This was an interesting, quirky, fantastical story of a summer at the beach for mom Jenni, a romance author, and her two Pokemon obsessed children, as she's trying to deal with her impending divorce. She rents a beach house near her Mom's dilapidated property, with the intent of finally dealing with the family property after her Mom's death.

Thirty years previously, Jenni had been at the same beach on Pearl Island, playing with her 10 year old friend Timmy Caruso, when Timmy disappeared into the ocean. Assumed drowned in a riptide, his body was never found.

Until... a 10 year old boy calling himself Timmy Caruso appears on the beach, and he recognizes Jenni. Jenni's children befriend Timmy, and together they discover magical creatures, the squidoodles, in the tide pools. It soon becomes obvious that Timmy has returned to help the world fight a previously unknown sea monster, with the help of the children and the squidoodles.

While the plot is totally fantastic, and unbelievable, it exposes some deep seated truths and emotions. It highlights the way parents 'evolve' from the children they were, and how they need to grow to into the people they need to become. It questions friendships and what it takes to 'fight' difficult situations. Jenni learns how to deal with the adults around her, and how to handle the job she no longer enjoys.

This book was not what I expected, and was more fantasy that I typically read, but it was enjoyable. For someone who's kids grew up on Pokemon, there was surprisingly a lot I could relate to.

I rarely hate books. I appreciate the work that authors put into their books and if I really do not like it, I just don’t finish it. However, I agreed to read this for a fair and honest review, so here goes.

There was not a single likable character in this book. Even the dog was not particularly likable. Anytime I would start to get into the story at all, it would switch perspectives, give an excerpt from one of her books, or from one of the ridiculous alpha male readings.

The romance was so non existent that it felt like it was thrown in as an afterthought.

I think I side with the evil sea monster.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

A whimsical Pokemon-fueled sea monster story? I don't know how exactly this book manages to work - I love it, tolerated it, and maybe don't understand it all at the same time.

Let's get to the positives first. There is a real love and understanding of kids here as well as the world of a beach town (particularly one on a barrier island). Kids on vacation (both in the past and today) are a particular breed and I feld that the author really captured what it is like to make friends on vacation and the peculiar alchemy that happens then. She also seems to capture the feel of mother and kids - something I could only guess at (being a dude/dad), but it felt real. And the whole "Pokemon-ness" of modern kids certainly is captured very very well. That's a world I barely understand, but I know enough to have had a feel for where things were going with all of that. It worked well for me. So did the Philipia Bay excerpts - mostly. There were times where I could have used less, but they mostly worked.

What didn't work? The whole thing with Chuck made a certain amount of sense, but the part of the "underminstances" just...didn't. I felt like it could have worked, but it wasn't really explored. The exceprts from Danz Landry REALLY didn't work for me. They took you out of the story and they might have worked better if that aspect had been explored more, but it was thrown in as a sort of nudge-nudge male rights nonsense that just wasn't explored enough to justify it in the book. Likewise, the romance REALLY didn't work for me. The two people barely know each other, have almost nothing in common with one another but suddenly they're into each other? It was unnecessary and a distraction. I ended the book thinking it would have been better if it had been hinted at as a future possibility rather than the more direct thing that happened.

The plot...just...don't look too close. It doesn't make a ton of sense. Then again, as Dax says late in the book: "But life is absurd. We have to revel in the absurdity." The alchemy shouldn't work here. You'd think from the above paragraph that I didn't like this - I truly did. But maybe I just didn't understand it. But I don't have to understand everything to enjoy it.

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Title:  Here Beside the Rising Tide  
Author:  Emily Jane        
Genre: Fantasy, fiction        
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

As a lonely ten-year-old resident of Pearl Island, Jenni Farrow befriends Timmy Caruso and together they enjoy a glorious summer of swimming, fireworks, and carnival rides. (Not to mention rescuing a strange sea creature from a tidepool). Then, one late summer day, Timmy disappears.

Thirty years later, Jenni—now Jenn Lanaro, bestselling author of the Philipia Bay action-romance series—is desperate to escape the fatigue of her career and her soon-to-be-ex-husband. With her Pokémon-obsessed children in tow, Jenn rents a summer house on Pearl Island. But shortly after she arrives, a boy emerges from the nighttime sea. His name, he says, is Timmy Caruso. He’s ten years old. And he’s on a mission to save the world.

