A radiant, new escape to the lake from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune
I never anticipated Charlie Florek.
Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.
Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.
Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.
Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.
I never anticipated Charlie Florek.
Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.
Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.
Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.
Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.
Title: One Golden Summer (Barry's Bay #2)
Author: Carley Fortune
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Expected Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Review:
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I cannot express how excited I was when I heard Fortune was going to write Charlie's story. I wasn't a lover of Charlie when I read Every Summer After, but I knew there had to be more to him than I saw in that book. I knew Charlie need his own HEA. And boy was I right! Warning, though, if you have not read the first book, I do not recommend jumping right into this one. The background the first book provides is pretty critical to who Charlie is and also to his relationship with his brother, Sam, and Percy. You wouldn't be lost, perse, but you would not completely understand the dynamics at work.
This book picks up a few years after Every Summer After. It's summer once again and the lake is bustling. Alice Everly decides she is in need a break from life. Her grandmother, Nan, is recovering from surgery, her photography career is not going as she planned, and she's still struggling to get over her most recent break up. What better place to relax and rejuvenate than Barry's Bay! Alice has fond memories of the place and the photo that launched her photography career was taken there the summer of her 17th birthday. She's expecting to go there and feel what she once felt for her photography, what she's not expecting is Charlie Florek.
Alice is a great character. She's well developed and completely relatable. I really enjoyed watching her find herself at the lake. She arrives with only the thought that she must help her Nan get better but that's not all that happens. Along the way, she realizes many things about herself and grows from that. She takes hold of her life, she finds direction, and she finds love she wasn't expecting (even if it's not what was agreed upon). At first I thought she might be more timid than she was, but she's not at all. She's strong and resilient. She doesn't adapt easily at first but once she realizes she needs to open herself up to new possibilities, she becomes so very strong.
Charlie might just be one of my favorite book boyfriends. he's charming and has so much humor. But He's closed also off when it comes to love and he struggles with his own past and the luggage he seems to carry from his loss. He doesn't believe he's worthy of it from anyone. He believes all he is good for is fun and doesn't want to weigh anyone down with the baggage he has. But he wasn't expecting Alice and how her love language is to take care of others, including him. I won't get into his issues, as they become paramount to the story and I certainly don't want to spoil anything. But Charlie has secrets he holds close to his chest, things he doesn't want others burdened with.
If you're looking for an amazing slow burn romance, look no further. The flirting! The touching! The gazing! Not to mention amazing banter! It's all right here. Carley builds the relationship between Alice and Charlie in little spurts. Each time letting the characters open to each other, though Alice opens more than Charlie does (at least until the end). But don't overlook the other connections that are made in this book. The found family aspect is very strong.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention this book contains some of our favorite characters, mainly Sam and Percy. While we don't get a ton of them, we get enough to show their HEA continues to shine. And I absolutely love the connection Alice finds with Percy. Being a woman who doesn't have many close friends, I connected with this part of Alice very well. So when she had the opportunity to have a strong, independent, loving woman come into her life and be her friend, I cheered it on!
The lake, oh the lake! So much nostalgia packed into this story. I spent some summers when I was younger going to my friend's bungalow colony in New York. Her father owned two and one was right on a lake. I remember our lazy days of swimming, boating, fishing, and just laying out on the floating dock. It was so much fun and these books never fail to bring back those memories and the feelings that go along with them. Like me, Alice seems much more relaxed and happy at the lake. Days are spent lounging and not worrying about anything from real life. It's its own little bubble world of summer and fun. Fortune paints a great picture of what it looks like. This book made me laugh, cry, smile, swoon, and just downright feel happy. Tears were shed, in a good way, and my heart was full at the end. That, my friends, is the crux of a good story.
If I say the pacing in this one is fast, I would not be telling a lie. I truly didn't want to put it down. Fortune made me want to turn the pages over and over again so I could continue to bask in Alice and Charlie's story. I didn't want it to end, though. And, as I got closer to finishing it, all I could think to myself is when will Fortune be putting out another book? I love her plot lines. She does a great slow burn build with her characters.
This book is not only about finding yourself and what makes you happy, but the journey getting there and all those people who stand beside you (friends and family) to lift you up and help you shine. It's about support and generosity and keeping your heart open to new feelings and opportunities. It's also about sticking to your guns and morals and making sure you feel right about where you are and where you're going. If I could give this book infinity stars, I would. It hit all my spots for a great romantic story without being overly dramatic. If you're looking for a hot flirtatious boy who meets an artistic and people pleasing girl who both find, in the end, their lives are so much better when they open their hearts to love, then pick this up, sit down with it, and thank me later!
