Reviews with content warning for Death - Meet Me at the Lake

I liked the storyline of this book most of all. One special day turning into something so much bigger. I also loved the setting of this book - both the resort on a lake and the bustling city. However, something felt like it was missing. I didn’t adore the characters. To keep the mystery, not much was known about the characters’ pasts until the end, which left me with a lack of connection with and understanding of the characters. The ending was a bit rushed feeling of finding out about each character and concluding.

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kelly_e's review

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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."

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nutmegvotour's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is somehow both sad and lighthearted as she learns to love her life, her hometown and someone else in the midst of her grief

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brazenbookbabe's review

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medium-paced

2.5

I struggled with this one. I felt like the characters were very flat and didn’t have a lot of chemistry. I feel that the romance part of the story was forced.

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alexisgarcia's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i was so disappointed by this :/ i really wanted to like this and thought it would be the perfect summer book but it felt like satire and just so immature. there was constant miscommunication, insta-love, emotional cheating, etc. i just really didn’t like this :(

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thatswhatshanread's review

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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 :)

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nicole_defran's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

I am disappointed with this one. Despite the cheating plot I didn’t hate her first book and was excited to read this one especially since people said there was no cheating… but like there was definitely some suspicious behavior. Also maybe insta-love (or obsession). He was super protective of his sister and her daughter which at first was fine but then got creepy and too much. When we meet his sister, she’s rude and I didn’t like her at all. The third act break up was ridiculous and so was how they reunite. The best part is her grieving her mom and coming to terms with her and what she wants for her life.

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micalyia's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was pretty mid.

I honestly didn’t see the chemistry between will and fern. It was severely lacking in banter.

Fortune used the now and then technique she used in every summer after which led to this book feeling way too similar at times.

Then she had fern not tell will about her bf for the majority of their time together which was a little bit too close to cheating (major grey area). I didn’t too much care for it, but I can imagine it really ruffling some feathers.

My fave people in this book were Jamie and Peter. Justice for them too.

There was all this build up for the big thing fern did in high school and it was truly underwhelming. I mean maybe I was just feeling too apathetic to the book and it didn’t impact me the way it should have.

And the third act break up was yikes. I hated how Annabel came across. Though I’m sure it was meant to just be playful and quirky, she seemed insensitive and bitchy.

I read the authors note, and the b&n exclusive content and the behind the book and it gave me a lot of background behind fortune’s literary decisions. But I felt like that was too little, too late. My mind was already made up.

Anyway, read this book if you must. Maybe you’ll have a better time than I did. But all in all, it was a book. Not too bad but not amazing.

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