived. There's too many chapters ending with thoughts such as, 'but I promise myself I won't do this again.' It got to the point where I gave up caring what had happened because I felt like I was being dangled along too much. However, I can see from the other reviews that it has been a total hit, so I think if you can overlook some of the obvious tension building, then this book will probably still hit the mark. I would still definitely read anything by Carley Fortune because she is a fabulous writer.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Carley Fortune, you broke my heart with this story and then glued it back together throughout. I laughed, cried, swooned, and didn’t put it down. I loved Every Summer After and remember describing it as ‘utterly breathtaking’ this book is too. It was everything I wanted in a romance with the added bonus of Lucy and Bridget’s friendship that was beautifully explored. I have always been in awe of Carley’s storytelling since her debut, but it is clear that her writing is going from strength to strength, and it was wonderful to see her magic return in this book. This Summer Will be Different is my new favourite.

Read if you enjoy:
-Dual Timeline
-Best friend’s brother
-Second Chance Romance
- Soulmates

Favourite Quotes:
𝑰 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.'

𝑰𝒇 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒙, 𝑰'𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑.𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒔 𝒂 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄.

𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒙, 𝑰 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑰'𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Carley Fortune for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The way I ✨squealed✨ when I’d been approved to read the ARC, what a way to start February off. I inhaled This Summer Will Be Different in one sitting. And I can say with certainty that this is my favourite Carley Fortune book.

.“Fun is underrated. Fun takes a backburner as we grow up. Fun is frivolous. But what’s so wrong with frivolous? Fun, I think, is something most of us need more of. We should cherish fun – it’s not something that’s available to everyone in this world.” Is exactly how Carley put it in the acknowledgments. She wanted to have fun writing this book and for readers to have fun reading it. TSWBD is a fun, albeit angsty (at times) read but the fun is there throughout.

Felix Edgar Clarke forever 🩵

TSWBD is out on 9th May 2024 and I can’t wait to reread already! 🩵 Thank you so so so much to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House + NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review This Summer Will Be Different before it publishes ✨ #ThisSummerWillBeDifferent #NetGalley

The tension, the swoon! This book might now be my fave new Carley Fortune book.

It has brothers best friend, found family, multiple timelines and a slow but beautiful burn. I also really enjoyed how the third act break was done.

Whilst overall this book was about Lucy and Felix, it was also about the love of good friendship, the love of place, belonging and home, the love of found family, and most importantly, the love for yourself.

In her acknowledgements Carley wrote how her word for this book was ‘fun’ and I think she succeeded and I throughly enjoyed every moment of this book.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC.