I am already a fan of Carley Fortune's writing, and this one just sealed it for me. I absolutely loved this book. The way that Carley Fortune writes these immersive, picturesque settings in incredible. She is so descriptive that you truly feel like you are right there in Benny's Bay. I loved the way the romance between those two was written, and I loved Alice as a FMC. She is so interesting and determined. I normally don't like overconfident men in books, but I could not get over how much I loved Charlie Florek. One of my new favorite MMCs of all time! This book just feels like summer!

Oh my heart! I didn’t know how much I wanted to revisit Barry Bay until I started this book! Having first met Charlie, Sam and Percy in 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿, and thinking of them a lot since, I was so happy to see Charlie get his turn.

Alice is up at the cottage across the way from Charlie’s with her grandmother who’s recovering from hip surgery. Alice has taken the summer off from work to look after her grandmother. It’s here where she discovered her love of photography and decided it was her future. And it’s here where she’ll rediscover the joy of it with Charlie’s help.

Oh my god, Charlie! What a flirt! Fortune starts their relationship off with one of my favorites - text banter. It was so funny and cute! He’s the sunshine to her grumpy in those moments. I fell instantly for the story right there and then. I loved the idea that Alice wanted to reclaim her joy and had a list of things to check off. Sort of like a do-over, reliving the summer when she was 17 and first noticed Charlie back then. And he’s game for helping her!

Highlights:
🚤 Summer romance, FMC & MMC in their 30’s, nostalgia
🚤 Flirty banter, texts
🚤 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5, open door
🚤 Bucket list

Be aware of: mentions of grief, health concern

When I first read 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿, I thought it was okay. Then a funny thing happened - I kept thinking about it and l realized I really liked it. With 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿, I knew before I got too far into it that it was going to affect me. There’s something potent about the nostalgia that Fortune writes about. The way Charlie and Alice fit so well together. The way there’s a past and a potential future. I loved the slow burn and how hard she falls for him. I felt all that.

I’ve kicked off the last few summers with a Carley Fortune book. Apparently it’s tradition and I love it!

Thank you @berkleyromance & @netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book felt like such a refreshing read, and had me wanting to lounge by the lake in the cool breeze under a warm summer sun.

I enjoyed reading about the progression of the relationship between Alice and Charlie, and I liked that these characters were in their early 30s. I enjoy stories about older adults that are navigating their lives and passions and still trying to understand who they are and what they want in this life.
I loved the friendship between these two, and the slow burn was definitely worth it when they finally gave in.

I enjoyed the fact that the characters also got their own backstories and personal lives, so the entire story wasn't just them revolving their lives around each other.
These two had me gushing and swooning at times.

I will note that I didn't read Every Summer After, so Sam and Percy's cameos did nothing for me. But they seem nice.

This was SO GOOD and might just be my favorite Carley Fortune book of her four. This takes us right back to where it all started in Barry’s Bay, but this time we get Charlie’s redemption story. I loved Alice’s character and her bucket list summer and time with her grandmother were so sweet. Charlie was flirty and fun and the tension between the two was unmatched. I love characters in their 30’s and find their stories more relatable so this was perfect for me. It’s summery, it’s nostalgic and the side characters were a great addition. The little cameos of Sam & Percy were also the sweetest treat!

Perfect Beach or Lake Read! 4 Stars.

Here is my scoring system in a nutshell. Five star books are not only engaging from beginning to end, but they are also beautifully written. Four star books are well worth your time - engaging and well-written. Three star books aren’t bad- engaging but perhaps slow or clunky in parts. Two stars, I finished but it was difficult - something about the pacing, the story or the writing was not compelling. One star - just don’t!

5 STARS= Definitely YES!
4 STARS = YES.
3 STARS = Maybe.
2 STARS= NO.
1 STAR = DNF; Definitely NO!

Oh Charlie and Alice, my sweet tender loves.

Their friendship is so genuine and wholehearted that it made my chest hurt. They show up for each other in a way that is so perfectly matched, so seamless and easy.

Alice has lost herself in trying to be worth loving, and Charlie has lost himself in believing that he never will be. And neither of them will accept that from the other, even if it forces them to reflect on themselves.

They are both so messy and gleeful when they allow themselves to be; they’re also deeply, openly sad when they feel safe enough to show it. Charlie’s life has been reigned by tragedy and his own reckless coping mechanisms, and Alice’s has been in not allowing herself to need anything at all. They fall into each other so gracefully when they realize they can let their guards down without fear of judgment.

I, of course, was mad at Charlie (and Percy) for Every Summer After; but even then I saw the deep ache inside of both of them, and how it lingered in Charlie after Percy got her happy ending. And sweet, broken Charlie deserved someone who could help him heal, too. And he is the perfect man to show Alice how she deserves to be loved as wholly as she loves others, exactly as she is.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer is tender, nostalgic, and quietly romantic- the kind of summer read that makes you ache a little in the best way. Alice and Charlie are beautifully drawn characters, and the setting of Barry’s Bay is full of hazy sunsets, lake swims, and second chances. You can almost smell the sunscreen.

The chemistry between Alice and Charlie is gentle but undeniable, built on history, humor, and an easy kind of intimacy. It’s a story about memory, the way places hold pieces of us, and the possibility of coming home to yourself. A lovely little book to read on a sunny day by the water.

Barry's Bay is BACK baby!!!

After loving ESA and then hating Fortune's next two books, I was nervous about this one, but I'm happy to say I loved it! This Charlie redemption arc was so perfect and the return to this setting brought me so much joy.

