emilyreads88's Reviews (1.15k)

I am boggled by how seen I feel and how much I feel I saw of Anne Frank. Utterly perplexed by how similar and yet different all of our lives are. 

I saw myself in some of her feelings and saw the truth of her quiet Anne, and the one others saw. 

I could also only imagine how her father must have felt reading that diary. I often think of his quote about how little parents know of their children. 

Such a moving, true, raw tale of what it is to be human. And a fascinating account of their secret annex, worthy of a spy novel indeed.

Carley Fortune has done it again. One Golden Summer is a breathtaking escape into the shimmering lake, where past and present intertwine, and where characters navigate life’s fears, love’s complexities, and the quiet magic of feeling truly seen.

“I think the older we get, the scarier shit becomes”. This simple truth sets the stage for a novel that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. The story unfolds in a place Fortune writes best—where the water calls, where summer is a sanctuary, and where characters come to shed their expectations and rediscover themselves.

“‘My mom was full of energy, always laughing. Everyone loved her. You just felt good being with her, you know?’

‘Yeah,’ I say, looking at him. ‘I know.’"

The people in Fortune’s world are drawn with such care, their emotions so vivid that they feel like old friends. There’s a mother whose warmth lingers long after she’s gone, a love built not on grand gestures but on quiet understanding—on the way someone listens, offers, and simply sees you. There’s Charlie Florek who deserves the whole world and then some, and Alice Everly who I did not expect to fall so far in love with. And, of course, Sam and Percy. 

"That's not who I am. That's my job, my car, my home. That's not me. I'm just a guy on a raft, trying to figure his shit out like everyone else."

The afterword talks about sometimes needing to go back to go forward, and that is what this book is all about. People trying to figure out their lives as they go. It’s a beautiful, remarkable, mess.

“He stares into my eyes, and it’s the look from the photos. The look artists write songs and poems and books about.”

The love story is exactly what I love about every Carley Fortune book. So unexpectedly beautiful and real and heart wrenching you can’t help but cry (I won’t specific whether they’re tears of joy or heartbreak). 

What One Golden Summer does best, though, is remind us to follow our hearts, embrace the unknown, and trust in ourselves. This book is everything I hoped for and more—an exquisite story wrapped in Fortune’s signature beauty and depth.

Five shining stars.

"Just see where the sun takes you. And don't forget: Good things happen at the lake."

Thank you to Net Galley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

“Alberta, here I come.” 

Soleil Bellerose has no home and no job prospects, due to just graduating an undergraduate degree in biology and her parents selling their house and moving to Portugal. The only job offering on the horizon? Heading out to the backwoods of Alberta with an old acquaintance to engage in back-breaking tree planting. 

Enter her forewoman, Gabe Hawthorne, bushman extraordinaire. He comes from money but is eschewing the family business to buy said tree planting firm. Oh, and he’s incredibly attractive. Will Soleil break her promise of a romance-free temporary job and find love and purpose in Alberta? Only the Rockies know. 

“The highway stretches on forever, with nothing but towering spruce on both sides. No civilization, no roadside diner—just endless forest.” 

This book was everything. Simple, quiet, deep, beautiful, raw, everything. 

I could so easily picture it. The Alberta highways and backroads, the Calgary airport, Prairie’s Creek, Banff, Kananaskis. 

The setting was richly portrayed enough to transport the reader there whether they have or haven’t experienced Alberta before. When I saw the opportunity to get this ARC I absolutely jumped on it because I knew I needed a romance set in a place that speaks to my soul. 

“Oh yeah,” Emma laughs, pointing at the small beige tents. “Pro tip: don’t camp downwind from the shitter.”

I loved the logistics of tree planting that weee included. You could absolutely tell the author had been before and it gave the story an authentic whimsicality and I got to learn some fascinating new things and consider a change of career myself! 

And the way this was included for the overall tone of humour ever present in the book, which had me snorting and laughing out loud. I was engaged the entire time. 

“Six feet of pure muscle, dirty blond, loose curls, and these blue eyes that’ll stop you dead in your tracks.”

Okay, let’s talk about the characters. Let me talk about Emma first because I fell in love with her too and I need more of her story. And more of Logan! 

Soleil was the perfect blend of confident and collected and uncertain and trying to find her path in life. She was endearingly human. She made mistakes, but she learned from them and she had such strength as she refused to give up or give in and I respected the hell pit of her for it. 

And Gabe. I mean, the quote above says it all. Competent, endlessly kind, funny, rugged, he is truly the whole package. I could read hundreds of more pages about him. He snuck into my heart and will live there forever.  

“You’ll always be my Sunshine.”

My favourite scene (though it was a tough competition) was the scene where they’re up late opening up to each other beneath the stars and the moment was so slow and wonderful and peaceful that I was fully present in that moment with them. 

This book is not one to miss if you like slow burn, enemies to lovers, outdoorsmen, and quirky humour. Trust me; you’ll want to slow down and savour every moment of it. 

“Maybe some things are worth complicating.” 

Thank you to the author for overdoing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

"The gap between you, and those who are better than you, faster than you, is the hardest thing in the world."

Chris Tomasini’s Within This Darkness is an evocative, deeply introspective novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned."

Set against the backdrop of the vast, untamed Canadian wilderness, Within This Darkness is a story of grief, mystery, and magic woven through generations. When 14-year-old Jeremy Gardela sets out on a quest to unearth his family’s secrets, what he finds instead is something far greater—an enigmatic stranger tied to an ancient magic that has pulsed beneath the Gardela name for decades. The novel effortlessly blends history, folklore, and raw emotion, creating a world where the forests feel alive, the wolves carry their own wisdom, and magic hums just beneath the surface of reality.

"Jeremy had learned that people have a breaking point - when you've run too fast for too long, your body responds with pain, and that pain can drag you to a stop."

Tomasini’s storytelling is hauntingly beautiful, transporting the reader into a setting that feels both wild and intimate, as if every shadow in the trees is whispering a forgotten tale. The magic system is subtle yet powerful, seamlessly integrated into the landscape and history of the novel—it feels like something ancient, something that has always existed but is just now being uncovered. 

"If she can't see you, can't see where she is, can she change you?"

The wolves, in particular, left a profound impression on me. They are more than just creatures of the forest—they embody the mystery, danger, and wisdom that runs through the novel’s core. Their presence is magnetic, a force that guides and unsettles, making their moments on the page unforgettable. 

"A grey wold, not especially large or powerful, but with those eyes that wolves possessed, eyes that stared deep, and made you wonder what exactly the wolf was seeing, because they seemed to be seeing more than you wanted them to."

And then there is the setting—a deeply Canadian novel that embraces its landscape, its isolation, its quiet, lingering histories. The forests aren’t just a backdrop; they breathe life into the story, shaping its tension and atmosphere with a raw, untamed energy. Tomasini writes with a reverence for the land, his prose infused with the spirit of old stories passed down through time. 

"A shimmering of shadows. Something was moving in there."

I am profoundly grateful to Chris Tomasini for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Within This Darkness is an unforgettable, mesmerizing read, one that leaves you questioning, yearning, and deeply affected. It earns a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me, and I can only hope that, somewhere beyond these pages, the rest of its mysteries wait to be uncovered.

"The echoes seemed to come and find him, when he entered the darkness, and Jeremy wondered what they all meant - what secrets lay in all their whisperings."