'Every Year After' Has Seven Major Differences From Carley Fortune's Novel, 'Every Summer After'

Every Year After has been making headlines since its premiere on Amazon Prime Video and Peacock. The makers dropped the entire series on June 10, 2026, giving fans the perfect show to binge this weekend. However, if you've read the book and are wondering whether to watch the series, we have some details on how similar or different it is from Carley Fortune's Every Summer After. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

'Percy's' storyline shows some differences between the book and the series

Much of the series revolves around what was the dark, horrible thing 'Percy' did to ruin her relationship with 'Sam'. And as it turns out, both in the series and the novel, she breaks 'Sam's' heart by sleeping with his brother, 'Charlie'. While she immediately regrets her decision, she keeps it a secret from 'Sam' for a decade.

However, the difference comes as in the book she confesses the truth to 'Sam' and he reveals he already knew, as his brother had told him what happened years ago. In the show, however, both 'Percy' and 'Charlie' have kept the secret the entire time, leaving 'Sam' to come to terms with it over the course of a year, as we see in a flash-forward at the close of the season. 

'Percy' is a writer in both, just a very different kind

Another difference between the book and the series is 'Percy's' job. While in the book she is an editor at Shelter, in the show she works as an obituary writer. This change was made to give her a concrete reason to return to Barry's Bay, where she is tasked with writing a tribute to 'Sam' and 'Charlie's' late mother, 'Sue'.

'Sue' leaves the tavern to 'Percy'

In the book, who got the tavren has not been explored. However, in the series, no matter how odd, 'Sue' leaves it to 'Percy'. This becomes a central source of tension in the show, leading both 'Sam' and 'Charlie' to storm out. Meanwhile, giving 'Percy' a reason to stay in Barry's Bay beyond her feelings for 'Sam'. 

'Charlie' has an affair with 'Percy's' frenemy

In the book, 'Delilah' is primarily 'Percy's' childhood friend and occasional frenemy. However, the show gives her a full arc, including an extramarital affair with 'Charlie' while being unhappily married. She also gets entangled in the travern storyline, having made a private deal with 'Charlie' to buy it before 'Sue's' will upended everything.

The engagement ring is NOT for 'Percy'

Book readers might recall the engagement ring in 'Sam's' bedroom and assume it has some connection to his past proposal to 'Percy'. However, in the series 'Sam' never got down on one knee, and the ring is actually for his current girlfriend, 'Taylor'. Nonetheless, even that changes when 'Percy' returns to Barry's Bay, so the ring might not be anyone's.

The difference between the endings of Every Summer After and Every Year After

Every Summer After ends a year after 'Sue's' death with 'Percy' and 'Sam's' long-awaited reconciliation. They are now living in Toronto and planning for the future, and 'Percy' even intends to propose. However, Every Year After pulls back well before that point, closing on the two of them looking at each other hopefully after months apart, with nothing resolved, leaving plenty of the source material intact for a potential second season, which is yet to be confirmed.

'Charlie's' heart problem

Talking about another season, the show closes on 'Charlie' having a medical episode after finding a picture of himself, 'Percy' and 'Sam' as teenagers on the lake. The photo was taken by photographer, 'Alice Everly', who, in Carley Fortune's 2025 sequel, One Golden Summer, becomes 'Charlie's' main love interest. So maybe that's something we might see in the future.

image credit: PrimeVideo/YT

What are your thoughts on the difference between Every Year After and Carley Fortune's Every Summer After?

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