Meet Me at the Lake

This book is my favorite book of the summer and deserves a lot more than five stars. I loved the entire story from start to finish, the characters, the twists and turns- even going back in time, which I don’t typically enjoy. Everything wove together perfectly. This book really was a romance masterpiece. Loved, loved, loved.

Enjoyed this book quite a bit- lots of feels and characters were great.

I wanted to love this book. I so enjoyed One Golden Summer and Every Summer After. Truly loved them. But this book, the characters, I simply couldn't relate to. Graffiti, tattoos, chipped blue nail polish, bad attitudes of indifference and punk haircuts. Perhaps it's because I grew up in the 60's, but these characters were waste cases. And Annabelle used her brother badly. If you're going to get pregnant and have the baby, grow up and take responsibility. To make a brother take her in as a pseudo wife and raise his niece like his own child and brother feel responsible and guilty all the time is a crime. I didn't like any of the characters. You have to be invested in a character to get through a book. Out of respect for enjoying the books I mentioned at the start of this review , I stuck with it, but halfway through, skipped past the annoying diary entries. I gave the book three stars. I read a lot of books. This didn't cut it. For me.

Love this author and highly recommend binge reading all of her novels.

It took a few chapters to really get into the story, but once I did, I understood Fern. The conflict with her mother. Not wanting to change her life plans. Love conflict. I love happy endings.

The book was in great condition and the story was great! I loved it! I’m glad I have the physical copy of the book so that I can read it again. Highly recommend!

This was my First Carley Fortune Novel and I have a lot of thoughts…This book wasn’t bad (the writing was very well done, and I enjoyed that aspect) but, I struggled a little through it.I didn’t love the main character, Fern. I also feel like I didn’t get as much information about Will as I would’ve liked; he had the bones of a great male lead, but just wasn’t as fleshed out as I think he could’ve been.Also, the biggest issue was… I felt like the story required some pretty STRONG suspension-of-disbelief.In a nutshell: girl meets boy, then falls in love with him after 24 hours (even though they’re both in seemingly healthy relationships) she then pines after him for the next decade.I’m not saying it’s not possible, but I had a hard time buying itThe real kicker, Though? She didn’t even break up with her (super sweet, loving) boyfriend after unapologetically emotionally cheating on him. Instead she forced him into breaking up with her!(?) and yet, ten years later, it seems like the poor guy is still carrying a torch for her and treats her super well despite everything — it’s just not at all believable.(also, the emotional cheating that happens between Fern & Will was so, so exhausting)BUT, despite all that, I do feel like this book could absolutely be someone’s cup of tea (like I said, it’s not bad and is written well!)I’ll continue to explore Carley Fortune’s other books, and would still recommend giving this a shot, if you can just pretend the aforementioned issues don’t bother you too much.

3 starsDo you ever feel bad for the author when writing a less than perfect review? Because that’s how I feel right now especially after having read the author’s notes in which Carley explains that she really struggled to write this one.But I swore to always be honest in my reviews so here we go, no matter what.Is that book bad?No.There are plenty of things that I loved like:-The set of side characters. From Fern’s best friend looking like an overenthusiastic puppy to the Roses, the old eccentric guests making cocktails, to Peter’s solid and discreet presence, they all helped me see that world, make it real.-The setting. A resort alongside a Canadian lake. I could see myself swimming or hiring a canoe. I heard the birds in the trees, saw the dining room with guests etc. It felt like being on holiday.-The pacing. It was just right for the story. We switch between past, when Fern met Will and now, ten years later. It was steady, not too fast nor too slow and fitting to have the story unfurl slowly, recounting past events and present traumas.-The meet cute. Fern and Will’s day in the city ten years ago was the perfect romantic meet. It felt like a bubble in time where everything is ripe with possibilities. Will was the promising and handsome artist, Fern was prickly and undecided yet about her future. Both on the brink of a new life.-Fern. I think Carley Fortune wrote Fern very realistically. She is full of doubts, is looking for her path in life. Past Fern had her demons, understandably so and went through a wild phase. New Fern is more mature but still struggling after her mother’s death. She will grow a lot in the story.-The ending. Thank god we had these last 10 percent! That helped explain a lot about Will’s decision and had me feeling a smidge better.ButI am a reader and reviewer very much driven by my emotions and feelings.And what I felt very often was extremely frustrated!I was angry with Will. He never showed up nine years ago and now that he is back, he gives no explanation, no excuses. And Fern chooses to go with it???Sorry but if you don’t show up and you make a mistake, you GROVEL!You explain and hope it’s a fantastic explanation to beg for forgiveness.Not knowing what happened had me keeping Will at arm’s length. I didn’t trust him and didn’t warm up to him, even if he was kind of a baby whisperer. And I didn’t understand Fern in her decision to take a risk, knowing that her heart could be crushed again. Even if at the same time I admired her bravery.As a character driven reader, not liking Will really dampened my enjoyment and is the main reason for my low rating alongside the lack of groveling.What I would have liked to see more of was grief.Fern just lost her mom. We get passing mentions that she misses her mom and see her reading her diary but I think the story would have gained even more depth if we focused more on the grief stages. I don’t mean to make it a sob story or the core of the book but it was nearly brushed under the rug. Or at least, that’s how I experienced it.As you can see, that book has a lot of assets but also missed the mark for me.Does that mean that Carley Fortune is a “one book” author like she feared? Certainly not as she has proven that she can write. I just hope for her that her next story will “spill out” of her like Every Summer After did.Also, I haven’t looked at any review yet so I might be in the minority here. So go check other opinions (like I’ll do now 😉 ).