Alice is a photographer who has lost her drive and vision for her art. She longs for the inspiration she felt when she was behind the lens the summer she was 17. That summer, she spent time at the lake with her Nan and took a photo of three teens in a yellow boat – the picture that ultimately changed her life and jump-started her career.

Now, her Nan is recovering from a broken hip, and Alice takes her back to the lake at Barry’s Bay so Nan can recover. Alice immediately sees Charlie, one of her photography subjects, in the same yellow boat. She is shocked to discover he is helping out as her rental cabin’s caretaker for the summer. When he discovers her summer bucket list to restart her inspiration, he is determined to help her check off every box.

Why Kirsten loves it
I’m clearly living under a rock because I didn’t realize that this is the same Charlie from Carley’s breakout hit Every Summer After. I ADORED this book just as much as I adored that one. Alice and Charlie’s chemistry was organic and off the charts. Both characters showed so much growth throughout the summer that I couldn’t help but cheer them on and it was great to get a peek at what Percy and Sam are up to as well.

Carly Fortune captures pure summer lake MAGIC in her latest release. It’s giving nostalgic summer back at your favorite childhood vacation spot. Meeting that summer crush as adults. Rediscovering yourself in your 30s with a whole new appreciation and kindness for the teenager that still exists within all of us. This book is for the slow burn girlies, Alice and Charlie have chemistry that leaps off the page and straight into your heart!

I usually write a review almost immediately after finishing reading. I read so much that I need the book to be fresh in my mind or I forget details. But I simply could not form thoughts when I finished "One Golden Summer" last night. I ended up reading 85% of the book in one day which I am not that surprised by considering I read "Every Summer After" (ESA) in one day. However, I was skeptical going into this read. I remember loving Percy and Sam's story in "ESA", but besides the one big twist that lots of people hated, I didn't remember much detail about Charlie. I wanted to reread "ESA" before this, but I am simply behind on my NetGalley reads and so I had to carry on. This book was a wonderful follow-up for a character that got a bad rap.

"One Golden Summer" follows Alice Everly, a 33 year old photographer who is feeling stuck. Her boyfriend of 4 years broke up with her suddenly and moved on quickly, she isn't satisfied with her work and she is constantly doing for others instead of herself. When her beloved grandmother, Nan, breaks her hip, Alice decides they both need a change of scenery and so they head to the lake where they spent a wonderful summer together when Alice was 17. In fact, that was the summer she fell in love with photography and it all started with a photograph of 3 carefree teens on a yellow boat. Alice wants a fun carefree summer to work on herself, but the cottage's caretaker, Charlie Florek has other ideas. Charlie shamelessly flirts and teases Alice, but strangely the usually shy Alice has no issues flirting and teasing right back. Charlie and Alice are true opposites attract, but from the beginning they respect and support each other. Charlie also has reason for a fun carefree summer so he joins Alice on her summer bucket list journey. Together they both discover things about themselves that they never expected.

I really loved this story. I woke up thinking about it and will definitely be rereading once it is released. I never understood why people hated Charlie. It takes two to tango, as they say. He and Sam went through all the same trauma. Just because Charlie acted a certain way doesn't mean it didn't effect him as much as his brother. This story is a great exploration of his character and what being truly supported and loved can do for a person for both him and for Alice. The twist at the end was hinted at from the beginning and waiting for that reveal felt like waiting for the reveal in Percy and Sam's story. That's what kept me reading all day. I can't wait for others to read Alice and Charlie's love story!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC!

Love, love, love this story! The perfect summer romance novel full of plenty of swoon-worthy events and dialogue. The characters are all absolutely lovely. Even the conflict in the story did not make me upset or care for any of the characters less. A wonderful romance story mixed with the main character finding herself again.

SCREAMING!!!!!
SO FREAKING GOOD!!!

Ok, I’ll try to calm down…

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Seriously, the perfect heartwarming summer read right here.

