In many ways this is written firmly by the playbook, with almost every expected beat of a friends to lovers romance. Yes, at time contrived but also warm and very easy to enjoy.
Plot in a Nutshell
Frankie and George have been friends since they were eight. When her fiancé leaves her the night before her wedding, she is distraught. Two months later George joins her on what would have been her honeymoon in the beautiful rainforest and coast of Tofino. His aim, help her heal and fix their bond forever.
Thoughts
There is little here that would surprise anyone who knows the friends-to-lovers trope. We see their early history and friendship through a series of flashbacks. Then there is a hint of a period of distance following a rift, followed by the wedding that does not happen. We follow all of this with the frankly bonkers idea that they go on her honeymoon together. This in turn, is followed by a third act disagreement, with the path to a happily ever after beyond that. It should have been predictable and eye rolling, but there is something in this one that made it more to the sum of its individual parts.
I absolutely loved the sense of place. The showstopper is Tofino which is truly brought to life. It’s a living and breathing, enchanted place. There is a richness and a sense of catharsis that comes with the wide sea, ancient rainforests and rolling storms, such that and I was left feeling like Frankie’s healing could not happen anywhere else. This sense was amplified by the creative lives of the two leads which I loved. George is an environmental reporter, creative and successful, who clearly loves Canada and the natural world. Frankie, a somewhat blocked chef who is inspired and unlocked by the local produce and the meals they eat.
Their childhood homes also carry this idea of place forward. There is a nostalgia and a comfort in their revisiting as adults, but the childhood passages also capture the sense of truly inhabiting a place. There is the sense of exploration and fun when you believe your entire world is there.
I also appreciated that the bulk of the book was written from Frankie’s perspective, with only George’s letters in places to give him a voice. I think it gave her at least a little intrigue to the story that doesn’t always come from dual narration. Keeping George at more of a distance preserves at least some uncertainty, while also allowing Frankie to develop beyond the romantic storyline. Her personal growth as she experiences the wilderness or at her surfing class are quietly joyful. Her professional growth as the land, the food and being with George reignite her professional fire was also excellent. There is a sense of renewal and well as simply romance which I liked.
I’m also a bit of a sucker for an epistolary element, and the letters worked well for me. They bring an immediacy to the flashbacks and give us access to younger versions of Frankie and George, without making the book feel as though it is constantly switching between entirely separate timelines.
Less successful is Frankie’s relationship with her mother. I liked the resolution well enough, but felt like the conflict was secondary and almost added in for unneeded complexity. The novel already contains emotional arcs elsewhere and this felt like trying to force in a full circle moment that was not needed.
More impactfully, that Frankie had never sought to resolve her relationship with her mother in over twenty years was odd. It made her seem immature and more than a little spiteful in a way that other parts of her story did not.
Ultimately though, this gentle story succeeds. I was invested in George and Frankie’s resolution and appreciated that together they really do strengthen rather than diminish the other. As for Tofino, it’s just gone on my bucket list to visit.