Review - - This Summer Will Be Different

This Summer Will Be Different

by Carley Fortune

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Reviewed by Santa

This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won't give into temptation. This summer will be different.

Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.

It’s easier said than done.

Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again.

If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it.

When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.

Santa Says:

The book This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune really is a gem. Felix and Lucy make an explosive connection as soon as they meet on Prince Edward Island. Lucy is planning to meet her friend Bridget there and spend some time at her house. Felix does not know she is his sister Bridget's best friend Lucy ‘Bee’ Ashbey. Bridget’s friendship means too much to Bee. They realize a relationship is out of the question.  

Bee is escaping to Prince Edward Island (PEI) at a crossroads in her life. She quit the corporate world and is trying to figure out her next move. Felix is coming off a breakup with his high school sweetheart. He is as rudderless as Bee is.  

Over the course of five years they become friends. Bee returns to PEI with Bridget over the years to recharge her batteries. She vows to keep Felix at arm's length which is easier said than done. They keep in touch and exchange gifts and books. They even date other people but still find themselves in each other’s arms. They seem to deny that their feelings go any deeper.  

No one is the wiser. Bee comes to love the island and visits every year with her friend Bridget.  She takes over her aunt’s floral business and thrives. Felix and his business partner create vacation cottages on the island and become a great success. 

The true test of their relationship comes when pre-wedding jitters send Bridget to PEI. Bee follows her there. Will this be a catalyst for Bee to pursue her dream of owning her own flower farm? Will Felix and Lucy finally come to declare their love out in the open and live happily ever after? I was rooting for them throughout the book. I think I may have even yelled at them to get on with it! 

I highly recommend this book. Every character added a roundness and real texture to the story. Even PEI was like another character in the book and I think a very important one. Felix calls it home but it becomes Lucy ‘Bee’ Ashbey’s lodestone. Its beauty and simple joys were heartwarming to me. I am adding Prince Edward Island to my bucket list. I think you will, too.