Romance series are all the rage right now — especially those book-to-screen adaptations — with temperature-raising shows like Off Campus hitting the 2026 TV schedule this year following hits like Heated Rivalry and The Summer I Turned Pretty. A new one is now available, as Every Year After can be streamed with a Prime Video subscription, and a lot of critics are mentioning Belly’s love triangle with the Fisher brothers.
The Carley Fortune adaptation tells the story of Persephone “Percy” Fraser and Sam Florek, childhood friends who fall in love but then split after a devastating betrayal. Ten years later, they reconnect when Percy returns to the lake town where they spent their summers growing up. Summering together on the water, you say? Yeah, that sounds like The Summer I Turned Pretty, but in her Every Year After review, Lissete Lanuza Sáenz of Fangirlish says that while there are two brothers and a summer romance, the new series stands on its own merits. The critic says:
Every Year After is the kind of summer romance adaptation that will captivate you, whether you are here for the tropes the show is centered on or not. It might be the magic of Barry’s Bay. It might be that Persephone Fraser, ridiculous name and all, is one of the most relatable romance heroines we’ve had in a while. ... Either way, whether you’re here for complex family dynamics, great friendships or a romance that will grab you, even when you don’t want it to, Every Year After is the kind of show you won’t be able to stop watching once you press play.
Meredith Loftus of Collider rates the series 7 out of 10, agreeing that the comparisons to be made between Every Year After and TSITP are surface-level, with the Carley Fortune adaptation distinguishing itself with its dual timeline and coming-of-age stories. That means the lead actors have to be dialed in, and move over Belly and Conrad (or Jeremiah), because Sadie Soverall and Matt Cornett are firing on all cylinders. Loftus writes:
Romance lives and dies by its leads, and Every Year After is no exception, as Soverall and Cornett have the tricky task of portraying both young love and a second chance with one's soulmate. Not only do the two have palpable chemistry, but they also capture longing effortlessly. A look from either actor says everything without the necessity to utter a line of dialogue, and the co-stars can switch from playful flirtation to heavy tension with ease. Simply put, they understood the assignment.
Sarah Dempster of The Guardian gives it 3 out of 5 stars and writes that much of Every Year After consists of bare-chested hunks celebrating their “hunkery.” The series is difficult to resist, the critic says, and I am not dismayed by her description of the Prime Video show as “sweet, irresistible trash.” Dempster continues:
Much handwringing doth ensue, and while the fondant-y soundtrack does its best to distract us from the realisation that this is essentially The Summer I Turned Pretty in big girl pants, questions bob like buoys – and, indeed, boys – around Percy’s shapely ankles. Will she exercise caution in her dealings with the suspiciously well-adjusted Sam? Will old rifts be healed and new engagements forged?
Not every critic is swooning as hard as those above, however. Angie Han of THR says Every Year After proves that recapturing the magic of The Summer I Turned Pretty is easier said than done. Rather than selling us a romantic fantasy, the series drowns in its own heartbreak, Han says:
Saddled with half-baked clichés and some truly groanworthy attempts at profundity (‘All I wanted was to be a cardiologist so I could fix people’s hearts, but after all the studying, I finally realized that you can’t really save someone from heartbreak,’ says Sam, who is an adult man), neither Soverall nor Cornett are able to muster up any convincing semblance of a personality, much less any sparks compelling enough to make us yearn right alongside them.
Mariah Eakin of The Wrap admits Every Year After will almost certainly be a hit for the streamer, in part because of the familiar and beloved story of a high-schooler palling around with two floppy-haired brothers on summer vacation. However, the series feels uninspired, with a predictable story whose dual timelines are more confusing than novel. Eakin concludes:
Metrics-wise, Every Year After will probably succeed despite all its flaws. Just look at the book’s existing audience, the push Prime Video is putting behind its release and viewers’ overall love of on-screen love at the moment. That doesn’t mean it should, though. Audiences deserve meatier stories. They deserve hotter sex, more interesting characters, and twists you’re not able to suss out from first allusion. Just because romance audiences will watch something doesn’t mean they should have to. They deserve more.
While the reviews are not unanimous, it seems that more critics are enjoying Every Year After than not, giving it a collective 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. All eight episodes of Season 1 are available to stream now on Prime Video, whether you’re a fan of Carley Fortune and want to see what changes were made to the book or you’re looking for your next summer romance binge.
Either way, it sounds like it’s at least a good way to pass the time while we wait for The Summer I Turned Pretty movie.
