Carley Fortune books just feeeeeel like summer. The vibes are immaculate and make me want to immediately book a cabin by a lake for the entire summer.

I’m not usually a slow burn fan but the slow burn between Alice and Charlie in One Golden Summer is *chefs kiss.* I was OBSESSED with their banter, the tension, the swooning, the laughter, the heart.

I also loved getting to return to Barry’s Bay and see more of Sam and Percy, who I fell in love with during Every Summer After. It was cute getting to see another side of them, and also the Easter eggs in this book are so fun.

I both inhaled One Golden Summer and tried to go slow to soak it up; I didn’t want it to end! This is the perfect summer read.

I was really looking forward to this given how much I've loved Fortune's other books. It was exactly what I thought it would be- cute, friends to lovers, and an enjoyable easy read. I didn't find myself turning the pages as quickly as her other books but still enjoyed nonetheless.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I cannot express how excited I was when I heard Fortune was going to write Charlie's story. I wasn't a lover of Charlie when I read Every Summer After, but I knew there had to be more to him than I saw in that book. I knew Charlie need his own HEA. And boy was I right! Warning, though, if you have not read the first book, I do not recommend jumping right into this one. The background the first book provides is pretty critical to who Charlie is and also to his relationship with his brother, Sam, and Percy. You wouldn't be lost, perse, but you would not completely understand the dynamics at work.
This book picks up a few years after Every Summer After. It's summer once again and the lake is bustling. Alice Everly decides she is in need a break from life. Her grandmother, Nan, is recovering from surgery, her photography career is not going as she planned, and she's still struggling to get over her most recent break up. What better place to relax and rejuvenate than Barry's Bay! Alice has fond memories of the place and the photo that launched her photography career was taken there the summer of her 17th birthday. She's expecting to go there and feel what she once felt for her photography, what she's not expecting is Charlie Florek.
Alice is a great character. She's well developed and completely relatable. I really enjoyed watching her find herself at the lake. She arrives with only the thought that she must help her Nan get better but that's not all that happens. Along the way, she realizes many things about herself and grows from that. She takes hold of her life, she finds direction, and she finds love she wasn't expecting (even if it's not what was agreed upon). At first I thought she might be more timid than she was, but she's not at all. She's strong and resilient. She doesn't adapt easily at first but once she realizes she needs to open herself up to new possibilities, she becomes so very strong.
Charlie might just be one of my favorite book boyfriends. he's charming and has so much humor. But He's closed also off when it comes to love and he struggles with his own past and the luggage he seems to carry from his loss. He doesn't believe he's worthy of it from anyone. He believes all he is good for is fun and doesn't want to weigh anyone down with the baggage he has. But he wasn't expecting Alice and how her love language is to take care of others, including him. I won't get into his issues, as they become paramount to the story and I certainly don't want to spoil anything. But Charlie has secrets he holds close to his chest, things he doesn't want others burdened with.
If you're looking for an amazing slow burn romance, look no further. The flirting! The touching! The gazing! Not to mention amazing banter! It's all right here. Carley builds the relationship between Alice and Charlie in little spurts. Each time letting the characters open to each other, though Alice opens more than Charlie does (at least until the end). But don't overlook the other connections that are made in this book. The found family aspect is very strong.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention this book contains some of our favorite characters, mainly Sam and Percy. While we don't get a ton of them, we get enough to show their HEA continues to shine. And I absolutely love the connection Alice finds with Percy. Being a woman who doesn't have many close friends, I connected with this part of Alice very well. So when she had the opportunity to have a strong, independent, loving woman come into her life and be her friend, I cheered it on!
The lake, oh the lake! So much nostalgia packed into this story. I spent some summers when I was younger going to my friend's bungalow colony in New York. Her father owned two and one was right on a lake. I remember our lazy days of swimming, boating, fishing, and just laying out on the floating dock. It was so much fun and these books never fail to bring back those memories and the feelings that go along with them. Like me, Alice seems much more relaxed and happy at the lake. Days are spent lounging and not worrying about anything from real life. It's its own little bubble world of summer and fun. Fortune paints a great picture of what it looks like. This book made me laugh, cry, smile, swoon, and just downright feel happy. Tears were shed, in a good way, and my heart was full at the end. That, my friends, is the crux of a good story.
If I say the pacing in this one is fast, I would not be telling a lie. I truly didn't want to put it down. Fortune made me want to turn the pages over and over again so I could continue to bask in Alice and Charlie's story. I didn't want it to end, though. And, as I got closer to finishing it, all I could think to myself is when will Fortune be putting out another book? I love her plot lines. She does a great slow burn build with her characters.
This book is not only about finding yourself and what makes you happy, but the journey getting there and all those people who stand beside you (friends and family) to lift you up and help you shine. It's about support and generosity and keeping your heart open to new feelings and opportunities. It's also about sticking to your guns and morals and making sure you feel right about where you are and where you're going. If I could give this book infinity stars, I would. It hit all my spots for a great romantic story without being overly dramatic. If you're looking for a hot flirtatious boy who meets an artistic and people pleasing girl who both find, in the end, their lives are so much better when they open their hearts to love, then pick this up, sit down with it, and thank me later!

