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bookscatsandtats's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. That was a heartfelt and wildly well written book.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character Development: ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
Setting/World Building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Spice: 🌶️
Romance/Tears: 💖💖💖💖
I loved the Dual Timeline. I thought this was really well done. Will and Fern’s love story is so interesting and heartfelt. I loved how the characters deal with and learn about their grief and anxiety.
It was so interesting to weave in her mother’s journal and some of her story with Peter. The side characters were all wonderful.
The setting was just beautiful and I felt like I was wandering around the grounds for Brookbanks Resort.
This was so much more than just a summer rom-com. Truly unique storytelling and I was so invested in these characters. I couldn’t put the book down.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character Development: ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
Setting/World Building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Spice: 🌶️
Romance/Tears: 💖💖💖💖
I loved the Dual Timeline. I thought this was really well done. Will and Fern’s love story is so interesting and heartfelt. I loved how the characters deal with and learn about their grief and anxiety.
It was so interesting to weave in her mother’s journal and some of her story with Peter. The side characters were all wonderful.
The setting was just beautiful and I felt like I was wandering around the grounds for Brookbanks Resort.
This was so much more than just a summer rom-com. Truly unique storytelling and I was so invested in these characters. I couldn’t put the book down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use and Pregnancy
embelle's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Not me unexpectedly bawling at the last paragraph of the
epilogue! The story got better and better for me as it went on, and the epilogue brought everything together in such a poignant, beautiful way. This book touched on so many more topics than I had anticipated, and I really enjoyed how Carley Fortune featured reflections on familial and platonic love in addition to the main romantic love story. Looking forward to reading more from this author!
epilogue! The story got better and better for me as it went on, and the epilogue brought everything together in such a poignant, beautiful way. This book touched on so many more topics than I had anticipated, and I really enjoyed how Carley Fortune featured reflections on familial and platonic love in addition to the main romantic love story. Looking forward to reading more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Car accident and Pregnancy
cassidy_rain's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“I like you…You’re too pretty and too tall, but you’re good with babies and you seem smart. And frankly, that was the best risotto I’ve ever had. But if you fuck my friend over again, I will drive to Toronto, and I will kill you.”
Carley Fortune is an auto-buy/read author for me and I absolutely loved this. I LOVE her writing style so much. This book (despite not being the same) has Dirty Dancing ✨vibes✨ and as one of my favorite movies I absolutely adored it.
Meet Me at the Lake follows FMC Fern as she takes over the family resort after her mom unexpectedly passes away. She learns a lot about herself and what she wants and navigates if she wants to run the resort (something she never saw for herself and her future) or sell. MMC Will (old flame of course) shows up to the resort as a hired consultant (by the mother) to help bring in more business. It really heats things up if you know what I mean… 😉🌶️
I really liked all the characters in here and definitely felt the chemistry. The story follows a few timelines- present day, ten years earlier, and snippets of the mom’s perspective through her journals. I think the journals were a really sweet addition. Dare I say, however limited, the love story (platonic and romantic) between Fern’s mom and Peter as told through journals was the most beautiful of all. The slow burn between the main characters is great. A perfect example of right person, wrong time. I also love the themes of friendship and familial love as well. The entire story is a beautiful journey of growing into yourself and accepting that plans may change and that’s okay.
Predictable and a little unrealistic at times, but overall a cute summer read!
“I know you're not ready right now, honey, but I think one day you'll find your heart's too big for just you.”
Carley Fortune is an auto-buy/read author for me and I absolutely loved this. I LOVE her writing style so much. This book (despite not being the same) has Dirty Dancing ✨vibes✨ and as one of my favorite movies I absolutely adored it.
