Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK, Piatkus for the arc. I could not wait to read it. One of the beautiful covers has inside a lovely romance. Something aboit missing chances and bad decisions but also second chances we can get. And beeing on the right place on the right time. It was not easy for anyone. Nothing was just perfect. Everyone was struggeling with a situations. Hopefully noone was alone and there were such good friends around to catch everyone were falling apart.

Carley Fortune’s debut novel Every Summer After was one of my top books of 2022 and this one has been highly anticipated for me this year. Unfortunately, this one didn’t land with me :(

This one follows Fern, whose mother recently passed away and as a result, she is now running the lakeside resort she has inherited (although she always said she never wanted to do this). When trying to make sense of her new life, Will shows up, who she had a history with 10 years ago and hasn’t seen since.

Carley is a wonderful writer, I just had a hard time becoming invested with the characters and didn’t buy the second chance romance story between them and found myself bored with the storyline. I do love how she describes scenery and love how her books have both taken place in Canada, and I’ll absolutely read whatever she puts out next.

Meet Me at the Lake is out May 2nd - Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

Carley Fortune has entertained me again. Something about her good but flawed characters just work for me. Once again, they hold back, don't say what they need to say, and hurt themselves as much as they hurt others.

Both twenty two and beginning the next stage of their lives, Fern and Max meet for the first time and spend a glorious but bittersweet twenty four hours together. We don't know Max's inner thoughts but we do know Fern's and it's obvious that Max has woken Fern up in a way that needed to happen. In Max, Fern sees what she wants but he's not hers for the taking and she's not free to take. But they have a firm date to meet at her family resort in one year.

Fern spends the year thinking about Max but when the day comes he stands her up. A year before, Max gave Fern what she needed to change the direction of her life. Now his absence at the meeting Fern has longed for all year changes Fern again. Already reeling from past hurts, Fern still can't let go of the memories of that twenty four hours with Max.

Then ten years from the date of first meeting Max, there he is at her family's resort. He's there to help her again, when he's really the one that needs help. But these two can't get the words out to say what needs to be said. Usually I don't like that kind of thing, somehow not disclosing what is important, when to do so could explain so much. Too good to be true Max is here now but still, he seems out of reach even though she can touch him. Max is so likeable but has a wall up in some ways, Fern is so careful to not be hurt again, and then there are the interesting side characters to fill out this world of Max and Fern. I really did like what all the characters could add to this sweet story.

Expected pub May 2, 2023

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

⭐️🍋⛺️ meet me by the lake by carley fortune

i received a complementary copy of this book. all opinions expressed are my own !

wow. this has instantly become my top read book of 2023- it made me smile so hard and laugh i chocked and it made me sob full tears..

this book follows fern who has recently moved back to the resort she used to live at with her mum (the owner)- her mum has since died and left it to fern- however will, the man she spent only one day with almost ten years ago comes to check in saying it was her mums idea for him to help the resort. what will fern do?

fern- i loved fern’s character so much- the amount of depth she had- she was determined and clearly coping as best she could with her mums death- but this made me love her so much.. she was kind of serious but not enough that some of the things she said made me laugh so hard. i especially loved reading parts of her mums diary and learning even more about her mum and the person that would have brought her up ~ the diary entries are what caused me to cry so much

will- i loved will so much as well- he’s flawed but who isn’t.. he was a mystery at first but as fern got to know him we got to know him too- as she realised he was the exact same person he was 10 years ago- again these characters have such distinct personalities im convinced they’re real people.. i loved seeing him interact with fern and the plan he helped her come up with to save the resort!

i loved hearing about the resort and the flip between then and now- which gave you a completely rounded out plot- i enjoyed how all the pieces came together slowly but made reading to the end when everything made sense so much sweeter!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of thei book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute summer read. It follows Fern as she returns to her family’s lakeside resort after the death of her mother. We see her struggling to come to terms with her mothers death and the new responsibility she had in running the resort. She also had to deal with the reappearance of Will, a man she spent just a day with 10 years earlier but had a great connection with.

Overall this is a fun read. It has a very light feel to it and would make a great holiday read. I liked the characters and the banter and relationship between them all. There is a bit of insta love and miscommunication here but I felt it worked for this easy romance book.

Definitely one to take on holiday with you this year!

Thank you to Netgalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

3⭐️

I enjoyed this book just fine - it was an easy, summery read that made me feel warmer than I was. I loved all the Toronto references as someone who once lived there - that was super fun and nostalgic for me. Similarly, the descriptions of the lake resort were lovely as was the slow unfurling of Fern’s deep feelings and attachment to it - we don’t always know how much we love and appreciate home!

I thought Will and Fern’s chemistry was good - particularly in the past chapters - however, their present storyline was a little insta-lovey, given their ‘deep connection’ and pining was based on one day, a decade ago, which was a little off putting.

