See how the New York Times bestseller This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune hits the Save the Cat! story beats.

Author: Carley Fortune
Publisher: Berkeley Romance/Penguin Random House, copyright 2024
Pages: 520 total pages (ebook edition), story runs from pp. 13-499
Genre: Buddy Love

Looking for a light summertime read? Anne of Green Gables fans and romance lovers alike will enjoy this modern tale of friendship and love, set on picturesque Prince Edward Island and in the city of Toronto. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the latter, but I have yet to see the former. This novel succeeded in putting a trip to the island near the top of my must-travel wish list.

For a book that was just released in May 2024, it’s already garnered almost 15,000 overwhelmingly positive Amazon reviews and is an Editors’ Pick for “Best Books of the Year So Far.” ELLE Magazine wrote of the story, “This Summer Will Be Different is a blissful romance novel, the kind you want to visit and never leave.”

From the Publisher:
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A glorious and tantalizing new escape from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune.

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.
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Check out my take on the Save the Cat! beats below for This Summer Will Be Different:

Opening Image (Prologue/pp. 13-35): Five years ago, Lucy “Bee” Ashby planned to meet her best friend and Toronto roommate, Bridget, on Prince Edward Island, which is where Bridget grew up and where her family still lives. Unfortunately, Bridget missed her flight and can’t get there until the next day.

Lucy, who’d recently resigned from her PR job and was in the midst of a major life change, was left to her own devices. She stopped by a local oyster shack, met an incredibly hot man there named Felix (who could shuck oysters like a pro), and had a fabulously sexy one-night stand with him.

Before Lucy left on this getaway, Bridget told her there were only three rules for their vacation: #1 Eat your weight in oysters, #2 Leave the city behind, and #3 Don’t fall in love with my brother. Guess who that hot man at the oyster shack turned out to be? Oops.

Set-Up (pp. 36-49) Present Day: Lucy can’t seem to do anything that will please her parents, but her mom’s sister, Aunt Stacy, was not only a loving relative but a mentor and life coach. Aunt Stacy owned the Toronto flower shop “In Bloom,” which is where Lucy started working after she left her PR position and, eventually, she took over the business. Lucy is still reeling from the death of her aunt the prior year, and she’s become a workaholic who’s constantly on the go, barely giving herself time to think.

Lucy is also dealing with a host of mixed emotions about Bridget’s upcoming wedding. The two of them are still best friends, but Bridget is no longer Lucy’s roommate, since she now lives with her fiancé Miles, and the big event is only nine days away. Lucy is doing the flowers, planning the bachelorette party, helping with the dress fitting—so much work to do!—and still keeping her involvement with Bridget’s brother to herself.

Felix (nicknamed “Wolf” by his sister) has been an infrequent but potent part of Lucy’s life since they met five years ago. She knows she’ll have to see him at the wedding, but their history is as complicated as it is secret. She can’t face that sticky situation right now, not with everything else that’s going on in her life.

Theme Stated (p. 52 and p. 133): Aunt Stacy’s words of wisdom ring true for both the A Story (Lucy’s self discovery and her relationship with Felix) and the B Story (Lucy and Bridget’s deep friendship). Stacy seems to have a pulse on what Lucy needs to hear. Early in the novel, Lucy’s aunt tells her, “Bridget is your life’s true fairy tale.”

This genuine friendship is critical to Lucy’s happiness. She’s never known someone as supportive and caring as Bridget, who’s more like a sister to her than a mere friend, and Lucy will do anything to preserve the relationship—even avoid Felix, if necessary. But Lucy has also been avoiding herself. Aunt Stacy later remarks, “If there’s one thing I can teach you, Lucy… it’s to live your life fully, to live it for yourself and no one else.”

Lucy desperately needs to find out who she is—independent of other people, even Bridget and Felix—so that she can knowingly choose her own path and move forward.

Catalyst (p. 49): Lucy is getting increasingly worried about Bridget’s lateness for an appointment, when her BFF finally calls. Bridget says she was feeling “homesick” and needed to get away. She’s currently back in Prince Edward Island and wants Lucy to immediately fly out East to join her.

Debate (pp. 49-57): Lucy’s reasons for not wanting to return to the island are multifold: So many responsibilities at the flower shop, way too much work to do before the wedding, and, of course, having to see Felix! However, Lucy will do anything for Bridget, including leaving her work behind… and not falling in love. After a moment of personal panic and internal debate, Lucy agrees to fly out to Charlottetown the next day.

Break into Two (pp. 58-64): On Prince Edward Island and at the airport before heading toward Bridget’s family home, Lucy sees her best friend and knows this is a “rescue mission” of some kind. She also spots Felix waiting by the car and realizes she’s back in his world again.

B Story (pp. 65-71): This is all about Lucy and Bridget’s friendship, particularly how Lucy is trying to show her BFF that she’s there for her in the midst of this pre-wedding crisis. The secrets both of them have kept from each other are well-intentioned—a way to protect the other’s feelings—but lack of disclosure creates unexpected problems.

Fun and Games (pp. 71-245): Using flashbacks from the past over the prior five years, as well as this present-day lead up to Bridget’s wedding, readers get to experience the development of Lucy and Felix’s love story. Lucy discovers that the reason why Bridget hadn’t wanted her to fall in love with her brother is because of his former heartbreak at the hands of a woman who’d also been Bridget’s good friend at the time. Bridget neither wants to see her brother in such pain again, nor does she want to lose another BFF.