In the days that follow, Jenn grapples with work deadlines, her own spirited children, the mysterious boy-from-the-sea, and her burgeoning interest in a very sexy contractor. But when alarming events unfold along the coast—shark attacks, tidal waves, a proliferation of sugar-addicted sea creatures, and a terror out in the deeper water—she wonders if just maybe the young boy knows what he’s doing after all?

I’m not quite sure what to say about this. Jenni seems completely incapable of making any rational decisions, not even to save her life. She lets her kids run the show—even lets them blatantly manipulate her. She’s reactive to her almost-ex-husband. I don’t think I realized until just now how much she got on my nerves! The rest of the novel was somewhere between farce and bad B-rate movie. I didn’t get a sense of wonder or awe or anything but disbelief.

Emily Jane lives in Ohio. Here Beside the Rising Tide is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Hyperion Avenue in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 1/31/25).

Here beside the rising tide starts with a serious family challenge with a bit of hiding from issues to childlike drama. Who wouldn't want a fun trip to the beach with some squishy friends to keep you company? Bring on the sweets not to mention the contractor to keep you in line! Thank you NetGalley for the party.

This book almost put me in a slump. Something about this felt so uneven and, as excited as I was for this plot, I could not get into it. I’m not sure if it was the book or just my mood, but this just really dragged and didn’t work for me.

Here Beside the Rising Tide" is a genre bending story filled with romance, serious Sci-Fi creatures, mysticism, and family dysfunction. Does it work? Absolutely! Emily Jane defied all of my presumptions about what I thought this story is about and opened my imagination to a world where anything can happen and there can be a happy ending.

I hadn’t read this author before but this seemed an interesting read so I requested it. I will admit that at first I didn’t think I was going to like this. Jenn made me a little upset at the way she was treating her kids and her soon-to-be-ex husband. However, I stuck with it and it improved quite a bit. This is a whimsical, funny, and interesting read that is more about relationships and growth more that anything else, which really isn’t my thing, but I did enjoy myself. This is an interesting read, and it’s sure to please fans who like the above. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. This was an interesting book, not my usual. It was well written and I did have a desire to read it quickly to find out what happens next. However I didn't care for the main adult character and the constant reference of gaining points, even the oldest girl child mentions she has to gain points, it left a kind of sour taste in my reading. The good sea monsters were interesting and I liked them.

NetGalley pub 1/28/25

This is a sci-fi/fantasy/romance mash up. The storyline was unique. I've never read anything quite like this.

Jenn and her 2 children are spending the summer on the island where Jenn grew up. Jenn is trying to escape a bitter divorce and her husband. Things take a weird turn when sea monsters show up, along with a childhood friend of Jenn's that went missing years ago. I liked how Jenn became a "go with the flow" type of person as the story progressed. And the amount of candy she and her children eat throughout is kind of amazing. This was a fun story to read.

I had a lot of fun On Earth As It Is on Television and I was really excited to dig into this one as soon as the lovely @emilyjane.author sent it my way. There are ample mentions of Pokemon along with sea monsters, and her writing is quirky and full of humor. The characters are flawed but personable and easy to root for. I loved the chaos and absurdism in this one and all the weird ways losing control as a parent manifested. The setting also screams summer, and I can see this being a very entertaining vacation read if romcoms aren’t your thing.

While fun and explorative, this book takes on more than it can chew.
The writing is strong and solid. There's no doubt that Jane is a fantastic writer and explores several elements of craft well. However, I am not sure this book is her best intro to her work.

The synopsis is what drew me to the request on Netgalley, and while I'm glad for the reading experience, I'm not sure this book is for me. I loved the children's POV and Dax's but I wasn't a big fan of Jenni's, and she is the main POV of the book. I think this is because, throughout the whole book, there is a wall between readers and the characters. It's very detached, emotionally, and there's some big emotional issues happening throughout the book. It didn't really give me anything to chew on. Everything was presented matter-of-factly and then moved on to the next crisis. I think this book is trying to do too much genre-wise to dive into anything too heavy. It's speculative science fiction, it's woman's fiction, and it's romance, and they all fight for center stage so none take center stage. It's hard to pinpoint which genre this book fits under.

