4 Stars / 0 Spice
‘If All Else Sails’ is a standalone contemporary romance written by Emma St. Clair.

This novel follows Wyatt who is a professional hockey player who is currently recovering from an injury and Josie who is tricked into nursing him back to health. As the best friend and client to Josie’s brother, Wyatt has known Josie for years. Their relationship seems to filled with hostility and animosity; at least on Josie’s side of things. As an elementary school nurse, Josie has the summer off. She was looking forward to having a trip with her brother but he cleverly tricked her into going to Wyatt’s summer home. She learns Wyatt is in a dark place emotionally after his uncle’s death while also refusing to participate in physio and aftercare from an injury. With the temptation of an incredible salary from her brother, Josie stays to help nurse Wyatt back to health. They begin to get to know one another on a deeper level as they remain in the same house. Past miscommunications come to light and the attraction they both share comes to the surface. Josie agrees to go on a sailing trip with Wyatt after his injury is healed which further deepens their now complicated relationship.

Wyatt is the strong, silent type. He is calculating, calm and collective. Wyatt does not like to be in the spotlight and wants to simply enjoy his chosen sport without the fanfare. He is protective, witty and tender once his layers are stiped back a bit.

Josie is an overthinker and an analysis everything. She is a fun, charismatic character who does not take ‘no’ from people easily. She is incredibly relatable and her inner insecurities are ones many would face as well.

Overall, this novel was an enjoyable read and I was able to get through it quickly. I found the pacing seemed a bit slow at times and some of the inner dialogue/narration seemed a bit repetitive. I really enjoyed the novel from when the couple first sets sail and onwards. It was an incredibly slow burn which was frustrating but built tension. This was well written; the dialogue was witty and I found myself laughing out loud a few times. The characters were extremely relatable and felt raw/real. I wish I had more of the characters after they were together and there didn’t seem to be any major drama that kept me craving more or anticipating what would happen.

Thank you to NetGallery for this ARC. Overall, I would recommend this to others who are looking for a beautifully quick contemporary romance novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Things to look forward to:
Brothers best friend
Grumpy x Sunshine
Forced proximity
‘Enemies’ to lovers
Slow burn
He falls first
One Bed

A little bit cheesy but still super cute! A lighthearted summer read but I wouldn’t rush to reccomend it.

I was sure about this book but the more I read the more I liked it. First I thought maybe this was a second or third in a series but the more I read the more I didn’t care. Josie was a believable character and so was Wyatt, they both had misunderstanding keeping them apart but the brother brought them together. I really wanted to know more about Wyatt’s Mom. She seemed like an interesting character. If there is other stories to go with this one I want to read them.

This was a fun read involving enemies to more, brother's friend falling first, forced proximity, sass, banter, and family dynamics. Josie dislikes jocks, and readers will find out why. Wyatt is a hockey player with an injury. I enjoyed the chemistry between Josie and Wyatt, the mother and daughter shopping spree, and getting to see some Appies hockey players making an appearance. Let's not forget a cute dog, a sailing trip, and an unforgettable encounter at the beginning involving Josie and the police. Enjoyable clean read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked this book! It was such a sweet, easy summer read. There were cute moments with great banter. If you are looking for a lighthearted summer read that bring some joy, sass, and sweetness into your life--this is it!!

I received an ARC but all thoughts are my own and completely honest!

If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair was such an enjoyable read! It follows school nurse Josie and she reunited with her brother best friend, grumpy and currently injured hockey play, Wyatt. I was super excited when I realised the MMC was Wyatt from the Appies Series, and for those who follow that series look forward to a few other camoes for our beloved hockey team. I really liked the characters of Josie and Wyatt and their banter and chemistry really kept me hooked! Overall, a great, fun story to lose yourself in. I can’t wait to see what Emma St. Clair comes out with next! Thank you to the author, Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was soooo much fun. I loved Josie's character, I laughed a lot with her. However, Wyatt's character was a little weak for me and the romance didn't quite charm me.
It was a fun rom-com, but I didn't like it as much as I expected. I do find the whole theme of sailing ⛵️ very original and I really liked that part.
It doesn't tell a super novel story or one that you haven't read before but it's great if you want to have a good time or when you're really saturated.

