Cute story of two people reconnecting after many years apart, told in two time periods, with a summer camp as the backdrop..

I thought I was getting an epic second chance romance novel. What I actually got was a bunch of messy crap with characters who can't make up their damn minds.

Flashing between the past and the present, this book tells the story of Fern and Will who spent one magical night together and then promise to reunite the same day the next year, only Will doesn't show up. Nine years after they were supposed to meet up, he shows up unexpectedly throwing Fern at an already hard time in her life.

I can't exactly put my finger on why this book didn't work, but the word "lackluster" is flashing in neon colored lights as I type this. Will was just such a weak hero (in terms of plotting) and Fern really had no personality at all. Why did these people like each other??? They were both hot? They both liked getting high? I don't get the attraction at all.

It made me sad I didn't like this book, because Every Summer After was actually really great. But this one missed the mark, it may have even missed the entire map.

i’ll read anything and everything written by carley fortune, she’s an instant buy author for me so i was incredibly excited to read this! i loved her take on the love at first sight trope. nothing compares to a lake romance either and she sure knows how to write it!

There’s been a lot of hype around this book, and lemme tell ya, it really did it for me.

I was a little nervous about going into this one after hearing all the hype but somehow I loved it even more.

This book is smelling sunscreen in June and realizing Summer is finally here… it’s staying up all night at a sleepover with your best friend, it’s carefully curated mix-tapes, it’s stolen first kisses under the bleachers, it’s your first heartbreak, your first everything.

This book hit me right in the feels and I already want to read it again. Thank you Carley Fortune for melting my heart!

I loved Every Summer After, so when I heard Carley Fortune had another summer romance coming out, I was sold.
Unfortunately, this felt a little rushed to me. Wes didn't feel fully developed as a character, he was unlikeable and never took accountability for his actions. His sister had to do so for him. I would have loved to see his character grow and be able to own up to his short comings or struggles. Otherwise to me, it isn't really believable that they would get back together.

Carley Fortune has done it again. I’m literally OBSESSED with her books, her characters, her writing style. I’m never disappointed. The feelings you feel in this book are so real I feel like I’m watching it all go down in person. Would totally re read.

I have seen online where people either loved or hated this book and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Carley Fortune has her own writing style were her heroine is discovering herself along with a little romance.

For me, this wasn't the kind of enchanting, heartwarming romance that prompts swooning.
Instead, it portrayed a realistic relationship between two individuals who encountered each other at an inopportune moment and needed to undergo personal growth before reconnecting.

I found this portrayal particularly compelling. Love, as depicted, is tangled and flawed, prompting moments where I wanted to shout in frustration at the characters. Yet, I also empathized with them and valued their imperfections.

Moreover, the book impeccably captures the essence of summer. It is elegantly written, adorned with a plethora of evocative metaphors.

I was expecting a lot more out of this after really enjoying Every Summer After last year. While I fairly liked the storyline, there was too much pot smoking and infidelity in this to thoroughly immerse myself in it.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Read if you like:
Second chance romance
Canadian authors/setting
Mixed tapes
Dirty Dancing references

Thank you @prhaudio for the complimentary audiobook through LibroFM and @berkleypub for the digital ARC through NetGalley.

I'm such a huge fan of Carley Fortune's last book that I went into this with very high expectations - and I was not let down! I loved everything about this, from the pretty cover to the second chance romance trope, to Fern & Will's characters. I loved the way they got to know each other and then found themselves separated, I especially loved learning more about Fern's mom, and feel like the chapters and sections from her point of view really added such a great layer of depth and emotional connection to the story. The descriptions were so good, I feel like there were parts of the resort described where I could picture it perfectly in my mind - I'd love this as a movie or TV show!!

Okay, listen. I'm all for a second-chance romance trope. But Meet Me at the Lake, by Carley Fortune, was not it. Main character Fern spends one day with Will (ten years ago). They meet by chance at the coffee shop she works at when he is hired to paint a mural there. They smoke a joint and take a walking tour of Toronto to see all of Will's favorite spots (he's a local - she's there for school). After talking all day about their lives and what they're each expected to do with their futures (she doesn't want to run the lakeside resort her mom owns and he wants to be an artist), they each write five things they want to accomplish this year and plan to meet back up at Fern's family's resort in one year to see how things have worked out. Cute, right? I thought so, too. But you can probably guess where this is going.

