Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Review: Namey’s newest release is a heart-wrenching story about weathering life’s storm. 

“A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak” follows Flora Maxwell who, after losing her mother to a long illness, decides to escape to Miami without telling anyone—including her longtime friend Gordon Wallace. But Flora’s change of scenery doesn’t cast away her self-doubt or her stormy emotions. Instead, it leaves her caught between teen influencer Baz Marín and Gordon, a future architect and the friend she has beginning to see in a new light.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the extended metaphor Namey creates surrounding Flora and her personality. In the beginning, she likens Flora to a chaotic hurricane destroying everything in her path before it can get close enough to hurt her. Over time, Flora realizes the extent of the damage her behavior has inflicted on her friends and family and makes a commitment to weather life’s storms with those she loves instead of trying to do it alone. Watching Flora develop as a character in coming to this conclusion mends the soul.

Much like Flora’s, my emotions were all over the place reading this book. I laughed, I cried, and I swooned—all because I felt so attached to Namey’s characters and the world she created. Flora as a protagonist is complex and compelling. She goes on a journey of self-discovery as she comes to terms with her grief. Her pain felt so real and something I could empathize with and even relate to. Seeing her raw emotions on display and get to a place of healing filled me with hope and validation. Seeing her fall in love and gain the courage to act on her feelings tugged on my heartstrings and shed tears of joy. 

Because Flora is immersed in Cuban culture while she is staying in Miami, so are we as readers. Spanish is seamlessly woven into much of the dialogue and Cuban cuisine is described at great length. I loved learning more about the customs and traditions of a region of the world I am not as familiar with and seeing its impact on Flora as she comes into her own!