Our Perfect Storm

by Carley Fortune

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.

Genres: Romance, Summer, Summer Reads, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 5, 2026

About the author

Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Every Summer After, Meet Me at the Lake, This Summer Will Be Different, and One Golden Summer. Her next book, Our Perfect Storm, comes out May 5, 2026.

Carley's books have sold more than three-million copies and have been translated into thirty languages. Every Summer After is in production as a TV series with Amazon Prime Video.

Carley spent her young life in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and in Barry’s Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Instagram @carleyfortune.

Reviews

[maria]

FRIENDS TO LOVERS STAN WE WON!!🤸🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️🤭🤭🤭

Also the cover is gorgeous, I’m in love!💜

[ଘRory]

A Carly Fortune book with winter vibes and no "summer" in the title? Take my money. I was convinced the world would end in fire or ice before we got this. My frostbitten heart is ready.

[Liana Gold]

Yay! We have a cover & a purple one at that 💜

[manas (NEW YEAR)]

a title without the word summer? 👀👀

these covers will always eat 💜

[rosie (jason todd's version)]

☀︎༄.° pre-release:

OMG. OMG MS CARLEY DO NOT PLAY W ME RN. IM SCREAMINGGG THIS LOOKS SO GOOD (the cover too. i’m in shambles.)😭😭🫶🏻🫶🏻

[Casey Reads 🌸]

Yay! Can’t wait 💜

[emma ☆°｡⋆]

what’s a girl got to do to get an arc?

[EMthebooktrovert]

Friends to lovers?! Okay, I'm definitely reading this. Is it too much to ask for another Barry's Bay, Charlie Florek and Alice Everly? 🫢

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ Eloise⋆⭒˚.⋆]

OMG SO EXCITED IM SAT 🎉☺️

[ashlyn]

Carley look into the ball 🔮… it’s saying I’m destined to get the arc

[mireya grasso ₊˚ෆ]

๋ · ˚ 🖇️ ⊹ ⌇ pre-read. ⋆

new carley book?!?!? this is about to be amazinnggggg , i really enjoyed my last read by her, so this is going to be super fun <3

p.s. i REALLY would not mind a arc...i mean , it must be a HUGE burden for you guys...

[Amore Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carley Fortune really knows how to write romance that just sweeps you away. This one had all the emotions, the chemistry, and the kind of characters you can’t help but root for. The writing felt effortless and pulled me right into the story, and there were so many moments that made me grin like crazy.

It’s one of those books that makes you feel everything all at once—sweet, funny, heartfelt, and a little bit swoony in the best way. Totally the kind of story you want to curl up with and get lost in.

[Ali]

harcover release... kill me


edit: arc received tho teehee ty

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carley Fortune does not miss.

[marta the book slayer]

give it to me please Carley

[Nelly]

tbr 2026 <3

[Bethany C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was waiting for the perfect moment to read this when I didn’t have to pause to put it down because I just KNEW I would need to binge it in one sitting. And I was absolutely correct. From the first page, I was enthralled and wanted to keep reading. Fortune’s writing is enchanting. You feel like you are there with the characters and any place she writes about I want to visit. Now I want to visit Tofino because it sounds absolutely breathtaking!!!!

The plot of this book was so unique in having childhood best friends but it not being second chance and I was so intrigued how it was going to play out. These two were just meant to be together but above all they are best friends and that’s what’s so beautiful 😭 even though Fortune’s books are only in the fmc’s pov, I can feel what the mmc is feeling and that’s a talent to have!!!! The way they saw each other, the way they understood each other, it is so beautiful!!!! I loved the family dynamics and the pacing was absolutely perfect.

I just love Carley Fortune’s books and I’m already itching for what she comes out with next.

Thank you thank you edelweiss and Berkley for the arc!!!!!

[marioncoin | coin.reads]

la coverrrr 💜 vivement le 5 mai

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus}]

Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old.

Y'all hear that?! It says Frankie & George are best friends!!! Best friends to lovers. *sobs*

Yep, that’s all I need to know from the synopsis. One of ky most anticipated books for next year has been decided!!!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest from Canadian phenom, Carley Fortune was the absolute perfect friends to lovers romance! Frankie and George grew up trauma bonded - both abandoned by parents they loved and that forged a deep bond that lasted decades. Neighbors, best friends, roommates but never more, the two have always been there for each other, except now it's Frankie's wedding and George is no where to be found.

If you always cheered for Laurie when reading Little Women, this is going to be the book for you!! It's full of lush food and travel descriptions the way only Fortune knows how to do! You will feel like you're surfing in Tofino, BC right along with Frankie and George but oh my the FOOD!! Frankie is a chef and her love of food shines in these pages and reading them made me SOOO hungry!!

Another huge win that is sure to delight Fortune's leagues of fans. I couldn't get enough of Frankie and George and their beautiful love story that is definitely one for the ages. I wish we all had a George in our lives!! Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Highly recommended for fans of books like Emily Henry's People we meet on vacation.

[Raghad]

This sounds so fun!!!! 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️

[Raphaela Mandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw the release date on her stories I literally screamed.

