This was the first Carley Fortune book I read, and maybe my expectations were too high after all the hype of her first book, but I didn’t love this one.

Fortune is obviously a talented writer, and she was great at capturing not just the mood but also the atmosphere of being at the lake. I adored the setting and actually read it while I was at the lake last year (yes, this review is so late). If I was rating simply on the setting and the ‘lake vibes’, this would 100% be a five-star read, but I’m not.

Character wise I never fell in love with our leads, and while the support cast of characters were wonderful, I never believed the connection between Fern and Will. The chemistry was lackluster, and the spice is on the lighter side with really only one scene that felt too long and not long enough at the same time.

The story itself is cute but I just didn’t buy into the instant love scenario and the pacing killed me. While I liked the character flashbacks, it turned this romance into a slow burn that was just too slow with a rushed ending. I be giving Every Summer After a chance still because the writing was enjoyable, this particular story just didn’t WOW me.

AMAZON | GOODREADS |★★★

Meet Me at the Lake is out now. Thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.