This Summer Will Be Different
Best friend's brother romance on Prince Edward Island
By Ember · Updated July 2, 2026
This Summer Will Be Different follows Lucy, who visits Prince Edward Island every summer with her best friend. She's been secretly hooking up with her best friend's brother for years, knowing it can't be real relationship without risking the friendship she values most.
Fortune writes forbidden romance with genuine stakes. Lucy isn't being dramatic about the secrecy, she's protecting relationship that matters deeply to her. The best friend doesn't know, and revealing the truth would hurt her and change their dynamic forever.
The PEI setting is lush and specific. Fortune writes the island as escape and haven, the place where Lucy gets to be version of herself that feels most real. The romance requires both characters to decide if what they have is worth risking everything else, and the resolution requires hard conversations rather than magic solutions.
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Quick answer
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune follows Lucy's annual Prince Edward Island visits and secret summer relationship with her best friend's brother. Contemporary romance features best friend's brother romance with genuine secrecy stakes, coastal setting as escape and self-discovery, and emotional choice between safety of secret and risk of honesty.
Best friend's brother romance on Prince Edward Island
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Why readers search for books like This Summer Will Be Different
You want best friend's brother romance that takes the forbidden element seriously. Books where the secret is protecting something real, where revelation would have consequences beyond temporary awkwardness. Stories where characters have genuine reasons for keeping things hidden.
You're drawn to summer romance as escape and self-discovery. Books where returning to the same place annually becomes ritual, where you're different version of yourself on vacation than in regular life. The tension between who you are at home and who you are in the place that feels like real you.
What you're after is the intensity of relationship you can't openly acknowledge. The stolen moments, the awareness that this summer might be the last one, the question of whether something seasonal can become permanent. The choice between safety of secrecy and risk of honesty.
The reader take
Fortune writes forbidden romance without melodrama. Lucy's reasons for secrecy are valid, and the consequences of revelation are taken seriously. The PEI setting is vivid and integral to emotional arc about who you are in different contexts. The romance is intense and the stakes feel real. Satisfying for readers who want actual obstacles.
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Book recommendations
The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
Best friend's brother romance at summer house. Han writes annual summer tradition and forbidden attraction with emotional authenticity.
Every Summer After
by Carley Fortune
Fortune's debut with similar lake house setting and childhood connection. If you love her writing style, read this next.
It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey
City woman in coastal town discovers romance and self. Bailey writes place as life-changing summer romance with stakes.
Beach Read
by Emily Henry
Summer in neighboring beach houses forces proximity and vulnerability. Henry writes escape as both literal and emotional.
The Friend Zone
by Abby Jimenez
Best friend's brother with medical drama adding obstacles. Jimenez writes forbidden attraction and genuine reasons for resistance.
Common questions
Does the best friend find out?
No spoilers, but Fortune doesn't avoid the confrontation. The book addresses the deception and its consequences rather than magically resolving it.
Is Prince Edward Island important to the story?
Yes. Fortune writes PEI with specificity and love. The island setting is integral to the themes about escape, identity, and the version of yourself that feels most real.
How steamy is it?
Moderate heat. There are explicit scenes, but the focus is more on emotional stakes and the forbidden nature of the relationship than physical detail.
Related books like
The Summer I Turned Pretty
A girl spends every summer with two brothers at their beach house
Every Summer After
Childhood friends reunite after six years of silence
It Happened One Summer
A spoiled socialite, a gruff fisherman, and a small town that forces real change
Beach Read
Two writers swap genres for the summer and discover they're each other's plot twist
Common in these genres
Ready for your story? Imagine living it.
Hooking up with your best friend's brother every summer for years, knowing it can't become real without destroying the friendship you need? Ember writes you into that impossible choice. Imagine stolen hours while she's sleeping, his touch meaning everything and nothing, the summer you have to decide if keeping the secret is sustainable or if honesty is worth losing everyone.
Begin your story