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A review by stephsbooktalk
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
5.0
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advance copy of this book!
Carley Fortune has become an autobuy author for me here in 2023! I knew all about the buzz over Every Summer After last summer and bought the book immediately. And like every book influencer or reader will tell you that the to be read just grows and grows. But finally this spring, I read Every Summer After and was pulled into this Canadian summer vibe.
This book was no exception. After going to a book retreat at a resort that reminded me of the Brookbanks resort, I immediately had this picture in my head of how beautiful the landscape of it all was.
"It was my mom who saved my life, but it was Will who helped me figure out how to make it my own."
Just like its predecessor, Meet Me At the Lake is told in two timelines - current and past. Fern Brookbanks returns back to the one place she didn't think she would ever go back to. After her mother's death she was left with a resort that had been with her family for generations. She needs to decide if she wants to sell or keep the legacy going. Then a man from her past appears at the resort to help come up with a business plan to "save the resort" and all the feelings she buried 10 years ago comes back.
I actually thought we were going to get a love triangle at the start of this which I am so happy that was not the case. I thought it was refreshing to see a healthy relationship between two exes. Jamie seems like such a great guy and I'm glad he remained that way throughout the book. Even though we dodged a bullet with the love triangle trope, this book does not shy away from the miscommunication trope.
Fern & Will's relationship in the present time was interesting. As mentioned above a lot of the issues that they faced could have been solved with a really deep conversation. They have had many conversations but none that were of the real deep importance. She had been very upset with Will that he did not show up 9 years prior after they made plans to reconnect and they just never talked about it. In the last quarter of the book, communication was something that Will especially struggled with. Not sure if I fully bought the way things came together in the end (I don't want to say because of spoilers) but I guess it make sense. I did love seeing their story build between the past and the present. And the epilogue was just so incredibly beautiful!!!
In romances, it is not often you learn something new but I did learn that there was something called postpartum OCD. And that this not only occurs in new birth parents but also those that adopt and take on a parent role. And I love that Fortune gave this not to Sofia's mother but to the uncle who stepped in and helped his sister and child.
"I want to tell her I'm going to stay. I want to ask her for advice. I want her to tell me how proud she is. I want my mom."
I'm always fascinated by how authors take on the topic of grief in books. And from what I have read in recent times, they are all different which is how grief is. I thought Fern was incredibly strong but also had her moments where she wanted her mom and is angry (as she should be). I love that this touched on those teen years where I think majority of us have those complex relationships with our mothers. But I know for myself I had to get through those years to see how special the adult relationship is with her and I appreciate that especially with friends who have lost their mothers at a young age. Fern knows how special the resort is and can feel that connection with her mom there. We also got to know her mom through her journal entries which in some ways paralleled Fern's life.
And everyone, if you know me you know I have been trying to find a book that will melt my icy heart and I am happy to report I did shed a couple of tears from this. I am not sure if it was a mix of the emotions from the book and the subconscious feeling I had going to my first baby shower since my miscarriages (and post pandemic) and just the idea of my parents aging. I also finished this in the wee hours during an insomnia moment so there was a mix of different things but it hit me.
I will be recommending this to all my romance lover reader friends!
Carley Fortune has become an autobuy author for me here in 2023! I knew all about the buzz over Every Summer After last summer and bought the book immediately. And like every book influencer or reader will tell you that the to be read just grows and grows. But finally this spring, I read Every Summer After and was pulled into this Canadian summer vibe.
This book was no exception. After going to a book retreat at a resort that reminded me of the Brookbanks resort, I immediately had this picture in my head of how beautiful the landscape of it all was.
"It was my mom who saved my life, but it was Will who helped me figure out how to make it my own."
Just like its predecessor, Meet Me At the Lake is told in two timelines - current and past. Fern Brookbanks returns back to the one place she didn't think she would ever go back to. After her mother's death she was left with a resort that had been with her family for generations. She needs to decide if she wants to sell or keep the legacy going. Then a man from her past appears at the resort to help come up with a business plan to "save the resort" and all the feelings she buried 10 years ago comes back.
I actually thought we were going to get a love triangle at the start of this which I am so happy that was not the case. I thought it was refreshing to see a healthy relationship between two exes. Jamie seems like such a great guy and I'm glad he remained that way throughout the book. Even though we dodged a bullet with the love triangle trope, this book does not shy away from the miscommunication trope.
Fern & Will's relationship in the present time was interesting. As mentioned above a lot of the issues that they faced could have been solved with a really deep conversation. They have had many conversations but none that were of the real deep importance. She had been very upset with Will that he did not show up 9 years prior after they made plans to reconnect and they just never talked about it. In the last quarter of the book, communication was something that Will especially struggled with. Not sure if I fully bought the way things came together in the end (I don't want to say because of spoilers) but I guess it make sense. I did love seeing their story build between the past and the present. And the epilogue was just so incredibly beautiful!!!
In romances, it is not often you learn something new but I did learn that there was something called postpartum OCD. And that this not only occurs in new birth parents but also those that adopt and take on a parent role. And I love that Fortune gave this not to Sofia's mother but to the uncle who stepped in and helped his sister and child.
"I want to tell her I'm going to stay. I want to ask her for advice. I want her to tell me how proud she is. I want my mom."
I'm always fascinated by how authors take on the topic of grief in books. And from what I have read in recent times, they are all different which is how grief is. I thought Fern was incredibly strong but also had her moments where she wanted her mom and is angry (as she should be). I love that this touched on those teen years where I think majority of us have those complex relationships with our mothers. But I know for myself I had to get through those years to see how special the adult relationship is with her and I appreciate that especially with friends who have lost their mothers at a young age. Fern knows how special the resort is and can feel that connection with her mom there. We also got to know her mom through her journal entries which in some ways paralleled Fern's life.
And everyone, if you know me you know I have been trying to find a book that will melt my icy heart and I am happy to report I did shed a couple of tears from this. I am not sure if it was a mix of the emotions from the book and the subconscious feeling I had going to my first baby shower since my miscarriages (and post pandemic) and just the idea of my parents aging. I also finished this in the wee hours during an insomnia moment so there was a mix of different things but it hit me.
I will be recommending this to all my romance lover reader friends!