4.5 stars!
The girlies are going to eat UP this book over the summer. I felt like I never left Barry’s Bay. This really was Charlie’s redemption story. I loved how practical it felt and Alice’s character development was chefs kiss. It was kind of a slow burn which I wasn’t expecting, but the romance really came together for me. This book also felt generational which made it feel so relatable.

This was perfection. I have loved every book by Carley Fortune (I haven’t read Meet Me at the Lake though??! So I will be fixing that soon) and this was no different. It was beautiful in so many ways. I loved Alice and Charlie SO MUCH. Together, separate, all of it. They are simply so perfect. I also LOVED Alice and Nan, and Charlie and Nan!!

Alice and Charlie were SO GOOD together! They really saw each other. Alice is just trying to figure it out all while Charlie is so sure he doesn’t deserve a happy ending. Alice was able to see through Charlie’s mask, to see that he was just a sad boy underneath all his charm. They were two total opposites, Alice always played it safe and Charlie has always been reckless, but watching them come together was magic. Their banter and their chemistry was delicious. They had so much FUN over the summer, the summer that Alice dreamed of when she was seventeen. And I LOVED how full circle everything was.

Thanks to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alice has always played it safe. But now, at 33 years old, she finds herself back on Barry’s Island, a lakeside home where she spent one summer at 17 years old. She wants to do all the things she never had the courage to do back then, and with the help of her very attractive neighbor, Charlie, she may get more than she bargained for.

I absolutely loved everything about this story. The lakeside setting, the bucket list for a free summer, the family support and the romance. Alice was such a fun and complex character. She is someone who grew and found her voice, and readers of all ages and times of life will be able to relate to her. Charlie is the MMC I was waiting for. He is bad boy fun, but also so sweet and caring. I also enjoyed the extra character of Nan, Alice’s grandmother, and her knife wisdom and love. While this takes place in the same setting as Every Summer After, it is not a true sequel and can be read as a stand alone. A perfect read to throw in your beach bag this summer!

I will read every single word Carley Fortune writes. This was absolutely a piece of art. I loved every minute and it was the perfect follow up to Every Summer After. I adored Charlie and Alice so much. They were both really well rounded characters with so much depth. I felt for Charlie so much, and when we learned more about him my love for him just grew! Again, this book brings nostalgic Canadian summers to the page.

" Because I love defying expectations, and you, Alice Everly seem to have a lot of them"

"Don't let wounds fester. It only gets harder to repair them"


- Good things happen at the Lake.

Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

I love Charlie I love Alice I love Nan I love the Percy and Sam follow ups 🩷 this is a great fast paced romance and I feel lucky to have read it as an arc!

Another joy from Carley Fortune! I loved returning to Barry’s Bay, and especially the relationship between Alice and Nan. The sparkling dialogue and sweet friendships brought me back to my own teenage years. How wonderful.

I was absolutely thrilled to head back to Barry's Bay and to finally get Charlie's story this summer, and I loved every minute of it! ☀️

Alice spent a summer at the lake with her grandmother years ago and took a photo that kickstarted her love of photography- three teens on a boat, living and loving their lives. This summer she and her grandmother head back to the lake, and Alice encounters the man that one of those teens became- Charlie Florek.

