whimsical, kinda sci-fi but really more of a whimsical, chaotic fantasy. not much consistency in the worldbuilding, btu that worked very well! 5 stars, tysm for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to review the ARC.


I was a bit scared because I am not a huge sci-fi or fantasy book person. But this didn’t really have sci-fi like her last book. I actually really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and it was fun. There were some mysteries too which I loved loved!!!

such a fun and unique read!! this would be so much fun to read on the beach. it was so whimsical and crazy and quirky and full of childlike wonder. I loved that it was so easy to fall in love with the characters. A perfect blend of mystery, motherhood, romance, sci fi, and probably more. I’m so happy I got to read this, thank you netgalley for the early copy!!

Jenn, a recently divorced mom of two, brings her kids to her childhood home. The home, falling into disrepair, has been vacant since Jenn's mom died. The cottage on Pearl Island was the site of a life-changing event for Jenn. As the only child, she reluctantly returned home. She is shocked at the condition of the house and its contents, debating whether demolition or renovation made the most sense. As she struggles with this decision, she needs inspiration for the next book in her popular mystery series. Jenn's writing has kept her away from her kids. She wants to develop a bond with them, but how? Strange events will lead her to a shift in her world and bring her in touch with her children.

Jenn is the proverbial divorced mom desiring a relationship with her children. Her focus has been on writing and custody arrangements will keep her out of her children's lives part of the time. She believes showing her kids where she grew up will bring them closer. Hurt by the divorce, healing will be slow. The events that unite Jenn and her children are unusual and I found the abrupt shift into fantasy surprising. The circumstances that Jenn and her children find themselves in are unbelievable. I never reconciled myself to the fantasy theme in the second half of the book The author has a great imagination, crafting a unique storyline. Her character development needs work. Many questions remain unanswered making the ending feel incomplete.

What a lovely weird and bizarre book! I have no idea how to box this one up because it spans many genres in such a fun and unique way. All I can say for certain is that most everyone will live this!

What a wild ride….what a charming tale. I never thought that a book about sea monsters could make me cry, but this one did. Jenni is a soon-to-be-divorced Mom of 2 who’s also the author of the popular series about the kinda female Bond. Jenni’s husband has dumped her and wants the kids. Under pressure from her editor to finish her next book, she grabs the kids and the dog and heads to Pearl Island for the summer. Jenni grew up there and it was the location of a traumatic event in her life. At age 10, Jenni meets and becomes best friends with Timmy Caruso who was visiting Pearl Island with is wealthy family for the summer. One day, Jenni and Timmy are at the beach and Timmy just disappears…no body was ever found and Jenni has never had a best friend again. Now back in Pearl Island, Jenni must decide what to do with her recently deceased Mother’s house, finish her edits and avoid increasingly angry texts from her husband. In the middle of this chaos, a 10 year old boy appears on the beach and claims to be Timmy. He befriends Jenni’s kids and says he’s return to save the world along with strange green squid-like sea creatures who love sweets. Next, there are unexplained huge waves up and down the Atlantic seaboard, missing swimmers, surfers and fishermen and the appearance of a black, huge, sea monster destroying everything in it’s path. Also the sexy contractor hired to fix up Jenni’s Mom’s house seems to always appear when needed…. It sounds crazy but this good is delightful!

I love a daring mix of genres, and this book definitely delivers. Most readers will probably read the jacket copy before diving into this story, and will therefore know where it is headed. But I love the idea of someone picking up this book and being surprised and delighted by the turns it takes. Great characterization, wonderful tension, and even a bit of romance. I loved that the main character was a writer as well, giving a glimpse into that world. A great read, especially if you're a wannabe beach bum, like me.

This book is bonkers, and I mean that as a complement. There is A LOT going on in here, which for some readers may be off-putting. But I really enjoyed the ride (though the tonal shifts were a bit chunky... not sure what purpose the editor's POV served.) Basically a 4.5 for me.

There's a bit of romance (our hero, Jenn is a romance writer), there's a bit of family drama (parenting struggles, the death of a mother, an impending divorce), there's a light bit of Sci-Fi (a mysterious boy from the past who reappears/a bit of an ET vibe) and then there's HEAVY Sci-Fi (a giant monster in the sea!)

Does it all go together? Mostly, yes. Particularly if you are the sort who is comfortable with things taking a swerve into the surreal (*raises hand*). And I thought it was a great analogy for parenting in the modern world. As Jenn thinks to herself at one point, "Scared was a permanent feature of being sentient in a volatile universe."

I though Jenn was a believable character, and I liked that she was not a great parent, not a great wife...just this woman who is thrust into a crazy situation and tries to do her best. (But gosh is there a lot of screen time for those kids!) Nothing about the craziness is ever explained, (WHY is this monster thing happening? Who knows? Climate change? It is a metaphor?) But I was OK with that, because it seems like that how horrific things happen in life too--suddenly and without reason.

Heads-up...there is SO MUCH CANDY in this book. It plays an integral part of the story. So you might want to get a handful of gummy worms before you crack this open. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I totally did not expect this to go off into a fantasy world. What a fun, crazy adventure. The things that go on in our minds when we're not paying attention. The novel goes from a happy summer by the sea to a world gone mad. It's like life becomes a cartoon, frightening and funny at the same time. It's a coming of age story no one expects. I think this book would appeal to preteens through old age. It's laugh-out-loud funny at times, a crazy puzzle at other times, and poignant. Sometimes you have to put the book down and ask yourself, what just happened here? The point is, growing up is just not that simple.

Okay, I absolutely loved this bizarro book! Time travel! Sea monsters! Summers at the beach! Fans of rom-coms, mom-coms, sci-fi, Harlequin romances, and Pokémon, specifically, will eat this book up, but I think almost anyone can take something away from it.

“They were all just insignificant humans clinging to life on their big hunk of space rock, making it up as they went along…”

And all references to the “Chuck-sized dent” had me reeling 😂

Thank you to #Hyperion and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #HereBesidetheRisingTide. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I have to admit that I requested this book entirely because of 1) the title (keep sining Uncle John's Band in my head) and 2) the cover (pink sky, a boardwalk and tentacles - yes please!). The premise didn't sound bad, but I was leery of the romance writer protagonist. Happy to report I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this absurdly fantastical time travel apocalypse by sea monster story.

Jenn is a best selling author of a romance adventure series, but her life is imploding. Her husband wants a divorce. She can't seem to get the edits done on her latest book. And she needs to deal with her childhood home which has been empty for 3 years. So she "kidnaps" her kids, escaping to her childhood hometown of Pearl Island and mayhem ensues. Even though the plot devices are over the top, you go along for the ride because you want to see everything work out for Jenn and her kids.

I enjoyed this book although it would not have been one I would have chosen, but I found myself wanting to keep reading, and not put it down. It encompasses so many genres, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and a bit of realistic fiction combine to tell a great story. I would recommend it as a fun read for just about anyone.

This is not a genre that I ordinarily read. However, the author's writing is so compelling that I just kept turning the pages to see how she would resolve things. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys SciFi/Fantasy.
#HereBesideTheRisingTide#NetGalley

This is a weird read, twisted. Fantasy, sea monsters, life monsters and heartaches. If your into fantasy this is the book for you. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

Here Beside the Rising Tide is a family adventure that, while original and fun in parts, dragged in others. Jenni's best friend disappeared when they were ten years old only to return 30 years later while Jenni is going through her own personal drama.

As a sea monster attacks their beach home, Jenni, her children, and Timmy, must find a way to battle back.

The plot was very original, but there were certainly areas such as the asides for Jenni's books did not move the plot along. Jenni as a famous writer was not as interesting as Jenni the mom. This could have used some paring down in places to make it move quicker while still hitting the major plot points.

Wow! I feel such an out-of-body feeling after finishing Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane.
Where mom Jenn takes her kids Evie and Mason without permission from their dad, from Ohio to a small North Carolina coastal town where Jenn had spent her summers growing up.
What happens next is a summer of unbelievable adventures and horrific nightmares of epic proportions.
Add a little back to the future, shoplifting, a book editor, an irate dad, and a love interest, what's not to love about this story?
The only thing that annoyed me was the excerpts that popped up now and then. I know why they were there, but it distracted me.

I really enjoyed Here Beside the Rising Tide. Emily Jane was a new author for me and I didn't know what to expect other than I liked the premise of the book. Happily I found it to be unique and quirky and a lot of fun. The author did a great job combining the past, the present and the future to create a story with elements of sci-fi, horror and even a touch of romance. The character development was well done and I felt like Jenni and the kids were a real family. I also really liked that the residents of Pearl Island tended to be open-minded and tried to work together. I gave the story 4 stars because I saw no need for the Danz Landry excerpts. I really just wanted to skip over them and get right back to the story. Without them I would give the book 4.5 stars. I definitely would recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from Emily Jane.

This book was interesting and definitely different and I think many readers will love this one! Personally, this was not my favorite book but there is no doubt it's a good story. The fact that Jenn just up and left with her kids did put me off a bit and I don't know if that was the best decision but it does make a good setup for the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is bizarre, and I mean that as a compliment.
Jenn's moderately crappy husband wants a divorce, so she packs up the kids and goes to the tiny beach town she grew up in, supposedly to "clean up her mom's house" after her mom passed away, but really mostly to irritate her soon to be ex.

I mean, she does work on getting her mom's house in order, but also <spoiler>reunites with a childhood friend who disappeared while swimming and is somehow still 10 years old, works on not working on her new novel, falls in love, and helps her children fight in the sea monster apocalypse.</spoiler>

Really recommend not reading the spoilers if you're planning on reading this one because the amount of directions this book goes is both hilarious and unexpected. I wish goodreads did half stars, because this is a 3.5 for sure - not quite a 4 as I felt like it was a little long for what it did.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this one - a very fun read.

I found Emily Jane’s first novel to be similar in tone to her first - whimsical with a hint of sci-fi, but rooted in great characterization with meaningful on-page relationships. Her characterization really shines through the friendships, family relationship, and romantic relationships that she showcases and develops along the way.

The plot is a bit ridiculous, but in a fun and magical way - a sea monster off the coast of a small beach town, where everything is otherwise as you might expect it (apart from the squidoodle, of course). The main character, Jenni, is a mom who’s about to go through divorce, and dealing with a lot of complicated emotions. It turns out to be a very heartwarming tale about growth and evolving into new versions of yourself.

The sci-fi in this is not too strong, so don’t expect complicated world-building, or a lot of definitive detail regarding the other entities in this book. The focus is definitely on Jenni’s family and relationships, and her kids are hilarious. The side characters definitely carry the plot along and make it a well-rounded cast! The beginning does drag a bit, but the second half makes up for it in action and fun.

With a bit of romance, action, and many heartfelt moments, this was definitely an enjoyable read! Thanks to NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Emily Jane for the eARC! I was so excited to receive this as my first ARC, since I found her first novel to be so much fun.