Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Summer Fiction
Ideal For: Readers who crave beach-read bliss with emotional depth, tender second chances, sun-soaked escape, and characters who feel alive long after the last page. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Katherine Center, and the specific ache of stories where summer becomes the turning point of a life.
Carley Fortune has a talent — almost a signature — for writing love stories that feel like memories you wish you had lived. With This Summer Will Be Different, she once again builds a world of warm lakes, small-town magic, yearning glances, and that delicious quiet tension that makes you read paragraphs twice just to feel them again.
This is a story that radiates sunshine, saltwater, and tenderness. It’s romantic, quietly wise, and irresistibly escapist. And yet, beneath the soft nostalgia, Fortune explores deeper questions about guilt, renewal, forgiveness, and what it means to rewrite the stories we tell ourselves.
This novel is more than a summer romance — it’s a love story about timing, courage, messy truths, and the healing that comes when you finally let yourself want something wholeheartedly.
Plot Summary (Spoiler-Free)
Lucy is practical, careful, and painfully conflict-averse — a woman who keeps her life tidy and her emotions heavily policed. Every summer, she spends a blissful week on Prince Edward Island with her best friend Bridget, a tradition so sacred it feels like home.
But everything changes the night Lucy breaks the only rule she and Bridget have ever had: don’t hook up with Bridget’s brother, Felix.
The chemistry Lucy and Felix share is immediate, undeniable, and inconvenient. Instead of brushing off the moment as a drunken, silly lapse in judgment, Lucy cannot stop thinking about him. Felix, charming but grounded, isn’t looking for a fling — and Lucy, haunted by her own fears and failures, pushes away the possibility of something real.
The novel follows two timelines:
Last Summer, where Lucy and Felix’s attraction sparks into something intoxicating, and This Summer, where Lucy returns, determined to pretend nothing happened — only to find that everything has changed.
As the story unfolds, fortune navigates friendship ruptures, family secrets, romantic longing, and the painful beauty of confronting a version of yourself you no longer wish to be.
Tone & Writing: Poetic, Summery, and Effortlessly Emotional
Carley Fortune’s prose is warm without being saccharine, emotional without being overwrought. She writes with a breezy intimacy — the kind that makes you feel like you’re having a heart-to-heart on a porch at sunset, iced drink in hand.
Her pacing is impeccable. The flashbacks bloom slowly, revealing just enough to keep the tension taut without ever frustrating the reader. The modern timeline is grounded and mature, full of the quiet ache of unresolved things.
Fortune is the queen of atmosphere. Prince Edward Island becomes a character — sandy roads, lilac-scented air, gentle waves hitting rocks, crowded summer markets, and the hush of night when everything feels possible. She captures that specific magic of seasonal towns where life feels suspended and real world rules don’t quite apply.
And emotionally?
Fortune hits every note. The internal monologues feel honest, the dialogue sparkles, and the romantic beats hum with electricity.
The Romance: Tender, Tense, Slow-Burn Perfection
Lucy and Felix have the kind of chemistry that hums below the surface — warm, quiet, constant. It’s not a whirlwind; it’s gravitational.
Felix is a standout romantic lead: gentle, steady, funny, and patient — a man who listens more than he speaks, who takes care rather than takes over. He sees Lucy fully, even the parts she hides, and that simple emotional safety is what makes the romance feel so profound.
Lucy’s attraction is intertwined with her fear of ruining her friendship with Bridget — a conflict that feels real and deeply human. The tension between desire and loyalty adds emotional stakes to the story that elevate it beyond typical summer romance tropes.
Their scenes together are… perfect: filled with longing, softness, hesitations, inside jokes, and the kind of intimacy you feel in your chest.
If you’re a sucker for:
- slow burn forbidden-but-not-toxic chemistry
- “I see you, even the parts you fear” kind of love
- summer nights where the whole world feels alive
…you will fall head over heels for Lucy and Felix.
Themes That Make This Novel Shine
1. Reinvention Without Running Away
Lucy’s arc is beautifully written. She is a woman who has made safety her default setting — emotionally, professionally, socially. Her journey is about choosing courage over comfort, authenticity over appeasement.
2. The Messiness of Female Friendship
Bridget and Lucy’s friendship takes center stage just as much as the romance. The novel explores the fear of disappointing someone you love, the tenderness of shared history, and the grief of growing apart. It’s nuanced, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest.
3. The Power of Coming Home
Prince Edward Island represents sanctuary, memory, and a simpler version of life. Fortune captures the nostalgia of returning to a place where your past selves still linger in the corners.
4. Permission to Want More
Lucy’s internal conflict is relatable:
Is it selfish to want something more? Something big? Something mine?
Fortune answers gently: wanting more is not betrayal — it’s growth.
Character Depth: Imperfect, Real, and Memorable
Lucy isn’t the typical romance heroine. She’s self-protective, anxious, and prone to avoidance. But her vulnerability makes her real. She’s a woman learning to live more bravely, one uncomfortable step at a time.
Felix is one of Fortune’s best-written romantic heroes — grounded, kind, emotionally intelligent, and quietly magnetic. He never pushes Lucy, only invites her to step closer.
Bridget adds emotional complexity — funny, loyal, stubborn, and hurting in ways neither she nor Lucy expected.
Every side character feels purposeful, adding warmth and community.
Pacing & Structure: Dual Timelines Done Right
The “Last Summer / This Summer” structure is addictive. Fortune reveals the origin of Lucy and Felix’s connection in just the right increments, intercut with present-day tension where they are trying (and failing) to act normal.
The back-and-forth gives the story emotional layering. You watch something bloom just as you watch its consequences unfold. It’s a masterclass in romantic pacing.
Why It Earns Five Stars
Because it captures the full spectrum of summer: heat, heartbreak, sweetness, mistakes, and hope.
Fortune has written a novel that is both escapist and emotionally resonant — a rare combination.
Here’s what makes it a standout:
The atmosphere is immersive enough to feel like a getaway. The romance is slow-burn magic. The emotional arcs are realistic and meaningful. The writing is elegant, warm, and deeply felt. The ending lands with satisfying clarity and full-hearted joy.
It’s a book you could read on a beach in one sitting or savor slowly over late-summer evenings. Either way, it will stay with you.
Final Thoughts: A Tender, Sunlit Masterpiece
This Summer Will Be Different is Carley Fortune at her most assured — lush, heartfelt, romantic, and emotionally alive. It’s a book about the moments that shape us, the summers that soften us, and the choices that finally let us become who we’re meant to be.
If you want a novel that feels like warm skin, crashing waves, soft laughter, and forgiveness — this is it.
