One Golden Summer

By: Carley Fortune

Narrated by: AJ Bridel, Carley Fortune

A radiant escape to the lake from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and This Summer Will Be Different

As featured in People ∙ Good Morning America ∙ Cosmopolitan ∙ TODAY ∙ E! News ∙ Buzzfeed ∙ ELLE ∙ Us Weekly ∙ The New York Post ∙ SheReads ∙ and more!

I never anticipated Charlie Florek.

Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.

Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.

Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.

Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.©2025 Carley Fortune (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"One Golden Summer was everything I wanted for Charlie and more! Alice and Charlie's chemistry is an absolute bonfire, the banter is perfection, and Nan is a treasure. Fortune's stories are rich and sparkling. She makes me believe that a summer at the lake is a necessary and formative experience in life."—Abby Jimenez, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Say You'll Remember Me

"[Fans] have been begging her to give Charlie his happily ever after for years—and she’s fully delivered with a sweet, summer love story."—E! News

“The sparks between Alice and Charlie fly off the page and endearing Nan adds heart. This is a treat.”—Publishers Weekly

Wonderful book.

This book was amazing. I was so excited to see Justice for Charlie. The banter in this book was just the right amount. It was everything I wanted and more.

Like Coming Back to Barry’s Bay

One of the things I loved about Every Summer After was Barry’s Bay. So this story transports the reader back to that quaint and charming setting and sets us up to finish some unfinished business. I love that we get to see Charlie’s story unfold more and see him meet his soulmate at last. I love that we got to meet Alice and her family for the first time. For me this had all the nostalgia of the first. Loved that Sam and Percy came back in a little bit and even some other characters as well. That just added so much more depth to Alice and Charlie’s story. Pure perfection in keeping the same narrator too. AJ Bridel brings these characters to life and makes listening to the story like revisiting with some old friends. Loved every minute.

Great story

This was really great! Not a 5 star for me but a solid 4 ! I loved all the characters.. all of the lake scenes

So well written

I always love author narration because you really get more of a feel for how the author pictures it. I loved their story and I’m so glad we got Charlie’s story.

Loved it!

I’ve read all her books and this was my favorite! I loved reading about Charlie and Alice and hearing about Sam and Percy. Love love love

Good things happen at the lake...

Good things happen at the lake and in Carley Fortune's books!

I enjoyed the material after the novel, too.

loved

I loved this book so very much. It’s a cute love story great beach read great summer read highly recommend to everyone.

A great sequel…

I love it when authors delve deeper into characters and storylines by creating a series or book #2. Sometimes readers just aren’t ready to move on or close the “chapters” and this is exactly what we got and needed in this book. Charlie- what can I say. Thank you for giving us more reasons to love him. Thank you for letting us get a little glimpse of Sam and Percy’s life. Loved everything about this book. Ready for book #3. 😍

It totally captured my attention. The reality of it.

I cried many times. Happy tears of course. It read as a “time travel” for me. We’ve all been there & yet as I finished this book today my mind is still wondering where did all my life go from so long ago. As said, it goes in a flash. Carly has such talent. My only regret is I didn’t catch this as book #4 when the email came in. I’ll start #1 tomorrow, as I’m still thinking about what a great read One Golden Summer has been. I didn’t want it to end. I’ve been married 40+ years & found myself looking back long ago in a similar story. Thank you Carly…for it all!

This book is EVERYTHING!

I mean EVERYTHING! Alice is perfect. Charlie is redeemed. Nan makes me miss my grandma!