This is my second novel by Carley Fortune, and I loved it even more than the first. This gave me such vivid heartache for summers that I could almost smell the sunscreen. The romance was fantastic, but if I'm honest, my favourite part of the story was Alice and Nan's relationship. Everything about it was so wonderful and I loved their tight bond and how they helped each other to grow.

Charlie was an amazing love interest and I especially loved Alice's description of their relationship ("He makes me bolder, I make him softer"). At times I did feel like his charming front was a little much - but that might be my personal preferences. Overall, this was the perfect beach read and one that I will have a soft spot for.

Alice is an "acts of service" type of person through and through, someone who will drop everything to help take care of her grandmother, or nan as she calls her, for the summer. The problem with acts of service people is that there is often an imbalance in the amount of effort they put in to help others in comparison to the amount of effort other people put in to do the same. Once this feeling builds and builds, it can get to the point of feeling invisible. Cue Charlie, who claims he is a physical touch person first for foremost (which may be true), but he is really a secret acts of service person too, which made the plot twists/miscommunications go down a little easier. One Golden Summer is Carley Fortune's best when it comes to delving into why some couples are meant to last and unlike what popular media feeds us, it's not being someone's opposite; it's the similarities that matter much more.

I think Carly Fortune writes the most beautiful books. I enjoy them throughly and this was such a beautiful read! I could relate to being a caregiver taking care of my Nan. Also the LI was so dreamy. I enjoyed every minute of this gorgeous lake love story.

Carley Fortune's poetic One Golden Summer is truly the perfect read (especially in summer). The only thing that could make this read better is more wisdom from Alice's grandmother. Fortune highlights the importance of health and friendship, and her witty banter between Charlie and Alice is superb. Everything from the pacing (the will-they-won't-they build up), photographer main character, and cucumber details makes this everything a five-star read should be. You can almost taste the lake water and pierogis/chocolate cake. If only one could scroll through Alice's mental photography album, and physical one to see how clearly in love Charlie is with her. Click.

I do not have the words to explain how gorgeous this book is! I didn't re-read Percy and Sam's book before this so I went into it fresh and I'm so glad I did, because now I can go back and reread and experience the joy of Fortune's writing once again. The gentle slow burn, the slide of Alice towards realising she deserves more from life than she was allowing herself - absolutely glorious and beautifully genuinely written.

Alice, Charlie and Nan were crafted so carefully, so thoroughly that they just came alight on the page and you felt instantly connected to them. I think Charlie will become everyone's favourite book man - his sadness over thirty five just gutted me, his insistence that he wasn't good just heartbreaking. He's written to produce this golden, joyous man who is so multi-faceted and fun but emotional and raw and it just gutted me! Alice you can feel grow and unfurl like a little flower throughout the book, strong and steadfast in her devotion to her family and friends. I loved Nan's backstory and the glimpses we got of Percy and Sam; the whole book just felt very lovingly written and it truly shines.

4.5 ⭐️

Alice Everly is a photographer in her early thirties. The man she thought she would marry has just broken up with her, she’s hating the projects she’s working on and feels lost in life. When she decides to spend the summer in Barry’s Bay with her Grandmother, Nan, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery, she is transported back to her last summer here at 17, when she snapped a photo that changed her life.

Charlie Florek is the grandson of the owner of Nans cottage who is spending the summer back at the lake, and helping Alice and Nan around the cottage. He has a reputation as a bit of a playboy, but Alice can’t help but feel there’s more beneath the surface.

This is “the summer I turned pretty” for adults, and I loved every minute of it. I’ll be honest I found Charlie’s quite insufferable (albeit charming) for the first 40% of this book, but the rest of the time I loved him and Alice’s unfolding relationship so much. This book gave me all the feels, giving nostalgic teenage love whilst it still feeling like these are two adults going through life’s struggles.

This was my second Carley Fortune novel, and cannot wait to read more from her!

One Golden Summer follows photographer Alice, who returns to Barry’s Bay years after capturing an iconic photo of three teenagers in a yellow speedboat. Back at the lake, she reconnects with Charlie Florek, one of the boys from the photo, now all grown up. As they spend time together, old memories resurface, and Alice finds herself drawn to him in ways she didn’t expect.

I was really looking forward to this one because I found Charlie such a compelling character in Every Summer After. This is by far my favourite Carley Fortune book. It was so atmospheric and beautifully descriptive, and I absolutely loved Alice and Nan’s time at Barry’s Bay.

Charlie was just such a well-fleshed-out character, the ultimate book boyfriend. He was so likeable. I loved how he was constantly showing up for the people in his life. His relationship with Nan was a highlight! The moments where he let himself be vulnerable were really lovely. I loved that he felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with Alice, and we really got to see how much the deaths of his parents affected him, something he had never fully processed. We also see how he was still wracked with guilt over the mistake he made when he was 20. The flirting and banter between him and Alice were perfection, and I totally bought into their chemistry. Charlie’s reasons about not wanting to commit to a relationship felt really realistic.

Clearly I felt like Charlie was the star of the book but it was also really great to follow Alice through her journey of professional and personal discovery. I just really enjoyed this book. It was well-paced and such a great beach read. Also, it have to mention the gorgeous cover art!

This is quite literally the perfect summer read. It has the quintessential perfect lake town where our two main characters meet. Alice decides to come to the lake house she went to with her grandmother for the Summer. She does this to rediscover who she is. She is fresh out of a break up, having trouble at work, and trying to figure out what she wants in life. Then we have Charlie who has also taken a break at work to have a fun summer. He also goes back to his hometown for this down time. They quickly developed a friendship and developed a routine throughout that summer. This book is has summer nostalgia, found family, and a beautiful love story that you will not be able to put down.

I devoured this book. I always love Carley Fortunes romance for its gorgeous rural Canadian setting and atmospheric writing. This book didn’t disappoint. And turns out this has a connection to the author’s debut novel I loved! What a bonus.

I think this is the first by the author where the love interest is a cocky type. Charlie is witty and confident. I enjoyed the banter. Alice is likable and relatable. And I loved that she learned to open up again to love. And her relationship with grandma is lovely too. Highly recommend this for summer reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for sending me this ebook. All thoughts are my own.

There’s something about Barry’s Bay and the way Carley Fortune writes about summer that honestly feels alive. This book just had such a sense of life and feeling that is rare. One Golden Summer is a near flawless summer romance that everyone needs to read this year.

”I think the older we get, the scarier shit becomes.”

What I also loved about this book was that both Charlie and Alice were in their mid-30s. They come across youthful and mature, without being childish or boring. It was probably quite difficult for the author to write about their ‘seventeen-year-old summer’ whilst the characters were in their 30s, but it was done so well. It was so hopeful and nostalgic. Sort of made me want to cry. Sort of made me want to be like them in 10 years.

Charlie is perfect and I love him. I loved him in Every Summer After (despite his problematic decisions) and he exceeded expectations. He deserves the world. Both characters were incredibly relatable – Alice always feeling invisible and like an outsider, whilst trying her best to meet everyone else’s needs. Her growth throughout the book in finding herself was almost liberating for me as the reader. As someone who was a shy teenager, and still a quiet adult, it was lovely to see her break free from holding herself back. Charlie’s grief in particular was a wonderful part of the book – I think it’s very relatable to be aware of being the age your parents were when they died, and to be endlessly thinking about how short life is. What I appreciated though, is how Charlie was serious about this and deeply affected, but still mostly turned it into a way to be present and live life. I think all this worked together to make them such a great match that just understood each other so well.