Thus, when Lucy and Felix are in the same place at the same time, they do a lot of sneaking around to keep Bridget from discovering the truth. The two of them come up with three rules for their relationship, such that it is: #1 They won’t tell Bridget—what happens on the island, stays on the island, #2 They won’t sleep together again, and #3 Felix reminds Lucy that she’s not allowed to fall in love with him.

Problem is, Felix is pretty lovable. Lucy is prepared to fight her emotions, but she can’t stop her physical attraction to the guy, and vice versa. Despite their best intentions, they sleep together multiple times and can’t quite disguise their flirting. Lucy shares with him her dream of having a farm with flowers and veggies, and feels safe opening up to him this way. They adorably quote lines from author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (i.e., “My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes,” etc.) and make references to “kindred spirits.”

Bridget and various family members and friends all sense that there’s something going on between them, but Lucy and Felix won’t publicly admit to anything.

Midpoint (pp. 245-247): Lucy confesses to Felix that she has a big work contract that she’s on the verge of getting, but he can tell that even when she’s about to succeed it isn’t the kind of “success” she’s excited about. He takes her to a place on the island where she comes across the saying, “I am here now, and everything is okay,” which is a reminder for her to stay in the present and be true to herself. As with Aunt Stacy, when Lucy is with Felix she feels like she’s on the right path. (False Victory)

Bad Guys Close In (pp. 248-344): Again, readers are volleyed between the past and the present where there are problems on multiple levels and with many people. Lucy recounts her sadness and loss when Bridget moved out of their apartment and in with Miles. Then there’s the hurricane that ravaged Prince Edward Island and much of Atlantic Canada. How Felix lost power for weeks and how Bridget’s family home on the island was severely damaged.

Felix’s consequent visit to Toronto was both exciting and difficult for Lucy. He told her to “dream big” with him, but she continues to struggle with that. Her flower shop was ransacked. And, of course, one of the worst things was the death of her beloved aunt.

In the present, it’s now even closer to the wedding, but Bridget still won’t tell Lucy what the big problem is that made her so homesick that she retreated to the island. Felix is competing in an oyster-shucking contest and the ex-girlfriend who broke his heart (and Bridget’s, too, as a friend) is on the scene. To Lucy’s surprise, that woman isn’t the ogre her BFF had led her to believe. Even worse, Bridget seems to have made up with Felix’s ex, while becoming ever more distant from Lucy.

All Is Lost (pp. 344-347): A year ago, Lucy and Felix were secretly together yet again, but she could no longer tamp down her growing feelings toward him. Out of a combination of loyalty toward Bridget and fear that Felix was getting too close to her emotionally, Lucy abruptly leaves the island. She must protect her friendship with Bridget at all costs, but there are worries about her relationship with Felix that linger long after she returns home. She believes she’s lost control of herself, while he hasn’t.

Dark Night of the Soul (pp. 348-359): With only five days before the wedding now, all of these past traumas and fears rise to the surface. Lucy is angry with herself and everyone around her. She argues with Felix, admitting how hurt she was by his easy-come, easy-go attitude with regard to their relationship—at least that’s the way she perceives it. She realizes she doesn’t want to just be another hookup with him, and she finally tells him so.

Break into Three (pp. 359-363): When Felix comes clean with his emotions, too, and they candidly admit to each other that they both want more from this relationship, that it isn’t a casual thing for either of them, everything suddenly changes. Although, of course, there’s still the question of what to do about Bridget.

Finale (pp. 364-485): Felix and Lucy realize there’s a lot they still need to learn about each other. Now’s the time for them to work through all of that dating stuff in the open, and Lucy must—at long last—tell her BFF the truth. When Lucy finally gets Bridget alone, however, her best friend confesses that the reason for her perplexing behavior has to do with her soon-to-be hubby. Miles has gotten a great job offer in Sydney, Australia, and shortly after the wedding, they’re planning to move there for at least two years.

In many ways, this is the biggest breakup of Lucy’s life, even though their friendship isn’t actually in peril. Lucy knows she’ll miss Bridget desperately, and she already feels adrift by the loss. Even though they are no longer roommates in Toronto, the two of them still see each other a lot in person. But this will soon change.

Thankfully, Lucy has at least gained the courage to finally reveal her own big secret. She tells her dear friend that she “really likes” Bridget’s brother. That she and Felix are dating. That there’s kissing involved. And while her BFF finds the kissing part cringey, she’s not worried about losing Lucy’s friendship as a result of that relationship.

Still, Lucy buries herself in her job during the weeks that follow the wedding—still relying on her hectic work life and her relationship with Felix to ignore both her emotions and true desires. Felix knows they’re moving too fast as a couple and halts things. He expresses that she first needs to figure out who she is and what she really wants before they’re able to go forward.

They remain in touch virtually, and it takes a while, but eventually Lucy finally knows what it is she wants: To live on Prince Edward Island with her farmland filled with flowers and a home with Felix. She buys a plot of land on the island, travels there to see him, and begins to put her dreams into action.

Final Image (Epilogue/pp. 486-499): It’s now the following summer and Bridget, with her new baby in tow, returns to the island from Australia for a visit. They’re all overjoyed to be together again, this time in Felix and Lucy’s home, where neither of them need to hide their love for each other… not even from themselves.