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.

Unfortunately, this book has been my biggest disappointment of the summer. After loving Every Summer After last year, I had high hopes for this new release. However, it ultimately fell flat and didn’t live up to my expectations.

While the setting in Prince Edward Island was charming, I struggled with the characters and writing. The narrator’s voice sounded too young for the 29-year-old Lucy, making the book feel more like YA or middle grade than adult fiction. The writing itself felt a bit pretentious, with unnecessary details and an overall lack of depth.

The relationship between Lucy and Felix is built on lust rather than a genuine connection. It felt immature and based only on physical attraction, with no real emotional depth. Their constant breaking of “rules” from their past didn’t make sense, especially since it was the reason they didn’t get together for so long. The lack of communication and secrecy between Lucy and her best friend, Bridget, was frustrating, and I didn’t appreciate the lack of growth or maturity in their friendship.

The alternating POVs with Felix would have helped, but overall, the plot felt stale and uninspired. It didn’t bring anything new to the romance genre, and I found the characters forgettable. Felix seemed interested in Lucy only for sex, and the whole relationship dynamic didn’t resonate with me.

The book did have some positive moments, like the setting and the references to Anne of Green Gables (though I’m not familiar with the series), but overall, I found it cringey and full of clichés. Bridget’s selfishness made me frustrated, and the story just didn’t feel fresh or exciting.

Overall, this story was not for me. It lacked tension, depth, and compelling characters, leaving it feeling like a forgettable romance.

As the author’s popularity has skyrocketed, especially with the upcoming adaptation of Meet Me at the Lake into a movie, I can’t help but feel she’s falling into the same traps as other contemporary romance writers. The characters are emotionally immature and stunted, the plot is uninspired, and the story is weighed down by overused cliches and tropes. There’s also an abundance of vulgar language, steamy sex scenes, and cultural references that feel forced in an attempt to sound “cool.” The inclusion of modern liberal views and diversity for the sake of being “woke” feels a bit heavy-handed. It’s disappointing, especially since I really enjoyed her first book, but I’m beginning to feel like she may no longer be the right fit for me.