Every Year After Review: A heartbreaking tale of love and loss

I’ve watched plenty of TV series this year, and I have to say that Every Year After has stuck with me. Based on the popular book by Carley Fortune, this show was officially released on Amazon Prime Video on June 10.

The series has received so much love and hate that I feel I’m somewhere in between. Percy is a complicated character whose emotions are raw, as are Sam’s, and you can immediately sense how much they mean to each other. Charlie, Sam’s older brother, also has a lot of depth to him. He isn’t just the flirty guy with a high-paying finance job.

The story takes place in Barry’s Bay, which is such a stunning location. With the lake and the tavern, it gives off very warm vibes and seems like the kind of place where viewers would want to be. Every Year After, which slightly differs from the book title, Every Summer After, has eight impactful episodes. Here’s my honest review of the series.

Rundown of Every Year After – What You Need to Know:

Starring: Sadie Soverall, Matt Cornett, Michael Bradway, Abigail Cowen, Aurora Perrineau, and Joseph Chiu
Based on: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Episodes: 8
Developed by: Amy B. Harris and Leila Gerstein.

What is Every Year After About?

In this story, we follow Persephone Fraser, nicknamed Percy by her loved ones. She and her family moves to Barry’s Bay after purchasing a home. While enjoying some time at the lake, she meets the Florek brothers, Sam and Charlie.

Charlie is the more outgoing of the pair and two years older than Sam, but Percy immediately hits it off with Sam. They become friends and, somewhere through the summer during their adolescent years, they become more than just that.

However, their relationship isn’t easy, as it comes with doubts, heartbreak, and indecision. When they finally grow older, they end up back in their familiar place. But with Percy holding a huge secret that made her leave in the first place, is she able to move past the guilt and repair their relationship?

What I Loved About It:

The show manages to capture the same vibe as the book. I loved the small-town feel, and the setting fit perfectly with the aesthetic. I also enjoyed how we got to see the most important places that defined Sam, Percy, and Charlie’s lives.

The friendship storylines are solid. I like a series which has both strong romances and friendships and with Every Year After it definitely hits. Like I loved seeing how much Jordie was there for Delilah during her struggles as well as the dynamic between Percy and Chantal during the season. I hope it continues throughout the next season too.

I loved the music choices. From Twilight Zone by Ariana Grande to Jealous by Nick Jonas, the series knew exactly when to use them. I don’t know what’s in the water, but Amazon Prime knows what they are doing, especially after the effortless song choices in The Summer I Turned Pretty as well.

The pacing was great. I loved that the series didn’t feel dragged. Each scene held its own significance, and I never got bored.

What I Didn’t Like:

The chemistry between Sam and Percy. In the book, the pair share a really strong bond, but that didn’t translate well in the show. Like when both of them were taking a trip down memory lane, it felt as though they were very uncomfortable with each other. I expected more tension too, but that wasn’t there.

I felt it fell a bit flat in terms of Sadie Soverall’s portrayal of Percy during her emotional scenes. For a character who is torn apart by her mistakes and is seeing the love of her life after 10 years, it didn’t pull at my heartstrings. I found it slightly more emotionally on Sam’s side, who is played by Matt Cornett.

Disappointing character progression for Sam. I felt slightly disappointed that Sam didn’t grow as much from when he was younger to when he was older. He seemed to become more angry, but I thought at that point he would have matured more and forgiven Percy for her mistake. Also, he should have been a bit more obsessed with her.

I was also confused about the actors playing teenagers. There are a lot of time jumps in Every Year After, as it doesn’t follow a chronological order. We see the younger actors and then their older versions, as well as them as teenagers. It just didn’t feel believable, especially with them playing 15-year-olds.

Overall Thoughts:

Sadly, I’d give Every Year After a 3 out of 5 rating. There were elements I enjoyed. But the relationship between Sam and Percy, which is the most important part of the story, had felt like a let-down.

Would I recommend this show? I would. It’s a feel-good romance for anyone who hasn’t read the book, and it isn’t overly disappointing for those who have, even with the minor plot changes.

And now that the second book is being labelled about Charlie, and with the show already having a cliffhanger between Percy and Sam, it would be great to see how they overcome their struggles in the next chapter, too.