Meet Me at the Lake follows FMC Fern as she takes over the family resort after her mom unexpectedly passes away. She learns a lot about herself and what she wants and navigates if she wants to run the resort (something she never saw for herself and her future) or sell. MMC Will (old flame of course) shows up to the resort as a hired consultant (by the mother) to help bring in more business. It really heats things up if you know what I mean… 😉🌶️
I really liked all the characters in here and definitely felt the chemistry. The story follows a few timelines- present day, ten years earlier, and snippets of the mom’s perspective through her journals. I think the journals were a really sweet addition. Dare I say, however limited, the love story (platonic and romantic) between Fern’s mom and Peter as told through journals was the most beautiful of all. The slow burn between the main characters is great. A perfect example of right person, wrong time. I also love the themes of friendship and familial love as well. The entire story is a beautiful journey of growing into yourself and accepting that plans may change and that’s okay.
Predictable and a little unrealistic at times, but overall a cute summer read!
“I know you're not ready right now, honey, but I think one day you'll find your heart's too big for just you.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sylls_'s review
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Self harm and Car accident
kdailyreads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
gabthebookworm's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
jelkebooks's review
lighthearted
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? Yes
2.0
You know what, for most of this book I did quite like this book. It wasn't anything too special, but I did quite like the resort setting. I thought it was just a fun location radiating the summer vibes, and I loved the cast of side characters making up this place. On top of that I also really liked our main character's, Fern, personal journey throughout the book. Her difficult relationship with her mom was really interesting, because despite it being difficult it was full of love. Typically when books center a difficult relationship with a parent, love is typically hard to find. Add to that that her mom died a couple of months before the start of the novel, and now she has to decide to sell or take over the resort that was her mother's everything but she spend her entire life running away from, and you've got such an interesting and complex story. It legit made me tear up a few times.
The romance was fine enough as well for the most part. I just wanted a little more from it. I did like the switches between past and present, and despite them only spending one day together in the past, I do really feel like the author did a great job developing that deeper connection between them at the time. I just wish it didn't get this close to cheating though. However, in the present we are constantly told about how much the two of them have changed, but we barely get them getting to know each other again. Most of the time they hang out after they get together they are just having sex. I just missed that deeper connection from the past there. Especially on Will's side. He kept Fern at such a distance, in my opinion. It kept me from getting fully invested.
Then we get to the third act conflict though, and this book had my blood boiling. It just showcased how absolutely emotionally constipated Will is. His sister is the one to open up to Fern, not him. It just gave me such a massive ick. The way he also just runs feels like such a massive red flag, and I truly don't believe that man will stick around at the next small inconvience. I also feel like some parts about it are just really poorly handled. I won't go in depth about it to avoid spoilers, just know Will is a massive manbaby and I truly think these two are better of apart. It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth towards the romance.
The romance was fine enough as well for the most part. I just wanted a little more from it. I did like the switches between past and present, and despite them only spending one day together in the past, I do really feel like the author did a great job developing that deeper connection between them at the time. I just wish it didn't get this close to cheating though. However, in the present we are constantly told about how much the two of them have changed, but we barely get them getting to know each other again. Most of the time they hang out after they get together they are just having sex. I just missed that deeper connection from the past there. Especially on Will's side. He kept Fern at such a distance, in my opinion. It kept me from getting fully invested.
Then we get to the third act conflict though, and this book had my blood boiling. It just showcased how absolutely emotionally constipated Will is. His sister is the one to open up to Fern, not him. It just gave me such a massive ick. The way he also just runs feels like such a massive red flag, and I truly don't believe that man will stick around at the next small inconvience. I also feel like some parts about it are just really poorly handled. I won't go in depth about it to avoid spoilers, just know Will is a massive manbaby and I truly think these two are better of apart. It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth towards the romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Abandonment
sjexley's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Summer vibes, with a second chance romance and very sweet mother-daughter relationship. As young college kids, Fern and Will have a meet cute and end up spending one perfect day together...except each of them are in a relationship with someone else. They make a promise to meet up on the same day, one year later...but Will doesn't show. Now it's 9 years later and Fern has a lot of big decisions to make. This was a perfect beach read, and I didn't mind all the character's flaws bc it felt more realistic to me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
rachelh92's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent