i love the second chance romance trope and really enjoyed this one! the characters were very well fleshed out and three dimensional. i just had some issues with the plot and found some plot points to be highly unrealistic, which prevented me from fully being invested in the book.

Meet Me At The Lake
By Carley Fortune

I read Carley Fortune’s first book, EVERY SUMMER AFTER and was so emotionally wasted after that amazing book, that this book was a highly anticipated read for me, and wowsers – yes yes yes Carley Fortune just knows how to tug at heart strings with her poignant and emotional stories.

This is a story of Fern and Will, whose paths have crossed about a decade ago, and an unforgettable 24 hours together, with a promise to see each other a year after. But Will doesn’t show up. Fast forward ten years and Fern inherits the poorly managed lakeside resort after her mother’s death and Will shows up hired by Fern’s mother – but its not the same Will she knows from the past. As we peel the layers, and discover what happened along with Fern’s mother’s diaries,

I was emotionally gutted by this story. This sentimental and endearing story is beautifully told and had all of Carley Fortune’s heartwrenching and heartwarming signature style that I just adore.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Meet Me at the Lake
AUTHOR: Carley Fortune
FORMAT: Physical
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
DID I CRY: No
RATING: 4/10
⭐️⭐️

MY THOUGHTS

Woof.

After loving EVERY SUMMER AFTER, I had high expectations for this book despite seeing some not-so-great reviews, and unfortunately I join those with this one😞

I’ll start by saying that my qualms do not lay with her writing. Carley Fortune is a solid writer & for that reason I kept going until the end. If a book has bad writing, I’m immediately putting it down. I was pretty into this book for the first 25% ish, but from there unfortunately it lost me completely.

The tropes… i simply can👏🏼 not👏🏼 with the cheating trope. Literally ANYthing else but that. Immediate star reduction. Instalove 95% of the time also does not work for me and this book falls into that 95%, but combined with second chance is a recipe for disaster. I could not under any circumstance get behind these two characters meeting and spending one single day together, and 10 years later are acting like long lost lovers. No please! The characters IMO were immature and grew more irritating as the book went on. The conflict(s) / whole last 30% of the book… i was beside myself. Absolutely unfathomable. Not sure if I’ll continue reading Carley Fortune’s books after this one!

A satisfying romance that isn't afraid to tackle real issues like grief, anxiety, and the messiness of growing up.

"I like how space is so overwhelming, it makes you feel insignificant and alive a the same time. It basically forces you to take a deep breath."

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I need several deep breaths after this. I didn't like Every Summer After, and I didn't like this. The cheating trope will absolutely never be a hit. Sometimes you don't need to find your way back to someone. Sometimes you don't need someone to rescue you, or change you, or help you figure out how to live your own life... you need to do it yourself.

I don't know what else to say... again.

Carley Fortune knows how to make me fall in love with a summer book. This book didn't hit me quite as hard as Fortune's debut "Every Summer After" but it's a great read by a great author.

Didn't love this as much as I did Every Summer After, but it's still an entertaining, feel good romance! Of course it wouldn't be a Carley Fortune romance without some angst and pining, and I really enjoyed that. All in all, very solid, swoony read!

Excellent mental health representation in this second chance romance, once again set on a lake in Canada. The characters were relatable and believable and their problems seemed legitimate. I liked that the third act breakup was not really a thing.

After Fern’s mother dies, she ends up back home running the family’s lakeside resort. When Will arrives with goals of helping her mother turn the resort around, Fern is in shock. Why? Will was supposed to meet her at the lake nine years prior, and he never showed. Told through flashbacks, we learn about Fern and Will’s pasts - and their future?

To preface this review, I haven’t read Every Summer After, so I had zero expectations going into this - I’ve seen a lot of reviews that compare the two books. With that said, I really, really enjoyed this.

I know a lot of people didn’t like this one as much as the debut from this author, but I loved this one! I felt like I connected a little more with the MC from this one than the debut book. I could also empathize with the male MC a lot more. Definitely recommend checking this one out!!

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

Another perfect summer book coming at you! This is the book to take to the lake, the beach or the pool. Fern can’t stop thinking about the 24 hours she spent with Will Baxter ten years ago. At 32 she is living a quiet life and nothing looks like she planned, including her mom dying and leaving her the Lakeside resort to run. She vowed to never run the resort, yet here she is. There are a lot of Dirty Dancing comparisons, which I loved!
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When Will shows up at the resort ten years later Fern’s life changes once again. I love that this gives a dual timeline, as we relive their one day together. This was definitely a couple to root for and I loved how this one tied up at the end!
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This copy was kindly given to me for review by Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Meet Me at the Lake! Maybe even more than Every Summer After. There is just something about Fortune's writing that has me unable to put her books down. Something about the feeling of summer nostalgia so deeply imbedded within feels like a familiar, warm hug. This book deals with loss, mental health, healing and second chance love. I really enjoyed both past and present tense parts of Fern and Will's story (often I find myself wanting more of one than the other when it comes to this writing style but with this, I could keep going for both).

