4.5
I should have known Carley Fortune was going to emotionally wreck me again with this book, but yet somehow I wasn't prepared.

One of my favourite things about writers like Carley and Emily Henry are that the plot and conflict aren't only about the romance. They feel like real people with real problems which makes them all the more impactful.

I love all the Canadian settings and summer vibes in Carley's books.

While this one didn't *quite* grab me the way that Every Summer After did, I liked the tropes much better.

It's a great summer read and also a great Mother's Day gift!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC!

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for this complimentary audiobook.

𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨!

I discovered Carley Fortune last year and fell in love with her writing, I had high hopes for this one and it was just as fantastic as I was expecting it to be. Second chance love, beautiful setting, likeable characters. Loved it.

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 by Carley Fortune releases today May 2, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Carley Fortune did it again! I had to go out immediately and buy myself a physical copy of this book. Not only is the cover stunning, but this is a beautiful story. Similar to Every Summer After, Fortune tells the story in present day and flashbacks. Fern is back home and newly in charge of her family's resort after her mother's unexpected passing. She's shrouded in a cloud of grief and barely making it through each day. The last thing she expects is for Will. an artist she knew back in Toronto to show up at the resort claiming that Fern's mother hired him to help her with resort. Fern and Will had a whirlwind day together in her early twenties. The two promised to meet each other at the lake, but Will never showed. Now he's here, 9 years too late.

I have seen criticism about the how short their intitial interaction was, but I would argue that sometimes we meet people and we are instantly drawn to them. I met my previous boyfriend one night out with friends. We made small-talk most of the night and when the night ended, my life changed. I couldn't get past the cute boy I met. We did eventually end up dating, but it took us some time to get there. All this to say, it happens. The two of us would often find ourselves shocked at the number of times our paths had crossed and we didn't realize it. Two ships passing in the night without knowing.

But you're here for Fern's story. So let's get back to it. I related to their story. I wanted them to work. I understood their instant attraction and the devastation the what if caused when Will didn't show.

I am always a fan of second chance romance. We welcome people into our lives for a reason and I always love to see when that works out for people years down the line once again. Perhaps I'm still holding out hope for a second chance romance of my own. Who knows. What I do know is this book is worth picking up and reading with a glass of prosecco by the pool followed by a girls night with your besties to debrief it!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for providing me access to this ARC via NetGalley! I can't wait to read the next Carley Fortune novel!

Yeah, I absolutely loved this one too.
Fortune wrote special characters and special stories. I loved every second of getting to know Will and Fern.

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞
𝐁𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟓.𝟐.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒫𝓊𝒷 𝒲𝑒𝑒𝓀!

I can’t resist a summertime love story, and then add the atmosphere of a lake resort and I’m pretty much floating around on my raft as a teen again.

Carley Fortune is becoming the queen of #lakeromances - is that a thing? Well, I’m crowning her. After loving 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫, I had to read this one - and somehow, in my excitement, I ended up with every format to pick from- which was awesome!


The story offers the scenic settings of a coffee cafe in Toronto and a family-owned resort on Lake Muskoka. But it is really Fern Brookbanks and Will Baxter who take center stage. Ten years ago, while Fern was away at college, she met Will. They were seeing other people but shared one day, talking and maybe falling in love. They agreed to meet one year later at the lake resort owned by Fern’s mother. Will didn’t show.

Fast forward nine years and everything has changed. Fern’s mother has died, Fern now owns the resort, her ex-boyfriend is the manager …and Will Baxter has just checked in.

I will say I like 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 a bit more, but this one needs to be on your summer reading list!

Thank you to @letstalkbookspromo and @berkleyromance for a gifted ebook.

