☀️🌊One Golden Summer 🌊☀️

• Carley Fortune

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first of Carley Fortune’s work, so I haven’t read the first in this series, Every Summer After. This was my first venture to the world of Barry’s Bay.

We follow photographer Alice, who, after seventeen years, is returning to the spot where she fell in love with photography. That one photo, of three teenagers in a yellow speedboat, changed the direction of her life. I loved that premise – I like reading about main characters who have interesting, creative jobs and passions.

When Alice’s grandmother wants to return to Barry’s Bay for the summer, Alice has no choice but to accompany her as her carer. The place holds a lot of memories for the both of them, but Alice is hoping that the change of scenery will spark something creative in her burnt-out brain. When she meets Charlie Florek, the boy who she photographed on his boat all those years ago, they embark on a summer of fun, completing Alice’s bucket list one by one.

There was nothing outrightly wrong with it, and I can’t pinpoint exactly what didn’t float my boat about it, besides the fact that I wasn’t very invested in their characters and their romance. I know a lot of people disliked Carley Fortune’s first book in this series because it involved cheating, and this definitely didn’t have any such controversial themes. Still, sadly I don’t think I will be reaching for any of Carley Fortune’s other books any time soon.

One Golden Summer released on May 6th (I’m a bit late with this review 🫣) Thank you to @michaeljbooks for the digital ARC!