One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

There’s something about a summer at the lake that changes everything—and in this New York Times Bestseller from beloved author Carley Fortune, one golden season becomes the touchstone for a life lived behind the lens.

Alice is a photographer who’s made a career of capturing other people’s joy. But when her grandmother Nan takes a fall, Alice sees an opportunity for them both: a return to Barry’s Bay, the magical lakeside cottage where, at seventeen, she snapped a photo that would alter her path forever. That image—three teenagers grinning in a yellow speedboat—became iconic. But the boy in the boat, Charlie Florek, remained a beautiful memory.

Until now.

Charlie’s all grown up, with piercing green eyes and a shameless charm that makes Nan laugh and Alice wonder if she can recapture what it felt like to be young and unguarded. As sun-drenched days melt into warm nights on the water, Alice begins to realize something profound: she’s spent her whole life seeing people, but Charlie might be the first person who truly sees her.

Perfect for readers who loved Every Summer After and This Summer Will Be Different, this radiant escape explores coming of age at any age, the friendships that shape us, and the courage it takes to step out from behind the camera and into your own story. Fortune’s luminous prose captures the salt air, creaking floorboards, and heart-stopping possibility of a second chance at first love.

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