One Golden Summer

Alice and Charlie completely stole my heart. Alice has spent so much of her life hiding behind a camera lens, capturing everyone else's moments instead of truly living her own. Watching her slowly step into the present, embrace uncertainty, and allow herself to be seen was such a beautiful journey. And Charlie Florek... WOW. His confidence, shameless flirting, and unwavering charm had me smiling from the very beginning. But underneath all that charisma is a man carrying so much hurt. Seeing his softer, vulnerable side made me fall for him even harder. As much as Charlie helped Alice come alive, she healed parts of him too, and that made their love story feel so genuine. I absolutely adored following them through one unforgettable summer. Their playful banter, the checklist, the carefree adventures, and the way they truly saw each other made every chapter impossible to put down. They brought out the very best in one another, and I couldn't stop smiling while reading. This was heartfelt, swoony, funny, and full of so much love. Carley Fortune absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one, and it's a romance that will stay with me for a long time.

This is a great summer read! It’s an easy read, not a lot to infer, gives you everything, which I don’t love but the character development is flawless. I loved Charlie from the first book and getting to see his story while still seeing Percy and Sam was the best! Loved this book!

Talk about a redemption arc! I LOVED this book! Charlie and Alice’s story was so beautiful and so genuinely sweet! It was truly the perfect beach read with a little bit of everything, banter, tension, longing, comedy, grief.. this one really pulled the heart strings. I honestly liked it more than Every Summer After 🥹 I think the only thing I would have liked to see was Charlie’s POV. I really wanted to know his thoughts and feelings especially after the events in ESA. This is definitely a top favorite on my summer reading list so far! 🌶️.5 💙 Strangers to lovers ☀️ Forced proximity 💙 Bucket lists ☀️ Summer Romance 🚤 Redemption story

Love this book. Perfect summer read. The characters are fun, the love story is interesting with a bit of spice, great writing illustrating the chemistry and relationships of all the characters. You could visualize the lake, summer time and the small town. Highly recommended.

This is the first book that I have read and listen to by this author. I did not realize that there were a few books previously that I could have read before reading this book that had these characters in them. I'm not sure if it took away from my experience by not having read the previous books however, I find that I really loved this book! When I started the book I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to think, however, as I continued on I was definitely drawn into the story. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. I was hoping that the main characters would have a happily ever after even though there were a few times that I was worried that would not happen. And I'm not going to say if it did or didn't but the ending was definitely satisfying. I just felt the entire book was very well written, the storyline was engaging and drew the reader in, I definitely had a lot of emotions and feelings that I experienced with the book, and I'm glad that I read and listened to the book. I ended up getting the ebook and audible version. The narrator did a great job and I like how the audible version had the extra information that was in the back of the e-book because sometimes the audible doesn't include that and this time it did. I'm thinking I may go back and check out more of this author's books.

4.5/5⭐️ 2/3🌶️ (5ish scenes) 2.5🦋 •My Thoughts• Welp. ::whispers:: yall were right. Charlie won me over. I did not like him, or any character really, in Every Summer After, but I appreciated that this provided a little extra perspective while also leaving most of that drama in the past. I loved how he grew up, he was fun and swoony and there was so much depth to him. I love how Alice saw beneath his exterior and how her character arc and summer of figuring out who she wanted to be was written. I found there were so many things that I identified with in the family dynamic and her realizations and growth brought me to tears. This story is perfect for summer! It’s full of banter and swoon and fun. Definitely recommend!

📚✨ Book Review ✨📚 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune Genre: Contemporary Romance ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Photographer Alice Everly is burned out and hiding behind her camera. When her Nan breaks her hip, they head back to the old cottage on Barry’s Bay — the place that shaped Alice at seventeen. She doesn’t expect to run into Charlie — the boy from her past and the subject of her most famous photograph. What starts as a nostalgic getaway turns into a summer of second chances, self-discovery, and the courage to finally be seen. Unpopular opinion: One Golden Summer was a good read, but not a five-star masterpiece for me. Carley Fortune absolutely nails the hazy, nostalgic summer atmosphere, and I adored Alice’s relationship with her grandmother. Nan was honestly a highlight; she added so much warmth and heart. Alice and Charlie’s slow-burn chemistry is sweet, and the themes of grief, healing, and rediscovery definitely resonate. But the story leans pretty heavily on familiar tropes, and a lot of it reminded me of Fortune’s earlier books, so parts felt predictable. The pacing drags in the middle, with long stretches of reflection that soften the tension. While Alice’s emotional journey is relatable, some of the side characters feel a bit underdeveloped. And the reason Alice and Charlie couldn’t be together felt drawn out and a little overly dramatic, especially since the big reveal came so late. It made the “will-they-won’t-they” moments feel repetitive. Overall, it’s a gentle, easy summer read with some lovely moments — just not my favorite from Carley Fortune.

This was my first introduction to Carley Fortune last summer, I kinda worked my way backwards in her book log and fell in love with her story writing. This is such a beautiful book and love story. One Golden Summer is perhaps my all time favorite contemporary romance. I loved all the characters. I think Alice was the perfect love interest for Charlie and I’m so happy Charlie got to have his love story and happy ending. A slow burn but beautifully told, I enjoyed their friendship even though as the reader you always knew they would turn out to be more. I love the glimpses we got of Sam & Percy. Loved Alice’s relationship with her grandmother and that she got that summer to spent with her something that she can cherish for forever. I can’t recommend this book enough to everyone who’s looking for all the emotions, fun, and truly feeling like you’re on the lake with these characters. “Good things happen at the lake.” And although I’ve never spent a summer at a lake I felt transported into Barry’s Bay and can just picture the sun setting upon the water while taking a boat ride with Charlie & Alice.

Beautifully and encaptivating story

Maravilhoso, melhor que o primeiro livro da “série”. Bem escrito, leve. Eu sou muito team Charlie!

Good quality

No se como empezar esta reseña sin dejar que el desprecio y enojo que siento por Charlie salga a flote. La verdad es que creo que no se merecía un libro, no después de lo que le hizo a Sam, por que es como darle a un nobel de la paz a alguien que promueve la guerra, quizas estoy exagerando, pero sinceramente no se como la gente quiere justificar sus acciones y tener una historia de el y su final feliz. No entiendo como Sam pudo perdonar lo que pasó, yo sigo en el restaurante sin olvidar el libro anterior 🤣🤣. Pero bueno, volviendo mi enfoque a este libro, la verdad es que me gusto mucho, me gusto como llevo la historia, me enamore de Alice completamente, de su proceso de transformación, de el grado de madurez e introspección que requeire el darte cuenta que la persona que has sido no es quien realmente eres y el resetearse y empezar de nuevo requiere valor y ese el tipo de crecimiento que quieres ver en un personaje que no sabe que es ella es el main character y que realmente tiene que empezar a vivir su vida como tal. Charlie no se la merecía ni un poco y de el no quiero hablar me cae mal, para mi es uno de los peores personajes que hay, y no merecía un final feliz, punto lo dije y no me arrepiento.

Beste boek van Carley Fortune, een must read!