Every Summer After

Fortune establishes Every Summer After as a romance novel from the outset by employing a number of the genre’s tropes. By definition, a trope is a figure of speech that employs metaphorical language; however, it has also come to mean “a familiar pattern, concept, image, or device” (“Trope vs. Cliché”). Therefore, romance tropes are recurrent patterns or themes commonly employed in romantic works of fiction. Romance tropes differ from clichés as, rather than being considered overused, they are expected and recognizable (“Trope vs. Cliché”).

The use of tropes, particularly in the romance genre, is owing to their familiarity and predictable outcome. A distinguishing factor of the genre, for instance, is the “Happily Ever After” (HEA)—despite the trials and challenges experienced by the characters, a happy resolution is guaranteed. Romance readers expect and enjoy this predictability that this trope offers. However, it is also possible for tropes to provide a base for innovation. Sometimes, romance writers creatively subvert the common tropes seen in the genre to offer something fresh while maintaining the HEA (“Popular Romance Fiction Tropes.” Masterclass, 2021).

Every Summer After employs tropes in a wholly predictable manner. From the beginning of the novel, Fortune introduces elements of the classic “Love Triangle” with sparks flying between three characters, though only two will end up together. From the moment Percy meets Sam and Charlie, the latter is openly flirtatious and attentive to Percy, even as Sam squirms at any interest Percy shows in his brother. The tension created by this situation is maintained till the climax, and Percy and Charlie sleeping together is what ultimately serves as the novel’s central conflict.

Every Summer After also leans heavily on the “Friends to Lovers” trope, which sees a couple who have been friends for a long time eventually coming to view each other as potential romantic partners. There is an undeniable attraction between Percy and Sam from the start, but the strong friendship they develop overrides it. It takes years for them to acknowledge their feelings for each other, and even longer for them to try a romantic relationship, for fear that they will ruin their friendship.

The narrative alternates between unraveling the history of Percy and Sam’s relationship, which develops over the summers of their childhood, and a single weekend when she visits him as an adult for the occasion of his mother’s funeral. Therefore, Fortune also employs the “Second Chance” trope, in which a couple breaks up but longs for each other, eventually reconnecting and trying again on a different occasion.

Fortune further utilizes the “Soulmates” trope, in which two characters are presented as each other’s “one true love”—there is no one else they are meant to be with. Despite the years that they have spent apart and the other relationships they have been in, Percy and Sam have never truly moved on from each other. Thus, when they meet again, they inevitably find their way back together, culminating in a trademark HEA.