Included as a top pick in weekly May New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

“For a fleeting moment, I picture leaning my head against his shoulder and feeling his voice vibrate against my cheek when he tells me that everything is going to be okay. It’s the exact kind of thinking I need to avoid. I will not fall down the Will Baxter vortex again. There’s still a faint purple bruise on my heart from last time.”
Fern Bookbranks spent twenty-four wonderful hours with Will Baxter in her early twenties, and believed they were soulmates. They promised each other that they would meet at her family’s lakeside resort one year from the day they spent together, but Will never showed up. Heartbroken, Fern moves on, but she has never forgotten the young boy who changed her life. Nine years later with her family’s business in peril, Will shows up with an offer that she can’t resist. She knows she can’t trust him after the way he let her down years ago, but if she wants to save her family’s resort then she must try.

Holy flashbacks! This story had a lot of flashbacks. Some from Fern and Will’s time together ten years ago. Some from her mom and Peter. I think Fern and Will’s time together should have been condensed, and the focus more on their budding relationship in the here and now. Nothing special happened between them ten years ago, and it wasn’t necessary to show all of it. Just caused the pacing to be off, and the book to drag on for what seemed like forever.

Let’s get to their relationship in the present, I feel like a lot of the focus was on Fern and her overcoming grief at her mother’s passing and making the decision to either sell her family’s resort or stay and run it. I did enjoy these parts of the book because they felt authentic, and her grief felt real. I loved watching the change of what she thought she wanted in the beginning to what she chose in the end and felt there was a lot of personal growth in Fern. Too bad their relationship didn’t experience any growth, and just felt sort of flat. Will didn’t act mature or make smart decisions, and then he barely had to do any repentance for being an idiot. I could have used more maturity in their relationship and a lot more romance.

If you like authors like Susan Mallory or Robin Carr, then this could be right up your alley.

~ Michelle

📖𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝘼𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙠𝙚
✍🏻Carley Fortune
🗓️5.2.23
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Featuring:
Second chance romance
Dual timelines
Beautiful setting
Likeable characters
Dirty Dancing references

Once again, I loved how Carley’s writing captivated me and really pulled at my heartstrings.

Meet Me at the Lake is a story of love, second chances, heartbreak, loss, and growing up. I loved the chemistry between characters Fern and Will, both in their young 20s and later on in their 30s too.

I enjoyed getting to see each of Will and Fern’s stories unfold as they give love a second chance, and I thought the narration was great! It’s always a treat when the author narrates.

💘Thank you @librofm @prhaudio @berkleyromance #gifted

Review will be posted on 5/5/23
Fern Brookbanks has grown up at the lakeside cottage resort on Canada's Lake Muskoka. Her single mother is a force who tries to do it all, including running the resort that was Fern's grandparents. It clearly means a lot to her mom who has given up a lot in her life to run it, but for Fern, it's always been a place that she wants to move on from. She doesn't want to end up here much to her mom's dismay. Fast forward many years later, Fern's mother dies tragically in a car accident and now the resort is Fern's. Fern has been living in Toronto helping to run a coffee shop; this wasn't in the plans. Upon her return, she reunites with her high school boyfriend, Jamie, who helps runs the resort--he loves it there, which Fern finds to be strange. There's also Peter, the resort's baker, and her mom's best friend as well as her best friend and new mom, Whitney. Then cue all the awkwardness when Will Baxter enters as a consultant to help the resort as it's struggling. Fern's mother hired Will, but what is most alarming is Fern knows Will. This sends her into a tailspin as he is *THE* Will who stood her up on their second date ten years ago after the best 24 hours spent with him in Toronto. Could things get any worse for Fern? Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune is part a coming-of-age story, part second chance romance, part beach read set at a picturesque lake resort. Fans of Fortune's Every Summer After will enjoy this escape to a lake resort filled with beautiful sunsets, canoe rides, happy hours on the porch, romance, and quaint lake side cottages.

