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kelly_e's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Title: Meet Me at the Lake
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: May 2, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Warm • Wistful • Pleasant
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.
At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s Muskoka lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.
She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is.
💭 T H O U G H T S
After reading (and absolutely adoring) Every Summer After last year, Meet Me at the Lake easily became one of my 2023 most anticipated releases. Carley's quintessential Canadian summer settings are unlike anything else, and I could easily read her books all day long.
Carley Fortune has a unique gift of transporting me into her rustic settings and into her characters lives. Well-written in a dual timeline format, it follows Fern and Will in both Toronto and Canadian cottage country known as Muskoka. Throughout the narrative there are some comical quips about Toronto that felt like inside jokes, and the many Canadian references made this book feel like home. The resort setting came across so welcoming and idyllic, possibly because I could envision it so well.
While I didn't necessarily enjoy the lack of communication and thought there was going to be more of a love-triangle angle, I connected with Fern is a variety of ways. Will and Fern's second chance love story was riddled with past traumas and at times it detracted from the narrative. Yes, I loved the inclusion of Will's journey with post-partum OCD/anxiety and depression and Carley's explanation as to why she included it. But there were other aspects that felt overly drawn out.
And then there was the supporting cast - Jamie, Maggie, Peter, Whitney- I loved them all (more than the main characters)! I'd love for any of them to get their own book sometime down the road. The underlying theme of love between mother and daughter held my interest, as did reading about Peter and Maggie's unique love story. And parts of me were secretly hoping Fern and Jamie would end up together.
While I didn't love this one as much as this author's debut, mainly due to personal preferences, I am still glad to have read it, and will continue to pick up everything Carley Fortune writes in the future. This is sure to be a summer hit!
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a summer read
• fans of the second-chance romance trope
• anyone needing an escape
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Let me tell you something about me: I am extremely picky about people. Most of them, I don't particularly like. I have very high standards for the ones I let into my life these days. And you, Will Baxter, are my favorite of all of them."
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: May 2, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Warm • Wistful • Pleasant
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.
At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s Muskoka lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.
She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is.
💭 T H O U G H T S
After reading (and absolutely adoring) Every Summer After last year, Meet Me at the Lake easily became one of my 2023 most anticipated releases. Carley's quintessential Canadian summer settings are unlike anything else, and I could easily read her books all day long.
Carley Fortune has a unique gift of transporting me into her rustic settings and into her characters lives. Well-written in a dual timeline format, it follows Fern and Will in both Toronto and Canadian cottage country known as Muskoka. Throughout the narrative there are some comical quips about Toronto that felt like inside jokes, and the many Canadian references made this book feel like home. The resort setting came across so welcoming and idyllic, possibly because I could envision it so well.
While I didn't necessarily enjoy the lack of communication and thought there was going to be more of a love-triangle angle, I connected with Fern is a variety of ways. Will and Fern's second chance love story was riddled with past traumas and at times it detracted from the narrative. Yes, I loved the inclusion of Will's journey with post-partum OCD/anxiety and depression and Carley's explanation as to why she included it. But there were other aspects that felt overly drawn out.
And then there was the supporting cast - Jamie, Maggie, Peter, Whitney- I loved them all (more than the main characters)! I'd love for any of them to get their own book sometime down the road. The underlying theme of love between mother and daughter held my interest, as did reading about Peter and Maggie's unique love story. And parts of me were secretly hoping Fern and Jamie would end up together.
While I didn't love this one as much as this author's debut, mainly due to personal preferences, I am still glad to have read it, and will continue to pick up everything Carley Fortune writes in the future. This is sure to be a summer hit!
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a summer read
• fans of the second-chance romance trope
• anyone needing an escape
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Let me tell you something about me: I am extremely picky about people. Most of them, I don't particularly like. I have very high standards for the ones I let into my life these days. And you, Will Baxter, are my favorite of all of them."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Car accident
Minor: Drug use, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Alcohol, Grief, and Cursing
OCD, depression, divorcethatswhatshanread's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Aw Carley Fortune, making me cry again!! This book was so sweet. And familiar somehow. I’m not a lake person, but this story made me feel like I was, like I’m the type of person who spends hours on end at the lake or the surrounding parts, always on summer time. Like I’ve lived all my summers at a family-run resort (Dirty Dancing vibes are off the chart), eating the best sourdough bread and people-watching the other regulars over tea and dancing.
I’ve decided that dual timelines are one of my favorite things for a romance novel. I loved reading about Fern and Will’s meet-cute ten years ago alongside the present of meeting again and all the secrets and feelings between then and now. While Will really frustrated me at times with his mystery, I also found him soft and gentle, a safe balance to Fern’s fire and passion. I really liked the side characters as well, especially Fern’s surrogate father figure Peter.
Ultimately, the love story was a little lacking for me. I kept waiting for more. More history there or more angst, maybe. The resolve seemed a tad flat, like more needed to be said. Still, I really related to the anxiety/depression/OCD rep and the need to be perfect for others above yourself. Both Fern and Will felt like real adults with real problems.
This was a great summer read. Fortune’s writing is breezy and comforting, sweet and coaxing, sexy when it needs to be but not overly so. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next :)
I’ve decided that dual timelines are one of my favorite things for a romance novel. I loved reading about Fern and Will’s meet-cute ten years ago alongside the present of meeting again and all the secrets and feelings between then and now. While Will really frustrated me at times with his mystery, I also found him soft and gentle, a safe balance to Fern’s fire and passion. I really liked the side characters as well, especially Fern’s surrogate father figure Peter.
Ultimately, the love story was a little lacking for me. I kept waiting for more. More history there or more angst, maybe. The resolve seemed a tad flat, like more needed to be said. Still, I really related to the anxiety/depression/OCD rep and the need to be perfect for others above yourself. Both Fern and Will felt like real adults with real problems.
This was a great summer read. Fortune’s writing is breezy and comforting, sweet and coaxing, sexy when it needs to be but not overly so. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abortion, Blood, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Alcohol, and Medical content
mrs_meg_walsworth's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
readingwithmeredith's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was my most anticipated release of 2023 and I wanted so badly to love it. ESA was one of my fav books of 2022. But I really struggled with this book. I didn’t care about the characters, I couldn’t even root for the romance and found myself rooting for a totally different relationship that could have been in the story. There are quite a few things I couldn’t get behind in this book and I could never look past them to enjoy the story and their relationship.
it is just really hard to root for a relationship that they only knew each other one day, had substances influencing them, and were both with other people when they met.
To me the only win was the setting. Even if I hadn’t read the author’s note, I could still tell she was struggling to write this book. It honestly felt like a different author than ESA and I wanted to love this so much.
Content notes: pretty sudden open door content (2-3 scenes varying in length, first one was the longest and I just skipped these completely.), drug use (one of my biggest pet peeves and almost always an instant DNF), mild language, grief, sudden loss of parent (not a spoiler- premise of the book)
To me the only win was the setting. Even if I hadn’t read the author’s note, I could still tell she was struggling to write this book. It honestly felt like a different author than ESA and I wanted to love this so much.
Content notes: pretty sudden open door content (2-3 scenes varying in length, first one was the longest and I just skipped these completely.), drug use (one of my biggest pet peeves and almost always an instant DNF), mild language, grief, sudden loss of parent (not a spoiler- premise of the book)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Cursing
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