The Summer Stories We Never Forget

(Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This comes at no extra cost to you.)

Dear Joyvity™ Friends,

Some books feel like fiction.
Carley Fortune’s books feel like memory and dreams about the future all in one

A former magazine editor turned novelist, Carley knows exactly how to shape a sentence and a story. There’s precision in her writing, but also deep emotional fluency. Her novels don’t just entertain; they unlock something. They take us back to youthful dreams about the future, love, heartache, and friendships.

All of her stories are set by a lake—because that’s where she spent her summers growing up. But the magic of her writing is that it doesn’t matter if your summers were spent by a lake, at your grandparents’ house, in a crowded backyard, or at summer camp. Her books tap into that universal feeling: the stretch of days when time moved differently, and everything felt possible.

We fell in love during those summers.
We got our hearts broken.
And even years later, we still wonder about the people who did that—and how those stories would’ve ended if life had gone differently.

Carley Fortune writes the continuation of those stories.
Not the perfect ending, but the next chapter—where grown-up life meets young adult emotion and asks, "What if?"

Her Books, One by One:

★ Every Summer After

This one follows Persephone (Percy), Sam, and Charlie—two brothers and the girl who once lived next door. It’s a second-chance love story layered with nostalgia, loss, and longing. Told across six summers and one transformative weekend, it captures that feeling of first love—the kind that never quite leaves you.

Find it on Amazon here

Here we meet Fern and Will, who share one day together in their twenties—and then disappear from each other’s lives. Until, almost a decade later, fate puts them back in the same place: a lakeside resort, tangled in family obligations, old dreams, and the haunting echo of what could’ve been. It’s tender, mature, and quietly hopeful.

Find it on Amazon here

★ Meet Me at the Lake

★ This Summer Will Be Different

★ One Golden Summer

Lucy and Felix are opposites who shouldn’t work—but can’t seem to stay away from each other. Their chemistry is undeniable, but real life keeps getting in the way. This is a story about timing, friendship, and the messy beauty of falling for someone you were never supposed to. Haven't we all?

Find it on Amazon here

Her newest novel promises another lakeside setting, but this time, there’s a wedding. And a reunion. And a past that might just catch up. Details are still under wraps, but if it’s anything like her other books, I already know it will stir something old and hopeful in all the right ways.

Find it on Amazon here

💬 Why I Keep Reading

I first read Every Summer After with my feet up and the windows open. The lake, the yearning, the ache of timing—it felt so familiar. Not just the setting, but the emotional terrain. I’d lived some version of it myself but in the mountains.

What I love most about her novels is how personal they feel. I see the characters. I picture the lake, the quiet mornings, the late-night conversations—and it all unfolds in my private cinema in my mind. No two people will read her books the same way, and that makes the experience feel intimate. Like it was written just for every single one of us.

If you're looking for books that hold both sunshine and truth—Carley Fortune’s novels are exactly that. You can browse all Carley Fortune books on Amazon here

Ana