Our Perfect Storm

If you want solid romance that embraces the drama that comes with relationships and family and celebrates the beauty of Canada, Carley Fortune is your girl. Once again, she’s written a story that will both touch your heart and likely make it race a bit too!

Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight and she took her vulnerable new neighbor under her wing after he moved in with his grandmother. Now thirty, these two have years of experiences together but, despite their extremely close connection, have always stayed just friends, likely fueled by shared abandonment issues from childhood.

When Frankie’s fiance Nate pulls a runner right before their wedding, George is there to help her pick up the pieces in the months after. In fact, after years of their friendship slowly drifting due to careers and geography, he suggests a new adventure they can share: they’ll go on Frankie’s already booked honeymoon to Tofino - a beautiful town on Vancouver Island off of Canada’s west coast. He’s got a plan - literally, it’s called “The Plan” - to help heal her broken heart. Does it work?

It’s a very revelational week to say the least! Frankie and George may think they know everything about each other, but a week together is bringing out all kinds of things they didn’t know about each other and some things they haven’t wanted to admit to themselves! Will it redefine who they are to each other?

I liked this story. Frankie has some rough edges at times, but George is so patient and understanding with her, and together the way they celebrate and support each other is so heart-warming. The friendship George has with Frankie’s family, particularly her mother, is so sweet! I also appreciated that Frankie and George’s relationship evolved in a believable way, which doesn’t always happen in this genre!

The interspersed non-linear timeline chapters that jump around to various ages and stages of their lives may be a little tricky to follow if only doing audio. I tried this as an immersion read initially, but the voicing for Frankie just didn’t match how I “heard” her character in my head, so I switched to only my Kindle copy. The dual narration by A.J Bridel and Jack Copland is well done, despite it not being my preference for this particular book.

The story does get a bit descriptively spicy at times, so if that’s an issue for you, you may need to skip some parts. The one thing that dropped this a star for me was simply that I thought the ending dragged on too long and the requisite relational drama felt a bit forced and unnecessary, but overall I really enjoyed my time with these characters. Also, when can I go to Tofino? It sounds amazing!

★★★★ 

Thanks to Libby and my library for the Kindle and audio copies to enjoy. This is out now!