This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me start by saying it’s nothing short of an injustice that this book doesn’t have a solid five-star rating on Goodreads. This Summer Will Be Different is, without a doubt, the best romance I’ve read in a while. And while it is a beach read, I was so emotionally invested in these characters that it felt like so much more than just two clueless people bumbling through a summer rom-com.

Normally, I have a hard time with books that span multiple years—mostly because they tend to start way too young. No offense, but when I pick up adult fiction, I want to read about adults, not thirteen-year-olds. This book threads that needle beautifully, covering five years but starting when Lucy is twenty-four. We still get to see her and Felix transition through adulthood (frontal lobe development much?), so we get that deep character arc without trudging through ten years of adolescence. Also, their chemistry? Off the charts. Somehow, Carley managed to pull off a love-at-first-sight (or, well, lust) romance without making it feel tacky or unearned. They simply fit—flawed, messy, and real.

I also adored Lucy and Bridget’s friendship. It’s one of the most accurate depictions of best friends in their 20s that I’ve read. Your 20s are weird—full of career changes, family grief, new apartments, new boyfriends. And sometimes, whether you mean to or not, you start drifting from the people who once felt like your whole world. But despite all that, Lucy and Bridget fight to stay close, and their bond proves to be unbreakable (even after some serious emotional whiplash). I thought Carley did a stellar job balancing this B plot with the A plot of Felix and Lucy’s romance and intertwined them really nicely at the end.

If I had one small critique, it’s that the infamous “third rule” (a.k.a. don’t fall in love with my brother) should’ve been explained earlier. At first, it just kind of hangs there, feeling a little flimsy and cliche—when in reality, there’s a solid reason behind it! But that’s a minor gripe. I promise you, this book is not tacky. In fact, I was so hooked that I brought it to the treadmill because I physically couldn’t put it down. And, really, that should tell you everything you need to know.