Book Review: This Summer Will Be Different

I have been looking forward to reading Carley Fortune’s newest book, This Summer Will Be Different, since she dropped the news about it months ago. I loved her first two books, Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake so I knew I’d like this one. As it turns out I think it’s my favorite Carley Fortune book so far!

The novel takes place over the course of 5 years and follows Lucy Ashby and Felix Clark. Five years ago, Lucy goes from Toronto to Prince Edward Island to visit her best friend, Bridget’s, hometown. Bridget, her best friend and roommate, missed the flight and would be coming the next day leaving Lucy a day to fend for herself. Bridget gave her 3 rules to spending time on the magical PEI – 1) Eat your weight in oysters. 2) Leave the city behind. 3) Don’t fall in love with my brother.

On that first day, Lucy meets Felix while she’s out to lunch and he is at the restaurant shucking oysters. The two flirt and hit it off and end up hooking up only to realize the next morning that Felix is Bridget’s brother! In case you’re wondering how they wouldn’t realize considering Lucy was from out of town and they knew each other’s names – Bridget calls both Lucy and her brother by nicknames so they really did not make the connection.

What follows is Lucy and Felix deciding that this can’t happen again and Bridget can never know. But, the two get along so well and have such an attraction and genuine connection that every time Lucy comes to visit, it is almost impossible for them to stay away from each other and having a secret rendezvous. Now, Bridget is engaged to be married, Lucy – a professional florist is handling all the flowers, but her best friend seems to be going through something and flees back home to PEI just a week before the wedding claiming homesickness. She beckons for Lucy to come and spend time with her up there until the wedding. Ever the best friend, Lucy goes and she swears that this time it will be different and she and Felix will not get together.

I loved this book so much! This was the perfect “right person wrong time” friends to lovers romance that had the longing in it, but wasn’t too angsty. Sometimes I love angst, but a lot of times I just can’t handle the extra emotional damage lol. I loved both Lucy and Felix and their friendship and relationship over the years. Bridget not wanting to talk about what was bothering her dragged on quite a bit and started to get a little annoying, but it’s what drives Lucy and Felix back together to try to figure out what was going on so I can’t complain too much. And I’d much rather a slightly annoying minor character to the main characters obviously! This book makes me want to visit PEI!

Read this if you want a spicy contemporary romance with the right person wrong time, friends to lovers tropes. I suppose it also fits the forbidden romance trope since they were hiding it from their best friend/sister!

*This post contains affiliate links.*