A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey Book Review

I’ve been working my way through a summer TBR list that features summer romance stories: road trips, camp, vacationing at the beach and lake. This book had a slightly different summer vibe filled with grief and discovering who you want to be (with a little romance mixed in). If you read A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, get ready for its sequel:

This week’s title is A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey

After the death of her mother, Flora feels adrift in Winchester, unsure about taking on family expectations or applying to university. Seeking escape, she impulsively flees to Miami, where she’s drawn into the glamorous world of teen influencer Baz Marín, though doubts and emotional turmoil still follow her. As her love for photography deepens, so does her confusion—especially when old friend Gordon Wallace begins to feel like something more.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once I found out that A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow had a sequel, I knew it was going to be a favorite. Something about Namey’s writing reminds me of why I fell in love with reading YA and that it can be both heartbreaking and joyful at the same time. A good love triangle is always of interest too so this was a book I could not wait for. It took until the second half of the book to feel as though this title was five stars instead of four, but I knew it would get there!

Spoiler-free Review

If you’ve read Namey’s books before, then you know how powerful her writing can be. Her descriptions are so good and the characters feel incredibly real. While Lila in A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is exceptionally well developed, Flora is no different. The two girls share similarities like their fierce stubbornness, but their journeys are very different even if they are parallel. I felt like Flora’s guilt was a theme that resolved naturally and her insecurities were valid based on how people have treated her in the past. The language used to describe photography was so similar to the language used to describe pastries in the previous book and if I didn’t already love baking and photography I would’ve fallen head over heels for it! The love triangle was a nice touch with the fake dating and I really enjoyed you couldn’t tell who Flora would end up with until about halfway through the book. The romance was authentic and truly made sense as part of Flora’s healing journey.

One thing I adored was having more of Lila’s sister Pilar in this book. While she was still a side character, she was exactly who Flora needed while in Miami. The family here felt like a warm hug. Gordon’s plot line made so much sense based on how we left the last book and I enjoyed seeing him come into his own and not only go after what (or who) he wanted, but also to know when he had to put himself first.

If you’re looking for a strong contemporary fiction romance with memorable characters and an even more memorable setting, then read A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak after you read A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow of course.

For a spoiler review, keep on reading!

Spoilers! Be warned!

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Okay, I warned you!

With hurricanes in the title and Miami as the setting, I hoped that we might see a hurricane pop up at some point in the novel. And my thoughts were answered! While the storm only takes up a few of the last chapters, I thought it added so much to the story since Flora is continuously called a hurricane by her family. Her confronting an actual hurricane as well as worrying for Gordon’s whereabouts was a great climax to the book and a push Flora needed to see how her actions affected others. I also really liked that she waited out the storm at Baz’ house since it solidified their friendship in a way you knew was going to last longer than their photography/fake dating deal.

The love triangle with Flora, Baz, and Gordon was well-written. I didn’t know until halfway through the book who Flora would end up with since it seemed like she and Baz spent a lot more one-on-one time together. When Gordon showed up in Miami, I knew he was a real contender, especially after Flora’s reaction to him when he was at the beach club with one of his roommates. Flora and Gordon are the epitome of friends-to-lovers and the house he drew for her at the end had me melting.

I really enjoyed Lila being a part of this book virtually. If we didn’t have Lila’s family and Flora journeyed elsewhere then this wouldn’t have made as much of an impact as it did. Including Lila and Lila’s family gave this title a great connection to the first book without it feel like it abandoned the first story or that Flora’s story couldn’t stand on its own two legs.

This will be in my top ten favorite reads of this year for sure!