I cannot express how excited I was when I heard Fortune was going to write Charlie's story. I wasn't a lover of Charlie when I read Every Summer After, but I knew there had to be more to him than I saw in that book. I knew Charlie need his own HEA. And boy was I right! Warning, though, if you have not read the first book, I do not recommend jumping right into this one. The background the first book provides is pretty critical to who Charlie is and also to his relationship with his brother, Sam, and Percy. You wouldn't be lost, perse, but you would not completely understand the dynamics at work.
This book picks up a few years after Every Summer After. It's summer once again and the lake is bustling. Alice Everly decides she is in need a break from life. Her grandmother, Nan, is recovering from surgery, her photography career is not going as she planned, and she's still struggling to get over her most recent break up. What better place to relax and rejuvenate than Barry's Bay! Alice has fond memories of the place and the photo that launched her photography career was taken there the summer of her 17th birthday. She's expecting to go there and feel what she once felt for her photography, what she's not expecting is Charlie Florek.
Alice is a great character. She's well developed and completely relatable. I really enjoyed watching her find herself at the lake. She arrives with only the thought that she must help her Nan get better but that's not all that happens. Along the way, she realizes many things about herself and grows from that. She takes hold of her life, she finds direction, and she finds love she wasn't expecting (even if it's not what was agreed upon). At first I thought she might be more timid than she was, but she's not at all. She's strong and resilient. She doesn't adapt easily at first but once she realizes she needs to open herself up to new possibilities, she becomes so very strong.
Charlie might just be one of my favorite book boyfriends. he's charming and has so much humor. But He's closed also off when it comes to love and he struggles with his own past and the luggage he seems to carry from his loss. He doesn't believe he's worthy of it from anyone. He believes all he is good for is fun and doesn't want to weigh anyone down with the baggage he has. But he wasn't expecting Alice and how her love language is to take care of others, including him. I won't get into his issues, as they become paramount to the story and I certainly don't want to spoil anything. But Charlie has secrets he holds close to his chest, things he doesn't want others burdened with.
If you're looking for an amazing slow burn romance, look no further. The flirting! The touching! The gazing! Not to mention amazing banter! It's all right here. Carley builds the relationship between Alice and Charlie in little spurts. Each time letting the characters open to each other, though Alice opens more than Charlie does (at least until the end). But don't overlook the other connections that are made in this book. The found family aspect is very strong.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention this book contains some of our favorite characters, mainly Sam and Percy. While we don't get a ton of them, we get enough to show their HEA continues to shine. And I absolutely love the connection Alice finds with Percy. Being a woman who doesn't have many close friends, I connected with this part of Alice very well. So when she had the opportunity to have a strong, independent, loving woman come into her life and be her friend, I cheered it on!
The lake, oh the lake! So much nostalgia packed into this story. I spent some summers when I was younger going to my friend's bungalow colony in New York. Her father owned two and one was right on a lake. I remember our lazy days of swimming, boating, fishing, and just laying out on the floating dock. It was so much fun and these books never fail to bring back those memories and the feelings that go along with them. Like me, Alice seems much more relaxed and happy at the lake. Days are spent lounging and not worrying about anything from real life. It's its own little bubble world of summer and fun. Fortune paints a great picture of what it looks like. This book made me laugh, cry, smile, swoon, and just downright feel happy. Tears were shed, in a good way, and my heart was full at the end. That, my friends, is the crux of a good story.
If I say the pacing in this one is fast, I would not be telling a lie. I truly didn't want to put it down. Fortune made me want to turn the pages over and over again so I could continue to bask in Alice and Charlie's story. I didn't want it to end, though. And, as I got closer to finishing it, all I could think to myself is when will Fortune be putting out another book? I love her plot lines. She does a great slow burn build with her characters.
This book is not only about finding yourself and what makes you happy, but the journey getting there and all those people who stand beside you (friends and family) to lift you up and help you shine. It's about support and generosity and keeping your heart open to new feelings and opportunities. It's also about sticking to your guns and morals and making sure you feel right about where you are and where you're going. If I could give this book infinity stars, I would. It hit all my spots for a great romantic story without being overly dramatic. If you're looking for a hot flirtatious boy who meets an artistic and people pleasing girl who both find, in the end, their lives are so much better when they open their hearts to love, then pick this up, sit down with it, and thank me later!
Author:
Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Every Summer After, Meet Me at the Lake, and This Summer Will Be Different. Her fourth novel, One Golden Summer comes out May 6, 2025. The book takes readers back to Barry's Bay, the setting of Every Summer After.
Carley is an award-winning journalist and worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and The Grid. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada.
Carley spent her young life in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and in Barry’s Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario.
Carley lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.
Carley is an award-winning journalist and worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and The Grid. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada.
Carley spent her young life in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and in Barry’s Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario.
Carley lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.
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