Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old, but they have never dared to move outside of the friend zone. Now, it’s Frankie’s wedding weekend and George is her best man, even though things have been strained between George and Frankie lately. On the day of Frankie’s wedding, she wakes up alone to a note from her fiancé cancelling the wedding without explanation. Months later, George convinces Frankie to go on her honeymoon in Tofino, British Columbia with him as he has a plan to help Frankie heal her broken heart. Frankie sees the trip as a way to repair her friendship with George, but Frankie quickly realises that finally acting on the romantic feelings that she’s pushed down and crossing the line between friends and something more with George could be worth the risk.
Our Perfect Storm is a childhood “friends to lovers” romance featuring the “he falls first” trope. It deals with themes and topics like love and heartbreak, trust, secrets and lies, friendship, abandonment, loneliness, sense of self, mental health, appearance versus reality, change versus tradition, communication, happiness, marriage, work life balance, and travel. Our Perfect Storm would be perfect for fans of books like Happy Ending by Chloe Liese, The Wingman by Stephanie Archer, and People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I also think that fans of Little Women will enjoy Our Perfect Storm as it has quite a few Little Women references throughout with Frankie and George’s relationship often being likened to that of Jo and Laurie.
I’m Canadian, so I absolutely loved the main setting of Tofino, British Columbia. Furthermore, the descriptions of all of the gorgeous places that Frankie and George visited—like stunning beaches and rainforests—and cool adventures that Frankie and George went on—including surfing lessons and whale watching tours—whilst on their “honeymoon” in Tofino were fantastic! Carley Fortune also included a tonne of information about whales throughout the book since Frankie is named after a whale and Frankie’s mother is passionate about whales and conservation, so I thought that this was really cool and interesting as well as unique and memorable.
I hate the miscommunication and third act break-up tropes, so I found all of the misinterpretation and lack of communication throughout Frankie and George’s story to be super frustrating. That said, Frankie and George were such loveable characters that I couldn’t help but root for them despite how long it took for them to realise and communicate their romantic feelings for each other. I’m also not a big fan of flashbacks in books as I find that they are often overly long and interrupt my reading experience, but the flashbacks in Frankie and George’s story were limited to shorter snippets that were important to the plot, which I appreciated.
Overall, I really enjoyed this beachy “friends to lovers” read and I think that it would be a great addition to romance readers’ summer TBR lists!
Our Perfect Storm is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 5th 2026.
Will you be picking up Our Perfect Storm? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
Best friends have one week in paradise to fix their friendship or fall apart in this heart-stopping, utterly romantic new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and One Golden Summer.
Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrong—they’ve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. It’s the eve of Frankie’s wedding weekend, and she doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her family’s home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankie’s broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
