A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak

Very excited for this companion novel as I absolutely loved and adored the other book from this set and so did our readers! I cannot wait to dive in and share my full review and thoughts on this one as well! I love the photography aspect and I think many young women will relate to this character.

This is a beautifully written book all about Flora, featured previously in the first book, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. As I loved the first book, I had a strong feeling I would love this book too, and I really did. Learning more about Flora in this book allowed me to look back on her personality in the first book and see the development in her character, especially around new trauma which happens prior to the events of this book. I loved the reversal of locations (going from England to America) and loved learning more about Lila’s family. Flora’s trauma was very carefully explored and she learns that it isn’t healthy to let everything build up, and that she should confide in her friends, and I could really relate to a lot of different characters in this book. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of the first book, and the series to anyone looking for a fun, cosy (but sometimes deep!) look into the lives of teenagers in England and America, and how friends and family are there to guide their way in life.

“Who said dreams never hurt?”

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Winchester has always been home for Flora, but when her mother dies, Flora feels untethered. Her family expects her to apply to university and take a larger role in their tea-shop business, but Flora isn’t so sure. More than ever, she’s the chaotic 'hurricane' in her household, and she doesn’t always know how to manage her stormy emotions. So she decides to escape to Miami without telling anyone – especially her longtime friend Gordon Wallace. But Flora’s tropical change of scenery doesn't cast away her self-doubt. When it comes to university, she has no idea which passions she should follow. That’s also true in romance. Flora’s summer abroad lands her in the flashbulb world of teen influencer Baz Marín, a Miami Cuban who shares her love for photography. But Flora’s more conflicted than ever when she begins to see future architect Gordon in a new light.

Flora describes herself as a hurricane, something that destroys everything in its path. And for quite a lot of the book, her emotions are certainly that, her actions occasionally reflecting that. I really liked getting to know her character on a deeper level compared to what we already knew about her from Lila’s story. I felt a connection to her grief - whilst not the same kind of grief (hers being the loss of a relative), the way she brushes it aside and have it wash over her when she leasts expects it hit me in the gut. Her coping mechanisms and ways of thinking were so understandable that she felt incredibly real. She certainly isn’t perfect in any way, shape or form but that is what I found so endearing about her. I think that Flora is very well written in this book and I really enjoyed reading from her POV.
Baz is rather mysterious initially but we gradually get to see him opening up. I really liked his interactions with Flora - especially the tenderness he showed her which was a perfect balance to his sassy, flirty side. I do wish we perhaps got to know him just a bit more, go a bit deeper into his backstory and what makes him tick. He was a great character to read and someone I would love as a friend!
I don’t massively remember Gordon from Lila’s story so being reintroduced to him was rather fun. He’s definitely more of a wacky character, so certainly some comic relief in what can be a heavier storyline at times. He seems to grow over the course of the story which is always great to see. Do I wish we got more of his backstory too? Hell yes! But I’ll take what I can get.

Having enjoyed A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, I just knew that I would need to read the companion novel when I stumbled across it. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with Flora’s story, but it definitely didn’t disappoint. I think the overall plot was engaging and fun, reminiscing on how Lila’s story went - going to another country, fighting your inner demons and finding yourself. I can also never resist a fake dating story! I think this one was lacking slightly in this area but I believe that’s because the focus was more on Flora and her journey on understanding her grief - which I can totally forgive. I wasn’t too keen on the slight love triangle moments going on there but thankfully these were few. The characters were all very fun to read and well fleshed out. They really helped bring the story alive! The ending felt incredibly cathartic, if I am perfectly honest. I don’t think that this story could have ended better. Finding yourself amongst the crashing waves and roaring winds is hard, but oh so rewarding when you do and the author captured this perfectly.

Overall, A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak is a great story about navigating grief and finding yourself again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.

The companion novel to this was a huge smash in our Library and I feel that this follow up will be loved and adored just as much. A great read!

Book Review 📚
A British Girls Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey - 4/5 ⭐

A companion novel to A Cuban Girls Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. This book contains some fantastic description, all amazing in depth and some heartwarming characters.

There is a great mix up of location, bettwen England and Miami. Using both locations to contrast the differences between family, culture and the weather (duh, clues in the title with that one). But Laura went above and beyond with her descriptive writing. It isn't far fetched and completely unbelievable, it's real and everyday.

I utterly adored Flora and her entire character. She's such a mess but she's a realistic mess. So much of what she is going through is relatable. She, herself, became a hurricane. She was out of control and emotional! With what she went through its understandable. But it's all perceived so well. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey Laura took us on with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

I really enjoyed the companion novel, a cuban girls guide to tea and tomorrow and was very excited to read this when it was initially announced, I and was not disappointed. I loved seeing the story through Flora's perspective, and thought the constant theme of grief was well handled and explored throughout the story, making Flora more realistic and relatable.

The fake dating trope is also one of my favourites, and was very excited to see it take shape, although I would have liked it to be amplified and more of a central role, as I felt Flora and Baz had great potential, but the tension wasn't fully developed. I also felt the relationship between flora and Gordon was fun, and had great potential too, but the chemistry lacked, and that may have been due to his long absences in the book. There were a lot of moments where they would have really good chemistry and then it would disappear again and not seem like they were very close friends, despite being told repeatedly they were inseparably close.

As with the first book, there were a lot of food descriptions, which I adored, and a lot of characters from Lila's story also reappearing, which was lovely to see. The British slang was still a struggle for me, as it felt misplaced and cringey, but that is more due to the fact I have never personally called anyone a 'bloke' or referred to a cup of tea as a 'cuppa.'

Overall, this was another cute and enjoyable read, with a great message for anyone struggling with loss or simply not feeling like they are progressing as they should be with their grief.