I wanted to see more of Peter! He was such a big part of her childhood but rarely appeared in the present timeline. I loved the little excerpts of his and Maggie’s story through the diary entries too and just wish we could’ve gotten more from it.

tldr; a sweet read for summery and nostalgic vibes.

Meet Me At the Lake is a beautiful story full of emotion. I was totally captured by Fern’s rollercoaster journey of emotions. I couldn’t put the book down as I was so swept away by moments of raw sorrow and pure joy. The connection between Will and Fern is masterfully built up through flashbacks to the past that slowly reveal more about each character. The setting of the resort by the lake provides a warm, summery fleeting feeling. I’d definitely recommend.

Well Carley Fortune does it again. Meet me at the lake sounded perfect from the synopsis and I loved the title too. It has a great build up to the story and coming good with a decent amount of romance too.
I loved both main characters Fern and Will and the writing was brilliant enough to keep me in suspense but also keeping me wanting more.
Another great book and definitely an auto buy author for me.

I loved the first book from Carley Fortune and so was so very excited to read her second. This dual timeline love story shows how Fern and Will meet in their 20's and spend a whole day together where they ultimately fall in love but don't find themselves in right place or time to take it any further. They agree to meet in a years time and of course swear they wont look each other up social media (I hate that because I can't believe anyone could avoid the pull of online stalking... especially for what ends up being 10 years)! the situation they find themselves in 10 years later isn't necessarily better than when they first met, there are still complications and plenty of baggage for each of them. I appreciated the mental health aspect for Will and even to a point the stigma that can come from mental illness but it's dissapointing that this and his lack of faith in Fern for entrusting her with the knowledge of his striggles and his family dynamic that made it difficult to digest as a truly wholesome love story. This was probably almost just as sad as it was romantic and certainly will bring the tears at times so have the tissues to hand!

I received this book as an ARC for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly a big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book ahead of its release! I hugely appreciate it!

I absolutely loved Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, it was one of my favourite romance reads from last year and I had such high hopes for Meet Me at the Lake but unfortunately, for me, it just isn’t as good. I couldn’t connect with the characters at all and got bored pretty fast. I also felt like there were too many similarities between the two books and in some places it really did feel like Fortune had copy and pasted. It also felt very rushed and not really that well developed in terms of the characters and even the plot. Also I really struggled with the idea that these two characters fell in love with each other after spending just one day together and then not seeing each other again for years?? I don’t know, I know this review seems harsh and I apologise, I am just being honest with my opinions! This book might be really great for other people! It just wasn’t for me unfortunately.

I enjoyed Meet Me at the Lake, though I admit I felt like something was missing. I’m not sure what, exactly, as everything I look for in a romance book was there: layered characters, chemistry, great writing, and vibrant locations. I never got the compulsion to immediately read on to find out what happens, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For me, this book was a quieter story, maybe even one to savour more than usual, and unravel its secrets at the same pace as the characters.

Fern and Will meet one random day when they’re twenty-two, and spend one perfect day together. Ten years later, they meet again, and try to make sense of their lives in the decade that’s passed. Fern is grieving her mother’s death while coming to terms with new added responsibilities, and Will is dealing with family matters of his own. Together they start to unpack what happened and why Will never showed up to meet Fern nine years ago, and what follows is a slow and steady love story.

I really liked Carley Fortune’s writing, and the way she mixed the past with the present, as well as interspersing Fern’s mum’s old diary entries as the book progressed. Fern and Will are both extremely likeable, if infuriating at times, and I was rooting for them from the start. I know falling for someone in the space of just one day is bordering on unbelievable, but it works here, and I never found myself questioning it. It provides a narrative that allows for two timelines, and I love that in a romance book — the then and now time jumps offer so much in the way of character growth, and I was glad to see it utilised here.

Meet Me at the Lake is about life, love, family, and friendship. It’s about missed opportunities, chosen paths, and a little thing called fate. Although it didn’t quite hit the dizzying heights I was expecting (my expectations were high thanks to all the buzz surrounding Fortune’s first novel, Every Summer After), I still liked it and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary romance.

3.5/5.

Although the first 20% of this book had me questioning if it was for me, I then totally fell in love with it and cried fairly ceaselessly for the last 20% of it. I really liked the premise of the book (it’s why I asked for an ARC, although I question how wise it is to spend 24 hours with a guy you’ve literally just met) but I feel the blurb really didn’t do it justice. I went into it thinking it was going to be a lot more comedic than it was because of the whole ‘my ex-boyfriend is the manager of my resort and my early thirties life isn’t where I thought it would be when I was in my early twenties’ angle. However, it wasn’t like that at all: the ex and Fern are really good friends and he’s a lovely, stand-up bloke. The book was actually a lot grittier than a standard romance novel, with themes like parental abandonment, unplanned pregnancies, the death of a mother when she’s still young, trying to find your home, homesickness, mental health, etc. Although I thought that Fern’s various allusions to her teenage years seemed a bit melodramatic at times, that is sort of how it feels to be a teenage girl - but still, I wouldn’t want the melodramatic tinge to block out how serious her actions were.