Cute, if not a little cheesy. At times too much but not so much so that I couldn’t read! Just enough endearing, but not sure how memorable it will be or if I will return to it later. I did enjoy the sailing aspect!!

This book is full of humor. From a case of mistaken identity, to "zombie" pigs that are so big one could supply enough bacon for a Bacon Lover's Festival, to poison oak and a dog named Jab Jabberwoky, If All Else Sails kept me laughing.

There are some touching themes as well. Just because someone doesn't smile much doesn't mean they're angry, and just because you grow up doesn't mean you need to lose every aspect that makes you unique (like nail polish. If you know, you know.) Family is also an important theme, as is the slow healing from grief.

Josie and Wyatt were enjoyable main characters. Wyatt was my favorite of the two, but I identified with Josie as well...like in the instance of book. Books are life, my friends. I really liked how Wyatt wasn't a player and how determined Josie was to help him, after she recovered from an incident that involved being locked in the back of a police car.

I have absolutely zero cares for anything to do with sailing and the ocean, but St. Clair made it all sound so nice that I actually wanted to visit and maybe sail a bit myself.

The continued emphasis on Wyatt's abs was not to my preference. I don't mind characters noticing each other's appearance, but mentioning that a fellow coworker licked a picture of Wyatt's abs did not thrill me.

Content Warning: mentions of an attempted sexual assault, a secondary character is a player, and the loss of a loved one.

If All Else Sails contains a boatload of humor (pun intended), a dog so cute you'll want to take her home (and that's coming from someone who's allergic to dogs), a fun premise, and heartfelt themes.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in conjunction with NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a cute book! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

I liked the characters and the tropes! It took a bit to get into the main part of the story, and it was a lot of sailing speak, but overall, an easy and fun read!

I've read many of Emma St Clair's novels and she is one of those authors that I know will never disappoint. If All Else sails has it all, smart, witty banter, swoony moments, and believable characters. I especially liked that this book had a more unusual setting (sailing) while using the miscommunication trope (done well)!

This sweet romance is the perfect summer beach read that will make you laugh-out-loud and leave you smiling.


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was such a fun, easy read! I love all of Emma St. Clair's books and this was one no different. Wyatt (a former Appies hockey player) gets hurt and isn't able to play hockey for awhile. He hasn't been taking care of himself, so his friend/agent Jacob sends his sister Josie, who is a school nurse, to help him. She thinks she is going on a siblings trip with her brother, but when she arrives at the address he gives her, her brother is nowhere to be found. Wyatt is a grump and has no interest in having anyone help him recover from his injury, including Josie. After a few days though, they strike up a deal that she will go on a sailing trip with him if he works on his recovery. I loved the slow burn and the banter between them. This is a closed door, no spice romance that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC!

A super cute brothers’ best friend, forced proximity, grumpy sunshine romance with lots of summer fun.

Josie, a sunshiny elementary nurse with a dislike to all athletes, arrives at the “murder cottage” to meet up with her brother for their annual sibling summer trip. Only her brother is not there. He tricked her into a welfare check on his injured best friend, professional hocky player Wyatt. With the offer of lots and lots of money Josie agrees to stay for the summer to make sure Wyatt attends his doctors’ appointments and is on the road to recovery.

Wyatt who has been recovering/hiding out at his late uncles cottage, is less then excited to see Josie. After a few failed attempts to get her to leave he resigns himself to her presence for the summer and instead convinces her to go on a sailing trip with him down to Savannah. Tensions, feelings and lots of confusion come into play when they are living in the close quarters of the boat.

Jib added some fun and laughs, and it was great to get appearances from a few of the Appies. I have yet to be disappointed by Emma St. Clair, her books always make me happy and leave me smiling.