The characters in this book completely stole my heart, from charming, flirtatious Charlie to the wise and witty Nan and the cautious but ready to break out of her shell Alice. Checking back in with Sam and Percy made my heart happy, and this felt like an absolutely perfect continuation of their story.

The storyline involves bucket lists, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and learning to open your heart, all valuable lessons. This book will 100% be in my top romances of 2025, and I already want to head back to the Bay and read it again.

💗 Opposites attract
💗 Self-discovery
💗 Banter galore
💗 Summer nostalgia

Thank you so much to Berkley for the gifted ARC; all opinions are my own.

CHARLIE FOR LIFE. I haven't enjoyed Carley's books as much since Every Summer After, but this one was sooooo good. I loved that Alice was her own fully fleshed-out character, and her struggles/relationships felt very real to me. I have loved Charlie since ESA, so I was thrilled to read a book centering him and LOOOVED every moment.
Amazing!!!!

There is nothing I love more than having my heart ripped out and put back together again by Carley Fortune.

This follow up to Every Summer After reunites us with older brother Charlie, who is back in Barry's Bay for the summer and in need of some relaxation. Enter Alice, burned out freelance photographer and granddaughter to Nan, who is recovering from a fall and also needs a change of scene. Alice spent the summer in Barry's Bay as a teenager and decides that while she's back, she'll make a list and do all the things she wanted to do then but didn't (jump off a cliff into the lake, ride a Jet Ski, kiss someone, etc.). Naturally, Charlie sees her list and offers to help.

The single POV for this book follows Alice exclusively, which is fine except that Charlie is withholding some crucial information from Alice and from the reader, and it seems to come from nowhere when we finally learn it. Otherwise this is a warm and enjoyable summer read, and it was nice to see Sam, Percy, and everyone again.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Read This Book If…you need to get back to Barry’s Bay immediately!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Genre: romance
Series: Barry’s Bay # 2
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 open door scenes
Setting: Barry’s Bay, Canada
POV: single, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: friends to lovers, friends with benefits

My Thoughts:
The queen of the summer beach read is back!!! Carley never fails to deliver an immersive setting, and I couldn’t be happier to be back in Barry’s Bay.

Now, if you haven’t read Every Summer After, I will HIGHLY recommend reading that first. We see a lot of Percy and Sam in this book and you’ll learn so much more about Charlie, the incorrigible flirt and star of this show.

But this book is from Alice’s perspective, and I loved her journey of self-discovery and finally going after what she wants. Alice’s family is so supportive, she just had to learn to ask for what she needed.

Alice and Charlie create a wonderful friendship, but Charlie and Nan made me literally laugh out loud throughout the book with their own friendship.

As per usual with Carley, I was in tears for the last 20% because of the heartbreak and tenderness.

Memorable Quote: “Why?” “Because I love defying expectations, and you, Alice Everly, seem to have a lot of them.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

The easiest, biggest, sparkliest five golden stars for this gorgeous book! I went into this with pretty high expectations based on some friends’ reviews, and was still absolutely blown away.

This book INVENTED! Strangers to Friends to Lovers! And I mean that!! I see a lot of discussion about the “trope” and how it’s not really a trope since most romances do tend to fall under that umbrella. I see that critique, but I raise you CHARLIE AND ALICE!! Getting to see these two form such a deep and genuine friendship (While yea! Still flirting a ton!) made my chest ache. The conversations they had were all so meaningful and vulnerable!! The little things they did/ways they showed up for each other me in tears! The way they were their true selves together!!! I’m getting butterflies just thinking about them! AND THE BANTER!! I mean come on this was TOP TIER banter and teasing and flirting!! Have not read a book that had banter and tension this good in SO LONG!!!!
Alice and Charlie aside, this book, especially Alice and her grandma’s storyline, was so incredibly comforting to me. I like to think that my grandma was a lot like Nan and while it did make me really sad that I never got to know my grandma as an adult and have that kind of relationship with her, it was also so comforting in a way. Like, if I can’t have my Nana at least I will always have Nan. Move over Alice she’s my Nan now too.
And! Alice’s growth as a character is something that has really stuck with me as well. Watching her work through everything, push herself out of her comfort zone, and find happiness for herself again made ME want to do the same.
I love nothing more than when I feel that sort of connection to a book and it leaves this kind of mark on me and boy did it. If anyone has a little cottage on a lake that they want to go hang out in for the summer let me know asap!!
I really loved this book to pieces and I’m already on the edge of my seat for the audio/a reread. This one’s going to stick with me for a while and I’m so so so happy about that!!

