When I got denied this ARC in NetGalley, to say I was bummed was an understatement. For Carley Fortune’s debut (and one of my favourite reads last year), Every Summer After, I got an early copy, but it became such a phenomenon—understandably—that I don’t have enough clout for Meet Me At The Lake. Ha! But nevertheless, I got my hands on a copy and was excited to dive in.

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.

At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s Muskoka lakeside resort–something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.

She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit-wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is.

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

Another book with pretty high expectations—and though I generally liked it, it was definitely a bit of a sophomore slump for me. Fortune has at least two more books being worked on, so I’m hoping she can only go up from here. One thing I absolutely adore about her writing is that I feel like it’s taking place in my backyard (because, you know, it is), but mentioning places like Sneaky Dee’s and other Toronto landmarks make me proud to be from around here. Go Carley!

What didn’t work for me

The Jamie of it all: Fern, the female main character, is in a relationship when she meets Will for the first time. And though she didn’t physically cheat on him, she was very clearly emotionally invested and was, as far as I’m concerned, cheating on him. He didn’t really deserve it. And then to have him back running the resort all those years later and never really factor into the plot at all…what was the point? At first, I thought we would get a love triangle—that would have made things a little more exciting.

The chemistry: I think the problem might actually be Fern here, but you’re telling me that you spend one day (where nothing that exciting happens) with a person, and when you run into them a decade later, you’re still in love? I found that pill a little hard to swallow. And as much as I loved younger Will, older Will didn’t treat Fern probably—she gave him way too many chances. I’m torn because I really liked him otherwise.

The mom’s journal: I’m probably in the minority here, but I didn’t need the journal to get anything else out of the plot. I understand that Fern was grieving her mom (and they needed a reason to get her back to the resort), but maybe she could have just gotten injured or sick or something and had some growth together as characters because the “big reveal” in the journals wasn’t that significant to me, ultimately.

What I liked

The setting and the writing: Carley Fortune is a great writer. When you’re in Fern’s tiny apartment in Toronto or in the cabin at Brookbanks Resort, you feel like you’re actually there with her. Fortune has this way of making Ontario almost a story character, and I love it.

The mental health aspect: Without spoilers, there is a character that goes through some mental health issues that don’t come to a head until near the end of the book, and it is handled quite well. When you read the author’s note at the end of the book, you learn that she also struggled with the same disease and it puts some puzzle pieces together.

Peter: I wish there was so much more Peter in this book. I love his relationship with music and how it’s mirrored in Fern and also shows how he is navigating his grief. I also found his relationship with Fern to be refreshing—because he wasn’t a perfect, unrealistic pseudo-father figure, but simply a guy who watched her grow up and loved her in his own way.

3.5 STARS

“It’s not every day you decide to change your entire life.”—Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake