Based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel Every Summer After, Prime Video’s Every Year After brings the beloved romance to life with plenty of nostalgia, summer scenery, and emotional baggage. While the series captures the heart of the source material, it didn’t completely hook me the way I expected it to.
With a story centered around first love, second chances, and unresolved feelings, Every Year After has all the ingredients for a compelling romance. However, despite its strong premise, the series often struggles with pacing, making it difficult to stay fully invested throughout the season.
WHAT IS EVERY YEAR AFTER ABOUT?
Every Year After follows Percy and Sam, childhood friends whose close bond blossoms into a romance over several summers spent together at a lakeside retreat. After a devastating falling out, the two spend years apart before circumstances bring them back together.
As the story unfolds through both past and present timelines, we gradually learn what happened between them and whether they can find their way back to each other.
EVERY YEAR AFTER DELIVERS MAJOR THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY VIBES
Fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty will likely find a lot of familiar elements in Every Year After. Both series focus on young love, summer memories, emotional longing, and complicated relationships that span several years.
The lakeside setting creates a dreamy atmosphere, and the dual-timeline storytelling adds mystery as viewers piece together the events that changed Percy and Sam’s relationship forever.
Unfortunately, while the similarities are there, I never found Every Year After quite as engaging. The emotional stakes didn’t hit as hard, and I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I hoped I would be.
THE PACING OF EVERY YEAR AFTER CAN FEEL SLOW
One of my biggest issues with the series was its pacing. Several episodes felt stretched out, and there were moments where the story seemed to linger too long on certain scenes without moving the narrative forward.
The slower approach may work for viewers who enjoy a very gradual romantic buildup, but I found myself occasionally losing interest as the season progressed. Instead of eagerly anticipating the next episode, there were times when I felt the story was dragging. That doesn’t make the series bad, it simply didn’t maintain the momentum needed to keep me fully locked into the story.
FANS OF CARLEY FORTUNE’S NOVEL MAY ENJOY SEEING THE STORY COME TO LIFE
Despite my issues with the pacing, there are still things to appreciate about the adaptation. The series captures the nostalgic tone that made Carley Fortune’s novel so popular and brings the picturesque summer setting to life beautifully.
Viewers who loved Every Summer After may enjoy seeing Percy and Sam’s story unfold on screen, especially the moments that explore their shared history and emotional connection.
THE FINALE ENDS WITH A SHOCKING CLIFFHANGER
If there’s one thing Every Year After gets absolutely right, it’s the ending.
After a season that takes its time building toward answers, the finale delivers a major cliffhanger that leaves viewers with plenty of unanswered questions. Just when it feels like the story is reaching a resolution, the series throws in a surprising twist that changes everything.
Whether you loved or struggled with the season, the ending is likely to leave you curious about what happens next.
WILL THERE BE A SEASON 2 OF EVERY YEAR AFTER?
While Prime Video has not yet officially announced a second season, the finale clearly sets up another chapter in Percy and Sam’s story. Given the massive cliffhanger, it would be surprising if the series didn’t continue exploring the fallout from the final episode’s events.
Fans will likely be eagerly waiting for news about a potential Season 2.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON EVERY YEAR AFTER
Every Year After isn’t a bad adaptation by any means, but it didn’t fully live up to my expectations. While the series offers romance, nostalgia, and beautiful summer scenery, the slow pacing made it difficult for me to stay completely invested in the story.
That said, fans of slow-burn romances and Carley Fortune’s novel may find more to enjoy than I did. And thanks to a dramatic cliffhanger ending, I’ll still be tuning in to see what happens next if Season 2 gets the green light.