Ten years later, Fern's mother has passed away and left Fern in charge of the resort. She's working there with her ex-boyfriend, trying to decide to keep or sell the property when a tall, handsome man walks up to the check-in desk. It's Will, who thinks he's there to meet with Fern's mother and talk about the business side of the resort. Fern and Will reconnect, fall in love, and everything is happily ever after...right? Well, not really.

Told in alternating timeframes (Now and 10 Years Ago), we get to see how Will and Fern interacted on their one spectacular day together 10 years ago, and how Fern is dealing with the fact that Will never showed up at the resort nine years ago. We also get to hear entry's from Fern's mother's diaries from the time she realizes she's pregnant with Fern. I really, really liked those chapters.

I thought I'd love this, but I was so irritated that after ONE DAY together, Fern was so caught up with Will that she's still pining for him. I was irritated that Will still made her chase after him now, 10 years later. I was annoyed that he ran away instead of talking with her and even the reveal in the ending didn't persuade me to like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Despite loving Every Summer After, this really did not hit for me. It dragged, none of the characters were likable, and by the end I was rooting for Peter to leave and start his own bakery - far, far away from Fern.

This book was absolutely STUNNING. One of the best books that I have read in a long time. The characters were amazing, the story was beautiful, and the setting was amazing. I cried when it was over because of how beautiful it was and how much that I am going to miss this world. I can't stop thinking about it.

Meet Me at the Lake is a second-chance romance.

Fern Brookbanks is dealing with the loss of her mother after a car accident. Her mother had left the resort she owned to her. Fern knows she needs help managing the property but she doesn’t know if she wants to do it. Her life is in the big city, of Toronto. She has been living there for the last few years. Then, as if losing her mother was not enough shock, she learns her mother had hired a company to help her stay in the black and the person who shows up is none other than Will Baxter, the man she met ten years before and who broke her heart.

Ten years earlier, Fern had the best day with Will. Will, who is an artist, is painting a mural in the coffee shop where she was working. As soon as they meet, a spark is there. Yet, both have a significant other but they make a pact to see each other a year later at the resort. A year later, Fern is there but Will never shows up.

In the present, Will is in front of her and she is still furious at him but she knows she needs his help if she wants to keep the business afloat or if she decides to sell.

Meet Me at the Lake had 3 timelines if we count Fern's mom's diary entries and one main POV.

It was easy to like Fern. I understood why she didn’t want to take over the resort after college. She wanted to do her own thing. I like Will except during the conflict. He didn’t act the way I thought he should.

Overall, I did like it and I would read another romance by Carley Fortune.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Viking via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For such a new author Carley Fortune has really cornered the beach/cottage read market. As a Ontarian I love the setting and can;t wait to read more from her!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I liked but didn’t love Every Summer After, and was hoping Carley Fortune’s sophomore novel would be more to my liking.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case - this book/maybe this author is just not for me.
I did not feel any connection to the characters or feel like they had any connection or chemistry with each other. The plot just fell flat, I felt like random bits of information were introduced and then just forgotten about and never mentioned again. It had the potential to be an interesting story, but it just didn’t work for me.

I enjoy a good Canadian story and what could be better than one about cottage country in Ontario. This is the perfect summer read and i really enjoy all the references to my hometown. It was a warm and lovely read

I honestly cannot bring myself to write a single good thing about this book. I truly, truly did not like it and I'm upset I had to suffer through this.

Another great summer romance from Carley Fortune! While I didn't love this one quite as much as EVERY SUMMER AFTER, it was still a fantastic beach read (and can we talk about the gorgeous color scheme on that cover??)!

I really loved the angst and secret reveal of this book. Yes it is more Women's Fiction than romance but it has the summertime goodness. As always, Carley is a delight to chat wth you and I will continue to look forward to her summer romances.