Carley - I will be pre-ordering like your bff does.

[Heather Lilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

GIMME GIMME GIMME. Everything CF writes is absolutely perfect, I need it now 😭😭

[Sophie]

COVERS EAT EVERYTIME

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC!

I’ll be back with my review.


Pubs 5/5/26

Thanks Edelweiss and Berkley.

[Erin]

TOFINO!!! 🤩🤩

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no doubt that Fortune is a good writer. Her prose is well-done with a passionate concentration on atmosphere and scenery.

Where she lacks, though, is characters.

In this, we have childhood friends who miscommunicate over several years about their feelings…yada yada, you know the game.

Where there are some stories that make you feel so attached to characters that these mishaps seem understandable, Fortune has yet to find that and articulate it well in any of her books.

Her books, characters, plot points, and tropes always seem to be lifted from another book that did the same thing and did it better. This book pretty much reads exactly as People We Meet on Vacation.

Her last book (before One Golden Summer—I can’t remember the name) was very much Book Lovers.

It’s not that Carley Fortune’s books are bad per say, it’s just that there’s nothing in them that makes them original or gives them this soul-crushing, connective tissue that makes you think that you’ve been through the exact same thing and can feel through the page what these characters are going through.

This book, which had a beautiful setting, was contrived. There’s no reason why these characters shouldn’t have been together. The ending of the engagement was so unrealistic—financially, emotionally, logistically. The mother and her relationship to the daughter was bat-shit crazy. Never in my life would I have forgiven her for what she did.

I want more messy characters in my romance books, but I want them grounded in logic, in real life situations, in miscommunications brought on by psychology.

I know that’s a weird way to phrase it, but to write a character, you have to break them down into psychological sense: What was their childhood like, their parents childhood, their communication style, absent parent/involved parent, financially stable household?

These may seem absurd to think about—it’s just a romance book, but when you take the time to make your characters human beings with real emotions, pasts, faults, and insecurities, you get deep connections to them.

Unfortunately, I think Carley Fortune may just not be talking to enough people outside of her group of middle-upper class people who have similar life experiences.

You can tell she’s professionally written before, but can’t seem to go deeper with characterization and is fundamentally unable to make realistic plot points that dictate character action, motivation, and depth.

That was wordy, apologies, I just finished an americano and now I’m wired lol.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Carley Fortune so I thought this should be the first book of the year. I really enjoyed this friends to lovers romance. George and Frankie have been best friends since childhood. George moved in with his grandmother, next door to Frankie. George knew he was in love with Frankie for a long time, but he knew Frankie wasn't ready for them to have a relationship. So, he waited and waited. Well, now Frankie surprised everyone by getting engaged. Luckily, it ends, but Frankie is still in no condition to learn George loves her, so he needs to make her see it. I loved the Little Women references in this book as that is my favorite book. Jo and Laurie forever! I love that Carley gives us romance in her books. You watch them fall in love and then be unsure because what if they take the chance and it ruins their friendship. All of Carley's books take place in Canada and I recently went to the Bay of Fundy, so I enjoyed that very much. I didn't get to see any whales though. I will have to go back.

- "I've found that going back to the beginning is sometimes the only way to move forward."

-We share a look, and in it lies a startling truth. There's nothing we wouldn't do for each other.

-"There are no ugly parts. Some of them are louder than others. Some might be vicious when provoked. But they're all you. They're all worth of love."

-"You should be able to be yourself with your partner without dampening your spark."

-This is what it's like to be truly known by someone. George sees me, even when I don't want to see myself.

[Hannah Hamlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah this was so good! I’ve enjoyed all of Carley Fortune’s books, but this one is easily her best work. The next time I’m trying to convince someone that childhood friends to lovers makes for the best yearning in a contemporary I will hand them Our Perfect Storm.

First off, George and Frankie are freaks for taking so long to realize their inevitability. I loved every second of it, but these two would be insufferable to be around. She’s always cleaning his glasses, he gives her the last bite of everything he eats, and HE ORDERS FOR HER at every restaurant because he always knows what she wants. (High potential to be a weird control move, but it’s not!! It’s like a game they play and she loves it). You’re telling me that they’re dating other people and acting that way in front of their partners and then swearing up and down that there’s nothing more than friendship between them? COME ON.

While Frankie and George are admittedly infuriating, they’re also such rich compelling characters and that’s only more true in regard to their friendship. While their romantic affection for each other seems so obvious, I eventually came to understand exactly why they’re in this predicament. Some relationships are invaluable and it’s scary putting that at risk, especially with their history and miscommunication. It’s real and human. And the twist at the end made it even better.

And as usual, Carley Fortune makes me yearn for a Canadian summer. Putting Tofino on my travel list!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This stupefied me. I didn't think she could top One Golden Summer, but this one was everything. I feel so shaken. Such a fascinating pair of friends turned lovers, unraveled in that classic, past and present timeline style that Fortune has totally mastered. Also a really beautiful family arc at the heart of this novel, too. A must-read!

I received an advance copy of this title on Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing access!