A Summer Place | Review: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

If I had to pick a book that encapsulated my summer, it would be This Summer Will Be Different. It’s a book I fittingly read while visiting Prince Edward Island, where the book is set, and it’s a book that brought me to joining my first book club. It’s also the first book I read by Carley Fortune that now makes me want to go back and read her backlist.

Lucy and Felix met summers ago on Prince Edward Island. Their first meeting was ignited by an attraction and inexplicable draw that leads into an unforgettable night. That all changes however, when they learn the next morning that Felix is the brother of Lucy’s best friend, Bridget, and that Lucy swore to never fall in love with him. In the summers that pass, Lucy and Felix try to control their feelings for one another for Bridget’s sake and their own hearts as well. Yet, each summer as all three of them grow and change as they get older, it becomes harder to deny what has always been there.

I love everything about this book. It has a dreamy summer vibe to it with Anne of Green Gables undertones. It’s a romance, but it’s also about friendship and life’s bittersweet moments. The flashbacks juxtaposed with the present add on to this nostalgia, while also showing Lucy and Felix’s relationship grow and progress. Their relationship may have started hot and fast, but what is revealed overtime is a vulnerability that the two share and an openness that feels like coming home. It makes the ending even more rewarding because of what they must do before they could be together than just each other’s escape.

Lucy’s friendship with Bridget meanwhile is held dearly with love. While my Capricorn side found it a little too close for comfort at times, I still got it. They are more than just tight knit friends - they’re bonded for life. It’s hard to explain, but when you read it you’ll see it.

I can’t say enough how much Carley Fortune perfectly captures PEI. I have a whole post on Instagram of the places she mentions that I got to visit. If you ever considered visiting PEI, especially after reading this book - you absolutely must! 

Read More

A Different Kind of Romance | Review: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood has been an auto-buy author for me since her first book, The Love Hypothesis. Her romances are mostly set in STEM and sometimes have a standard formula. Lately though, I love how she’s been expanding her range with books like Check & Mate and the paranormal romance Bride. Not in Love is another example of this that leans more into a different genre: erotic romance. 

Rue Siebert is a biotech engineer working in food preservation under the tutelage of Florence Kline. When Florence’s company is about to undergo a hostile takeover, Rue is reunited with Eli Killgore. Rue and Eli met on an online dating site, specifically for seeking intimacy. The takeover is personal for both of them, but neither cannot deny the attraction and connection they share, complicating matters of the mind and heart.

Not in Love is not a romcom. It’s an angsty and mature romance of its kind that’s emotionally raw and lives up to what Ali Hazelwood explains in her Author’s Note. I couldn’t put it down and consider it my favorite of her books so far. I think knowing that this wasn’t a typical romance prepared me for what to expect (or not to expect). 

Rue and Eli have been through some difficult stuff in their lives that have greatly affected them. Intimacy is their way of communicating or expressing all those complicated feelings they have kept within them. To be honest, while the intimate scenes were descriptive, it didn’t feel completely salacious in that they were just spicy scenes. It added another layer to understanding how they felt and why they are both so guarded, but could also trust each other. The scenes showed more than they tell about Rue and Eli, and it is where I thought Ali Hazelwood had significantly changed as a writer. She handles those story beats and character developments well, tied with the corporate takeover, and carries it throughout the entire book. 

I’ve always liked Ali Hazelwood’s books, but this is one I really love because it felt real. It also seems like she’s having more fun and freedom in writing whatever she wants no matter how different, which has made me look forward to what else she has to share.

Read More