Meet Me At The Lake

Fans of Carley Fortune’s popular 2022 debut Every Summer After will be excited to read this heartwarming sophomore story that is set in Toronto and Muskoka and features a second chance romance.

The story centres around Fern and Will, two strangers who meet randomly and spend a life-changing day together in Toronto. Forced to part ways, they agree to meet one year later at Fern's family's lakeside resort in Ontario cottage country. But one of them keeps this promise and the other breaks it, with dire consequences for the couple.

Told in alternating timelines (current day, and Fern and Will's magical day ten years prior) as well as entries from Fern's mother's diary, this story is a sweet romance that has a couple readers will root for. But its slow burn delivery will require readers to be patient as Fortune reveals what happened to the couple - who didn't keep the promise and why. 

The story is packed with interesting topics including family, friendship, mental health, loss and living your life on your own terms. These are heavy topics, but Fortune adds levity with regular mentions of pop culture and bits of humour. Ontarians should also recognize and appreciate many popular Toronto locations and attractions and easily envision the beauty of Muskoka.  

My only issues with this book are the use of miscommunication and the use of only one POV. I also would have liked more time for the reader to digest and better understand the reason for the couple's problems - which is revealed late in the book. 

Meet Me At The Lake is a great pick for a summer read and is an impressive follow-up to her very popular debut last year. Preorder your copy now for its May 2nd release!

NOTE: I highly recommend reading the author's note at the end where she details her writing process for the very personal aspects of this story.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Viking (Penguin Random House Canada) and NetGalley for my advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3.75 stars

Author: Carley Fortune

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Canadian

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Viking (Penguin Random House Canada)

First Published: May 2, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?