Maybe not a full 5 stars, probably closer to a 4.75

Meet Me At the Lake is an enjoyable read that is a bit heart-wrenching and angsty second chance love story, but I believe that it is more of Women’s Fiction than romance. A random connection between two strangers results in a 24 hour magical day together where they bare their souls to each other in a way that they couldn’t to bare to anyone else. Despite an undeniable attraction to one another, they part agreeing to not keep in touch but with a plan to meet again exactly one year later only Will does not show.

This book seems to deal more with Fern’s life and the decisions that she needs to make regarding the lake resort and what her mother would have wanted.

I enjoyed spending time with the likable characters and was rooting for a HEA. Overall, this is a well-written, and honest second chance story.

Will and Fern spent a magical day together years ago but when they agreed to meet up again Will didn't show. Now after Fern's mom has past Will has shown up again and Fern has so many questions and wants answers ASAP!

I didn’t really understand how she still loved will after all these years and had only known him for one day at the time. That part of the book just didn’t click with my mind and kept pulling me out of the story. I loved the writing and the alternating between last and present and I truly enjoyed how they came together in the present. I just wish the past had been a little different! Looking forward to anything Carly writes!

I haven’t read Carley Fortune’s first book, Every Summer After, but I saw all the rave reviews for it here on Instagram, so when her second book was published, I was excited to get the chance to read/listen to it.
• I’m completely captivated by a second-chance romance, especially when combined with the intriguing concept of the right person/wrong time and a dual timeline with a picturesque setting of a summer lake and I’m totally hooked!
• I’m not particularly fond of insta-love or emotional cheating, so it’s worth mentioning that these elements are present in the story, so you may want to pass if that’s not your cup of tea.
• A decade ago, Fern and Will had an unexpected encounter in Toronto that unfolded into an unforgettable day of adventure. They shared an extraordinary chemistry and an immediate bond, sharing things with each other that they never shared with anyone else before! However, circumstances prevented them from being together, leading to an agreement to have no further contact but to reunite after one year.
• Fern eagerly waited on the dock for the promised reunion, but Will never showed up….Fast forward ten years and Fern’s world is turned upside down when her mother passes away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the lakeside resort. A consultant was hired to save the resort and to Fern’s surprise, it turns out the consultant is none other than Will, the man she shared that magical day with a decade ago!
• Now that Will has reentered Fern’s life, the question is: Are they destined to be soulmates, or is it too late?
• Overall, I found this story to be an enjoyable read, particularly due to the well-developed supporting characters. Once I overcame a few initial obstacles, I was fully immersed and if those particular elements don’t bother you, chances are you’ll love it too!
• If you’re a fan of second--chance romance, self-discovery, small-town romance, friends to lovers, dual timelines and the idyllic charm of lakeside living, this is definitely a book you should consider reading.
• AJ Bridel (@ajbridel) and Carley delivered outstanding performances as narrators of the story. Their narration skills were top-notch and their pacing was precisely on point, aligning flawlessly with the tone and rhythm of the storyline. This resulted in a smooth and immersive listening experience.

Carley Fortune has done it again with a heartfelt romance that beautifully pulls together heavier topics with a love story that will capture your heart. As a Canadian reader, I loved the references to various places in Toronto, and as someone who values time up north, I loved the setting in the Muskokas and the way it contrasted with city life for Fern. And can we talk about Will for a moment, because the representation of his postpartum anxiety was done so so well. Not only that, but the way he shows up for the people he loves is something that made him a romantic interest to root for from beginning to end.

Solid summer read - I’d give it 3.5 stars!

Read this for book club in the middle of Throne of Glass, and I’ll admit it was a nice mental break from the heavy fantasy - I read it in one day.

I loveeeed the setting and was looking up Toronto and lake houses by the end of the book, fantasizing about summers on the lake. However, I was really bothered by Will’s character and thought certain moments of their relationship were really highly unlikely. All in all, I’d say it was good, but not great.

Carley Fortune has done it again... I adored this book just as much as I adored Every Summer After. 4 stars rounded up to 4.5.