Fern was my kind of character right from the start of Meet Me at the Lake. She wants so much more for her life than to work at her family's resort, but doesn't have to courage to tell her mom of her plans. That is until she spends a whirlwind of 24 hours with Will in Toronto. He changes her life - not only with their instant connection, but also with how he challenges and inspires her to not let life happen to her, but to truly live it. He begs her to question what does she want in life? Fern, after 24 hours, feels like she is in love, she has never met anyone like artistic Will. They make plans for a second date at her family's resort, but he never shows. She has never really got over it, as there was no closure. It's been the question that has hung over her for years.

Cue Will entering her life at resort 10 years later as a consultant. After her nervous breakdown about this, she realizes she not only will work with him to restore the resort and determine its future, but maybe she can get some answers to what exactly happened ten years ago. She also is wondering how someone so artistic would end up as a consultant. What happened to his art dreams? Slowly, Fern realizes their connection is still there...will she let him into her life again?

Meanwhile, the lake side resort setting was fantastic in Meet Me at the Lake. It reminded me a bit of the lodge in Dirty Dancing. I loved it! Between the happy hours on their porch, the resort dances, the restaurant, the canoe rides, sunsets, and the backdrop of the lake lapping the shores, I was smitten. I also loved the witty banter in this novel. If you enjoyed that about Every Summer After, you will be happy to hear this novel has it, too. I also think Fortune's then/now narrative works well as well as the snippets from her mom's diary, which fleshes out her mom's backstory. Lastly, Fortune covers some mental health issues in Meet Me at the Lake, which I appreciated and I think many people can relate to.

My only issue with Meet Me at the Lake was Will. He wasn't as swoon-worthy as I was hoping and some of his behavior was inexcusable despite his excuses. His codependency with his family really didn't work for me as a plausible excuse at this point in his life. He is letting his relationship with his sister really hold him back from living his own life.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed Meet Me at the Lake. It's a wonderful beach read that will have you cheering for Fern and Will's second chance romance. It also made me want to book a lake vacation stat. So, do you have plans to read Meet Me at the Lake? Are you a fan of Carley Fortune? Let me know in the comments.

For a book billed as a second chance romance it didn’t really give me those vibes. I just couldn’t believe that after ONE DAY together they were so enamored that after 10 years the connection was instant and they felt like they truly knew the other originally. It was an okay story but fell very flat for me

I absolutely adored this one! I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration.
I loved the alternating timelines between years ago and the present as well as her mother’s diary.
I loved the dirty dancing-sequel setting and how Fern took time to find what she really wanted to do. I loved the attraction between Will and Fern. I know some might say it was their initial meeting was too quick to stay with them, but I could see their connection and their chemistry.
The book drew me in from the beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading. It was such an engaging read. Meet Me at the Lake was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it didn’t disappoint! Carley Fortune has cemented herself as an autobuy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune was a second-chance romance troupe between Fern and Will. Ten years ago, Fern and Will met in a coffee shop while Will was painting a mural for the shop in Toronto. They promise to meet at Fern's family resort one year later, but Will doesn't show. Instead, he shows up nine years later. I enjoyed the jumping timelines and the elements of Fern's mother's diary in the book. A.J. Bridel did a fantastic job narrating this novel. Overall this book was delightful, so I highly recommend it.

Thank you Berkley Romance and Penguin Random House Audio for my gifted copies.

Fern and Will meet and spend the day together in Toronto. They plan to meet again a year later, but Will doesn't show. Ten years later they are reunited at the resort Fern inherited from her mom. But what really happened 9 years ago?

I really enjoyed Meet Me at the Lake! This was a story about family, love and second chances told in dual timelines--now and 10 years earlier on the day Fern and Will met. There was a bit of banter and some steam plus a lot of angst. I liked the flawed characters of Fern and Will. They had to learn to trust one another. Jamie was also a great secondary character and I'd love to know more about him. Brooksbank Resort gave me all the summer vibes! Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book

She’s done it again folks 🥹💖 Oh, Carley Fortune how you create such wholesome romances!! 🫶 If you loved EVERY SUMMER AFTER last year, you will not be disappointed when you read MEET ME AT THE LAKE! 🌊

