Happy Thursday! Today we\u2019ve got a little bonus post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of my good friends bought me two books for my birthday back in August (best gift ever), but they have been sitting on my shelf since then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a special talent for buying books when I have about a thousand to read already. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My \u201cto be read\u201d list is always growing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, I recently picked one of these books up, \u201cMeet Me at the Lake\u201d by Carley Fortune, and I am incredibly happy I finally did.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This book, in my opinion, is the perfect summer read. I felt that it needed its own special shout out because everything about it made me ready for summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s still 30 degrees where I\u2019m from, but we\u2019ll ignore that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cover alone drew me in with its gorgeous sunset colors and image of a beautiful lake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will admit, at first the story started slow, but as soon as Will came into the picture, I was into it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fern is the protagonist (kind of a terrible name, but it has significance later in the story), and she inherited her families\u2019 lakeside resort in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following her mother\u2019s death, she finds herself disappointed with the way her life is going. She pictured herself living in Toronto and owning her own coffee shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While she\u2019s struggling to manage the resort and having to work with her ex-boyfriend, she is baffled when someone she hasn\u2019t seen in nine or ten years shows up at the resort looking so different she doesn\u2019t recognize him at first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten years before, she meets a very different version of Will. They have one day together, walking around Toronto and getting to know each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They make a pact to meet up a year after they meet, but Fern shows up and Will does not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, years later, Fern has to deal with him at her resort after years of wondering and heartache because he did not show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also has to deal with the idea that her late mother hired Will to be a consultant for the resort and help with finances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a dual storyline; past and present Fern and Will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The difference in Will\u2019s character in the past and present storylines struck me. He was an artist, which is actually the reason that he and Fern met in the first place. When he comes back years later, he is more clean-cut and professional looking, which is jarring for Fern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will admit, some of their communication is extremely frustrating. We do not figure out why Will did not show up years previous for a very long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also a lot of conversations that end with nothing being solved and one of them walking away. This reminds me of \u201cNormal People\u201d by Sally Rooney. Marianne and Connell had similar frustrating conversations which could have solved so much if they just simply talked to each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Fern and Will danced around what happened in their past for over half of the novel, the story overall hooked me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After finishing the novel, my thoughts changed a little bit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was honestly not happy with the reason as to why Will did not show up. He did not show up because his sister was pregnant and he was having family problems. But he tells Fern that he has been in love with her for all of those years\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wouldn\u2019t you think if Will was really that in love with Fern, he wouldn\u2019t stay away and keep her in the dark for nine years? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All I\u2019m saying is that if I were Fern, I wouldn\u2019t have forgiven him so fast, but who am I to judge? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I liked this book despite a few frustrations with the characters\u2019 communication and their reunion!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Happy Thursday! Today we’ve got a little bonus post. One of my good friends bought me two books for my birthday back in August (best gift ever), but they have been sitting on my shelf since then. I have a special talent for buying books when I have about a thousand to read already. My […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,7,8,16,15],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-introduction","tag-book-recommendations","tag-novels","tag-romance","tag-romance-novels","tag-romance-reads"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t