One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

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Alice Everly is coming to the lake for the summer to care for her grandmother while she recovers from surgery. As a teenager, she spent one summer on Barry's Bay, and now at a crossroads in her own life, she's ready for a magical, carefree summer, the one she should have had when she was seventeen, back when she was shy and awkward. She decides to write a summer bucket list for herself and have the perfect teenage summer. Then she meets Charlie Florek, caretaker of the cottage and a resident of Barry's Bay, cocky and handsome and so not her type. But the more time she spends with Charlie, she realizes he's a lot of fun, and he volunteers to help her complete her bucket list. They swear they're just going to be friends, but their mutual attraction to each other has other plans.

I myself spent countless summers at the lake. It's such an important part of my childhood that any time I read a book set at a lake, I'm predisposed to love it. The lake itself is as much a character as Charlie or Alice, and it filled me with so much wistful nostalgia. Alice and Charlie's story was written so very beautifully. Their banter, their friendship, their deep connection. It might be my favorite CF book of all so far.

The odds at which they find themselves, the way Alice is able to come out of her shell, and the absolute affection and respect their relationship fosters made this one of those love stories that literally made me swoon.

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