GENRE: Romance
MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 (4.5/5)
Tyson @berkleypub for my free digital copy!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️Second chance romances
▫️Atmospheric reads (allll the lake feels) 🌊
▫️Dual timelines 🔁
▫️Mother-daughter relationships
▫️Summertime ☀️
▫️Journal entries 📝
▫️Mental health rep ❤️‍🩹
▫️Dirty Dancing
▫️Toronto, Canada
▫️Dark hair, dark eyes 🤤

MY THOUGHTS:
Someone plz tell me how Carley Fortune continues to create the BEST nostalgic romances with the realest characters?! 🥹💕 Fern & Will still have my heart aching 😩 These characters had some serious DEPTH, connection, and raw feelings, which caught me in my feels too! I love that as a reader— sharing big emotions with fictional characters… the best!!!

If you’re a lake lover, you will be blown away with the atmosphere the author crafted in this one! I felt like I was at this resort. ☀️ This warm summer romance is perfect for your lake/beach/pool bag!

RATING EXPLAINED:
The only reason I took off half a star was due to some miscommunication happening between the two MCs. I know some readers will not like this butttt I feel like when you understand the characters, it honestly just makes sense. 😢 These characters had raw feelings… one of them struggling with mental health. I also could have used a smidge more romantic scenes overall. With that being said, reading the author’s note about how hard this novel was for her to write and why is what really did it for me 😭 By the end, my heart was aching and bursting all at the same time. UGH ❤️‍🩹

Fern Brookbanks and Will Baxter made a powerful connection ten years ago. They agreed to meet again in exactly one year. She showed up and he didn’t. Fern was equally disappointed and heartbroken, but she moved on with her life.

Now Fern is about to take over her mother’s lakeside retreat after her death. Working at the retreat had never been Fern’s dream, but now with her mother gone, Fern is forced to step up. Shockingly, Will reappears at the retreat. A successful businessman, Will agrees to help Fern for a time.

The connection is still there. It’s as if they had never been apart all. The timing might not have been right for them before but it does not take either of them long to wonder if now is there a chance. However, Fern needs answers. One thing she presses Will about is that he seems not to be living his own dream. Not only does Fern have a lot of questions, but she realizes that Will is holding something back.

This book is far more than a love story between Fern and Will. In fact, Fern gets the opportunity to examine her relationship with her mother, and this helps her to make the decisions that will affect the rest of her life. This sensitive story touched on a lot of issues and it left a huge impact on me, especially considering the author’s note at the end of the book.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of Meet Me at the Lake!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🛶 grew up on a lake
💕 believe in love at first sight
🌲 love the country
☕️ drink coffee like it’s going out of style

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After a chance meeting with Will makes Fern question everything about her life, she gets another opportunity to make things right 10 years later.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Fern and Will met one summer day in mid June. Spending the entire day exploring the city of Toronto together, Fern finds herself falling hard and fast for Will. But she has Jamie at home, as well as her mother waiting for her to come take over the family business. 10 years later, Fern’s mother has passed in a tragic accident, and now Fern must decide if she wants to keep the family business or sell it to support her dreams of opening a coffee house. When Will shows up, she discovers she’ll get another chance to make things work between the two of them.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was my first Carley Fortune book, but I can’t wait to read her debut now. This was such a sweet and tender read. I enjoyed the back and forth with Fern in the present and the past. As someone also born in 1991, I really related to Fern. I totally believed the love at first sight thing, only because I experienced it, too, albeit in a different way. Overall, this was a cute read with lots of summer vibes!

Carley Fortune wrote such a wonderful summer romance that had me going through every emotion in the book. I am not a big fan of insta-love but it was clear that Fern and Will had an instant connection that I was actually really happy about. The time jump was unexpected as I was going in blind (best way to read a book in my opinion) but should have assumed a dual timeline POV which was so refreshing. I was touched to see Fern coming to terms with loss and running Brookbanks Resort. Will, oh gosh he was great. I loved seeing them reconnect after so many years and build up the trust that allowed them too forgive their past actions. I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to read more by Carley Fortune.

