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A review by proftoddreads
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 ⭐️ 1🌶️
While this is my least favorite Carley Fortune book, I still largely enjoyed it.
Likes: I love her dual timeline narrative structure! Like her other books, Meet Me at the Lake follows the two main characters as they fall in love both in the past and the present. This adds a richness and depth to the relationship, giving more context and giving lots of young love nostalgia vibes that I have come to love in Fortune’s novels.
Dislikes: There were a few reasons this novel wasn’t the 5 star slam dunk her other novels have been for me. First, the lake/summer setting is less of a central feature in this novel. I loved the way the setting played such a prominent role in her other novels, so that was a bit disappointing. Second, the main characters spent only 24 hours together in the past timeline, so their relationship had an “instalove” quality that didn’t provide as much depth as her other two novels where the past relationships were longer and more developed. Finally, I didn’t love the 3rd act conflict here. I won’t spoil anything by saying more, but these are always tricky because you have to introduce conflict without making the reader dislike either character. I acknowledge how difficult this can be, but, again, I just don’t think it was done as well here as in her other novels.
However, I’m basically a complete Carley Fortune stan at this point, so I still enjoyed this novel, would recommend it, and will continue to read everything she publishes!
While this is my least favorite Carley Fortune book, I still largely enjoyed it.
Likes: I love her dual timeline narrative structure! Like her other books, Meet Me at the Lake follows the two main characters as they fall in love both in the past and the present. This adds a richness and depth to the relationship, giving more context and giving lots of young love nostalgia vibes that I have come to love in Fortune’s novels.
Dislikes: There were a few reasons this novel wasn’t the 5 star slam dunk her other novels have been for me. First, the lake/summer setting is less of a central feature in this novel. I loved the way the setting played such a prominent role in her other novels, so that was a bit disappointing. Second, the main characters spent only 24 hours together in the past timeline, so their relationship had an “instalove” quality that didn’t provide as much depth as her other two novels where the past relationships were longer and more developed. Finally, I didn’t love the 3rd act conflict here. I won’t spoil anything by saying more, but these are always tricky because you have to introduce conflict without making the reader dislike either character. I acknowledge how difficult this can be, but, again, I just don’t think it was done as well here as in her other novels.
However, I’m basically a complete Carley Fortune stan at this point, so I still enjoyed this novel, would recommend it, and will continue to read everything she publishes!