SK's Reviews > Every Summer After

"I loved you."
"I know."
"You broke my heart."
"I know that too."

This was a decent read yet, it had its ups and downs. I laughed in some places, cried in others. Loved it in some places, hated in others. I know, it's a bit confusing but hear me out...

The book starts off really well. Giving such perfect relaxing summer vibes. The pacing stays consistent throughout the book- slow. I did not mind that much cause it kept me interested enough. The book somewhere along the middle drifted towards lot of drama. I didn't dread it, but I wasn't a fan of it either. It drag on a bit too much. The books is 70% flashbacks and 30% in the present. I personally would have preferred it to be more in the "now".

The characters are not complex and I find them to be messy. Our FMC- Percy, is our Meredith Grey's version of "pick me. Choose me. Love me." Percy is also a pushover and it's not until the latter half of the book we see her stand up for herself (a little). Even in her thirties, she has a bit of immaturity about herself. "But am such a mess. And he's a doctor." Honestly, that's very unlikable sort of thinking. I can see why that kind of personality would not work for many readers, there were times when she annoyed me but it didn't bother me much.

Sam knows how to be charming but at the same time he knows how to be a jerk. And he doesn't know how to change that about himself. He gives mixed signals but expects Percy to always be there for him. It was so frustrating to read. I did however like this quote from him, "You and me are special. There’s no one else I’d rather spend time with than you. There’s no one else I’d rather talk to than you. And there’s no one else I’d rather kiss than you."

Charles or Charlie, Sam's brother was quite likable and had that sort of flirty nature to him. I did not mind his personality. The only character development in this book was of Delilah. She turned out to be a better friend than I was expecting her to be.

❌ POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILERS❌

The "big" reveal wasn't big. I saw it coming ages ago, and I was immensely disappointed. I loathe the cheating trope and when that was revealed, it immediately took a lot away from the book (in my opinion). And it was brushed away within a few passages. If you're going to be dramatic throughout the book, give me more drama for that as well. If you're still going to be together, give me an apt communication for that. I do hold all three main characters accountable, especially the one who cheated.

If you all can get past all of this, you should give it a shot. Otherwise, you're not missing out on something great.

⚠️Trigger warnings- Cheating, death of a loved one, grief.⚠️