Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune — A Cancelled Wedding, a Borrowed Honeymoon and a Best Friend Who Fell First

Frankie Gardiner's wedding ends before it begins. On the wedding weekend, her fiancé, Nate, calls it off with a note. Frankie is a former sous chef with a sharp tongue and a habit of keeping her hurt to herself, and suddenly she has nowhere to put any of it. Then George Saint James, her best friend since they were eight, makes an offer. He has planned a week in Tofino, on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island, with a careful itinerary designed to help her get over Nate. He calls it the Plan. Our Perfect Storm, published by Berkley in the US on 5 May 2026 and by Michael Joseph in the UK on 7 May, is the fifth novel from Carley Fortune, the Canadian author of Every Summer After, Meet Me at the Lake, This Summer Will Be Different and One Golden Summer. Like those books, it is a romance about people with a long, complicated history, set somewhere you'll want to visit. Two friends, one long history Frankie and George have known each other for more than twenty years, and their friendship hasn't always been easy. They drifted, hurt each other and found their way back, and by the time of the wedding there is a lot that neither of them says out loud. George is calm, patient and organised. Frankie is quick-tempered and proud. Both carry the marks of difficult families. Fortune tells their story in two strands. The present-day week in Tofino moves forward day by day, while shorter chapters titled by age, such as "We Were Eight" and "We Were Sixteen", fill in how the friendship grew and where it broke. Letters between them add another layer. Little Women runs through the book too, and readers who remember Jo and Laurie will see the comparison coming. Tofino as a character Reviewers agree that the setting is the book's great strength. Rainforest, misty beaches, surfing lessons, storms rolling in off the Pacific and whale-watching trips all feature, and Fortune writes about the place with obvious affection. Frankie's name has a link to whales through her mother's interest in conservation, which gives the trip a personal edge. Food matters as well. Frankie is a cook, and the seafood and kitchen scenes are written with real appetite. The Bookish Elf's review singled out the food writing and the quiet mother-daughter thread as some of the book's most affecting moments. A slow fall, on purpose This is a "friends to lovers" romance in which, as fans say, he falls first. The pleasure is in the waiting: the restraint, the near-misses and a hero whose devotion shows in small, practical acts rather than speeches. Leslie Murphy, reviewing for She Reads Romance Books, gave it five stars and called the yearning addictive. The steam level is low, so the focus stays on feeling rather than explicit scenes. Where it frustrates The same slowness tests some readers. Andrea Reid of The Nerd Daily rated it 9 out of 10 but found the leads' frequent miscommunication and their slow admission of feelings frustrating. Publishers Weekly called the third-act conflict "somewhat predictable and underwhelming", and The Bookish Elf thought the reveal was telegraphed. Nate barely exists as a character, George's Plan can feel a little too neat, and Frankie's temper and self-pity wear thin in places. Is it for you? If you loved Every Summer After or Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation, this is very much in your lane: a long friendship, a beautiful place and a slow, aching turn towards love. If miscommunication and third-act breakups drive you up the wall, be warned that this book relies on both. Our verdict Our Perfect Storm is Carley Fortune doing what her readers love her for. The romance is gentle, the setting is gorgeous and George is easy to root for. It isn't surprising, and it isn't trying to be. Pack it for a long weekend somewhere near water.