This book is the summer vacation at the lake when you’re 17 and happy and carefree, but have that in your 30s. Alice takes her Grandmother, who has just had hip surgery and is not acting or feeling like herself, to the lake. The lake that her Grandmother brought Alice to when she was 17. That initial lake trip changed Alice’s world and she’s hoping that this trip can do the same for her Nan… and maybe herself. Alice decides to make this summer as a redo of the summer when she was 17 - except this time she’ll do everything she was too shy or insecure or afraid to do before. And as a bonus? Charlie wants to do it all with her…

I love Alice and Charlie so much. I love that Alice is always there snapping pictures and how those pictures allow her to really capture a moment and all the emotions that take place. It’s absolutely beautiful that she has this tangible thing to look back on and watches as Charlie falls in love with her (and her with him).

I loved that we got more of Sam and Percy!!!

I’m obsessed with this book.

One Golden Summer is absolute perfection. 🥰 Carley Fortune delivers the slowest of slow burns, the yearning on every page is chef’s kiss!!! The emotional tension is....❤️❤️❤️ The story is set in a beautiful summer lake backdrop that’s impossible not to get lost in. The connection between the characters simmers with unspoken feelings and stolen moments, balanced perfectly by playful banter. The text messages between them were super fun and added so much charm. This romance had me kicking my feet and ugly crying during the emotional parts. I LOVED catching up with Percy and Sam in their married life—such a sweet touch.

Carley Fortune just keeps getting better and better. She's a must-read, auto-buy author for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Book Review
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

What Its Got
✅ Canadian content
✅ Bucket list
✅ Lake views
✅ Summer vibes
✅ Family
✅ Childhood memories

Main Characters
Alice- photograher, shy, introvert
Percy and Sam- oozing love for one another, childhood sweethearts , expecting
Nan- aging sassy non nonsense
Charlie- cottage neighbour, relaxed, confident, cocky
Heather- older sister
Lucas and Lavinia- younger twin sibs

Quote
“Good things happen at the lake”

Thoughts
I could smell the wet dock, sun dried swimsuits and sunscreen - a feel good read for those lazy summer cottage days
This book will have readers booking their vacations and cottage rentals

Thanks to the publisher, the author and netgalley for a digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

If there is one thing Carly can nail, it’s a summer atmosphere. I enjoyed so many aspects of this story. The setting, the summer lake vibes, the nostalgia, the characters, etc., There’s a “live life like you’re 17” summer bucket list. Charlie got on my nerves in the beginning, and I’m not sure I truly believed in their connection in the beginning. They just seemed so different. However, I liked how it all came together in the end. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

This was so sweet! The summer vibes at the lake house are the perfect setting. I did have a slower time to connect to the story and the characters at first, but once I caught up I was completely invested.

Start planning out your beach reads and make sure to add this book to your bag! One Golden Summer is a HEARTWARMING romance that you won’t want to miss.

There’re so many things about this book that I could gush about. The setting which was incredibly immersive for me. I could practically feel the water lapping at my feet! The slow burn romance between Charlie and Alice. It was so obvious from that beginning that these two had a special relationship and thanks to Fortune’s exquisite writing style the emotions dripped right out of the pages. The closeness of family was another thing that was exquisite to me. Both Charlie with Percy and Sam (from Carley’s first novel), and Alice with her grandmother. All around, the book hit on so many areas and slayed each one. I do want readers to know that the relationship isn’t perfect though. You won’t be getting an easy breezy summer romance that lasts for eternity as it is. There’re things that happen to conflict with their feelings and leave them making tough choices. That part of the journey was hard but once we got to the end, it was so rewarding.

All in all, I loved this book. I can’t recommend it enough and I think it belongs in everyone’s beach bags this summer!

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Summer Romances
❥ Slow Burns
❥ Emotional Reads

REVIEW✨
One Golden Summer 🚤
By Carley Fortune

We are returning back to Barry’s Bay. Get ready to jump back into a vintage yellow speed boat and enjoy a summer at the lake.