Oh how I quite love a forced-proximity, "enemies" to lovers, a good ole "I thought you knew" filled with banter, tension, and the sweetest ending of them all. After receiving a copy from Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley, I couldn't hold back on stating what I truly think of this book. From the immediate moment we meet the two main characters, their banter are humor are unparalleled, and it continues on throughout the novel. Each character brings a joy to this book while we see the two main characters find their way and find each other. To see how two different people can see the same situation differently is relatable, and it brings immense joy and hopefulness to see how it ends. I'm so glad I got to embark in the story of Wyatt and Josie and will always imagine just how amazing their love story continues to be.

Any book written by Emma St. Clair is an absolute must read for me. The way she weaves a story has me sucked in immediately. Her characters are developed and seem like actual people. One thing that I appreciate about grumpy sunshine tropes is that it helps dispel the thought that grumpy people are just mean and don’t care about anyone else. They are that way for a reason, whether it’s anxiety, pain, or something else. I loved watching these two learn to open up and slowly grow closer (emphasis on slowly…my patience was not as strong as Wyatt’s). I have loved all the Appies books so getting to see Wyatt find love even though he’s no longer part of that team was fun. And Jib was just another sprinkle on top. It wouldn’t be an Emma book without an animal.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Overall I really enjoyed this, and it had some of my favorite tropes (forced proximity, brother's best friend). I felt there was a bit too much telling and not showing when it came to how the characters felt, especially about each other. Like they were just explaining everything away in their inner monologues rather than with each other. I plan on checking out more books by this author to see if it was just this instance or if it's a consistency in her writing.
It did get better toward the end and I was really able to enjoy the slow burn. It felt like their relationship really took time to grow and the characters were really really likable. MMC is also a professional hockey player, which I love.

I was excited to read Emma St. Clair’s first trad book, having read some of her indie published books in the past. St. Clair is still writing the same kind of dialogue and attempts at humor that always hold her books back from greatness. It appeals to fourteen-year-olds but as a forty-year-old reader, it falls flat. I’d love to see her rise to the occasion to write a character who is more mature. I think she’d nail it. Hockey is still hot but feeling overdone and I have read so many “spread the ashes with the guy who is dubbed an enemy” lately that that also didn’t feel fresh. However, I would recommend this book to Emma fans because they’ll eat it up.

If All Else Sails is a sweet enemies to lovers rom-com about Josie and her brothers best friend Wyatt. Josie and her brother try to take a sibling trip every year and this year when Josie shows up at the address her brother gave her she is arrested for trespassing. Wyatt is a professional hockey player, recently injured, who has shut himself away from the world in his deceased uncle's house on the water and calls the police not knowing the woman walking around his property is Josie. Josie's brother is Wyatt's agent and asks her to stay and help him recuperate and she reluctantly agrees. Josie gets to know a new side of Wyatt and realizes that she might have been wrong about him all these years.

This book was funny, sweet, and had a lot of heart! Once I started reading, I could not put it down. Josie and Wyatt are both struggling with different things and are there for each other, despite the issues of their pasts.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this ARC! I highly recommend this fun enemies to lovers romance!

4.5⭐️
I am so surprised by this one. I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I will be picking up more!
This was so stinkin cute! Was it super cheesy? Yes.
It wasn’t perfect, and there were some moments that I felt were a little cringy, but in the end it didn’t matter enough to me, because I loved it!
This follows Josie and Wyatt. Wyatt is a hockey player who was recently injured, and his best friend tricks his sister Josie(who is a nurse), into coming to help Wyatt. I would say this is more grumpy/sunshine trope than enemies to lovers. There were so many funny moments with these two. I adored the sailing aspect to this book, and felt their dynamic worked so well.
The ending…swoon! So so good!!
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for this ARC. What a fun and unique story. Definitely one of the grumpiest grumpy sunshine tropes, but also so sweet and endearing. I enjoyed how we got to see these characters grow and how mental health was handled in this book. Plus there was some trademark Emma St. Clair humor.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.