One Golden Summer is the kind of book that makes you want to grab a beach towel, your favorite sunglasses, and maybe text your old summer crush just to see what he’s up to. It’s breezy, romantic, and full of bittersweet nostalgia the classic Carley Fortune vibe.
The story follows Lucy Harper, who’s thirty-two and feeling a bit stuck. She’s living in Toronto, working a demanding job in PR, and her love life is… well, nonexistent. Then she gets a letter that pulls her back to the past: her family’s old cottage town on the shores of Lake Muskoka, where she hasn’t been in over a decade.
Why? Because of Will Mitchell, her childhood best friend turned teenage love turned heartbreak. The two of them shared one magical summer when they were seventeen. It was full of late-night swims, bonfires, stolen kisses, and dreams of a future together. But something happened that summer that tore them apart, and Lucy never went back.
When Lucy arrives in Muskoka, she finds out the cottage community is throwing a big centennial celebration. She plans to slip in and out quietly… until she runs smack into Will. He’s older, hotter (of course), and just as charming, but also carrying his own baggage.
Over the next few weeks, Lucy and Will keep crossing paths. There’s tension, banter, and all those old feelings threatening to bubble back up. Meanwhile, Lucy reconnects with friends from her teen years, confronts what really happened that summer, and starts questioning whether her carefully curated city life is what she actually wants.
By the end, secrets come out, hearts are mended, and Lucy has to decide: stay safe in her old life, or take a chance on the love she thought she’d lost forever?
And yes, there’s a scene involving fireworks over the lake, because what’s a Carley Fortune book without a picture-perfect summer night?
What I Thought
I loved this one. Carley Fortune just knows how to write that perfect mix of yearning and sunshine. The lake setting is gorgeous, the small-town details feel authentic, and Lucy and Will have incredible chemistry.
If you love second-chance romances and books that make you feel like you’ve stepped into a sun-drenched memory, One Golden Summer is your jam. It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit angsty, and totally satisfying. Highly recommend tossing it in your beach bag!
Ready for a swoon-worthy escape to Muskoka?
Grab your copy of One Golden Summer and let Carley Fortune sweep you into a story of lost love, lake breezes, and one unforgettable summer.
