Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance/Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects, in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Every Summer After.
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?
MY OPINION: **
Everyone said this book was bad and I should have listened to them.
I really enjoyed Carley Fortune's other book but this one was actually painful. It was excruciating to get through and it took me five days too long to finish it. The only reason I got through it was so that I could write this review.
There wasn't really anything about it that I truly hated, hence the non-one-star review, but this was just SO boring. I found zero interest in the characters, plot, or setting. I also HATE books that switch between two different time periods and this one was no exception. I did not care to read about the present day or the ten years before era.
Basically, Fern (I'm sorry, she's literally named after an Arthur character) met this one man, Will, ten years before the main setting of this book and they make a pact after spending ONE day together (literally, ONE day) to meet up at the lake the year after. Well, as you can probably guess, because this trope is so overdone, this man does not show up and she has no clue why.
Well, fast forward ten years and suddenly, he's returned to Fern's deceased mother's lakeside resort, a place where she does not want to work or continue her mother's legacy but feels compelled to for some reason. And wow, he's still hot (apparently, because tbh, I never got a clear image in my mind of what this man was supposed to look like) but she can't be with him because she's still hurt about him not showing up nine years before.
Like, this is an adult woman in her early THIRTIES or something and she's still depressed over some man she knew for ONE day ten years ago. We have GOT to move on, woman. We cannot let any man have this much power over us.
Oh, also, in true Carley Fortune fashion, Fern had a boyfriend ten years ago and while she doesn't explicitly cheat on him, she basically emotionally cheats. So there's that.
Basically, the book covers the slow-burn relationship of the two trying to figure out what went wrong and avoid their new feelings for each other. This was honestly so incredibly boring. I did not care to know what had went wrong and the way they drew it out reminded me of Emily Henry's
People We Meet on Vacation, another book I despise (even though my review says three stars, looking back, that was totally a one or two star book but I won't put myself through it again to revise my review). It's just so overdone and it felt like there was no chemistry so what was I even rooting for?
This entire book reminded me a lot of Colleen Hoover's
November 9, yet another book I did not like (again, contrary to my review... see above). If someone had told me that this book was basically a more complex version of that, albeit much better written, I would never have picked it up.
It literally takes TWELVE chapters for Fortune to describe what happened on that one fateful day. Also, keep in mind that SHE STILL HAD A BOYFRIEND and Fern and Will didn't do anything physical. I do not see how I'm supposed to believe they're just magically soulmates like be for REAL. Fern even admits to herself that she knows spending this "intimate" time with Will is wrong but she continues to do it anyway. IDK how I was supposed to root for these people.
Will wasn't THAT bad but he was also so bland and had the personality of a piece of sandpaper.
Everyone told me it sucked but I did not listen! I don't know why! Honestly, do not waste your time on this book unless you genuinely enjoyed November 9. I know PWMOV is very loved, but even though I said this book reminded me of that, I would NOT recommend it to Emily Henry lovers. I don't want to shame the author because the writing was arguably very well-done but the actual plot and characters were not worth my time.
I would SO much have rather read a book about Fern's mom and her love story with Peter.
Main Character: Fern
Sidekick(s): Will, friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book is real to life.
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