Title: Meet Me at the Lake
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Published On: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Source: physical
Pages: 320
Synopsis:
A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects, in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Every Summer After.
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 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.
But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?
My thoughts
(Spoilers ahead! You’ve been warned!)
As I sit here trying to write a review for Meet Me at the Lake, the second novel by Carley Fortune, the author of one of my favorite books from last year, a long, slow sigh slips out from between my lips. I’m starting to feel like a broken record when I’m writing about the books that follow some of my all-time favorite books. My expectations are unrealistically high, and I’m always longing for those same feelings I had when I read the previous books: the magic, the all-consuming angst. It’s too much to live up to! I haven’t found a good way to lower those expectations before I dive in. If anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them.
“I am happy—Will and I spend every moment we can together, and it feels so easy and right. But summer doesn’t last forever.”
Sometimes a few negative early reviews will do the trick. They’ll lower my expectations a bit. But I hadn’t seen any for Meet Me at the Lake before I started reading. BUT I also try to avoid too many reviews in fear of spoilers. It’s a no-win situation for me.
And already it’s sounding as if I didn’t enjoy this book, which is SO not true. I did. But it wasn’t the five-star gush fest I had with Every Summer After. I have a lot to unpack with Meet Me at the Lake, and unfortunately, I don’t think I can do it without being spoiler-y. But I won’t spoil the ending!
Probably the best way for me to handle this review is just to talk about what worked and what didn’t work for me.
What worked:
The setting. Fortune is phenomenal at placing her characters in a setting that has a life of its own. I loved the lakeside resort with the small cabins, à la Dirty Dancing. I also loved Fern and Will’s day spent in Toronto that was the setting of the alternate past chapters.
Fortune also creates wonderfully flawed and layered characters. I don’t always agree with their choices, but I’m okay with that, because it’s true of people in real life, as well. Her side characters are usually fleshed out, too, giving their presence in the story gravity and meaning. I adored Fern’s mother’s story with Peter. While I didn’t think it was necessarily very plausible, I appreciated the romance of it.
I loved, loved, loved how she included mental health issues in this book, especially an issue that’s not well-known or talked about much. It was brave to include something she has personally experienced, and I can only applaud her for it. I would love to see more of that from her. There was a plot point in how she delivered this issue, though, that I thought could have been done better or made more realistic. More about that in a bit.
What didn’t work for me:
I know some readers were not a fan of Every Summer After because one of the most-hated tropes was included, and came as a major surprise in the book. It’s not a trope that personally bothers me. Real life is messy and I like that to be included in my books, as well, but I can completely understand why it would be a trigger for many people. So, I know many readers were concerned that it would be a trope that made an appearance in this book, as well, and while it is different, I was surprised the author even went anywhere near that trope again. Maybe (hopefully) she’s completely unaware of how strongly some readers felt about it in Every Summer After, but I read the first half of this book unable to relax into it, worried about readers gathering their torches for her again. And while there is a difference between physical cheating and emotional cheating, I would think readers who have a problem with cheating would say they’re both unacceptable. I need to go search out all those reviews I avoided before I read the book and mull over the general consensus.
While I knew Fern and Will were the main love story of the book, I couldn’t help being pulled toward Fern’s ex Jamie, with a small part of me hoping Fern chose him in the end, although I knew it wouldn’t really happen. I think Fortune made him too likable. He needed some flaws or we needed to know more about him in the now parts of the book. I needed to hear a conversation between him and Fern giving me closure. I needed to know that he got his happy ending, too. Maybe she has a book planned for him and that’s why we didn’t get more?? I would be okay with that.
And now the mental health plot issue that I mentioned above: We find out Will deals with anxiety and specifically postpartum depression/anxiety/OCD. I’m not really sure if it was one or all of the issues. In the copy I have, the author included a discussion about this very personal issue in the “Behind the Book” section at the end of the book (which you can also find in the Book Club Kit). She stated that she kept Will’s thoughts and issues a bit vague, and I completely appreciated that. The plot issue I had was that I wish it would have been his own child instead of his niece. Not that he wouldn’t have those anxiety issues with a niece, but I felt like it would have been more effective, as well as throwing a more meaningful wrench into why he didn’t reach out to Fern after their first meeting. The reveal just wasn’t as impactful for me. It was a much harder stretch for me to sympathize with or understand, which took me out of the story.
Lastly (and much less serious), in this book Fern talks continually about making playlists. Right from the very beginning. I fully expected to find one at the back of my Barnes & Noble copy with all those fun extras when I flipped though to the end. I flipped through once, twice, then more slowly with one eye open not wanting to get spoiled. Nothing! I felt wronged! So, of course, I kept a running note with each song or artist mentioned, and I’ll be sharing my playlist below.
After all that, would I recommend Meet Me at the Lake? Yes! I would especially recommend that you read this one by the lake or pool or beach, with a warm summer breeze to keep you company. I read this one slowly, and while it’s not how I expected I would read it, I enjoyed my longer stay within its pages.
Rating:
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About the Author
Carley Fortune is the New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of EVERY SUMMER AFTER. Her second book, MEET ME AT THE LAKE, comes out May 2, 2023. It’s a breathtaking love story about two strangers who come together when they need each other most. Once, in their early twenties, and again a decade later.
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, 8and in Barry’s Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario and the setting for EVERY SUMMER AFTER.
EVERY SUMMER AFTER was an instant international bestseller and Carley’s debut novel.
Carley lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.
A Song For A Book
Dirty Dancing is a big influence in the book, and the author leans into several times, including Fern’s (hated) nickname ‘Baby’ given to her by her best friend when they were kids, as well as mentioning some of the music from the film. I’ve decided to highlight “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes. The lyrics worked so well, too! (A fun fact about me and the film: I watched it over 100 times when I was a kid. 😳 It definitely contributed to the fact that I’m a hopeless romantic.)
The night we met I knew I needed you so
And if I had the chance I’d never let you go
So won’t you say you love me?
I’ll make you so proud of me
We’ll make ’em turn their heads every place we go
So won’t you, please (be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby? (My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now (my one and only baby)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh…
Have you read Meet Me at the Lake? Did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Great review! I am looking forward to listening to this one.
I’ll be anxious to hear what you think!
I was moved by this book. I liked Jamie, but Fortune built a strong enough reason for why he and Fern were better as friends.
Maybe I would feel that way if I did a reread?? There definitely could have been something I missed. I would love for him to get his own book, though.
I wouldn’t mind revisiting this world. An update would be great along with a new story
Yes! I agree!
Excellent and thoughtful review, Dedra. I have saved your playlist to I can listen to it over the next few days before I read the book.
Oh yay!! I look forward to hearing what you think of it!
I really like the sound of this one! Onto the summer reading list it goes. 😀
Yes! I hope you enjoy it!
MEET ME AT THE LAKE has been getting so much positive buzz that it’s probably impossible for it to totally live up to it. I’m still planning to read it, but maybe I’ll try EVERY SUMMER AFTER first.
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Every Summer After is my favorite, but I know I’m in the minority. 😃
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! Sadly I don’t have any suggestions for how to lower your expectations on a book other than “wait a while”… and even that doesn’t always work.
Yes! I have tried that with a few books. Sometimes if I wait until the hype calms down and the book has a few more mixed reviews, it can lower my expectations. 😃
I loved the previous book, and have been looking forward to this one. Seems I’ll definitely have to lower my expectations though.
It definitely could just be me, but I always prefer to go in with lower expectations anyway. Ha! I hope you enjoy it!