Book: “One Golden Summer” by Carley Fortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.5-3.75
“One Golden Summer” is my first read by Carley Fortune. I went into this book very excited — all of the reviews on Goodreads were so positive and glowing. Maybe I hyped myself too much over this book because I, unfortunately, did not get the hype. That’s not to say this book was a disappointment — it wasn’t, I just didn’t love it, but I liked it enough. The writing was absolutely beautiful, and It was a great read for the end of the summer.
And let’s take a moment for the beautiful cover!
A Dazzling Romance
My favorite aspect of the story was the slow burn romance between the two main characters, Alice and Charlie. As a huge fan of the romance genre, I can say that Fortune does a slow burn the right way. The tension is there, but the characters don’t immediately fall into love. Although, they clearly are attracted to one another off the bat.
Charlie’s main focus was ensuring that Alice had the summer she deserved and dreamed about when she was a teenager. It was endearing to see him help tick off her bucket list items alongside with her. He never pressured her into anything — he was quite the flirt, however! He was full of male bravado but underneath that, he was a really sweet, caring man who had some flaws and who wanted the best for Alice. Even when he thought that maybe he wasn’t what she deserved. Their declarations of love took a while, but I liked that because it was more authentic. The characters didn’t say I love you after a week of knowing each other. Fortune built up their relationship to progress them to that three-word moment when the time was right.
Also, who doesn’t like a summer romance?
A Wide Array of Characters
Let’s talk about the two main characters a little more in depth. Charlie was, hands down, my favorite. I already waxed poetic about him above, so I won’t go into more detail about him. Alice was a decent character, and I liked that she was adamant in her stance on her career. She was a strong character, but there wasn’t anything that made me love her.
Then there are the side characters like Nan, Alice’s grandma, who was a hoot. I enjoyed her interactions with Charlie and Alice, individually and together. Alice’s family, her sisters and brothers, were actually the worst and kind of immature. I read a Goodreads review commenting on the twin sister and brother ditching Alice on her birthday last-minute and then her sending them money, and I feel like they totally took advantage of Alice’s generosity. They were all extremely flakey and too much.
Charlie’s brother, Sam, and his wife, Percy, were also good additions to the cast of characters. They weren’t in the book a lot, but I enjoyed their presence in the storyline. They contributed to Charlie’s character immensely.
One Golden Summer Meets Summery Feelings
The overall setting for the book gave way to that summery feeling. Books set in a lakeside or oceanside town are always my jam. The setting in “One Golden Summer” took place in a small lake town in Canada, and it provided that homey feeling.
I liked reading about the summer activities throughout the book, especially Charlie and Alice completing her summery bucket list. It almost made me feel like a teenager again myself.
I feel very conflicted over this book because I really wanted to like it. And I did, but it just wasn’t for me. I think it was good for a summer read, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it again. The writing was wonderful, but the overall story was underwhelming for me.
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