Alice felt like the perfect addition to this little ESA family and the perfect match for Charlie. What a wonderful way to be reintroduced to this world! Consider this my formal petition for Fortune to give us MORE Barry's Bay books!!

I enjoyed this one! The storyline was super cute. I loved the relationship Alice had with her grandma. Alice and Charlie were destined for eachother when they unknowingly met at 19. Carley has been a hit or miss author for me but this one was a win for me.

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free book!

Alice never anticipated Charlie Florek, but as her Nan reminded her…”Good things happen at the lake.” A summer back at the lake (yes, we get to go back to Barry’s Bay!) for the first time since she was seventeen, Alice was looking forward to time with her Nan and to get away from everything. What she doesn’t expect is to run into the man featured in one of her most famous photographs of three teens in a yellow boat on that very same lake, taken during her first summer there.

Insert none other than the handsome and incredibly flirtatious Charlie, brother to Sam from Every Summer After (IYKYK), whom Alice tries to keep at a distance. That is short lived, as he ends up helping her recreate the summer that she always wanted when she was a teenager - summer bucket list and all.

I ATE THIS BOOK UP - almost at the same rate that I devoured Every Summer After 🤍 Charlie got his moment to shine and I absolutely LOVED IT! I’ve been waiting since finishing Every Summer After in June of 2022 for this full circle moment with Charlie, and I am so grateful that it is finally here. After reading the author’s note I understand the pressure that Carley felt in providing readers with more Sam & Percy and a full redemption arc for Charlie - therefore the time she took to ensure that she did these characters justice is much appreciated & incredibly well done!

Make sure you read Every Summer After first, to avoid any spoilers - but you bet that this gem by Carley Fortune is one of the best books of summer 2025!

I didn’t think it was possible that this book would top Every Summer After, but it did! I have been a Charlie stan (maybe even apologizist🤷‍♀️) since I read ESA, so I was overjoyed to learn that I could finally see him happy! And it paid off! I loved Alice so much and they are the perfect match! I also loved seeing the lake as an outsider of sorts like Alice because that’s how I saw my experience in the first book. I got to relive when I read ESA while on vacation at Lake Superior and that alone made me love this book. And it was just SO ROMANTIC!!! Like the ending had me tearing up at how perfectly adorable Charlie is!!!

4.75 stars (potentially a 5, I need some time to reflect)
This book was fantastic and completely exceeded my expectations! Getting to see more of Charlie/seeing how certain decisions from Every Summer After affected him well into his adulthood was refreshing and very human. Alice is 1000% his perfect match and getting to witness these 2 characters slowly bring out the best in each other was very endearing!

Please, please, please I beg of you, read Every Summer After first.

-Thank you to Berkley for the arc of One Golden Summer in exchange for an honest review!

4⭐️
- loved getting Charlie’s story & getting to revisit some of the character’s from Every Summer After!
- enjoyed the photography throughout the story
- the grandma 🥹
- kinda friends to lovers, kinda insta romance, but I enjoyed!!
- Alice’s growth through the story!!

This book was fantastic! I read it on my first day of summer break and I couldn't have asked for a better summer read. Once I picked up this book, I didn't want to put it down. I finished it way too fast, but know I'll be rereading it soon. I love all the characters so much. I laughed out loud so many times. This was the perfect redemption story for Charlie who I could not love more.

Thank you Carley for this book! I am loving each new book you write more than the last.

And thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Anything by Carley Fortune is a gift and a privilege to read. The longing between these two characters left me feeling antsy and impatient to hear more. I really wish they had more of a past, but the two wanted each other in a setting I was already in love with. Reading Every Summer After is a must before diving into One Golden Summer.

tucked into a winding and bumpy road in the outaouais region of quebec were two cottages that housed the ruckus of my immediate and extended family for generations. we learned to swim there, we fished there, we swam and sunbathed and splashed and played card games and watched judge judy and it was the most perfect way to spend three seasons of the year. i always say that the ocean has my heart but the lake has my soul. i fell in love there, with a boy my grandpa loves, and trusted with his boat. he’s much more of a sam than a charlie, but i met my best friend at this same cottage, and he is a charlie through-and-through.

and now, i live under an hour from Barry’s Bay, where Every Summer After and One Golden Summer take place, and my little Canadian waterbug heart could not be prouder to call Carley Fortune OURS.

absolutely no surprise that Charlie Florek and Alice Scott found magic at the lake, and i’m so happy we got a window into their summer of love. Nan was a HOOT, and seeing Charlie and Percy again filled my heart with the familiar feeling of coming home. which really, is a guarantee if Carley is writing it.

I love a book that makes me all happy and sigh when I am reading. The setting like all Carley’s book is so good and she truly is able to transport you at the lake.
I loved Charlie since Every Summer After and I was so excited when she announced his book.

I'll keep this short and sweet - not my favorite Carley Fortune book but still a solid and swoony beach read.

Thanks to PRHAudio and Berkley for copies to review.

The Perfect Canadian Summer Read. I just love everything that Carley Fortune does, both as a person and an author. What makes all of her books so special to me is seeing the places I’ve grown up in depicted in her books. There’s just something so special about seeing a town, or neighbourhood, or school that I’ve actually experienced in my own life, on page. Of course I also love the romance and banter between the characters, and Charlie and Alice’s story was so fun! I don’t think this topped This Summer Will be Different, as my fave Carley Fortune Book, but I’m so glad we got to go back and revisit Barry’s Bay and the Florek brothers. If you need a scenic, steamy romance to read by the lake this summer…this is it!

i don’t think i like the florek brothers. i’m under the impression that if a man tells you he doesn’t want you and more than once at that … you should listen to him