Big thank you to @berkleypub, @berkleyromance, & @netgalley for my copy of this book!

I’ve put off writing this review because I’m just not sure I can put my thoughts into words and do the book justice, but I’m going to try!

First, Every Summer After is one of my all time favorite romance novels. This book is number two in the Barry’s Bay series, and while it can be read as a standalone, I would HIGHLY encourage you to read ESA first. This book will have so much more meaning and impact. Also—Sam and Percy are major players in this book as well (🥹) and Charlie’s arc in One Golden Summer will really hit the way it’s meant to.

I mean, I liked Charlie in ESA and was happy to see he was getting a story, but I’m OBSESSED with him after this book. 🥵 He is the most charming, sweet, funny, caring book boyfriend ever and I was swooning like 10% in when I read the note he leaves for Alice! He was perfect, and I’m so glad he was given resolution finally.

I also loved the FMC, Alice! I’m not sure I’ve ever related so much to a character. Her shy but yearning spirit resonated with me deeply. I also loved that the caretaking of her nan and their relationship is a major part of the story, of almost equal importance to the romance.

The romance was a slow burn, but starts with such a solid and realistic foundation of friendship—I loved it and fully bought into it. Charlie and Alice’s trust and care for one another is so evident by the time they explore beyond the bounds of their friendship; it’s a love you cannot help but root for.

I haven’t met a Carley Fortune book I don’t love, and I think part of the reason is the obvious intentionality she puts into her writing and character development. This, combined with an intimate knowledge of her setting, creates pure magic on the page that I will always consume at an embarrassing speed.

Anyway, I could absolutely ramble about this book forever, BUT, TL;DR: Read this book, it is everything. (But definitely read Every Summer After first!!)

It's official - I'm a Carley Fortune fangirl. I've read every fortune book, starting with Every Summer After, and I feel like they just keep getting better and better. In One Golden Summer, it was such a treat to get to return to Barry's Bay and hear Alice and Charlie's story as they are "all grown up". I felt like I was there at the lake experiencing it all from nearby, and it was such a treat to get fully immersed and enjoy. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

overall this was cute!! all the stars for charlie florek!! and the perfection that is barry’s bay!! alice…was there? she was kind of annoying to me and i honestly hated being in her head. i think this book could have really benefited from a dual pov sort of situation cause i truly just loved everything about charlie

THAT BEING SAID, i read every summer after way back when it came out, and i haven’t read a carly fortune book since, and this book kind of reminded me why. i thought a lot of the dialogue was kind of cringy and felt very reminiscent of my wattpad days, which like isnt necessarily a bad thing, just not my personal cup of tea anymore. The last like 25% of this book is also RIDDLED with miscommunication and is wildly annoying imo. And the reasoning for then third act breakup at the end, while understandable, didn’t quite deliver the gut punch i think it intended to. but that’s just me!! the epilogue really saved it for me!

thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the e-arc!!

I really liked this story and it was so nice to be back in Barry’s Bay! The nostalgia of summer was strong in this one. I loved Alice and Charlie’s story. Charlie was charming and such a flirt, but he was also broken, struggling, and guarded. Alice was a photographer and thrived hiding behind a camera where she wasn’t seen. Both of them together was perfection.

I absolutely loved that we got more of Sam and Percy in this one as well! The storyline with Alice and her grandmother, Nan, was so sweet and tender. Nan was so honest and I loved her interactions with Charlie. The side characters in this one shined and I always love when the romance can balance with a good friendship story!

+ found family
+ friends to lovers
+ bucket list
+ nostalgia
+ friendships

not gonna lie, I was NOT excited to get Charlie’s story but I was blown away and fell in love.

One Golden Summer, like the rest of Carley's books, instantly transports you to summer and has you dying to lay out in the sun with a book.

Although this book is from Alice’s POV, you can feel the punishment that Charlie has put himself through the last decade+ for his actions in Ever Summer After.

There is yearning, flirting, bantering and everything in between. You will be smiling and then sobbing and then smiling again.