Sneak Peek: One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
ON OUR BOOKSHELF
One Golden Summer
by Carley Fortune
A pre-release review of the long-awaited sequel to Carley’s debut novel, Every Summer After
If you’ve read Every Summer After (Amazon) and wondered, “What ever happened to Charlie"?” Well, the answer has arrived!
I’m calling it now — this is going to be THE book of the summer. You’ll pick it up when you’re heading to the lake in June / July. Then re-read it when you’re at the beach in August. Then you’ll pick it up in late September when you’re craving those perfect summer days when life is care-free and falling in love is the easiest thing you could do… and as you turn those final pages to wish summer good-bye until next year, you’ll shed a few tears with Charlie and Ali.
I am so grateful to have received an advanced readers copy of One Golden Summer via Netgalley.
The Sneak Peek
Do you believe in fate? I do. I believe everything happens for a reason. Each decision we make brings us a step closer to an event, a moment when something is destined to happen. All those small decisions lead to something bigger. it’s not necessarily cosmic, but it’s meant to be.
Just as a single instant at the lake — a moment captured in film — set the ball rolling for this eventual meet cute. And it was literally a meet-cute at the grocery store. Or more accurately, a meet “whoa.” Yes, Charlie Florek is so freaking beautiful that he took Alice’s breath away (and I suppose, mine as well). And Alice Everly isn’t easily impressed by beauty, she’s a photographer after all and she works with models on the daily. But there’s something about Charlie that captivates her… maybe it’s that “he looks like sex.”
When Alice’s grandmother (aka Nan) injures herself, Alice finds it’s the perfect opportunity for the two of them to escape the hustle and bustle of Toronto and spend some time at Nan’s best friends’ lake house. It’s been years since Alice stood on the deck and captured the photo that inspired her career. But when Alice realizes that the house’s caretaker is the very same man she met at the grocery store, she realizes she’s in for quite a summer.
Charlie and Ali live out the summer they never experienced in their teenage years — long days in the water, taking chances they were too scared to make in their youth — while in transitory stages of their 30s. If you could take a summer off and just be present, where would you go? What would you do? And who would be by your side through it all?
As Nan always says, “Good things happen at the lake.”
What Victoria Loved
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4.5/5
I’ll start by setting the scene for my reading experience because I think it will help to contextualize just how well-written this book is. I read this during the coldest week New England experienced this winter. We’re talking waking up to 2 degrees Fahrenheit (without accounting for windchill) and snow. Oh, and our heater had stopped working. So when I say the weather was frigid, I am not exaggerating. But One Golden Summer magically transported me to Barry’s Bay and as I finished this book at 3am, I momentarily found myself looking forward to waking up to a summer weekend in a few hours…. That’s how beautifully Carley has written this golden summer.
But it’s not just the setting that she captured so beautifully. @Carley, are you kidding me with Charlie?! He has so quickly topped my list of favorite MMCs ever. All of his actions are done with clear intention from his flirty banter to dressing up for a night in with Nan. I dare you not to smile when this man is on the page. I was so freaking giddy reading about him, I would’ve put a school girl to shame. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more charismatic man in my life, it’s a bit disappointing that he’s fictional.
And as great as Charlie is, I think it’s his relationship with Alice that makes him — them — all the better. As I was reading this book, I wrote a note to myself: “I’m having trouble controlling the butterflies, the flutter flies, the freaking lightning bugs dancing around my chest, my stomach. I can feel my heart squeeze. I feel the zing reach my fingertips and my toes.” Their chemistry is addicting. Not because the tension was so overwhelmingly sexual, but because it felt safe, real.
Nan says it best: This is what it looks like, what it feels like to be in the presence of two people falling in love. Finding lifelong friendship to find their forever. The innocent, fearless dive into unknowingly falling in love. Those were some of my favorite memories when I first met my husband. It was about the little moments: when we stayed up all night talking, the first time we held hands, when I was having a bad day and he just sat with me until I felt comfortable enough to share my troubles, the moment I saw him differently and realized I was in love… And I think a big reason why I’m so obsessed with reading romance novels. I think that’s why I’m so in love with this book. It’s just magic.
From their family dynamic to a frenzied household full of personalities, there was just soooooo soooo much love in this book. I’m tempted to move to Toronto, to buy a house at the lake so I could live this summer every year, capture these moments in stills and in my journal, love my people big in those memories. What a life that would be.
While that may not be in the cards for me, I do know this book is worth the read and the re-read.
Pre-order your copy of One Golden Summer (Amazon) and read with me!
Favorite Scene
“You laugh, Alice. You laugh that big, beautiful laugh of yours. And you're more like yourself when you're together. You're always so busy taking care of everyone and making people happy, but you're different around Charlie. There's a lightness to you I haven't seen in a long time-like you have the freedom to just be when you're with him."
- ONE GOLDEN SUMMER by Carley Fortune
Similar Reads & Recommendations
ANOTHER SUMMER ROMANCE SET AT A LAKE: Just for the Summer (Part of Your World #3) by Abby Jimenez (Amazon)
Do you believe in fate? Guard your heart because Abby delivers another cute meet cute. When two people find they’ve been cursed out of love, they make a pact to see if they can break it…. but what if they were always destined to end up together? Justin is one of the best MMCs I’ve read — he’s the epitome of if he wanted to, he would and if I’m being honest, he even goes beyond that. PS: The entire Part of Your World series is adorable and I recommend it - go start from Book #1 and work your way to this gem.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4.5/5
ADVENTURES WITH A GRANDPARENT: You With a View by Jessica Joyce (Amazon)
Noelle is grieving the loss of her grandmother when she discovers decades-old photographs and love letters from her gram’s past. Naturally, she turns to TikTok to help her find answers, and she’s shocked when the man’s grandson replies. She’s even more shocked when she finds out he’s none other than her high school rival, Theo. When she finally meets her grandmother’s secret love, he offers to take Noelle on the honeymoon road trip he had planned for her grandmother. The twist? Theo has to come too. This little road trip (with plenty of opportunities for one bed!!) will take you on an emotional journey.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 3.5/5
A SUMMER OF ADVENTURE: The Summer of Broken Rules by KL Walther (Amazon)
Step into the summer I dreamt of as a teenager in this young-adult romance. Imagine spending quality time with your favorite people at your favorite place, while playing your favorite game. This enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance has all the ingredients for the perfect summer read. I promise you will not want to leave the beach / pool / sun lounger until you’ve finished this book.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
BY THE AUTHOR: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (Amazon)
Percy and Sam’s story. If you’ve jumped straight into One Golden Summer, you might be curious to learn more about Charlie’s brother and about that photo Alice takes of the trio at the lake. Every Summer After is a beautifully written nostalgic love story that spans six years and one weekend when Sam and Percy are forced to face how their big young love fell devastatingly apart.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
Until the next chapter!
xo, Victoria
P.S. Craving more books featuring these sub-genres, tropes, and themes? Tap the links below.