Don't get me wrong, I have read some books this year that blend genres and have loved them. This one, not so much.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

As a child, Jenni's summertime best friend disappears into the ocean while standing in fairly shallow water next to her. Thirty years later she ends up back at her hometown beach with her two children for the summer. Jenn is trying to escape her ending marriage and reconnect with her internet addicted children. When her presumed dead BFF emerges from the ocean as the same 10 year old boy, she starts to question her sanity. Even more unexplained things begin happening, including some unusual sea creatures who are obsessed with sugar, and Jenni has to not only keep her kids from danger, but find herself along the way.

Much like the squidoodles, this story was equal parts strange and cute. As a sometimes overwhelmed mom worried about screen time and tired of being tired, I could easily relate to parts of it. Also, much like her children I appreciate some good Pokemon references so that was a plus. I loved the bit of sci-fi mixed in with the humor, such a fun cross over of genres. It was fun to see Jenn's relationship with her kids evolve as the story progressed, that's where much of the heart and humor in the story are found. I read through this book so quickly, it kept me engaged and I wanted to see what happened next. We do switch POVs a few times, and there are "excerpts" from the romance books her character writes and the self-help guru her husband is obsessed with.

Overall this was an entertaining read, it's got a bit of something for everyone, but would definitely be appreciated most by people who enjoy sci-fi and sea monsters. That being said this book is perfectly quirky. I look forward to reading more from this author! I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

I was excited to see this ARC available on netgally because I recently finished Emily Jane’s debut, “On Earth As It Is On Television,” which I liked a lot. That book was quirky, this book looked quirky, I liked her writing style, and so I requested it. This book is about an over achieving adventure romance writer who is getting divorced and absconds with her children to her childhood hometown that is experiencing a little sea monster problem. Her childhood best friend had disappeared when she was 10 years old and he returns out of the sea. It’s a completely ridiculous premise. Perfectly quirky. The book “quotes” from chapters of her writing and a self help book that has influenced her ex. I’m not sure how necessary that was. And the main character fantasizes about a sexy contractor during what should be some pretty terrifying moments in her life, but otherwise I enjoyed it. There are some long battle scenes inspired by Pokémon that also could probably do with some editing down. Otherwise, it was a fast read, the main character is flawed and grows some, and there are weirdo sea creatures obsessed with candy. So in general a pretty good time. Thank you to netgally for the ARC.

This book is hilarious and stressful and relatable and weird and fun. From the description I expected a typical piece of upmarket fiction with a metaphorical sea monsters. What I got was something else entirely. Jenn grapples with childhood through an adult lens against the backdrop of an ever-increasingly insane situation. She struggles with the cynicism of adulthood, the death of her mother, divorce, and coming to terms with her mistakes. Meanwhile there's a long lost boy, a hot contractor, and a squidoodle to contend with, not to mention the very real monster lurking in the sea.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion for this ARC!

Interesting book, but strange. It's definitely a science fiction, which I did not expect. I didn't really get into the characters. The action moves pretty quickly and Jenn does improve, but I can't say I liked it.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

3.5 stars but I’m rounding it up to 4 for creativity.

If you are looking for a serious book about ____________ (insert any topic here) this is not the book for you.

If nothing else, this book will entertain you and force your brain to create images of sea monsters not yet known to mankind. There is something for everyone in this book. Squidoodles, dinosaurs, a tentageddon and even a hot carpenter. (Looking at you Sharon. I told you there was something for everyone!)

This pretty much sums it up:”life is absurd. We have to revel in the absurdity.”

Team Wave Blast all the way.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This was a fun, quirky book. I liked that it felt like a fresh and unique concept. I also really liked the humour and the Mom’s internal dialogue.

Unfortunately, about halfway in, it was really dragging for me. I ended up having a hard time getting through this. That being said, I would definitely try something else by this author. I just wish this one wasn’t quite as long.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

A boy who’s been missing for 30 years walks out of the ocean just when his childhood friend returns to the area, and things get really weird from there. This a fun and fast paced story that had some very light romance and a lot of interesting ideas. The characters felt like real people that kept even the craziest parts of this from feeling too unbelievable.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review