Special thanks to Carley Fortune and Berkley for providing me an ARC copy to share my honest review.

kind of very upset i did not enjoy this one the way i loved every summer after.
this felt like a love letter to toronto in the flashbacks and as someone who has been studying in the city but living in another for five years, i do resonate with the love and adoration fern has for the city.
i found the pacing to be really off? the deeper dive into her mom's past came so much later into the book i was confused when we were experiencing that.

it felt like this book wanted to do more than it achieved - the second chance romance (which i really like will 10 years go, but not that much in the present, he was just kinda there), the mother-daughter strained relationship, the inheriting the resort.

the plot bit off more than it could chew and i am sad to say im disappointed. because i did really like aspects of the book (the flashbacks, peter and maggie's dynamic, peter and fern's dynamic, and fern and her mom's relationship - i will say, these latter three definitely deserved more time than will and fern)

anyway, as one of my highly anticipated books of the year, i'm disappointed. kinda glad i procrastinated reading the arc.

thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Carley’s writing has a way of pulling you in, grasping you at the heartstrings, and losing yourself to the story she is telling. I loved Every Summer After last year and I was so thrilled when I found out a new novel was being released this year. Fern and Will’s story was full of love, heartbreak, struggle, loss, and growth. They were so likable together and really found a way to make each other better. There were frustrations with some of the decision making along the way but I think accepting people for their thoughts and acknowledging what trauma can do to someone, really helps to see both characters in a different light and have some understanding about where they are coming from.

The romance was sweet and the span of their connection was cool to see. I loved that parts of Carley’s real life were interwoven into the story and you can feel that personal connection she had to these aspects throughout. At times, the story felt a bit choppy because of the dual timelines and the addition of the diary entries from Fern’s mother. I think it would have been a smoother read for me if the first meetup between Fern and Will was shared in its entirety at the beginning of the book and then we shifted to the ten years later timeline for the remainder of the book. That’s just my personal opinion, others may feel differently about that though!

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the romance. I liked that it was a bit messy but full of love and that we saw characters that were willing to grow and compromise. It lacked some of the magic and magnetic connection that Every Summer After had, but to me, it’s not fair to compare the two stories as this story is unique and emotional in a different way and I feel, definitely worth the read. Thank you Berkley for the free copy of this book. #berkleypartner

When I say I screamed when I was sent this e-book, I'm NOT lying. I absolutely loved *Every Summer After* and have been not so patiently waiting for Carley Fortune's follow-up. Plus, in the run up to summer I've been craving a lake-side romance and this was IT. Carley writes my favorites kind of romance - it's romantic and sexy but with an underlying sense of nostalgia and melancholia. I want my romance books to make me SAD and then hit me with the HEA. For a book to be a total win for me I need a story with some real meat to it, and Carley Fortune DELIVERS that.

I love multiple timelines and this had three if you count the diary entries that Fern is reading throughout. The jumps back and forth and fitting in little pieces of history as they're revealed is SO satisfying.

As a reader you could really sense the instant bond between Fern and Will. Every interaction big or small felt important in that first day they spent together. I immediately fell in love with them and was rooting for them as they pushed each other to be the versions of themselves they wanted to be.

No one will be surprised to know that I loved Will. He was somehow BOTH a Dandelion Boy and a Moody Boi (those are my categories, get with it) and I never knew how great the combination could be. Will Baxter alone would have been enough for me to love this book but the added element of Fern's relationship to her mom and her home pushed it up to a solid five-star read. There was a lot about grief and regret but also change and acceptance. I cried both sad and happy tears for about the last 20% of the book.

I'm barely resisting immediately reading it again. I will absolutely be purchasing a copy (hi the cover is GORGE) and most likely will re-read this summer.