After meeting Charlie in Every Summer After, I couldn’t wait to find out more about him. I couldn’t tell you how much I needed Charlie and Alice, it was a beautifully crated slow burn romance and will send you back to a summer of when you were seventeen. This was everything and more. I was hooked from the very start, the writing was flawless, the plot was smooth and buildable, character development was on point and so relatable, and a fresh storyline that I haven’t read before. This is the book to get you into summer reading! The nostalgia I feel for Carley Fortune books are real, it feels like all my teenage summers of growing up on a lake in Ontario. And I can’t tell you the last time that I stayed up into the early morning hours to read a book, it’s just so good that I couldn’t put it down.

The way that Carley Fortune writes is so effortless, enchanting, funny, and charming. This was a beautifully crafted piece of art that I can’t wait to read again, and again. It’s also been three years since I read Every Sunmer After and I think it’s time for a re-read!

One Golden Summer is the perfect folllow up to Every Summer After. Everyone needs to return to Barry’s Bay this summer and let’s fall in love with summer again.

Also, I love short chapters and this book delivers.

Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
Plot points: 💥💥💥💥💥
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
Rating: 5 stars
Pub date: 5/6

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for my advanced copy!

Carley Fortune has done it again! One Golden Summer is dreamy, emotional, and full of that nostalgic lake magic we’ve come to love. This time, it’s Charlie’s story, and if you were rooting for him in Every Summer After, get ready to fall even harder.

Alice Everly is a photographer who’s feeling a little lost—burned out from work and fresh off a breakup. When her grandmother Nan breaks her hip, Alice decides to take her back to Barry’s Bay, the place where they spent one unforgettable summer when Alice was seventeen. What she doesn’t expect is to run into Charlie, the boy from the photo that changed her life. Only now, he’s all grown up, charming as ever, and suddenly very much a part of her life again.

Their connection is instant and electric, but what really hooked me was how their friendship developed. It was fun, flirty, and full of that summer magic. Yes, there’s romance and spice, but there’s also a lot of heart. The book tackles things like grief, aging, and figuring out what you really want in life without ever feeling too heavy.

The setting was pure nostalgia, and seeing familiar faces from Every Summer After made it even better. Nan is a total star, and Alice’s sister and new friends added so much life. This one’s definitely a must-read.

Thank you to Berkley for my ARC.

It's been a while since I last read a Romance novel, as often, the plots tend to border on the ridiculous to really unlikely. Surprisingly, though "One Golden Summer" does have a meet-cute over a basket of cucumbers at the lake town's general store, but it is not just a romp-in-the-hay story or a lusty escapade between two city-dwellers. In other words, there was a little more substance compared to some of the others I have read in the past.

Alice Everly is struggling to find who she is as a photogapher, so she makes a trek back to her past to the scene of the photo that started it all. While there, she bumps into Charlie Florek, neighbor and hot stud of the lake town, who assists her and Nan settle into their temporary summer home. With witty repartees and quick comebacks, their conversations mask the underlying tension developing between the two.

As they get to know each other better, Charlie still seems to be holding back despite Alice's admission of her love him. Where is this summer fling going? What's keeping Charlie from taking the next step? what will happen when the summer ends?

As mentioned earlier, I liked that there was more meat to this novel compared to others out there. I liked the character development for both leads and how they came into their own at the end, One part that was a bit flinch-y was when Charlie confesses at some point that he didn't know how to make up for things except through sex. Perhaps the writer was going for raw emotions or an unmasking for Charlie, but it was a bit of a turn-off. Nevertheless, fans of the Floreks will probably start looking at renting lake houses for the summer, especially since, apparently, "good things happen at the lake."

men will literally do everything under the sun except go to therapy.

✰ 4.5 stars, he was a naughty, naughty boy in every summer after but successfully redeemed himself after fifteen years of self inflicted emotional torture and working on himself, so four and a half golden stars for that. this author has been reluctantly removed from my shit list.

thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the arc in exchange for an honest review

platform: netgalley ebook arc

Oh what a sweet story.

Carley Fortune shines again with this tale of a middle aged woman working herself to hard to avoid life and forced to slow down to care for a family member.

"Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there 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."

Alice Everly sees everyone through her camera lens, but does anyone ever see her? Does she even see herself?

Her journey is at the center of the book- with supporting characters on similarly endearing journeys of their own.

Fortune creates worlds with conflict and support and questions and quests in beautiful ways.

Alice's experiences with Charlie Florek are adorable and eye opening for both as they each struggle to get out of their comfort zones and away from the roles they've cast themselves in over the years.

A great read.

This book was made for me and anyone else that loves a hero like Charlie and knew he had it in him to deliver a love story worthy of his own book. Fortune's writing has been so good, but I personally have only liked, not loved, her previous books. I somehow knew this would be the book that Fortune and I saw complete eye to eye and she would win me over fully. This will be the book of the summer. Charlie is warm, flirty and full of sweetness that he doesn't even know what to do with. Alice has an incredible journey ahead of her with her adorable grandma by her side and boy has Charlie met his match. This book is sun soaked afternoons and it oozes this flirty ease that only seems to come in the summer, this book might as well have sunscreen scented pages with it's ability to transport you. I got to read it on a gloomy March weekend as an escape, in one sitting, but boy am I happy for everyone who will get to enjoy this book this summer as intended.

Wow. This book left me speechless. I thought I loved every summer after with Sam and Percy… but I might love Charlie more!🥹

It was an emotional one & left me crying towards the end (both sad/happy tears) This book does cover some deep topics: death, grief, aging and regrets.

I remember disliking Charlie a lot in Every Summer After, but he definitely has changed since then. Reading about his story broke my heart and made me understand why he acted the way he did in the first book. Watching Alice rediscover herself was so touching and beautiful to witness as well. Her relationship with Charlie had me laughing out loud, giggling, and crying.

Is it weird that I have FOMO over these fictional characters? I feel so sad that I don’t know them in real like LOL also FOMO because I WOULD LOVE to abandon my life and go chill by the lake for the summer.

One thing I’ve learned from reading this book is to live life to the fullest because it can be taken away at any second.

PS - I love the Florek Brothers. The wait for this book was so so worth it!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! This was such an easy, feel good romance. It had humor, but also serious topics. I think this was her best book to date. I could not put it down, I also did catch myself crying a few times.

Carley Fortune does it again!

The nostalgia, the tension, the slow-burn, the imagery, the dialogue, all PERFECTION.

Growing up in Northern Ontario, I can promise that Fortune has a way of putting her directly in the scene, and this is the closest you will get to experiencing a Canadian summer without actually being here to experience it.

I loved the plot right off the bat, and Charlie is literally one of my favourite Romance MMC’s I’ve read. To me, this book was pretty much perfect, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing!

Fortune has found the recipe to a beautiful, heart-warming, giggle-inducing, Canadian Summer romance, and I can’t wait to continue picking up her work!

Thank you to Berkley for the ARC—and to Carley Fortune for finally giving us the story we’ve been waiting for. 🥹💙

I’ve been (impatiently) waiting for this book since Every Summer After, and while I may still have feelings about that twist 😤, one thing was clear: Charlie needed his own story. And One Golden Summer absolutely delivered. 💚

Alice Everly returns to Barry’s Bay after 15 years to help her nan recover—and hopefully heal from her own heartbreak. She’s lost, burned out, and reeling from a life that didn’t go as planned. The last thing she expects? To fall straight into the path of Charlie Florek—local flirt, full-time charmer, and part-time emotional hurricane.

Their chemistry? Instant. Their banter? Addictive. But what truly hooked me was the depth—both Alice and Charlie are navigating grief, change, and big questions about what they want from life. Watching Alice rediscover herself while Charlie slowly reveals his softer side had me smiling, swooning, and turning the pages way too late at night. 🫶📸

There is a twist late in the story that I had a feeling would be coming, but honestly, it didn’t take away from how much I loved their journey. This slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance was heartfelt, steamy, and full of growth— this book deserves each and every star - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.