The Best Carley Fortune Books: All 5 of Her Novels, Ranked

a collage of book covers by carley fortune featuring couples in the summertime including every year after meet me at the lake and more — (Image credit: Berkley Books)

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Her Books, Ranked
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The season of Carley Fortune is upon us. The romance author has been making us weak in the knees with her relatable tales of yearning, heartbreak, and passion since 2022, when she burst onto the literary scene with Every Summer After. Since then, she’s churned out four more hits, with each one successfully sweeping us away into her nostalgic, sunshine-filled worlds.

“I think that my storytelling style really lends itself to summer reading, whether you’re on vacation or not, when you want to curl up with a book and escape,” Fortune explained to TODAY in 2024. “That’s really what I want my books to be—an escape for the reader.”

Make that books and TV shows. This summer will see the writer's debut getting the Prime Video treatment, while Netflix has scooped up This Summer Will Be Different.

Every Carley Fortune Books, Ranked

5. 'Meet Me at the Lake' (2023)

Fern and Will’s love story isn’t exactly textbook. They’re both dating other people when they meet, for one. They won’t meet again for another 10 years, another. Almost everything about their would-be romance is messy, flawed, and improbable—which is exactly what made this book among Fortune's most divisive. While some will praise its complex characters, others will be left cold.

4. 'Our Perfect Storm' (2026)

Frankie and George have always had a special relationship: It’s why he’s the best man at her wedding. Only Frankie’s fiancé has just called things off. And naturally, there’s only one thing left to do: Go on her honeymoon in Tofino, British Columbia...with George. As the newest addition to Fortune’s literary arsenal, Our Perfect Storm, released on May 6, 2026, does the novelist’s legacy proud. (We were pretty much hooked from the moment we published this banter-filled excerpt.) That said, it’s got some seriously stiff competition ahead for the Fortune romance crown.

3. 'This Summer Will Be Different' (2024)

There are three people you don’t want to fall in love with: your boss, your friend or sibling's ex, and your BFF’s brother. Unfortunately for Lucy, she’s found herself in one of those aforementioned risky situations: She can’t seem to stay away from her bestie Bridget’s strikingly handsome younger brother Felix. Sure, their star-crossed lovers trope is a little played out at times, but we’re not complaining—who doesn’t love a romance set across several summers on the picturesque Prince Edward Island? What's more: Fortune has called it her “steamiest book yet.”

2. 'Every Summer After' (2022)

For some people, first love is just a passing milestone. For others, like our heroine Percy, it’s a life-defining experience against which all other prospects will forever be measured. Which is a real problem, since Lucy has resigned herself to keeping mum about the terrible reason it didn’t work out between her and Sam all those years ago. Told in flashbacks and in the present, Every Summer After is sweet without being saccharine, nostalgic, and highly entertaining—it really is that book.

1 'One Golden Summer' (2025)

Fortune returned to Barry’s Bay in Ontario, A.K.A. the scene of her romantic Every Summer After crimes, for One Golden Summer. Not only is this among her most popular books on Goodreads with 4.28 stars, but fans reportedly devoured its nearly 400 pages—some claim in a single night. It’s centered on Charlie, Every Summer After character Sam’s wise-cracking older brother, and Alice, a photographer who’s looking to recapture the magic of her youth. Both are full of feel-good banter, with some even citing Charlie as “the blueprint” after reading how their story plays out.

author Carley Fortune wears a printed purple red and yellow dress smiling as she poses on the red carpet — Carly Fortune has sold more than four million books worldwide.

How to read Carley Fortune's books in order

The order in which you read Fortune's books will depend on your personal preference. The only two we suggest you definitely read one after the other are Every Summer After and One Golden Summer, given the connections between the two.

However, to get a sense of Fortune's style, we suggest you start with Every Summer After, regardless, since it solidified her style of crafting the perfect beach read. From there, you can dive into any of novels—or you could also read them in chronological order of their release, as Every Summer After was her debut. To do so, you would read them as follows:

a young man holds a young woman's face in his hands and smiles looking into her eyes in a still from the carley fortune adaptation every year after — Matt Cornett and Sadie Soverall bring Sam and Percy to life in Prime Video's *Every Year After* series.

Which Carley Fortune books have adaptations are in the works?

Three out of Fortune’s five novels have been slated to receive the Hollywood treatment. At the rate she’s going, it's possible the other two won’t be far behind. (Shout out to authors like her and Emily Henry for keeping the rom-com alive!)

First up, Every Year After, the retitled TV series adaptation of Every Summer After. It premieres on Prime Video on June 10, 2026, starring fresh face Sadie Soverall, Matt Cornett (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), Elisha Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door), and Michael Bradway (Chicago Fire).

"There are lots of changes and little characters get their own new storylines," Fortune, who executive-produced the series alongside showrunner Amy B. Harris (The Carrie Diaries, Gossip Girl), told PEOPLE. "I'm so happy with how it turned out…I'm a true fan of the show."

Fortune’s third book, This Summer Will Be Different, will also be adapted into a series by Netflix. “I’m thrilled to...transport audiences to the glittering shores and windswept beaches of [Prince Edward Island],” she said in a statement when the project was announced in March 2026.

Like Every Year After, the novelist will also serve as an executive producer on the project, with Canadian creators Dane Clark (One More Time, Suze) and Linsey Stewart (Working Moms, North of North, Suze) also on board.

Eventually, a Carley Fortune movie will also hit our screens. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Productions are at the helm of bringing Meet Me at the Lake to life. "That is moving along really nicely behind the scenes," Fortune assured Swooon in June 2025. "There’s a beautiful script."

Why Trust Us

New favorite author? There’s a good chance they’re already on our radar. From a writer’s first signs of success on #Booktok (and beyond), we’ve got our ears to the ground (and our noses in their books). Want sneak peeks of their soon-to-be best-sellers? Got ‘em. Full catalog rankings galore? Yep. All the scoop on the inevitable adaptations? Most definitely. In short? We’re the book people—reading’s kind of what we do.

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