An unfortunate case of the sophomore slump! After such a sparkling debut, Meet Me At The Lake just didn't quite shine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune was a good summer read, however it was not my favorite of her books. I thought that this book was a very realistic romance for a second chance love. The main characters Fern and Will were both broken in their own ways and it was nice to see them have a decent resolution at the end of the book. I really enjoyed the lake vibes!

Carley Fortune is an auto-buy author for me! I LOVE her writing so much. I read her debut as soon as it came and always make sure to get a physical copy of whatever her next book is. I loved the dual timeline in this story and the presence of art, coffee, and a lake. I also really enjoyed the resort setting and the beautiful romance. I highly recommend her work to anyone who loves reading romance novels set by the water!

I did NOT like Fortune's first book so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. She has a great way of setting a scene and it made me want to be on a lake somewhere!

Carley Fortune is an auto-buy author for me now. Everything she writes turns to GOLD. The Canadian setting so well done in these books which makes her books the perfect gift (if you're Canadian) as there is nothing better than a romcom that feels familiar.

This was a great sophomore novel for Carley. I really enjoyed the story, but this one felt a little heavier than the first book, Every Summer After. Of course I loved the Canadian setting and the family/friendships/resort life was relatable and fun to read about. Read this book if you love a second chance romance filled with lots of flashbacks and lots of mental health rep.

I love Fortune's ability to weave a beautiful romance with real life issues that are relatable. The writing is so great - truly will read anything she writes!

Only losing a start for entertainment/enjoyment/reliability. Not my favorites tropes or issues but again, the writing is SO GOOD.

Read it in one sitting on the shores of a greek island.

I adore this author and this book was a true summer treat. Fast paced and emotional, this is for every romance addict. Loved it .

This was a fun, sexy read that spans an illicit lover affair over several summers. It predictable but fun if you’re looking for a happily ever after with spice. It also made me want to visit Canada!

Now I can see why so many readers are raving about Carley Fortune's summertime romance novels. There's an air of feel-good nostalgia to them -- of endless days at the beach and of first love. They're romantic, too, without being over-the-top dramatic and cheesy. I enjoyed every word of "Meet Me at the Lake," and I can't wait to read Fortune's debut and third novel -- "Every Summer After" and "This Summer Will Be Different," respectively. I've heard nothing but the highest of praise for both books.


My sincerest appreciation to Carley Fortune, Berkley, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All thoughts and opinions included herein are my own.

Carley Fortune sure knows how to write a summer romance!! I really enjoyed Meet Me at the Lake. It was fun to look back at their relationship of years ago, but I loved even more the relationship of the summer.

This was the first Carley Fortune book I read, and maybe my expectations were too high after all the hype of her first book, but I didn’t love this one.

Fortune is obviously a talented writer, and she was great at capturing not just the mood but also the atmosphere of being at the lake. I adored the setting and actually read it while I was at the lake last year (yes, this review is so late). If I was rating simply on the setting and the ‘lake vibes’, this would 100% be a five-star read, but I’m not.

Character wise I never fell in love with our leads, and while the support cast of characters were wonderful, I never believed the connection between Fern and Will. The chemistry was lackluster, and the spice is on the lighter side with really only one scene that felt too long and not long enough at the same time.

The story itself is cute but I just didn’t buy into the instant love scenario and the pacing killed me. While I liked the character flashbacks, it turned this romance into a slow burn that was just too slow with a rushed ending. I be giving Every Summer After a chance still because the writing was enjoyable, this particular story just didn’t WOW me.

Meet Me at the Lake is out now. Thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting

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Carley Fortune does it again. This book was a wonderful journey through grief, love, and finding yourself (again) as an adult. I loved, loved, loved everything about this book.

3.5 rounded up

I don't always love second chance romance, I usually believe that once you decide it doesn't work then you need to find healing and find what was meant for you. I know that I'm probably in the minority, but I'm just being honest. That said, I really enjoyed seeing the growth of these characters, from crushing kids to real adults. Will did drive me a wee bit crazy, especially when he "opened" himself to what could be with Fern and then does a 180 and makes me feel like it could have been a third chance romance. It was a good read, and I will be looking for more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I felt it wasn't completely believable. I felt the book was slow in first half and I just couldn't recover from that. It was cute and enjoyable in some spots. But overall it's a no from me.

BOOK REVIEW: MEET ME AT THE LAKE

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love how Carly Fortune creates such atmospheric summery reads! MEET ME AT THE LAKE is set on a lake resort (think: Dirty Dancing) and features flashbacks to Toronto where Will and Fern met almost 10 years ago and spent a magical 24 hours together.

The premise of this one was a little tough - two people met 10 years ago, spend one day together and they’re both sensing an undeniable connection but the timing’s wrong so they promise to meet up a year later but he doesn’t show. Flash forward 9 years later and Fern’s working at her family’s resort and Will shows up…

This book reminded me of Seven Days in June mixed with Emily Henry vibes! I love the concept but had a hard time believing the insta-love. This second chance romance features a lot of deeper topics as well (family relationships, grief, anxiety, etc.) and I liked the dual timelines.

Overall an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading her next book!

After loving Every Summer After, this jumped to the top of my TBR. There was a lot to like with this story but it didn't have the same punch Fortune's first book did. First off- I loved the setting. A resort of cabins near a beautiful lake? The dream. I liked how we learned a lot about Fern and her mother in different formats- present day, flash backs, and her mom's journal when she was a teenager. Fern was very relatable as she tries to figure out her own path instead of just doing what is expected of her. I did like her relationship with Will in the present day as the reconnect and I feel like it really shows how love isn't always perfect. It can be messy and hard, but in most cases it will prevail.

This was a great book to pick up as we head into summer!

I absolutely adored Every Summer After so I was desperate for more books from her!

This book is told in a similar manner flashbacks of the past mixed with current events to bring the story together. I loved this one as much as the first and I could not put it down. Her books are addicting

I love the back and forth and the characters that truly need to grow to find themselves and then each other. This story was beautiful. I will forever read Carley Fortune books.

I really loved Carley Fortunes first book but I think this one just wasn’t for me sadly. I can’t wait to read more of her books in the future!

I enjoyed my time reading Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune. It didn't have the same spark for me like Ever Summer After, but the story was sill good. Loved the settings, the past/present storytelling format, and the writing itself.

Meet Me At the Lake took me so long to read and I can't pinpoint why. I think maybe I read it at a time I shouldn't have? Every Summer After filled the hole that The Summer I Turned Pretty left when the season ended and I think it paired perfectly with that sequence of events but Meet Me at the Lake did not have the same luxury.

I felt this dragged on a lot when I just wanted it to pick up the pace. I love that Fortune writes her books like they're a love letter to Canada but I did not really enjoy how this played out. I also need romance books to find a different plot device other than the third act breakup because it is always unnecessary and ALWAYS annoying. This one was both. We could've found another way to pull us over the problem/resolution arc and yet, here we stand, third act breakup.

I love second chance romances and I am genuinely surprised at how much I didn't care for it this time around. The past and present POV shifts were fine but I think by a certain point I just wasn't clicking with the story. The end was good so that saved us from an even worse review but overall, it missed its mark.