Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune: Book Review

Meet Me At The Lake is a passionate romance story of two young adults who spend a whirlwind day together and the promise to meet again a year later.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Penguin Canada and Libro.fm for the ALC of this audiobook. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

From The Publisher:

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in the city. 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 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.

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

My Thoughts:

Told in two timeframes ten years apart, Meet Me At The Lake is Carley Fortune’s sophomore novel. The characters are well-developed, likeable and have interesting backstories. I loved the descriptions of the lakeside resort setting and the palpable passion between the two protagonists.

Fern and Will meet in their early twenties and spend a memorable twenty-four hours together in Toronto. Each needs to move on with their life but the two agree to meet at Fern’s mother’s lakeside resort in Muskoka in one year. When Will fails to show up, Fern is heartbroken.

Ten years later, Fern’s mother passed away and has left the resort to Fern. Fern has made a life for herself in Toronto and has no desire to run the resort. That is until she arrives back at the resort and is flooded with the memories and beauty of the area. Will also arrives having stayed there the year before and committing Fern’s mother to help update the resort and market it. The two reconnect and find that their attraction to one another remains. But can Fern risk her heart being broken once again?

I loved this book. The initial meeting of Fern and Will felt youthful and appreciative of all that life holds ahead. When they meet ten years later, they’ve each had more life experience and the romance feels tentative yet passionate. In fact, I felt many of the same emotions that I did in the author’s first book “Every Summer After”.

The story includes an important message about mental health which is loosely based on the author’s own experience. Carley Fortune shares this information with care and respect. I thank the author for providing this personal information in the hopes of educating and reaching out to others who may share this experience.

I listened to the audiobook version of the book which was narrated by A.J. Bridel. Her performance was expressive and easy to listen to. She provided a wide range of voices to both male and female characters which felt believable and not forced. I would recommend the audiobook version of this book to those that enjoy this format.

I recommend this book to those readers who enjoy reading Romance.

Another Book I’ve Reviewed Written by Carley Fortune:

Every Summer After