The book also had a dual (and sometimes triple?) timeline which also wasn’t mentioned on the blurb but I think maybe should have been - it was really well-executed, especially considering one timeline spans many weeks and one spans a single day.

I also loved the author’s letter at the back of the book and how she explained the importance of some of the themes to her and how her own life influenced the book.

Even though I loved the book overall, there were a few bits I wasn’t fully on board with, like how early on there were lots of references to how parts of Toronto reminded Fern of the lake back home - I get that the author was trying to emphasise how much Fern loved her home, even if she didn’t realise herself, but it seemed a little overdone. Fern also seemed to have a very sudden change of heart about running the family business, apparently after one meeting with her accountant, changing what she’s said are her entire life’s values up to this point - although after this meeting she spends a lot of the book still deciding, she seemed to have already made her snap decision then. The part where she decided to try and set fire to Will’s clothes was also a bit much. The worst bit for me was how Fern made her decision to be brave and choose love partly after learning that her mother had never done this with the man she loved, so it seemed as if her mom had to have made life-altering sacrifices in order for Fern to learn from her mistakes, so it was all at her mom’s expense. I get learning from your parent’s mistakes, but this seemed a bit too dark and sad and serious.

I also didn’t fully like Will, but doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading Fern and Will’s story - the book is written almost entirely from Fern’s perspective, and she adores him. It’s no bad thing to have a MC who’s three dimensional enough that they can be divisive amongst readers.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable, interesting romance novel, and wasn’t at all like others I’ve read. The epilogue was absolutely gorgeous and I would definitely recommend.

A beautiful story about love, loss and forgiveness.
I'm not usually a fan of second chance romance but I throughly enjoyed reading this one.
Each character had great growth throughout the book, and shared a lot of heartwarming moments.
This book was definitely more mature compared to Every Summer After and hit more harder subjects including mental health.
Definitely worth the read.
Thank you Netgalley and LBBG for the ARC

Meet Me at the Lake is a beautiful story filled with love, loss and life. It follows Fern and Will over the space of ten years, as we see how the plans they made for themselves change as life takes over.

Carly Fortune has once again perfectly executed a dual timeline, creating the perfect level of tension and intrigue between characters where you’re desperate to find out what has happened whilst falling deeply in love with the characters as you read. She not only gets you invested in the characters lives, but paints such a beautiful location that you can’t help but pause to look up flights to Canada to boom your trip.

All the charm, fun and mushy inside feelings you got from Every Summer After and here in this book too, and it’s a perfect heartwarming story that would be perfect for a little getaway to the lakes.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this book

Omg this book was everything and more. After how much I loved “every summer after” I had really high hopes for this one as well. And I’m happy to say I was not disappointed 😉

I feel like compare to “every summer after” this was a more grown up book, that tackled more mature topics.

I loved the idea of meeting someone and spending an entire day with that person and then deciding to meet a year later.
Let me tell you did I want to kill Will at one point ? Yep

I loved so much the back and forth in the book between the present and 9 years before. You get to see how Michael they both changed and how that day changed them both.

I did cried twice.
I think she is an auto buy for me. Like no matter what this woman writes I will buy it and I will love it and cry my heart and soul out 😂

This isn't the type of book I would normally read but I read great reviews of her previous novel and I am trying to expand my reading tastes.

I think this novel was good for what it was, the writing and story were good but it's not going to blow your socks off. If you're looking for some nice, gentle romance then this will be for you

I’m a sucker for second chances, and this one checked all my boxes.
We learn Fern and Will's story from ten years ago, when they had a wonderful 24 hours before returning to their daily lives. I was sceptical because she had a long-term boyfriend back home and while I don’t enjoy cheating stories, we soon find out that this wasn’t really a cheating moment. They make a pact to meet again the following year at the lake. She maintained her commitment, but he didn't show up for heartbreaking reasons.
They meet again ten years later, but things aren't as easy as they were back then. Her mother died, and she now needs assistance managing the resort she inherited.

Will, the man hired by her mother a few months ago, shows up , ten years older but still that only person who took her breath away. You can imagine how shocked she is because her heart has never fully mended after he left her waiting all those years ago.

It's a slow-burn romance in which they both have to grow as characters while dealing with a lot of emotional stuff, especially acceptance.

The story is full of emotions, forgiveness, heartwarming scenes, and love, so much love for family members, for oneself, and for the future they can have together.
4.5 stars
Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley