'Every Year After' makes these big changes from the Carley Fortune book

Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers for “Every Summer After” and its series adaptation “Every Year After.”

Move over, Cousins Beach, it’s time for summer in Barry’s Bay.

“Every Year After” is now officially streaming, adapting Carley Fortune’s bestselling romance novel “Every Summer After” for the screen. Sadie Soverall plays Percy, a writer who returns to her summer lakeside community after being away for 10 years. She’ll have to confront what happened between her and her childhood best friend and ex-boyfriend, Sam (Matt Cornett), a decade ago.

While many are calling it “The Summer I Turned Pretty” of 2026, “Every Summer After” has some big differences. There may be two brothers and some complicated feelings, but this is more friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance than it is a love triangle. Spare the Team Sam vs. Team Charlie arguments – Charlie has his own love story in a sequel book, “One Golden Summer.”

Here are the big changes book fans can expect in the Amazon Prime series.

More than just Percy and Sam: ‘Every Year After’ adds bigger arcs for side characters

Chantal and Delilah are both friends of Percy’s in the book, but they have much bigger stories to tell in “Every Year After.”

In the book, Chantal is Percy’s best friend in adulthood with a mostly off-page presence. But in the show, Chantal (played by Aurora Perrineau) accompanies Percy to Barry’s Bay. Her storyline is filled with no-nonsense attorney quips, expired passport drama and an incompetent fiancé. She gets flirty with a motel owner Jordie (Joseph Chiu), who eventually makes her realize she deserves more in her love life. 

Book Delilah is Percy’s high school frenemy, bullying Percy one year and coming to Barry’s Bay with her the next. After Percy’s betrayal, Sam hits on Delilah to get revenge. Percy is upset when Delilah tells her this and stops speaking with her. They eventually reunite and reconcile in adulthood. 

But in the show, Delilah is now married and owns the biggest house in town. She’s also having an affair with Charlie. It’s also revealed that she got pregnant as a teenager and had an abortion, and Percy wasn’t there for her when she needed her most. 

Drama at the will reading and a new owner for The Tavern

Sam and Charlie’s mom dies in both the book and the show. Sue’s funeral is the reason Percy is pulled back to Barry’s Bay. 

But in the show, Sue’s will reveals she left The Tavern to Percy, giving her another reason to stay. This causes friction between the brothers and Percy, who still don’t trust her or want her owning their family restaurant. Percy’s not even sure if she wants it.

One key change to the book’s betrayal

The third-act twist in the book reveals that Percy slept with Charlie, cheating on Sam. Away for a pre-college summer program, Sam asks her for a break from constant communication. Percy is distraught and takes comfort in Charlie that summer, eventually sleeping with him. But when they reunite that Thanksgiving, Sam proposes to her. She says no, but can’t bring herself to tell him it’s because she slept with his brother. 

In the show, the lines are a little more clearly drawn. Sam had broken up with Percy over email before she and Charlie got together.

The biggest change, however, is how Sam finds out. In the show, Percy comes clean a decade later after the two make up and confess their feelings for each other. Sam is stunned to find out about her and Charlie. But in the book, Sam is upset but shares that Charlie told him right after it happened. He knew the whole time.

Not quite a happily ever after: ‘Every Year After’ finale tees up Season 2

Like any romance novel, “Every Summer After” comes with a happily ever after guarantee. By the epilogue, Sam and Percy are living together and making plans for the future. 

“Every Year After” ends more ambiguously. Percy has accepted her role as Tavern owner and renovated the restaurant for the next summer. On opening night, she’s washing dishes when Sam finally comes home, smiling at her from the other end of the kitchen. 

But that’s it. No full reconciliation, no dramatic kiss, just a cliffhanger for a possible Season 2. Other storylines end without punctuation, too. Charlie discovers a professionally taken photo of himself from when he was a kid, dropping breadcrumbs for his photographer love interest in “One Golden Summer.” And then he has what appears to be a heart attack.

Showrunner Amy B. Harris told Entertainment Weekly that she envisions five seasons for “Every Year After."

"We have lots more to say both about Percy and Sam's love story, but also about these other characters who hopefully people will come to love as much as they do Percy and Sam,” Harris said.

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].